Judges 7:16-18 Holy Spirit Prompted

16And he divided the three hundred men into three companies and gave each man a ram’s horn in one hand and a large jar in the other, containing a torch.

17“Watch me and do as I do,” Gideon said. “When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do exactly as I do. 18When I and all who are with me blow our horns, then you are also to blow your horns from all around the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’ ”

Holy Spirit Prompted

“There is no specific mention that God gave Gideon this plan through supernatural revelation. Yet, because Gideon was a Spirit-filled man (Judges 6:34), the supernatural can operate very naturally in his life.” (Guzik)

“This plan probably came very naturally to Gideon, but upon reflection one can clearly see how the Holy Spirit prompted him.” (Guzik)

Brethren, when we are born again your body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit!

1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

“Your body was a willing horse when it was in the service of the devil, let it not be a sluggish hack now that it draws the chariot of Christ.” (Spurgeon)

“Because our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, God Himself lives within us. This means we have the strength, the power over the sins of the flesh living within us…..” (Guzik)

Has the Holy Spirit prompted you to do something? It could be as simple as telling someone about the gift of salvation, giving a homeless person a meal and sharing Christ or taking care of a widow or an orphan.

But remember if you refuse to follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting He’ll use someone else for His purposes.

Lord give us the courage of Gideon to follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting. In the name of Jesus I pray.

Blessings 

Judges 7:12-15 Encouragement IS Contagious!

 12Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the other people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13And as Gideon arrived, a man was telling his friend about a dream. “Behold, I had a dream,” he said, “and I saw a loaf of barley bread come tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent so hard that the tent overturned and collapsed.”

14His friend replied: “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has delivered Midian and the whole camp into his hand.”

15When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Get up, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.”

“The vision meant that the camp of the Midianites would be knocked over by a humble nobody.” (Guzik)

“Barley-meal was rather food for dogs or cattle than for men; and therefore the barley cake would be the emblem of a thing despised.” (Spurgeon)

“A cake of barley bread might be a worthless thing; but if God were behind it, it would upset a tent!” (Meyer)

“I think if I had been Gideon I should have said to myself, ‘I do not so much rejoice in what this dreamer saith as I do in the fact that he has told his dream at the moment when I was lurking near him: I see the hand of the Lord in this, and I am strengthened by the sight. Verily, I perceive that the Lord worketh all things with unfailing wisdom, and faileth not in his designs. He that has ordered this matter can order all things else.’” (Spurgeon)

“Behold the host of doubters, and heretics, and revilers, who, at the present time, have come up into the inheritance of Israel, hungry from their deserts of rationalism and atheism! They are eating up all the corn of the land. They cast a doubt upon all the verities of our faith. But we need not fear them; for if we heard their secret counsels, we should perceive that they are afraid of us. Their loud blusterings and their constant sneers, are the index of real fear. Those who preach the cross of our Lord Jesus are the terror of modern thinkers. In their heart of hearts they dread the preaching of the old-fashioned gospel, and they hate what they dread. On their beds they dream of the coming of some evangelist into their neighborhood. What the name of Richard was to the Saracens, that is the name of Moody to these boastful intellects.” (Spurgeon)

“Gideon’s encouragement was contagious. Having received encouragement, he could not help but spread that encouragement to others and his encouragement built their faith.” (Guzik)

“But what a pity it is that we should need such little bits of things to cheer us up, when we have matters of far surer import to make us glad! Gideon had already received, by God’s own angel, the word, ‘Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.’ Was not this enough for him? Whence is it that a boy’s dream comforts him more than God’s own word.” (Spurgeon)

Encouragement IS contagious! 

Who can you encourage in their faith today?

Blessings 

Judges 7:9-11 Guide, Keep and Encourage

 9That night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up and go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. 10But if you are afraid to do so, then go down to the camp with your servant Purah 11and listen to what they are saying. Then your hands will be strengthened to attack the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant to the outposts where armed men were guarding the camp.

Guide, Keep and Encourage 

“God wanted Gideon to find encouragement in this visit to the enemy’s camp. This shows that when God asks us to do hard things for Him, He doesn’t fold His arms and sit back and expect us to do it on our own. He is there to guide us and to keep us and to encourage us all along the way.”

“This is the tender mercy of God. He dealt with the doubts and fears of Gideon, and wanted to assure him.” (Guzik)

The difference between a true Christian and the rest of the world is that the Lord Jesus will always guide, keep and encourage those that are His even if we are afraid. 

When the Lord asked us to adopt a child it was a leap of faith and even though we had doubts and fears He was there for us to guide, keep and encourage!

Do you have doubt and fear? Lift them up to the Lord Jesus in prayer 🙏 and receive His peace that only He can give.

Blessings 

Judges 7:4-8 Trust in God

 4Then the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go. But if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

5So Gideon brought the people down to the water, and the LORD said to him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel to drink.” 6And the number of those who lapped the water with their hands to their mouths was three hundred men; all the others knelt to drink.

7Then the LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped the water I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand. But all the others are to go home.”

8So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred men, who took charge of the provisions and rams’ horns of the others. And the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.

“The ancient Hebrew word for laps is yalok, used to imitate the sound a dog makes when lapping water.” (Guzik)

If you think about this test, men who knelt wouldn’t be able to survey their surroundings because they would be looking directly into the water but men who “laps” water from their hands could be looking around at their surroundings for the enemy.

“The test was peculiarly military. Men in such a position were not on guard against sudden surprise.” (Morgan)

“The thought is disturbing, but it may well be true, that the composition of God’s army to fight Satan’s hosts in any day is really little different. How many Christians are so fearful of the enemy that they are of no real use in this warfare, and how many of the remainder are so self-centered, rather than God centered, that they find little place for effective ministry.” (Wood)

“God assured Gideon that victory was certain, even through only 300 men. Now the Israeli army was less than 1% of its original size and the proportion was 400 Midianite soldiers to each Israeli soldier. Gideon could only trust in God because there was nothing else to trust.” (Guzik)

Mr Smith Wigglesworth, told a story of one night while asleep.  He had been having terribly frightening dreams.  At some point he awoke and aware of a demonic presence, looked around the room. There, near the foot of the bed was Satan himself. With a sigh, Smith simply said, "Oh, it's just you." rolled over and went back to sleep.

Are you fearful of the enemy or do you “trust in God” like Mr Wigglesworth?

Blessings 

Judges 7:1-3 You have too many!

 1Early in the morning Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the men with him camped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.

2Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many people for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3Now, therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people: ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ”

So twenty-two thousand of them turned back, but ten thousand remained.

“This was a great test of Gideon’s faith. His army of 32,000 men was already overmatched by 135,000 Midianites. Yet God thought his army was too big, and He commanded Gideon to invite all who were afraid to go home. He was left with only 10,000 men.

i. Gideon was probably surprised at the number of men who were afraid to fight and hoped that only a few hundred would leave. But we are told that they assembled in a place where they could see the 135,000 Midianite troops (Judges 7:8). The sight of a huge opposing army made many Israelite soldiers afraid.” (Guzik)

Zechariah 4:6 6So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.

Psalm 20:7 7Some trust in chariots and others in horses,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Do you trust in the name of the LORD our God?

Blessings 

Judges 6:36-40 Little Faith

 36Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said, 37then behold, I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”

38And that is what happened. When Gideon arose the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

39Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the ground covered with dew.”

40And that night God did so. Only the fleece was dry, and dew covered the ground.

“Gideon showed that he had a weak, imperfect faith. For such a bold, life-endangering mission, one might understand (and encourage) his request for one sign (fulfilled in Judges 6:17-21). But asking for second and third signs showed that his faith was weak.” (Guzik)

“This is an outstanding example of God’s gracious patience with a troubled child.” (Wood)

It’s better to have little (weak) faith than no faith at all. 

Matthew 14: Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

I believe everyone,because of our human condition experiences times of little faith just as Gideon and Peter.

How is your faith in Jesus?

Blessings 

Judges 6:33-35 My Spirit

 33Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.

34So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him. 35Calling them to arms, Gideon sent messengers throughout Manasseh, as well as Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, so that they came up to meet him.

“This follows the familiar pattern of the Spirit’s work upon men under the Old Covenant. The Holy Spirit comes upon specific people for specific reasons, usually for divinely empowered leadership. Under the New Covenant, a broad and generous outpouring of the Holy Spirit is promised upon all flesh (Joel 2:28-29, Acts 2:17-18).

b. Then he blew the trumpet: Because of this divine empowering, Gideon was able to gather an impressive number of troops on short notice. Judges 7:3 tells us that 32,000 men came to follow him into battle.” (Guzik)

Acts 2: 17‘In the last days, God says,

I will pour out My Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

18Even on My menservants and maidservants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy.

Acts 10:45 All the circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.  

All who follow Christ today experience the blessing of the Holy Spirit living within them and empowering them for Christian service.

I have to admit that there are days I don’t feel the blessing of the Holy Spirit within me. I got angry this last weekend and had to go walk it off. Then as the anger subsided, I prayed. I’m far from perfect and at times I reflect on what Paul said: 

Romans 7: 21So this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law. 23But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.

24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Do you feel the blessing of Holy Spirit within you? 

Blessings