Gideon and the Army of God:
(Judges 6-7)
SUMMARY:
These are some observations I have made about the scripture. To summarize what happened… Gideon was called by God to destroy the Midianite army. Starting with 32,000 soldiers under him, God reduced Gideon’s army to 300 so that no Israelite could boast of what “they did”. The army of 300, along with help from neighboring Israelites, God defeats the vast Midianite army by causing them to turn on each other.
OBSERVATIONS:
1) God deserves all the glory, and he intends to have it that way.
2) In choosing His army, God sent away all of those who were afraid and those who are not aware of their surroundings (in the drinking of the water).
3) God equipped His army not only with the comradeship of each other and the leadership of Gideon, but he also provided them with voice (which they used to shout, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”), a trumpet to sound, and fire (the torch covered by a jar), which I think symbolizes light, discernment, and passion.
4) In 7:17 Gideon "Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do.” This is an amazing source of leadership Gideon has. Similarly, what majesty would it be if we all had such a lifestyle! To tell others, “Watch me and imitate.”
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JUDGES 6:25b That same night the LORD said to him, "…Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. 26 Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering."
This passage paints a beautiful mural of what God desires in our lives. We all have things in our lives that we worship at some time or another in place of God. God wants us not only to “cut” down these things in our lives, but also wants us to “burn” them out. We have to rid our lives of any idols, and only then will our sacrifices to God be pleasing and acceptable.
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You can try your hardest to follow the law to the "T", but, being sinful, we will always be one stroke short of the cross.
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