Judges 7-8

God’s message to me: God wants the world to know He had a hand in my greatest accomplishments. Gideon called up an army of 32,000 men. God told him to send home those who were afraid, as the rules of engagement given in the law state. 22,000 went home and he was left with 10,000 but God said it was still to much. He wanted the men to drink from the nearby creek. 300 men lapped water from their hands and the rest got on their knees. God told him to send home the ones that got on their knees.

I’ve seen this taught as taking the least capable. The ones who got on their bellies to drink. The description the bible gives seems more to imply that the 300 he kept were the ones who kept their heads up and were vigilant. Whether God sent Gideon to war with 300 dunces or with 300 of Israel’s elite He still sent him to war against an army to large to count with only 300 men. The previous few books have numbered armies in the millions and been relatively specific about total troops. for this army to be innumerable they must have numbered at least 3 million or more. I would have to look back to be certain but I don’t remember a group larger than about 2.5 million being mentioned as countable so I assume they could count to at least that high or a little higher. This army spread across the land like a plague of locusts and with the same result on crops.

Promises: God will do the impossible for you to make Himself known. Gideon faced an army to large to number with only 300 men. God saw to it that those 300 men set the enemy on the run, chased them down over hill and dale until they were all destroyed and then came back to punish the cities which refused the army help and hospitality. When all was said and done the Midianites were completely defeated and all 300 men plus Gideon returned home unharmed.

Commands: Trust God to do the impossible. After bringing fire from a rock and manipulating the dew around a fleece I’m certain God knew Gideon needed reassurances. He told him to spy in the camp of the enemy where he heard them dreaming of destruction by the mighty Gideon, of Israel. Gideon knew there was no reason these people should even know his name let alone fear him. He was just a farm boy from a weak family who had never been in a fight before. That was enough to convince him that God would make him victorious because God had already put fear in the hearts of the enemy and had given that fear the name of Gideon.

Timeless principles: People fall into sin far to easily. Gideon decided to create his own ephod from the captured gold of the Midianites. In addition to being an imitation of the holy ephod of the high priest(something he shouldn’t have made in the first place) it also became an object of worship. The Israelites and Gideans own family “played the harlot” with it(worshipped it as an idol). This had been made from the earrings and ornaments of the Midianite kings. Much of their jewelry was symbolic of their Gods and should never have been considered for any thing that even looked like it belonged in the temple.

How can I apply what I’ve learned: What seems like a reasonable and proper method to a man has no bearing on what God can do. Coming against an enemy on the way into the promised land the Israelites decided to send only a small force rather than the whole army. The enemy city was small and not well defended. With sin in the camp and the failure to consult God’s plan they lost the battle. When the sin was purged God told them to use the whole army. In Gideon's battle it was the opposite. His army was under whelming and even recruiting the whole army of Israel would have left him with a force to small to accomplish the job in the eyes of man. Instead God told him to send home most of the army he had and sent him to war with a force of 300 men against odds of probably 30,000 to 1. No one would expect success in those conditions yet, God made certain that the tiny force destroyed the army to large to be numbered.

IF GOD SAYS IT CAN BE DONE YOU MAY REST ASSURED THAT IT CAN. The Israelites had left several nations in the promised land because they didn’t think they could fight them. God had told them they could win but they didn’t really try. This war proved what God had said but, it was too late. The Israelites had disobeyed God’s command to destroy the enemy and God left that enemy to be a thorn in their side and a tempting snare.

more to learn for in-depth study: “Confusion to the enemy” The old military toast certainly went into play here. When Gideon and his 300 men exposed their torches and blew their horns, the enemy lashed out in a blind panic and wound up attacking each other instead of the Israelites.

As the Midianites fled, Gideon sent runners ahead to tell the other Israelites and Allies to guard the watering spots and stop the enemy as it ran. The men of Ephraim had not been called up for Gideon's army. After killing Oreb and Zeeb, two of the Midianite leaders, they complained to Gideon about having not been called to join the fight. In a wonderful bit of diplomacy he asked which was better, the leftovers of their own vineyards or the whole crop from Abiezer? Being proud of their grapes the people of Ephraim recognized the complement and saw that they had gotten credit for dealing with two of the midianite leaders so they left it at that.

Along the way Gideon asked for food, water and a place to rest for his men at the cities he passed. Several refused out of fear of the enemy Generals. Gideon promised to repay their unkindness after he dealt with the enemy.

When Gideon caught up to the last of the Mideanite army they were down to two kings and 15,000 men. 120,000 men from this part of the army had already been killed by Gideon’s small force. That’s 400 kills per soldier on average although the Lord dealt with many of them through confusion which resulted in killing each other. Despite being exhausted from battle and chasing Gideon’s men went gladly to battle against 50 to 1 odds. They routed the army and chased down the kings to capture them.

With the battle over Gideon caught a man from Succoth and interrogated him to get the names of the leaders of that city. It was one of the cities that refused him help. He showed the city the kings they had feared then captured the 77 leaders of the city and punished them with wild briers. When he got to the city of Penuel he tore down it’s tower and killed it’s men.

Interesting note: The Crescent moon symbol is still a common symbol of middle eastern and Muslim countries. Here it is described as being a common ornament of the Midianites and Ishmaelites. Muhammad would not be born until 570 AD and would not begin writing the Koran until 610 AD. He would not begin preaching until 613 AD and Islam and the Islamic calendar begin when Muhammad and his followers move to Medina in 622 AD to avoid those who don’t like the new religion. The next 8 years are filled with war against the tribes in Mecca. The Religion of Islam, was effectively born in 613 AD, more than 1000 years (probably much more) after Gideon took those Crescent symbols from the enemy.

tomorrow: Judges 9-10