Judges 7:4

The Bible says in 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.[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.” The soldiers that were rejected were the ones who got down on their knees to drink instead of bringing their hand up to their mouth. What difference did that make? The ones who got down on their knees were not vigilant. They stopped being careful in order to satisfy their own physical needs. But the ones who brought their hand to their tongue understood that they had to be vigilant at all times. Christianity is just like that. We are involved in a spiritual war, and we have to be vigilant too. It says in Ephesians 6:12-13, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.[13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” And it also says in First Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Be on the lookout for temptations, so you can avoid them. Be on the lookout for spiritual attacks so that you will be ready to defeat them by prayer and the Word of God and by trusting in Jesus to help you.

The Bible says in Judges 7:9-12, “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:[11] And 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.” God told Gideon to “get thee down unto the host” “the same night.” Sometimes the Lord wants us to wait, and sometimes He wants us to move right now. If you are in fellowship with Christ, the Spirit will let you know, and if you are willing to go His way for your life. The Lord knew that Gideon was fearful and that Gideon did not have a lot of faith. And so God made allowance for those weaknesses and told Gideon that he could take his servant with him. Perhaps Jesus was thinking of the same thing when He sent disciples out in pairs. It says in Luke 10:1-3, “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.[2] Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.[3] Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.”

Even though God promised that Gideon and the three hundred would have victory over the Midianites, there still were practical things to be done when facing an adversary. Do not ever think that trusting in the Lord means there is nothing for you to do. And so the Lord told Gideon to go and spy on the Midianite army and find out any information that he could. God said to Gideon, “And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host.” Probably whatever Gideon heard only strengthened his resolve. Maybe when he listened to his enemies talk, he realized that they were more afraid than he was.

The Bible says in Judges 7:13-15, “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.” Once more the Lord encourages Gideon and lets Gideon know from another source that Gideon will win the battle because of God’s help. Why would a cake of barley bread tumbling into a tent of the Midianites symbolize Gideon getting the victory over the Midianites? Why the barley bread? Remember that Judges 6:11 told us that “Gideon threshed wheat,” and therefore God used a loaf of bread so that the interpreter of the dream would think of Gideon. It is amazing how the Lord works in people’s hearts and minds. He has His ways of making sure that His will happens in your life, and He will use others to make it happen. Once Gideon heard the interpretation of the dream, he went to the people and said, “Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.” God made sure that just the right thing was said at just the right time so that Gideon’s faith would be strengthened.

The Bible says in Judges 7:16-20, “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.” And so we see how God gave them victory over the army of the Midianites. It was not through some great miracle, but simply through continuing to follow God’s instructions. God knew how fearful the Midianites were, and God’s plans played upon those fears. The important thing was that Gideon and the three hundred did things God’s way. The Midianites were so fearful that when they suddenly saw the three hundred lights in the dark spread out on the hills above them, they thought there were many soldiers behind each light. They saw the lights, and they heard the trumpets, and they heard the shout, and their fears took over. God knew it would happen that way.

Notice the phrase that God told the three hundred to shout: “The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.” We also have a sword: the Word of God. When people hear the Word of God, they should also fear. They should fear the coming judgment. They should fear dying in their sins. They should fear being one of the unforgiven. They should fear not being allowed into heaven. Hopefully, their fears will lead them to turn to Christ. We are told in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Learn the Word of God, and give out the Word of God through the work of a Bible-teaching congregation and through your personal contacts. We are fighting God’s battle when we use His sword. Notice that the Bible is called “The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.” God uses people. God used Gideon, and God wants to use you. Take up the sword of the Lord and use it wisely by God’s Spirit to point to the Lord Jesus, and mighty things can happen. Great spiritual victories are won when the sword of the Lord is used properly in the daily spiritual battle. In describing the Christians armor, it says in Ephesians 6:17, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.”

The Bible says in Judges 7:21-25, “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 Beth-shittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abel-meholah, 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 Beth-barah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Beth-barah 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.” Because they did things God’s way, it all worked out perfectly. Not only did the Midianites all run away in fear, but they panicked so much in the night that they took out their swords and started killing each other: it says in verse twenty-two, “the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow.” After the Midianites had fled away, other Israelites came and help for the mopping up operation and securing the land, and capturing and executing the “two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb.” This symbolizes the great victory that is possible for a small number of believers to have over the wicked people of the world. Based upon this example, just maybe the dominance of the wicked ones in this world is not so much due to their great wickedness, but at least in some cases is due to the believers who did not follow the Lord Jesus faithfully. With faith in God, just a few can put many to flight.

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