11. Staying on Higher Ground: Gideon – Fighting God’s Battle, God’s Way!

Hymns: 437 Onward Christian Soldiers 436 Sound the Battle Cry! 441 Faith Is the Victory

Judges 7

¹ Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. ² And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. ³ Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. ⁴ And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. ⁵ So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. ⁶ And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. ⁷ And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. ⁸ So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley. ⁹ And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. ¹⁰ But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: ¹¹And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host. ¹² And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. ¹³ And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. ¹⁴ And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. ¹⁵ And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. ¹⁶ And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. ¹⁷ And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. ¹⁸ When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. ¹⁹ So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. ²⁰ And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. ²¹ And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. ²² And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath. ²³ And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites. ²⁴ And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. ²⁵ And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.

Gideon – Fighting God’s Battle, God’s Way!

Judges 7

“And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude…And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled…Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.” (Judges 7:12, 20-21, 8:28)

OUTLINE

• Faith To Obey God’s Word Fully (v2-3, 4-5, 7, 9)
• Experience the encouragement of God’s Guiding Hand (v9-15)
• Courage to Press On Until Final Victory (v6-25, 8:28)

INTRODUCTION

Gideon rose up early to prepare for battle. We see that Gideon is sure of God’s call and takes diligent steps to prepare Israel for battle (Judges 7:1).  

Spring of Harod (v1) The Spring of Harod is at the base of the northern slope of Mount Gilboa, about a mile and the half east of the town of Jezreel. This is at the narrow pass at the east end of the Valley of Jezreel.

Hill of Moreh (v1) The hill of Moreh is directly north of Mount Gilboa and south of Mount Tabor. It blocks the northeastern corner of the Valley of Jezreel. Traffic from Beth Shan and the fords of the Jordan there would swing south of the hill of Moreh to go through the pass where Gideon and his men are gathered. The Midianites were camped in the valley just west of Moreh about four or five miles from the spring of Harod and very close to Ophrah, Gideon’s hometown.

What can we learn in Gideon’s battle against the Midianite army?

(1) Faith To Obey God’s Word Fully 2-3, 4-5, 7, 9)

2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt (boast) themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. 3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

The 32000 men Israelites army has been reduced to 10000 when permission was granted for the fear and afraid to return. Deuteronomy 20:8-9 gives the injunction for their action “And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, “What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart. And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.” The fearful and trembling man God cannot use. Pride after the battle robs God of glory, and fear during the battle robs God’s soldiers of courage and power. Fear has a way of spreading and one timid soldier can do more damage than a whole company of enemy soldiers. Fear and faith cannot rule the heart at the same time. Either fear will conquer faith and we’ll quit, or faith will conquer fear and we’ll triumph. God cannot use people who constantly look at the enemy instead of at Him and are constantly filled with fear instead of faith! 

John Wesley made this statement “Give me a hundred men who fear nothing but sin and love nothing but God, and I will shake the gates of hell!”

Judges 7:4-8 “And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.”

The 10000 remaining were further reduced to 300 by eliminating all those who knelt on the ground as they drank from a spring of water. The 300 who were chosen drank by using their cupped hands to carry the water from the spring to their mouths, always keeping head erect, as though to keep a constant lookout for the lurking enemy. Israel could learn a lesson about watchfulness from this symbolic action, but the more important God was teaching was that He would give deliverance to Israel in an impossible situation. This is a great test of faith of Gideon and the 300 men. They know in their hearts that victory is from the God and will give Him all the glory in their victory. 

In the above instructions from the LORD, Gideon followed fully and wholeheartedly. Complete obedience to God’s Word is paramount to fighting God’s battle. The recipe for success must therefore be the ability to follow instructions. A good leader is therefore a good follower. 

The lesson of humility is taught so that we may depend wholly on God and give to Him all the glory. We see our own insignificance and the greatness of God. Humility is the superior heart knowledge that enables, sanctifies and direct head knowledge. As the psalmist said “LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.” John Calvin gave the secret of learning the knowledge of God and doing His work is in humility. The first is humility, the second is humility and third is also humility.  A Christian writer said, “Being humble involves the willingness to be reckoned a failure in everyone’s sight but God’s.” The poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850) said “The flower of sweetest smell is shy and lowly.” Gideon was humbled to the dust following God’s instructions to reduce Israel’s army from 32000 to only 300. With 32000, it is already an impossible task against the overwhelming horde of Midianites but to allow 22000 to return further show the impossibility of the task, in terms of human strength and power. 

A parallel passage that describes Gideon’s victorious battle is 2 Corinthians 2:14 “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.” “The man who is self-complacent, content with his own endowment, but blind to his wretched condition, does not aspire to God”, says John Calvin. It is only when we see our poverty, infirmity and depravity, it leads us to perceive and acknowledge that God is all strength, wisdom, goodness. Through our imperfections, we are to experience His perfections. This is what it is in fighting God’s battle. We have a true understanding of our own depraved condition and let God fight the battle for us, beholding the awesome hand of the living God moving amongst unworthy vessels.

Fighting the Lord’s battle require our best, spare no effort, go in faith. Once we have done that, we leave everything in the hand of God to order it as He pleases! I do plead for God’s mercy, but it is of the Lord’s sovereign pleasure to give the results. We must accept it as from the Lord and be at peace with Him and ourselves in the heart. I believe it is also the same in God’s service. We have the role of sharing the gospel, we prepare the material, pray and do the best we know. The outcome is God’s work. How God will use His Word by the mighty working of His Spirit to accomplish His purpose is His prerogative, we have to submit to the outcome and leave the results to God. Salvation is of the Lord!

(2) Experience the encouragement of God’s Guiding Hand (Judges 7:9-15)

9 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.

God assured Gideon of victory! Remember the first three instances in Judges 6: 12, 14, 16 where God promised His abiding presence with Gideon. God’s encouragement provided the hope for victory to still his heart, take hold of faith and dispel all fears.

10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host. And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. 11 Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.

God strengthens the hands of his servant Gideon for the work ahead. God understood the heart of Gideon, He even suggested that Phurah, Gideon’s servant goes with him to the Midian camp. When God calls, He also supports and encourages us so that we can accomplish the task we are called to do.

12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

The sight of the enemy power would put fear in the heart of God’s people. Therefore, God had to strengthen the heart of Gideon.

13 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.”

God used Gideon’s enemies to prophesy Israel’s victory by the dream of a Midianite soldier. Notice how God timed the whole event to encourage Gideon’s heart. He went to the enemy’s camp, at precise moment to hear the conversation relating the Midanite soldier’s dream. The barley bread is the staple food of Israel. It is low class food. It showed the low rank and poverty of Israel. It speaks of Israel’s weakness and humiliation. The Midianite soldier interpreted the dream for Gideon to hear and he kowtow to God in reverential worship. Gideon was so overwhelmed by the goodness of God and His mercy that he fell on his face in submission and gratitude. 

• Courage to Press On Until Final Victory (v16-25, 8:28)

God build them down to 300 men. Split them up in 3 groups of 100 each, surrounding the camp. Blow his trumpet, smash the pitcher. The pitcher is a clay vessel to keep water, to keep water cool. The useful object was broken, the light shown through. Pitchers made to hold water not to be broken. A most unusual strategy. The enemies thought they were surrounded. The Israelites shouted a sword for the Lord and for Gideon, it produced a surround-sound effect, it frightened the enemies attacked their own. They thought each light represent a whole battalion of men. The best way to get rid of enemy, by breeding discord and discontent, no unity of spirit and of heart, they killed each other.

Israel won a great victory pursuing the enemies until final victory. Judges 8:28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

CONCLUSION

Fighting God’s Battle God’s Way is done in faith with God’s guiding hand and courage to fight until final victory.

(1) Faith To Obey God’s Word Fully (v2-3, 4-5, 7, 9)

(2) Experience the encouragement of God’s Guiding Hand (v9-15)

(3) Courage to Press On Until Final Victory (v16-25, 8:28)