GIDEON – Judges 6 – 8
- 6: 12 - 14 – He finds Gideon, even called him “a mighty man of valour”. And afterwards, asked Gideon to go in the strength that he has, since He (the Lord) was sending him.
- 6:25 – 26 – God instructs Gideon to tear down the altar of Baal his father Joash had built and build a proper kind of altar for the Lord his God.
- 7: 2-6 – God reduced the number of men with His own criteria. God’s ways are not our ways, the criteria of fear, unwillingness to go all out for Him was the first and more than half of the men left. Even with that great reduction, God further put the criteria of the style used by the men to drink water! Their drinking style demonstrated their level of preparation for use in this particular task. 1 Corinthians 6:12 (All things are lawful but not all are expedient, I will not be brought under the control of anything)
- 7:8 – the men who failed to qualify (31,700) were not only sent back, but the provisions and trumpets (ammunition for battle) were taken from them and given to the 300.
Obedience
6:27 - God’s instructions to Gideon were quick and Gideon obeyed immediately.
6:36 – 7:1 – After the fleece confirmation, Gideon the very next morning, camped with his men at the spring of Harod.
7:9 – after the Lord had whittled down the number of men to 300, that same night, God came with further instructions for Gideon - to go down against the camp of the Midianites. God asked him to go down to the camp and listen to what they were saying if he was afraid and he did immediately. After he confirmed what God had been saying to him, he worshipped and mobilised his people for battle!
7: 17-18 – Gideon now gave instructions to the 300 on what to do, they were to watch him and follow his lead to do exactly what he does.
Prayers
- Thank God for the understanding He has granted us from His Word.
- Lord, baptise us with the spirit of repentance – what separates us from God is sin, just like the Israelites in Judges 6:10b, they failed to take heed to God. He can’t behold iniquity.
- Thank Him for the provision of the Cross that dealt decisively with the nature that is unable to obey Him. Thank Him for the Holy Spirit that He has sent, our Teacher and Helper, the Spirit of truth.
- Lord, because of the help You have sent, the Holy Spirit, let our obedience to You be quick, not delayed, not sluggish, not lip service. Let our obedience to You be genuine!
- Lord, no matter how few the labourers are, please find us included. May we not be disqualified because of lack of preparation, we submit to Your standards of preparation, no matter how odd or strange, it’s Your labour, have Your way! Matthew 7:13-15; Deuteronomy 30:18-20.
- Lord, may we remain in awe of who You are, remove every familiarity. Judges 7:15, after God proved what He had told Gideon and he was convinced, he worshipped God and his attitude changed. There is no more mention of fleece after this revelation. Lord, help us to know, settle in our hearts that You can be trusted.
- Our obedience isn’t just for us, but for the lives tied to ours – the 300 were properly instructed because Gideon had listened and obeyed the Lord’s instructions to him. Lord, help us!
- The battle belongs to God, therefore, victory is assured. When this happens, humble us, may we not become proud and conceited. Judges 8:1-3, 22-23. Gideon gave a wise answer to the people of Ephraim and also to the Israelites request that he rule over them.
- Father, help us to take heed; the enemy is out to steal and destroy from us. Judges 8:24-27, 29-35. Gideon built a gold ephod that eventually became a snare as the people later started prostituting by worshipping it. He also married many wives, had a concubine which had its consequences. Lord, let the victory of the Cross of Calvary over sin and death, over the powers of satan, let it ever be before us!
- Because of Gideon’s obedience, in his lifetime, Israel had peace for 40 years, the Midian did not raise its head again in that time -Judges 8:28. Lord, may our own generation not be left out in your records of victory.
