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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
June, 1938
thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, A rise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. 16 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. 17 And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. 18 When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the Lord, and o f Gideon. 19 So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning' of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword ofl the LORD, and o f Gideon. 21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. 22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Beth-shittah in Zererath., and to the border o f Abel-meholah, unto Tabbath. 23 And the men o f Israel gathered themselves together out o f Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out o f all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites. Lesson Text: Judg. 7:4-7, 15-23. Golden Text: “ Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage” (Josh. 1:9). Devotional Reading': Psa. 98:1-6. Outline and Exposition I. G od ’ s C hoice (4-7) F OLLOW ING the victory wrought bv God through Deborah and Barak, Israel had rest for forty years. But at the conclusion of this period they turned again from God and were sold into the hands of the Midianites. For seven years these conquerers oppressed Israel until, forced to live in dens and caves, with no opportunity even to plant and reap crops, Israel cried to the Lord for help. In answer to their cry, God chose Gideon to be the deliverer. The thirty-two thousand warriors as sembled under Gideon were a small number in comparison to the hosts of Midian. But even so, God declared He could not give deliverance to Israel by using such a large army as Gideon’s, because in that case Israel would think her own might had wrought the victory. Pride in the natural heart would attempt to rob God of the glory of His triumph. Even when the army was decreased to only ten thousand men, this number was still too large in God’s sight (v. 4 ). A t His command, the people were brought to the water, and those who knelt to drink were placed in a group by themselves (v. 5). Only three hundred had refrained from kneeling, and God said: “ By the three hundred will I save you” (vs. 6, 7). Thus God’s choice was made, and in that choice came the test of Gideon’s faith. Would he be willing to go against the host of Midian with, only three hundred men? He could see the Midianites below him.spread out in the valley like grasshoppers. He knew of their seven years’ oppression of Israel. He was acquainted with the fact that up to that time God had allowed Israel to be oppressed by them, and he could very well have said, “ It is useless to attempt to break
the yoke of this bondage.” But, rather, he was willing to follow the Lord. II. G od ’ s W eapons (15-18) Gideon was permitted to hear a dream with its interpretation (vs. 9-14) by which he was assured that God had resources suffi cient for every need. With this assurance, he encouraged his little group, saying: “The Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian” (v. 15). As far as Gideon was concerned, the thing was already ac complished. This is all the Christian need do today—simply take the victory already won by our Lord Jesus Christ over the world, the flesh, and the devil. Gideon gave to each man a trumpet, a pitcher, and a torch, strange weapons with which to defeat the trained and well-armed host of Midian (v. 16). But God’s weapons have always been strange to human sight: a rod to divide the Red Sea (Ex. 14:16-21), a shout to level the walls of Jericho (Josh. 6:5). The pitchers which Gideon’s army car ried were earthen vessels which must be broken in order to reveal the light within. W e believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have the light of the W ord of God, and this treasure we have in earthen vessels. Too often we hesitate to allow the pitcher to be broken— that is, to look upon all human excellence as a shattered thing. But only thus can the Light be seen (cf. 2 Cor. 4:7). Gideon assumed the place of leadership and instructed his men concerning what they should do (vs. 17, 18). Under God, the responsibility was Gideon’s; his fol lowers were accountable to him. How sim ple the service of the Christian would be if there were more true following of our Leader, the Lord Jesus Christ, and less human scheming! W e are to follow His leadership, obey His orders, and share in His victory. III. G od ’ s V ictory (19-23) When all were in their places, the sign was given, the pitchers were broken, the trumpets were sounded, and the three hun dred men lifted their torches and shouted: “The sword o f the Lord and of Gideon.’’ It was customary to assign a trumpeter and a torchbearer to each large company of sol diers in an army. Roused out of sleep by the noise of the shouting, astonished by what appeared to be a great host surround ing their camp on every side, the Midian ites became panic-stricken, and began to fight among themselves as they fled in com plete disorder from the scene. Large num bers from three tribes of Israel gathered to complete the overthrow of their enemies. This lesson should remind us forcibly of two passages in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 1:25-29, and 2 Corinthians 10: 3-5. God will not give His glory to an other, but will see that no flesh will boast in His presence. But when the flesh is put down, He will put weapons into our hands by which every device o f Satan may be detected and defeated. Points and Problems 1. The victory of Gideon over the M id ianites is a great illustration of what God [Continued on Page 258]
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