Pam Padgett ... teacher
In the book of Judges we have a wonderful account of God calling,
instructing, strengthening, and using Gideon to first deal with the altar of Baal his father had, and then to deliver Israel
from the Midianites.
The children of Israel did evil in the sight of God, and God had
turned them over to the Midianites who greatly impoverished Israel.
When Israel cried out to God for help, He sent a prophet who spoke
to them of the evil they had done ...
Judges 6:7 And it came to pass, when the children of
Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites, 8 That the Lord
sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus
saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought
you forth out of the house of bondage; 9 And I delivered you out of the
hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you,
and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land; 10 And I
said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.
An angel was also sent to
Gideon, telling him that God had called him to save Israel
from the Midianites ...
Judges 6:11 And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under
an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the
Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress,
to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the Lord
appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee,
thou mighty man of valour. 13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my
Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?
and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of,
saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the
Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the
Midianites. 14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in
this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the
Midianites: have not I sent thee? 15 And he said unto him, Oh my
Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor
in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. 16 And the
Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt
smite the Midianites as one man.
Gideon asked that it be confirmed to him that it was an angel of the
Lord who spoke with him. This was done in a way that Gideon knew the angel was from God ...
Judges 6:20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and
the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the
broth. And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of
the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the
unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed
the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed
out of his sight. 22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of
the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an
angel of the Lord face to face.
That night Gideon was instructed to deal with his father's altar of Baal. The altar of Baal and the grove
by it which Gideon's father had were destroyed, and an altar to God was built in the ordered place with a
burnt sacrifice of his father's second bullock offered using wood cut
down from the
grove. ...
Judges 6:25 And it came to pass the same night,
that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the
second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that
thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: 26 And build an
altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered
place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the
wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. 27 Then Gideon took ten
men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it
was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city,
that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
When the men of the city found all that Gideon had done, they sought to kill him. But
they were not allowed to harm Gideon. Interestingly, Gideon's father
Joash (who had the altar of Baal and grove Gideon destroyed) stopped them, saying that if Baal was a
god, let him deal with having his altar destroyed ...
Judges 6:28 And when the men of the city arose early in
the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was
cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the
altar that was built. 29 And they said one to another, Who hath done
this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son
of Joash hath done this thing. 30 Then the men of the city said unto
Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the
altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.
31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for
Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to
death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for
himself, because one hath cast down his altar.
Instead of Baal being worshiped, the altar of Baal and grove were destroyed. But God was
worshiped as Gideon did all he was instructed.
Then the Spirit of God came upon Gideon, and Gideon sent for men from
the tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. And Gideon asked
God to confirm that HE
would save Israel from the Midianites by his (Gideon's) hands. Two
confirmations were given, as Gideon asked.
Then Gideon and the men he had called went near to where the
Midianites were. But God said there were too many men with
Gideon, for they may think they had defeated the Midianites by their
own strength. God instructed
Gideon to send back anyone who was fearful and afraid. When Gideon
did this 22,000 returned, leaving only 10,000 men with Gideon. This was still
too many people. God identified the men who were to go with Gideon
by how they lapped water. Instead of using the 32,000 men initially
gathered together, God would save Israel from the Midianites with only
300 men.
Judges 7:2 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are
with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their
hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own
hand hath saved me. 3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears
of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him
return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of
the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten
thousand. 4 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet
too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them
for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee,
This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of
whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the
same shall not go. 5 So he brought down the people unto the
water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of
the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set
by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees
to drink. 6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their
hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of
the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. 7 And the
Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will
I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let
all the other people go every man unto his place.
Although there were only 300 men with him, God provided a way for
Gideon to be strengthened in going against the Midiantes. Gideon
heard a man in the enemy's camp tell a dream, and its interpretation was given which showed that God
delivered Midian into the hand of Gideon ...
Judges 7:9 And it came to pass the same night,
that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host;
for I have delivered it into thine hand. 10 But if thou fear to
go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: 11
And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine
hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went
he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed
men that were in the host.
12 And the Midianites and the
Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the
valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were
without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. 13
And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a
dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and,
lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and
came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it,
that the tent lay along. 14 And his fellow answered and said,
This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash,
a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian,
and all the host.
15 And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of
the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped,
and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the
Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
Gideon divided the 300 men into three companies, with trumpets, empty pitchers, and lamps in the pitchers. As the three companies did as Gideon told them, the Midianites fled ...
Judges 7:16 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 of 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 of the Lord, and of 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 Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.
Before just 300 men of Israel, the great multitude of the Midianites cried and fled, for God had delivered them into the hands of Gideon. And the men of Israel overcame the Midianites, including their princes
and kings.
Judges 8:28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of
Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the
country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
Gideon heard what to do and confirmed the instruction was from God.
Then he did as he was instructed by faith. And God strengthened Gideon when he feared,
helping him to act. As Gideon did as he was instructed by God,
Israel was delivered by the power of God.