In this chapter, Gideon is now ready to fight the Midianites, after the Lord proved He was with Gideon in the previous chapter. Gideon and his army got up early, and the Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. Therefore, tell the people, “Whoever is timid or afraid may leave and go home.” Twenty-two thousand of them went home, leaving only ten thousand who were willing to fight. (Judges 7:2-3)
Wow!!! Isn’t that consistent with what God has done with us? I don’t know what He has done for you, but I know what He has done for me. He has rescued many of us from some very low places in our lives, and when we think about those low places and/or debilitating circumstances that we made it through, we recognize that we only made it because of God. We ask ourselves, “How did I/we get through this??? And the only logical answer is....God did it!!! God wants the glory! Sometimes He orchestrates our circumstances so that there is no way possible we can say...we did something on our own and from our own strength.
The Lord continued and told Gideon, “There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will sort out who will go with you and who will not.” (Judges 7:4)
At this time, the Lord told Gideon to divide the men into two groups according to how they drink water from a stream. Out of the 10,000 men, only 300 of them drank water from their hands. As a result, the Lord told Gideon, “With these three hundred men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home.” (Judges 7:7)
The chapter ends with Gideon dividing the 300 men into 3 groups and giving them each a ram’s horn. Gideon then positioned the men around the Midianite’s camp and instructed them to blow their horns on his command. “When the three hundred Israelites blew their horns, the Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords (Wow...they didn't even have to fight!). Those who were not killed fled to places as far away as Beth-shittah near Zererah and to the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.” (Judges 7:22)
Lord, thank you for your Word today! Help us to be humble and recognize your presence in our victories. Help us to give you the glory in all things. We love you!
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
Great, great teaching! Such an important lesson!