Gideon Goes To War. Judges 7

 

Judges 7. Gideon Goes to War

 

God has always given a filling of the Spirit to the man that He uses. Gideon was certainly not a man prepared to lead them into battle.  So, God begins to move in this man’s life in a definite way. Gideon looks at his army.  He had thirty-two thousand men. In Gideon’s mind it is not enough.  But God said to Gideon, “You have too many men.”  In Deuteronomy it states, “if anyone was drafted into the army and was afraid, he could go home.” So, now only ten thousand remain and God says, “you still have too many men.” So, Gideon and his men went through another test. Bring them down to the water, and the ones who lap water like a dog are the ones I have chosen.

God elects, but He lets us be the one to make the choice. Each one of the ten thousand men in Gideon’s army exercised his free will.

Gideon’s band was a group of dedicated men, willing to die to deliver Israel, men who had their hearts and souls in this matter. These men lapped up water like a dog because they were after the Midianites and not after water.  They will drink water after the battle is over.

After the men are chosen, Gideon goes down to the edge of the camp and eavesdrops while two soldiers are talking. They believe that God is going to deliver the Midianites into the hands of Gideon and his army.  God permits Gideon to hear this conversation to encourage him just prior to battle. He divides his three hundred men into three groups. They are given pitchers, lamps, and trumpets.  The lamps were put inside the pitchers so that the light could not be seen. Their cry was to be “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.” Gideon did not have a sword and neither did his army. The Midianites had kept the weapons for themselves.  They blew their trumpets and broke the pitchers so that the light shone out. The first thing the Midianites did after being startled awake was swinging their swords in every direction. They were going after each other. The Midianites soon fled over the hills into the tall timber and out of that area. This gave Gideon and the Israelites a tremendous victory.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible. Nelsons Quick Reference Commentary.

 

 

Gideon The Sixth Judge. Judges 6

 

Judges 6, The Sixth Judge Gideon

 

The Midianites and the Amalekites were raiders. They would raid crops and supplies of others. They took their families and all that they had with them and pitched tents wherever they stopped. They overwhelmed the people of the land. The children of Israel fled from them into the caves. God had blessed the children under the rule of Deborah. When they sinned, God delivered them to Midian, and they cried out for deliverance. The tribe of Manasseh, of which Gideon was from, moved into the dens and into the caves. They saw their crops all taken by the enemy. God is gracious and good. A prophet came and told them why they were in their present condition. They cried out to God, and God in mercy sent them another judge.

Gideon is threshing wheat by the winepress which is at the foot of the hill where they bring the grapes down from the vineyard. The threshing floor was always at the top of the hills so that the wind could blow the chaff away. Gideon is afraid of the Midianites, so he takes his wheat to the winepress. He pitches the grain up in the air, and it comes down around his neck and into his clothes. It was at that time an angel of the Lord appeared to him. One of the funniest things the Lord could have called Gideon was a mighty man of valor because he was a coward. God has called him to deliver his people. The angel said, “The Lord is with you Gideon”. But Gideon wants to know where all those miracles are that their fathers had told them about. He believed that the Lord had forgotten them. The Lord had not forsaken them, they had forsaken the Lord. Gideon had an inferiority complex. He was skeptical, weak, and cowardly. Most of us today are doing our own will and going our own way. God wants weak vessels and that is the only kind He will use. Read I Cor. 1:26-27. God follows this policy so that no flesh will glory in His presence. Although, Gideon was a weak individual, God told him that he was the one who was going to deliver Israel. He told Gideon that he will not die. He was to go down and throw over the altar of Baal, and to burn the grove beside it. Instead of doing it in the daytime, he does it under the cover of night. More of Gideon’s story will be in tomorrow’s lesson.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible.

 

 

Deborah and Barak's Song. Judges 5

 

Judges 5. Deborah and Barak’s Song

 

Deborah was one of the outstanding judges. She far exceeded Othniel in ability. Deborah had to agree to go with him before he was willing to go and battle the enemy. After the battle Deborah and Barak sang a song that was one of the first songs of the human race. The song mentions Shamgar. He was the judge that used an ox goad. He had judged during a time of lawlessness and grave immorality. It was not safe to walk the highways; travelers walked through the byways because it was not safe to take the main route.

Then her song mentions the lack of leadership. Rulers had ceased to rule. Because of her desire, she became a judge in Israel.  She stepped out and took the lead in a day where her nation had denied God. Deborah did not want her children to grow up this way and that is why she stepped out as she did.

After Israel’s victory over the enemy, Deborah once again tells Barak to take command. But he does not take charge. The tribe of Issachar was the only Israelite tribe that stood with Deborah and Barak. In her song she curses Meroz, of whom we don’t know anything about. She cursed him because he did not come to help the work of the Lord.

Deborah reveals her mothers’ heart by remembering Sisera. He had a mother. And even though she extols Jael for what she did, she thinks of Sisera’s mother. The mother of Sisera knew in her heart what had happened. She knew he had been slain. The heart of Deborah went out to her because she was a mother. What a picture we have of Deborah in her song!

 

 Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible.

 

 

Deborah and Barak. Judges 4

 

Judges 4 Deborah and Barak

 

After the death of Ehud, Israel again turned to idolatry. The Lord then sold Israel into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan. Sisera was the captain of the host with 900 chariots of iron. For twenty years Jabin oppressed Israel. Deborah was raised up by God to judge Israel, and she called upon the General to get busy. If there was a General who was weak, it was Barak. Barak would not go into battle unless Deborah went along. If this prophetess went with him, he felt he would be successful in battle.  No wonder God had to use a woman in that day!

Deborah was a forthright woman who wanted deliverance for her people. Barak called together his army, and they got ready to go against the enemy. God gave them the victory. Since the rest of his army was destroyed, Sisera’s primary desire was to save his own life. Sisera believed the Kenites would offer him protection. He went to the house of Heber, and his wife Jael offered the weary soldier hospitality. When he went to sleep, she took a tent pin and hammer and let him have it. This brought a great deliverance for Israel.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible.

Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar. Judges 3

 

Judges 3 – Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar

 

The Israelites married into all the tribes, even though God had strictly forbidden it. The five lords of the Philistines and the other tribes mentioned in this passage were enemies of the Israelites. Instead of driving the Canaanites out of the land, Israel shared it with them. Their idolatry resulted in chastisement. God sold them into slavery for eight years. They were oppressed to the point that they called out to the Lord for help. When the children of Israel cried out to Him for deliverance, He raised up Othniel to be their first judge.  He was one of the better judges. He did not become their leader because of his outstanding ability but because he was Caleb’s nephew. And had married Caleb’s daughter. And yet God used him. 

All of the judges were “little men”. They were odd characters. Their very oddness caused God to use them. Ehud was the second judge. He happened to be left-handed, which gave him an opportunity to get rid of a man who was bringing all kinds of tragedy into the lives of the Israelites. His act of killing Eglon accomplished God’s purpose. Thousands of lives were saved because of what Ehud did.

When the Israelites went against God’s will, He delivered them into slavery. The third judge, Shamgar used an ox goad, which is a very crude instrument. The Israelites didn’t have any iron weapons, so he used that which he had. The important thing is not the method, but the message. An ox goad can be dedicated to God if it is in the right hands. God used the rod of Moses, a stone from the slingshot of David, Dorcas had a needle and thread. All these things were given to God.. If you put it in His hands, God will use it.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible.

 

JUdges 2. God Raises Up Judges.

 

Judges 2 – God Raises Up Judges

 

Each time the nation hit bottom; God raised up a judge to deliver them. The nations in Canaan were in terrible bondage to ignorance, Idolatry and immorality and they desperately needed to know the true God of Israel. But instead, the Jews stooped to imitation and joined their neighbors in their sins. In their relationship with God, the next generation, and their neighbors failed. After Joshua’s generation passed away, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel. This resulted in a series of sin cycles, sin, judgment, cries for help, and deliverance.

To the best of our ability, we must focus our energy on raising our children in the nurture and instruction of the Lord, teaching them the truths of scripture, and giving them testimonies of faith.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

Dr. David Jeremiah.

 

 

God Equips Us. Judges 1

 

Judges 1 – God Equips Us                                      

January 1,2022                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

 After the death of Joshua, the nation did not function as one great army.  Individual tribes fought to claim their inheritance, and often the tribes worked together; but something was lost in the transition. God’s people must endeavor “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:3.

What began with conquest, soon became compromised as the defeated tribes gave in to the enemy. If we do not defeat the enemy completely, the enemy will eventually defeat us. Israel learned their ways and worshiped their god, and the Lord had to chasten His people to bring them back. They forgot the warnings of Moses and Joshua.

It has been well said, “The one thing we learn from history is that we do not learn from history.”  Read  Corinthians 6:1-7:1 and take it to heart.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.