Gideon - The Mighty Man of Valor
“The Enemy is Destroyed”
Part 7 of a Series
Over the past six weeks we have been looking at the life and times of Gideon who the Angel of the Lord called a “Mighty Man of Valor;” a name that didn’t seem to fit with the description of a guy that didn’t look anything like a brave and courageous man.
We have seen the downfall of Israel’s spiritual and economic condition and the mayhem that followed as they turned away from God and began serving Baal.
Gideon had become God’s man who was not very confident or faith-filled at all; but when God finds his man, he does not give up on him.
We saw how Gideon needed tons of confirming signs and assurances before he could cross the chicken line. However, he eventually did so, tore down the Altar of Baal and sent out the call for the most unlikely army ever.
32 thousand men answered the call and gathered at the Well of Harod which means Fountain of Affliction and Trembling while the enemy was gathered at the Hill of Moreh or Hill of the Early Spring Rain.
And then we focused on how the Reduction of Arms took the Army of 32,000 soldiers down to a total of 300 men. And after one final confirming sign, the enemy soldier’s dream and its interpretation, Gideon comes back and tells his 300 that it’s time to arise and do what they came to do.
And last week we looked at the three weapons of the Ram’s Horn, the Clay Pitcher and the lamp or torch inside of the pitcher.
And now, we pick up the story in Judges 7:19….
19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers — they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing — and they cried, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!" 21 And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled. 22 When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.
23 And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites. 24 Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan." Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan. 25 And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.
He divided his three hundred men into three groups: that would be a hundred in each group. And he gave each man a horn and a clay jar with a torch in it.
Just after midnight they surrounded the Midianite camp and on the given signal they blew their horns, broke the clay jars revealing the torches.
The Midianites panicked, the Israelites blew their horns again and the Bible tells us that the Lord caused the enemy warriors in the camp to start fighting each other, and those who weren’t killed fled in confusion.
As a friend of mind said “I love it when a plan comes together.”
So that’s the story of Gideon, what are the lessons of Gideon?
First lesson: You Don’t Have To Be Somebody Special To Do Something Special
One of the biggest lies of the devil is that God only uses special people. And like all lies of the devil this one is based on a half-truth.
God does use only special people, God doesn’t use them because they are special, they are special because God uses them.
Listen to the word of God in 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”
Look at Judges 7: 21 “And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled. 22 When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp;
Most of us do not realize just how special we really are. We look at ourselves and immediately start picking ourselves apart.
I’m not as athletic as….
I’m not as smart as …..
I’m not as good looking as…..
I’m not as outgoing as….
And, you are really good at picking yourself apart. But God looks at you very differently. And if you want to know the truth, most of your peers look at you differently than you look at yourself.
God says you are chosen
God says you are a royal priest, and holy
God says you are a “peculiar person,” and that doesn’t mean weird, it means uniquely wonderful. You are God’s very own possession.
And when the enemy comes at you, God will use whatever is in your hand…
For David it was a sling and a stone
For Moses it was a staff
For Samson it was a donkey’s jawbone
For the little boy it was five loaves and two fish
Remember the Capital One Commercial? “What’s in your wallet?”
What’s in your hand? God will use it and give you a great victory.
So, back to Gideon….. The enemy had become confused and turned on each other.
Verse 23 “and the army fled to Beth Acacia
(“House of Thorns”),
Toward Zererah (“Perplexed and Confused”),
As far as the border of Abel Meholah (Sickness and Sorrow”),……….. by Tabbath (“Goodness”).”
I find it really interesting that when the enemy was on the run that they ran to the House of Thorns, perplexed and confused, cursed with sickness and sorrow with nothing good.
It sounds as if the enemy stepped into their own trap…..
Think about these other Bible characters and what they had to say. Think about Moses who was backed up against the Red Sea and just before the waters parted.
Exodus 14:13 “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.” KJV
I want us to also think about Jehoshaphat and what he was dealing with. Three armies were coming to destroy Judah so he, the king, declared a fast and the whole nation prayed and sought the Lord.
2 Chronicles 20:15-17 “And he (a prophet) said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.” 22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.” KJV
Conclusion: I want to end this series by saying; it is amazing what the Lord does with simple, ordinary people who will believe they can be used of God to do amazing and extraordinary things.
You may think God could never use someone like you but if he can use Gideon, he can use anybody.
You may think that God would never want to use someone like you; but you are just the kind of people he wants to raise up.
