December 20, 2009 (Judges 6-8)

Today starts with the familiar - "Again the Israelites did what was evil in the Lord's sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years." Then they cried to the Lord. So the "angel of the Lord" (next time it just says the Lord) appeared to Gideon and said "Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!" I got the feeling that Gideon looked around and then said, "Who, me?" The Lord told him, "Go with the strength that you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you." Gideon then proceeded to tell God that his family's clan was the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and that he was the least of his entire family. Then the Lord said to him, "I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man."

I get several things from just this short passage. One - that God sees us differently than we see ourselves - "mighty hero". He knows what He can do through us, if we will just relinquish ourselves to Him. Two - we are to "go with the strength we have" - not give excuses, not "wait until we're smarter" - go as we are. Three- The only thing that really matters is to know that He is sending us and that He is with us.

So Gideon gathers up his army and prepares to fight. But God told him he had too many warriors. He said, "If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.’” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight."

But God told him that was still too many. So he had all of them drink by a stream. There were 300 that took water cupped in their hands to drink, but the rest got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream. So God told him to take the 300.

Chapter 7 has another interesting passage. God knew that Gideon was still not quite filled with the faith he needed. So He told Gideon to go down to the enemy camp and listen to what was being said. So as Gideon did that, he overheard two of the enemy soldiers talking about a dream they had. Here's what happened next: " ^{Judges 7:14} His companion answered, “Your dream can mean only one thing—God has given Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite, victory over Midian and all its allies!” ¹⁵ When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship before the Lord. Then he returned to the Israelite camp and shouted, “Get up! For the Lord has given you victory over the Midianite hordes!”

I think at that point, it clicked with Gideon. He finally knew that God was going to give them the victory, despite their small numbers. What are the chances that he would happen to go to just the right people at just the right time talking about a dream where Gideon's soldiers would win. He "bowed in worship before the Lord", thanking Him and now trusting Him.

So, long story short, they attack and chase the enemy. Gideon sent for the warriors of some of the other tribes who joined in the chase and helped in defeating them. Those warriors were "ticked" off at Gideon, wondering why he didn't call them at the beginning. (Number one reason - God didn't tell him to.) He reminded them of the part they played in defeating the enemy and asked "isn't that enough?" It made me think of Christian ministries, and jealousies that can crop up between them, seeing God doing ''great things" and wanting to be in on it, without just being content with their own role and what God wants to do through them.

So, the Israelites wanted to make Gideon their leader, but he replied that he, nor his son, would be their ruler - but the Lord would rule over them. But, in his next breath, he said, ²⁴ However, I do have one request—that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.)

So they did, and here's what happened:

Judges 8:²⁷ Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.

It seems like "sin" is always "lurking at the door". It's so easy to do things without realizing their ramifications down the road.

And then, the cycle gets ready to repeat again:

Judges 8:³³ As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god. ³⁴ They forgot the Lord their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them. ³⁵ Nor did they show any loyalty to the family of Gideon, despite all the good he had done for Israel.