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THE KING’S BUSINESS
ed you to hold up holy hands on the mount, do not let anything on earth or in hell tempt you into the valley. Whether any one approves of it or not, just stay where He has put you and do what He has told you. And be assured, when you have learn ed to do this, it will not be long, however great the conflict, before you will have oc casion to shout: “ ‘Jehovah-nissi,’ the'Lord is my banner!” Judges 6:11-18. 11. “And the angel of Jehovah came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. 12. And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him, and said unto him, Je hovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. 13. And Gideon said unto him, Oh, my lord, if Jehovah is with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Jehovah firing us up from Egypt? but now Jehovah hath cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian. 14. And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand o f Midian: have not I sent thee? IS. And he said unto him, Oh, Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Manas- seh, and I am the least in my father’s house. 16. And Jehovah said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. 17. And he said unto him, If now I have found favoi in thy sight, then show me a sign that it is thou that talkest with me. 18. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and lay it be fore thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.” However bad the times are, God never seems to lack a prepared leader for His use. Whether it is that evil times produce good leaders, or that God develops good leaders in view of evil times, is immaterial. The blessed fact is, that with the evil comes the man, and that the man is of the kind who
is able in some measure to counteract the evil. And what would have become of this sinful world if it had not been so? “For what are men better than sheep and goats That nourish a blind life within the brain, If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer, Both for themselves and those that call them friends?” Yet, the pathetic thing of life is, that men quickly turn themselves into “sheep and goats” by ceasing to pray, particularly if there be not in their midst one to teach them to do so. It is thus that God comes on the scene, in days of deepest need, with a Man. And this is what took place now. Israel was terribly at fault, and Midian was God’s scourge of judgment because of sin. Nevertheless, Israel was God’s people, and they could not cry out in pain without their cry piercing His heart? So the angel of Jehovah came from heaven to earth and drew near to Gideon, who was beating out wheat in a wine-press. All the time His eye had been upon that humble but devoted servant of His, and when the moment of need came, He knew him and where to find him: “And Jehovah looked upon him and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand o f Midian. Have not I sent thee?” And finally Gideon accepted the commission and became the Man for the Hour. From that moment, there was one in Israel’s midst who knew God and could do exploits; and hence, the nation could now be saved. Judges 11:30-35. 30. “And Jephthah vowed a ’ vow unto Jehovah and said, If thou wilt indeed de liver the children of Ammon into my hand, 31 then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh vforth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the chil dren of Ammon, it shall be Jehovah’s and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering. 32. So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and Je hovah delivered them into his hand. 33. And he smote them from Aroer until thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and
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