JUDGES CHAPTER 7, “God
Uses Gideon To Deliver
By
Jim Bomkamp
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1.
In our last study, we looked at chapter 6 and the calling of Gideon.
1.1.1. We saw that there is more
written about Gideon in the book of Judges than any other of the judges of
1.1.2. We also noted that as you
look at the judges that the Lord raised up in the book of Judges, every one of
them had a character flaw or weakness.
They were not exceptional people who were qualified to lead God’s
people, rather the Lord worked in spite of their weaknesses and limitations.
1.1.3. We saw that Gideon was
actually a very cowardly man, and that it was only because of the Lord’s
graciousness and mercy that the Lord chose to meet him where he was at and
encourage his weak faith, granting him the many reassurances (or signs) he
requested of the Lord.
1.1.4. We saw that Gideon had just
a little faith and that little faith was enough for the Lord to use him as a
judge and deliverer of his people.
1.1.5. We saw with Gideon what
happens to a man when he has a genuine encounter with the Lord and is simply
willing to walk not by his sight, but by faith in the revealed word of God.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at Judges chapter 7 and the
incredible story of how the Lord used this man Gideon to deliver His people
from the Midianites.
1.2.1. In our last study, we saw
the Midianites were a huge hoard of nomads who roamed the countryside however
that for eight years running they had come upon the Israelites just before the
harvest and stole all of the Israelite’s produce as well as their livestock. The sons of
1.2.2. We will see in this study
that the Lord had to teach Gideon a couple of lessons before Gideon would be
able to be used mightily by Him in His purposes as a deliverer. We will see that it is critical that we as
Christians learn these same lessons:
1.2.2.1. We have to be totally
dependent upon the Lord in order to be used mightily by Him.
1.2.2.1.1.
The Lord created two tests of Gideon’s faith when He sought by greatly
reducing the size of Gideon’s army to teach him the lesson that he had to learn
to be totally dependent upon the Lord:
1.2.2.1.1.1.
The Lord told Gideon to tell the men who had assembled for battle that
if any were fearful that they could return to their homes. 22,000 left Gideon.
1.2.2.1.1.2.
The Lord then told Gideon to further reduce his army by having his men
go and take a drink at the spring that separated them from their enemy. The ones who raised the water in their hand
to lap it like a dog were the ones that Gideon was supposed to use, the rest
who bowed down to drink directly out of the spring were to be sent home. 10,000 more left Gideon.
1.2.2.1.2.
Gideon began with 32,000 men to go up and to fight this army of 135,000
men. However, the Lord used the two
tests of Gideon to reduce Gideon’s army to a mere group of 300 men.
1.2.2.1.3.
Gideon is being taught at this point that it doesn’t matter how small
and insignificant you may be in the sight of men for when the Lord fights the
battles for you, you are going to be an overwhelming conqueror and win!
1.2.2.1.3.1.
However, you must be totally dependent upon the Lord.
1.2.2.2. We have to learn to be
confident in the power of the Lord’s might to fight our battles.
1.2.2.2.1.
Gideon had been paralyzed by his fear and couldn’t step out and be used
by the Lord, then after receiving numerous reassurances from the Lord, he
finally sees the light and realizes that the Lord really is planning to fight
on Israel’s behalf, and from that point on Gideon has become a man of faith and
is victorious in battle over Midian.
1.2.2.2.2.
When finally filled with faith and confidence in the Lord fighting the
battle for him, Gideon conceives a battle attack plan simply using what tools
and resources he had available to him.
1.2.3. We will see here the most
unconventional battle that men have ever fought, and a battle won against the
greatest of odds. It was unconventional
because the 300 sons of Israel whom Gideon brought to fight against Midian use
only trumpets, torches, and clay lamps as their weapons, and they do not even
move from their positions for the Lord causes the Midianites to be confused and
begin slaying one another.
1.2.4. We will see in this study
how that average men and women can be used greatly by the Lord!
2. VS 7:1-2 - “1 Then Jerubbaal
(that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early and camped
beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of
them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are
with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for
2.1.
Here we see that the Lord is concerned with the fact that Gideon’s army
is too large. Gideon must have been
floored when the Lord said this to him, after all he had been thinking all
along that their 32,000 men were grossly outnumbered by the 135,000 Midianites
facing them.
2.2.
Gary Inrig has wisely pointed out that a person can’t be too small in
worldly stature for the Lord to use him mightily, but he can be too big. This was Gideon’s problem, he needed to learn
dependence upon the Lord, and the Lord alone, to fight his battles, and, as
long as Gideon had this many warriors he would be depending upon his own
resources rather than the Lord’s resources.
2.2.1. Sometimes God’s people need
the props they have relied upon kicked out from under them in order that they
come to the place of depending upon the Lord and Him alone to be their
strength, help, and hope. It is a good
thing when He does this.
2.2.2. It is just amazing to us as
Christians, isn’t it, when the Lord fights a battle for us?
2.2.2.1. For instance, we may have
struggled in our own strength, moral resolve, and will power to control
something in our life, however we found ourselves failing time and again. We are like Paul in Romans 7 when he cries
out, “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of sin?”
2.2.2.2. Then, when we finally just
give that battle over to the Lord, He works in our life so powerfully and
effectively that we are shocked when we suddenly realize that we are having
victory in an area that we struggled for years to have victory.
2.2.3. Gideon here in our story
comes to the end of himself and looking to his own power and strength to do
God’s will, and then when his fear is finally overcome the Lord gives him and
the children of
2.2.4. Being totally dependent upon
the Lord is a lesson that every saint has to learn before God can give them the
blessings that He desires to give them, and use them in the way He intends to
use them.
2.2.4.1. I want to ask you this
morning O Christian, in your life and the struggles that your are facing, how
much are you depending upon your own resources, your own wisdom, your own
cleverness, your bank account, your own schemes, etc.? Are you “totally” dependent upon Jesus, or
are you pushing the Lord out of the way so that you can help Him out?
2.2.4.1.1.
We are out-gunned by the enemy in the first place if we attempt to
fight spiritual battles in our own strength.
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood in the first place but
against principalities and powers, wicked spirits in the heavenly realm.
2.2.4.1.2.
You need to come to that place of total dependence upon the Lord
yourself before the Lord is going to use you in a mighty way!
2.3.
The Lord tells Gideon that it is also the case that the Lord had to
reduce the number of Gideon’s men as He did so that when Gideon has had
incredible victory that he can look nowhere but to the Lord as having brought
about this great work. The Lord would
not allow the children of Israel to have any means by which they might brag,
saying, for instance, that they themselves had achieved the victory that the
Lord had given to them upon this day.
2.3.1. Sometimes what hinders God
from working in our lives is the fact that if He did use us mightily, we would
take credit for that work that He had done.
2.3.2. If we’re honest also,
sometimes we take credit also for the things that the Lord has done in our
lives. This is very wrong.
2.3.2.1. For instance, to confess sin
in my own life, I have had a boss tell me, “You’re a really good worker.” My response was, “Well, I always try to do my
best.” But, the truth of the matter is
that if I am a good worker it is because of the work that the Lord has done in
my life. I remember what kind of a
worker I was before coming to Christ, and I wasn’t a good worker at all. This is the Lord’s work.
3. VS 7:3 - “3 “Now therefore
come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is afraid and
trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’ ” So 22,000 people
returned, but 10,000 remained.” - The Lord
tells Gideon to go and to tell those of the men who had assembled to go to
battle that if any were afraid and trembling that they could leave
3.1.
Here, we see the first test of Gideon that the Lord implements in
reducing Gideon’s army down in size: any
of the men who were fearful and afraid could return and go home.
3.2.
We can just imagine Gideon wondering if the Lord knows what He is doing
by reducing his army down in size rather than building it up. He surely had been hoping and believing that
the Lord was going to give him victory over his enemies the Midianites by miraculously
causing hoardes of Israelites of all tribes to somehow come together and defeat
the Midianites because of shear size.
However, the Lord never works in our lives by our fleshly strength or
carnal reasoning and natural or human wisdom.
If He did work this way, we wouldn’t give Him the glory when He did
great works on our behalf.
3.3.
Gideon probably thought at this point that having lost 22,000 and now
having a meager army of 10,000 that with the Lord’s help, somehow he would be
able to defeat the 135,000 Midianites before his army. Little did Gideon realize God’s intentions to
reduce his army to a miniscule size.
3.4.
Gideon is also doing what the Lord established through Moses here. In the Old Testament, the Lord gave Moses
commandments concerning when they would go up to war against any nation, and in
Deut. 20:8 the Lord told Moses to dismiss any who were fearful and trembling, “8
“Then the officers shall speak further to the people and say, ‘Who is the
man that is afraid and fainthearted? Let him depart and return to his house, so
that he might not make his brothers’ hearts melt like his heart.’”
3.4.1. There is a principle here
for us as Christians, and that is that if we are allowing our fears to paralyze
us then we are not going to be able to allow the Lord to fully use our
lives. Though we may have trembling
knees when we go out before the Lord to serve Him faithfully, we first have got
to have victory over that fear that the Devil uses to paralyze Christians and
render them useless to be used by the Lord.
3.4.2. I have to ask you O
Christian, are you allowing your fears to paralyze you from being used mightily
by the Lord? Are you going where the
Lord directs you and living your life as His ambassador upon the missions that
He sends you upon each day, or has fear crippled you from stepping out and
boldly letting Him lead you?
3.4.2.1. You too must never let your
fears keep you from doing the things that the Lord has called you to do!
4. VS 7:4-8 - “4 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are
still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you
there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go
with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one
shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people
down to the water. And the Lord said
to Gideon, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a
dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink.” 6 Now the number
of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all
the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you
with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so
let all the other people go, each man to his home.” 8 So the 300 men took the people’s
provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the other
men of
4.1.
Here, we see the second test of Gideon that the Lord implements in
reducing Gideon’s army down in size: any
of the men who got down upon their knees to drink directly out of the spring
were to be sent home.
4.2.
Gideon had thought that there might be some hope for victory with the
Lord’s being behind them to conquer 135,000 with 10,000 men, however now with
300 men left, 1% of the original number, Gideon was at the place where he knew
that if they were going to have victory over the Midianites that it was going
to be the Lord and the Lord alone who would have to give them victory. Gideon was now just where he needed to be, he
was totally dependent upon the Lord!
4.2.1. We Christians need to get to
the same place of dependence upon the Lord.
We need to come to that place of trusting completely upon the
Lord’s resources, the Lord’s will, the Lord’s provision, the Lord’s anointing
power on our life, etc.!
4.2.2. I believe that we Christians
ought also to be in that place of renouncing the placing of our hope and trust
in our own abilities, resources, gifting, etc.
We don’t need to criticize or cut ourselves down so much as just realize
our own inadequacy for ministry and being used by the Lord.
4.3.
These springs were located between Gideon’s army and the Midianites
camped in the valley. Therefore, to get
a drink from the springs one would have to do so in the sight of their
enemy.
4.4.
Commentators have made remark here that these 300 men who did not take
their eyes and focus off of their enemy in order to drink water displayed the
kind of traits that should characterize the Lord’s army. These would be the most stable, committed,
and reliable of fighting men that Gideon could have had on his side.
4.4.1. I personally would think
that the characteristics of these fighting men would be helpful to Gideon
because of the fact that the completely unconventional battle plan that Gideon
was to implement against the Midianites would require a special kind of
fighting man. We see in verse 8 that
these 300 men were now going to go and to conquer Midian using what the 32,000
men who went back to their homes left behind, which was not swords, spears, and
shields, but rather trumpets, torches, and clay lamps. No more unconventional battle was ever fought
by men, nor any battle won against greater odds. As with Gideon, they would have to depend
entirely upon the Lord for victory.
4.4.2. We saw already with the
battle where Deborah and Barak went up against king Jabin and his general
Sisera’s army that the children of Israel did not have any of the conventional
types of weapons used for warfare: swords,
spears, shields, chariots, etc. They
fought that battle with whatever they had.
Not much had changed in
5. VS 7:9-15 - “9 Now the same night
it came about that the Lord said
to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands. 10
“But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the
camp, 11 and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands
will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp.” So he went with
Purah his servant down to the outposts of the army that was in the camp. 12
Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were
lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without
number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. 13 When Gideon
came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I
had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and
it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so
that the tent lay flat.” 14 His friend replied, “This is nothing
less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of
5.1.
We saw in our previous study that the scriptures reveal to us that
Gideon has a major character flaw, as with all of the judges called by the Lord
in the book of Judges, and Gideon’s character flaw was that he was basically a
cowardly guy. He asked for reassurance after
reassurance that it was the Lord who had talked with him and promised to give
him victory in battle.
5.2.
Here in these verses we see that the Lord realizes that, although He
has affirmed and reaffirmed to Gideon the fact of Gideon’s calling as a deliverer
of Israel and that Gideon will have victory over the Midianites when he leads
Israel to go to battle, that none-the-less Gideon is still too fearful to lead
God’s people in this battle.
5.2.1. I am struck here yet again
with the fact that we have a God who knows His people intimately and who meets
them where they are at in their spiritual walk and encourages them in that
place. As long as we have a little
faith, the Lord fans that little faith that we have to flame and makes it grow,
and He uses our lives for His service and glory. The mercy and grace of God is revealed in an
incredible way here.
5.3.
We see here in these verses how that the Lord works providentially in
people’s lives. There is no such thing
as a coincidence in any person’s life.
5.3.1. Though we don’t always see
it, and though we don’t always understand why some things happen in our lives,
it is the case that the Lord is always working behind the scenes in our lives.
5.3.2. It is no coincidence that
the Lord leads Gideon down to spy upon the camp of Midianites just in time to
hear a man tell a dream that he had to a fellow Midianite only to have that man
say that this dream had to signify that Gideon would have victory over the
Midianites.
5.3.2.1. The reference to Gideon as
being a ‘loaf of barley bread’ that was ‘tumbling into the camp’ is as if to
say in our own colloquial that, ‘Gideon was just some home slice’ who was
stumbling and bumbling along but was going to tumble down the hill and destroy
the camp of the Midianites in the valley.
5.4.
We see here how that the Lord was also providentially preparing the
Midianites for this battle as well, using various things to plant fear into
their hearts so that Gideon could conquer them without using even a sword or
spear.
5.5.
When Gideon heard this man relate this dream, and then his friend
interpret that it must refer to Midian, Gideon suddenly realized that the Lord
had indeed gone before him and prepared him to have victory over the
Midianites. Gideon now had the faith
necessary to rally and muster the sons of
5.6.
Everything about Gideon’s countenance now reflected confidence in his
God to give the victory. He now trusted
in the Lord to give him victory in his battles.
5.7.
When Gideon now truly gets the fact that the Lord is going to give him
victory over his enemy the Midianites, he does what is appropriate, he bows and
worships the Lord.
5.7.1. Oh, how Gideon must have
realized the grace and mercy of God at this point in time in putting up with
his incessant unbelief and need for numerous reassurances.
5.7.2. As we also saw played out in
the life of
6. VS 7:16-22 - “16 He divided the 300
men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands
of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers. 17 He said to
them, “Look at me and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outskirts of
the camp, do as I do. 18 “When I and all who are with me blow the
trumpet, then you also blow the trumpets all around the camp and say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’ ” 19 So
Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp
at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch; and
they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. 20
When 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 cried, “A sword for the Lord
and for Gideon!” 21 Each stood in his place around the camp; and all
the army ran, crying out as they fled. 22 When they blew 300
trumpets, the Lord set the sword
of one against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far
as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.” - Gideon uses what is available to him and
conceives a plan to go and attack Midian, but it is the most unconventional
battle plan a man has conceived
6.1.
Gideon conceived this battle plan.
One of the things that I see in these verses that none of the
commentators I have read have picked up on is the fact that the Lord did not
tell Gideon on this day what the plan was of how he was to go and to attack the
Midianites in this battle. The Lord told
Gideon what to do to reduce the size of his army down to 300 men, however the
text does not tell us that the Lord told him the plan for this victory. This is a very interesting and significant
fact, one which has great bearing upon our very own lives here in the church
today:
6.1.1. When we as Christians go to
serve the Lord, we have to use the things that the Lord has given us, and not
hold back because perhaps we don’t have the tools, resources, and gifts that
others of God’s people might possess.
6.1.2. God will use what we have,
not what we don’t have, if we will just give it to Him and allow Him to work.
6.2.
Average people can do great things for the Lord!!! Incredibly, Gideon, this man who had been a
very cowardly type, now filled with faith and confidence in the Lord’s being
with him and giving him victory over the Midianites, simply looked at whatever
resources he might have and with the Holy Spirit’s enabling conceived perhaps
the most unconventional and risky battle plan a man ever conceived, yet it was
brilliant because it worked. Gideon
depended 100% upon the Lord’s power to give him this victory, and thus he could
not but have victory in the Lord on this day.
6.2.1. Gideon divides his men into
three companies of 100 and gives them not swords, not spears, not shields, not
catapults, etc. but rather a trumpet, a clay pot, and a torch and tells them
that at his command they are to blow the trumpets, break the clay pots, and
yell, “For the Lord and for Gideon!”
6.3.
Just imagine the events of this battle now. On this night at around 3:00am (it was the
beginning of the middle watch) in the morning, the men of Midian awoke to the
sound of 3 groups of men blowing war trumpets, the breaking of clay pitchers
which echoed and sounded like a mighty attacking army, brightly lit torches
suddenly creating shadowy figures reflecting all across the landscape, and the
men of Israel yelling in unison, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”
6.4.
Next, in their stupor from having just awakened and hearing and seeing
these things, the Midianites took out their swords and spears and began to
swing wildly at anything that moved.
Since Gideon’s men stood stationary, the Midianites began to slay each
other, not knowing who was the enemy and who was not. Finally, in utter confusion and fear and
realizing they were being conquered, the men of Midian began to flee to their
homeland.
6.5.
Gary Inrig has written about how great of an upset this victory for
Gideon over the Midianites was on this day, “Of all the upsets celebrated by
military historians or sports fans, none is more astonishing than the one
accomplished through Gideon. Outnumbered
about 450 to 1, Gideon’s army won a crushing victory over the powerful hosts of
Midian. If a football team composed of
junior high school girls were to challenge the Super Bowl champions and defeat
them 49-0, you would have an approximation of Gideon’s victory.”
7. VS 7:23-25 - “23 The men of
7.1.
Resounding victory. These verses
tell us how the armies and kings of the Midianites were soundly routed and
destroyed by the sons of
8. CONCLUSIONS:
8.1.
We have seen today how the Lord can use an average man or woman to do
incredible things for Him. This should
encourage each of us in our own walks and calling of the Lord.
8.1.1. God can use the resources,
tools, and gifts that we have if we too will just in faith and obedience allow
the Lord to do through us what He is desiring to do.
8.2.
We have also seen how that each of us as Christians need to learn to be
totally dependent upon the Lord.
8.2.1. This morning do you need to
confess depending upon your own resources, wisdom, tools, strength, cleverness,
schemes, etc.?
8.2.1.1. These things are sin in your
life and until you confess and repent of them, you are not going to be able to
be used mightily by the Lord.
8.2.1.2. If God has been stripping
you bare so that you can eventually come to a place of total dependence upon
Him then give thanks to the Lord this morning, and ask Him to complete that
work in you until you finally come to total dependence on the Lord.
8.3.
We have seen how that each of us has to come to that place of realizing
the Lord’s power to work through our lives and have complete trust in Him using
us, fighting our battles, and working through our lives.
8.3.1. This morning do you need to
confess having allowed fear to paralyze you from stepping out boldly and being
used by the Lord?
8.3.1.1. Allowing fear to paralyze
you from doing God’s will is a sin in your life, and until you confess and
repent of that sin, the Lord is not going to being able to work through your
life in a mighty way…