Judges 7:1-25


God’s glory is always the priority in every aspect of our lives.  Israel deliverance from the nation of Midian was done in a way that all men would clearly see that this was the work of the Lord and He would receive all of the glory.  Gideon was an instrument in the hands of the Lord and he led the people into battle but the victory was won in such a way that all would clearly see that God was the one who won the victory.  The army of Midian was far greater than any army that Israel could hope to put together, but God is not concerned with the size of our problems or the circumstances that we face.  He is in control and now matter how desperate things may become, He really just wants us to trust Him.

GOD REDUCES THE SIZE OF THE ARMY:  There were 32,000 men in Israel who came out to fight an army that was likely more than double that size.  The odds of victory were almost nothing, but God says that it is too many and tells all the men who are afraid to go home.  Two thirds of the people leave and Gideon is now left with only 10,000 men and the odds become even more hopeless.  However, God still sees the army as too large.  God next put the men through a test to determine their watchfulness and training.  When the men got to the river to drink, only the 300 soldiers who brought the water to their mouths in order to be alert towards the enemy were permitted to stay.  This represents less than 1% of the original army and erases all hope of victory.  God is the God of the impossible and He shows us that the greater the difficulty of the circumstances the greater of an opportunity we have to trust and glorify Him.  He chooses to use the men who are best prepared and confident in His strength.  If we want to be used by God for extraordinary service and have opportunities to serve Him; we must be well prepared, alert and most of all confident in His strength.

GOD REASSURES GIDEON OF THE VICTORY: God must have known that Gideon needed some reassurance in the light of such a difficult task.  He tells Gideon to sneak into the camp where he hears two men talking about a dream and the interpretation of the dream which was a victory for the army of Israel lead by Gideon.  God gave a dream and an interpretation to the enemy soldiers and brought Gideon into the camp at just the right time to hear the story.  We can rest assured that God really is in control of all of the details of life and that we can trust Him.  He knows our needs and is able to meet each of them in accordance with His will and desire.  He knows what is best for our good and His glory and He will do all that needs to be done in order to accomplish His will and meet our needs.  We can rest in that assurance.

GOD RESCUES ISRAEL FROM THE MIDIANITES: The massive army is spread out before Gideon and his 300 men.  They are armed with trumpets, torches and jars.  These are not the instruments of war and the number of warriors is not nearly enough to do the job accept for one thing: God.  When God is with us, it does not matter how many resources we have at our disposal.  Gideon and his men simply shouted, blew their horns, broke their jars and watched the army scatter in a panic.  Gideon calls on the various tribes to come out and kill the enemy that was trying to flee from Israel and a decisive victory is won.  No matter what or who we face, we can trust God in all circumstances.  

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