Welcome we are going to learn about this guy in the bible named Gideon. We have all heard the story of how he fought the 135,000 men with only 300 men. But I will explain how there is a lot more to Gideon. He was called by God, he tested God, he was empowered by God. So how did he come to be such a mighty man of God. Lets see what the bible says.
The bible says the Angel of the Lord came and spoke to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you Mighty Warrior” (Judges 6:12). Now Gideon was a weak guy, and his clan was part of the weakest Clan. In Judges 6:14 the lord said “Go in the strength you have” and then the Lord said in 6:16 I will be with you. Now even after all of that Gideon still didn’t think he was strong enough, good enough, or powerful enough. But God had a different plan for Gideon. Fast forward just a bit and Gideon is sent with all of these warriors to fight the Midianites but Gideon was scared.
Because he was scared, he decided to ask God to make a fleece wet and the ground not as a test of his deity. Then he asked for the ground to be wet and the fleece to be dry. (Judges 6:36 - 40) How many times has God ask us to do something and we try to test Him?
Now when Gideon camped at the spring of Harod. The Lord Said you have to many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands they will boast against me ‘My own strength has saved me’ (Judges 7:2). And Gideon was required to cut his numbers down to 300 men. Now he started with 32,000 men. The odds of winning the fight would have been 4.2 to 1. So each warrior would only need to take down 4 or 5 men each. Now when God cut Gideons troops down to 300 the odds were definitely off. The odds were 450 to 1 so each man would have to destroy 450 men each. How much faith would you have in your commanding officer if he just changed the odds against you? I would feel like the guy has lost it and we need to do something about it. However the men had so much faith in Gideon that there is no record of grumbling from the men who stayed.
My Senior Pastor Joseph Britain enlightened me about the vision of the loaf of bread. Now in Judges 7:9-15. The bible says that the Lord told Gideon that if you are afraid go to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they say then you will be strengthened to go against them. Now Gideon and Purah went to the camp and they hear a soldier telling his companion his dream. (Judges 7:13b-14) The soldier said, ‘In my dream, I saw a loaf of bread that was rolling into our camp. It hit one of our tents and it knocked the tent down to the ground. 14 The other soldier replied, ‘This dream is telling us about Joash's son Gideon, the leader of the Israelites. It shows us that he has the power to kill us. God has put Midian and all our army under his power!’. How would you feel if you were Gideon? Would you be ready to go fight or would you still doubt the power of the Lord?
Then Gideon split the men into groups and gave them mighty weapons. Judges 7:16 Dividing the 300 Men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in their hands with torches in them. Who wants to fight a battle with a trumpet, a clay pot, and a torch? When they surrounded the enemy camp they blew the trumpet and smashed the pot and shouted a Sword for the Lord and for Gideon. The lord allowed the fear to build up in the Midianites and they ran away fearing for their lives.
What is the trumpet?
The trumpet can signify an alarm of war, a call to assemble, or a command to march
Numbers 10:2-10 Gives us 8 examples
2. Explains make 2 trumpets, and make a noise with them.
3. When the people hear the sound from both trumpets, all the people must meet you.
4. When you only want the leaders of Israel's tribes to meet you. Use one trumpet
5. With one short sound, the tribes on the east side of the camp must start to travel.
6. When they hear the next short sound, from the trumpet will tell the people that they must start to travel.
7. But when you want everyone to meet together, make a different sound with the trumpet.
8. The priests, the sons of Aaron, must use the trumpets to make a noise.
9. Use the trumpets when an enemy is attacking you, Make a sound to tell the people that they must fight the enemy. Then the Lord your God will hear and he will save you from your enemies.
10. You must make sounds with the trumpets on your happy days, too. And you must make sounds with the trumpets at your regular festivals and on the first days of your months. And you must make sounds with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over your friendship offerings. God will hear and he will remember you. I am the Lord your God.’
What is the clay pot?
We are the clay pot, when you look into Jerimiah 18 we see how the lord is like a potter and we are the clay. We see that we can be molded into something new even though we have some slight defects and abnormalities.
Jerimiah 18:3-6
3 So I went down to the potter's house. There I saw him when he was working at his wheel. 4 He was working with clay to make a pot with his hands. But, as he worked, it became the wrong shape. So he made it into a pot of another shape, as he chose.5 Then the Lord spoke to me. ‘You know that I can change the Jewish people. I can change them as the potter changes the shape of the clay,’ he said.6 ‘You Jewish people are in my hands. I hold you as the potter holds the clay in his hands.
What is the Torch?
The torch Symbolizes the all-consuming fire that cleanses and judges the earth. There are so many examples in the bible of how the fire consumes
Luke 12:49 Jesus says, I came to start a fire on earth. I would be happy if that fire were already burning.
In The parable about the weeds growing in the harvest
Matthew 13:30 Let the good plants and the weeds grow up together. At harvest time, I will tell the workers to cut down the weeds first. Then they will tie them together and burn them. Then they will cut the wheat and bring it into my building. I will store it there.
In the old testament
Malachi 4:1 ‘The great day when I come to judge people will certainly happen. Punishment will come like the great fire of a hot oven. It will destroy all the proud people who do evil things. It will completely destroy them, like a fire that destroys dry grass. Nothing will remain.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
However, in this passage of scripture the torch is actually for the purpose of light. With the torches is every soldier’s hand this would have looked like there are more men than there really were. This is because when they would be in formation you would only need a torch on the ends of the squadron in order to light the way. Now if you expected a torch for every 50 or so men and now you see 300 torches surrounding you do you think you would be scared?
The bible explains light multiple time and refers to the same definition. Light is good. Light is God. The light is to direct other to God.
Matthew 5:14-16 14 “You are like a light for everybody in this world. If people build a city on a hill, then other people can see it easily. 15 Nobody lights a lamp and then puts it under a pot. He will put the lamp in a high place. Everybody who is in the house can then see the light from the lamp. 16 You must be sure that your light shines well. Then you will give light to other people. They will see all the good things that you do. Then they will praise God, who is your Father in heaven.’”
Luke 11:33-36 33 Jesus then said, ‘When someone lights a lamp, he does not hide it. Nor does he put it under a pot. Instead, he puts it in a high place. Then other people who come into the room can see the light from the lamp. 34 Your eyes are like lamps, and your body is like a room. Make sure that your eyes are like a clean lamp, then your whole body will have light. But if your eyes are dirty, your whole body will be completely in the dark. 35 So, you must be careful. Be sure that you really have light in you. Be sure that you are not still in the dark. 36 Your whole body needs to have lots of light. Nothing dark should be there. It will be as if a lamp is shining its bright light on you.’
Ephesians 5:8-9 8 Once your minds were completely in the dark. But now you belong to the Lord. As a result, you have become full of light. So, now you must live as people who belong to the light. 9 The light helps you to live in a way that is good, right and true.
We are the clay pot and we keep the light inside. If we are to share the light we must be broken like the pot. When we are vulnerable the light shines out for others to see. The people we see on a daily basis are hurting and need to see the light in our lives. This is when they are vulnerable and searching for change. Now as a torch we need to allow ourself to be vulnerable so we can share the light with others. Just like the clay pot if the torch is inside you can not see the light however if the pot is cracked and broken you will see the light.
The tools Gideon was given were simple tools he already had, a torch, clay pot, trumpet. If Gideon can use household items to win a great battle. Do you think God can use you in the small things we have in our lives? What are the tools you have? Are they connections? Are they location? Is it your ability to talk to anyone? The wars we fight these days are not fought with swords and spear. Our wars are fought with faith. God has given us the tools to do what we are called to do.
God has called you. You are enough!
I want to add that if Gideon did not split the men from the 32000 down to the 300 he would not have had the supplies he needed to do what God called him to do. This is the same of us if God says go here, donate there, talk to them, or do this. We must accomplish the first task that leads us to where we are called to be. We need to follow the steps that have been placed before us and not try to skip ahead. The first step is the first followed by the second and so forth.
As long as you allow god to call you and allow the holy spirit to guide you along the way. You will not fail and will be in alignment with Gods word. Due to the nature of the holy spirit we should continue to be in prayer and align ourself with the Holy Spirit to keep us on the path.
Where has God placed his calling on your life?
What are you going to do with that calling?
