April 1: Judges 6-7

April 1, Judges 6-7

Judges 6 And the people of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord… Again, the cycle continues of disobedience. This time they were being oppressed by the Midianites. The Midianites would literally eat all their crops and decimate the food, leaving very little for the Israelites. And Israel finally cried out to God. The angel of the Lord came to Gideon, as he was secretly beating wheat in a winepress so the Midianites couldn't take it (instead of beating the wheat on the threshing floor where you were suppose to, but they could have come and taken it because they knew that was where they would process their grain). The angel called Gideon to lead for the Israelites, regardless of his weak faith. A visit from the angel of the Lord was not enough for Gideon, so he wanted a confirmation. He made a sacrifice and the angel had fire consume it. Proof enough for Gideon, for now… Interesting is that Gideon refers to God as Yahweh, His personal name. That night God instructed Gideon to take his Dad’s bulls and tear down the altar of Baal and the Asherah beside it. Since he was too afraid to do it during the day, he and ten of his men did it at night. In modern terms, imagine someone taking down the huge stone obelisk in front of the White House or in front of the Vatican in Rome. People would be furious. Both then and today. When the townspeople awoke, they were furious and they figured out that Gideon did it. Gideon’s dad was confronted by them and they wanted to kill Gideon. His dad mocked them and said to let Baal contend for himself. Which means, if Baal is so powerful, let Baal avenge against Gideon for what he did. So, they changed Gideon’s name to Jerubbaal, which means ‘let Baal contend against him.’ God was calling Gideon to lead Israel and again, Gideon’s faith was weak and asked for a sign with the fleece, which is like a sheep skin coat. Gideon knew this was sinful, to test God like this, as he asked God to not be angry with him, but Gideon did it anyway and God performed the miracle for Him anyway. Despite the fact, that God asks us not to test Him. God is gracious with us, and patient.

Judges 7 Gideon and all his men were camping getting ready to battle and God told Gideon that they were going to have to narrow down all the men, because there were too many - God was going to do something miraculous for His own glory. The only way to do that is to not have a monster sized military. So, to get the numbers down, God instructs Gideon to take the men to the water. As each man walked up, God would tell Gideon whether or not they would be going. Then God narrows it down even more - the man who licks up the water with his tongue (like a dog), would go with Gideon. Strange way to narrow it down, but God has His ways! 

Gideon was still afraid, so God told him to go with his servant and listen to what the Midianites were saying. Sure enough, he overheard the men talking about how they were afraid because one guy had a dream that they were going to be pummeled. Gideon fell down and worshipped the Lord when he heard it. Gideon then took his 300 men (very small army) and yelled the war cry, blew the trumpets and waved their torches… Not a real battle plan, but then God does something miraculous - all the enemies turned their swords on each other and the Israelites won that day. God literally won the battle for them!

To sum it all up:

• Gideon is a great example of a human man being used by a mighty and powerful God. As we continue to see the insecurity and doubt of Gideon, we also should continue to see the grace and strength given to Gideon by the Lord. This means that even if you are weak, scared, or insecure that God can and will use you, as He plans.
• Be open to obeying the Lord, even when it doesn't make sense or might seem strange. If the Lord is for you. Who can be against you?