A BIG VICTORY BY A SMALL ARMY (part two)
Judges 6-7
Last week I started by highlighting the fact that Cornerstone has lost some people over the last year. And although that can be discouraging, there are still plenty of reasons to be positive about the future of our church. We started to look at the story of Gideon and how God whittled down his army from 32,000 down to 300. That's quite a drastic decrease.
But God whittled down the army to show that the victory would be achieved by God's power and not by man's. God will do the same thing in our lives too. God will allow us to be in situations where it seems like a no-win situation so that we can see what he is capable of. Let's pick up our story where we left off and see what happens next as Gideon and his small army take on the massive Midianite army and learn what we can take away from that.
1) 300 vs. a googol? No problem.
Judges 7:9-15, "During that night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp.
The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore. Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.” When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands.”
Here we see God's instruction to Gideon to provide encouragement and authenticity that what God said would happen was true. Gideon's army had a certain element of fear going on, and understandably so. These 300 were the bravest of the brave but they still needed some encouragement. We can be faithful and courageous but that doesn't mean we won't need some encouragement now and then.
Gideon and his servant sneak over to the enemy camp. And here we get a picture of what they were up against. The number of soldiers are likened to a swarm of locusts. One of the plagues in Exodus was locusts. It says in Ex. 10:5 that the covered the land so that the ground could not be seen. Having a swarm of locusts was no small thing. Their camels like the sands of the seashore.
In other words, this is 300 vs. Google. We all know the search engine giant, Google. This comes from the word googol, meaning an unfathomable number. I don't know how long Gideon looked at the size of the enemy's army before he heard the dream but thankfully, God didn't let him get overwhelmed by what he saw and instead became encouraged by what he heard. Thankfully, there are times when we don't have enough time to get overwhelmed by what happens to us before God swoops in and provides encouragement.
So, Gideon overhears this enemy soldier tell about his dream. "Barley bread". Barley bread was known as the poor man's bread. This is meant to imply its seeming insignificance. Small and insignificant yet it was about to accomplish something amazing. The small barley loaf rolled in and overturned everything as if it was a giant boulder.
And it's interesting that they were able to interpret the dream. God allowed this so they would know what was going to happen. They had enough cognition to know that the implications of this dream were serious and not something to dismiss. This would greatly aid Gideon's army.
"He worshiped God". We see Gideon's first response after hearing the encouraging interpretation was to worship. When God does something great our first reaction should be worship. We should acknowledge that God is responsible for the outcome and any increase and we are blessed just to be a part of his plan.
"Get up". It's interesting that the beginning of this passage has God telling Gideon to get up and at the end of the passage Gideon is telling his army to get up. God is telling us to get up. Encouragement from the Lord should incite us to action and inspire others to act also. God's revelations motivate us to get busy doing his will so we can be a part of his work and to see the results.
2) Beating the odds.
In vs. 16-21, Gideon prepared his army for battle. They came with torches and trumpets. When they blew their trumpets, vs. 21 says all the Midianites ran and cried out as they fled. They had become terrified of what was coming upon them after this dream circulated throughout the camp. We pick up the action from there.
Judges 7:22-25, "When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan."
"Turned on each other". The Lord confused their thinking. It could've been a combination of the fear incited by the dream, dazed from being woken up and hearing the trumpets. Perhaps in the darkness they didn't know they were fighting their own men. Regardless, God intervened and the enemy was defeating itself. Sometimes God will cause those who work against us to beat themselves.
Sometimes we will need to prepare for battle just to see the Lord do something unprecedented. Like when Joshua and his troops were coming against Jericho. Interestingly, we see some similarities. Through Rahab, the spies learned that the people of Jericho were in great fear because they knew what God had done for the Israelites.
And, as Gideon's men blew trumpets, God had Joshua and the men blow trumpets. And, as the reaction of the Midianites turning on each other was remarkable, so the walls of Jericho falling down after Joshua's troops blew their trumpets. Joshua marched forward, believing in what God had said would happen. Gideon believed the dream he overheard and he acted on it.
He wasn't focused on the fact that he only had 300 men verses a gazillion. Instead he focused on what God said would happen. When God whittles an army down there's a reason for it and there's nothing to fear in it happening. God prunes and he removes. One reason is to weed out those who are serious vs. those who aren't. Sometimes it's because there are bad apples who will spoil the whole barrel if they're not removed. Regardless of the method or the reason, God wants to show us that there's nothing to worry about.
God wanted to show Gideon and the Israelites (and their enemies too) that God can do amazing things. The odds makers would not have given the Israelites a snowball's chance to defeat the Midianites; but they won. The only reason they won was because God was behind it. The only reason our small church will do great things is if God is behind it.
We see at the end the soldiers bring Gideon the heads of the two generals-Oreb and Zeeb. I didn't know hillbillies existed back then. 'Hey, we're headin' over to Zeeb's winepress. Party's on y'all!' Although this sounds kind of gruesome to be carrying heads around like this, it was done to show proof of the defeat and that the enemy had been conquered; like when David cut off the head of Goliath and brought it back to Jerusalem.
With God leading the way, our small army will be victorious and the proof will be visible. And we may need to sever a few heards in the process. Not literally, obviously, but we will need to cut the heads off of things like worry, fear, doubt. We need to put to death things like apathy, pride and defeatism.
We don't focus on what's behind us and who isn't here anymore. Not that we don't try to talk with them and see if things can be resolved but we don't stay stuck in it. We make the choice to press on despite it. I know it's discouraging to reach new people and they only stay a short time. I know it's discouraging to build a relationship with someone for years and then they leave.
I've been discouraged too but I came to the point of realizing that we can't stay focused on that if we're going to move forward. So we look ahead to what we need to do to accomplish all that God has in store for us. We strive to reach our potential as a church; we continue to take advantage of opportunities to reach people. We need to be enthusiastic; we need to be visionary, we need to believe in the future of Cornerstone.
It will take determination; it will involve commitment and dedication. And of course, it will take a group effort. I can't do it alone and I know I'm not alone. Thankfully, there are many here who don't expect the pastor to have all the ideas or do all the work. So, what can you bring to the table? What ideas do you have? How would you like to be involved? Cornerstone is like Gideon's army-we may be small but we can accomplish amazing things when God is leading the way.
And that's not to say we haven't already accomplished amazing things. Just the fact that we are here on the north side and have continued for 25 years is a big thing. The fact that we have survived the tragic loss of John is a big thing. The fact that we are financially able to help support 18 different ministries around the world is a big thing.
The fact that we have four different people groups worshiping here is a big thing. The fact that we have multiple study groups during the week is a big thing. The fact that we've had many different outreach events is a big thing. What is the next big thing for Cornerstone? I don't know right now. But there will be a next big thing. I believe in the future of Cornerstone. I hope you do too.
We will not be discouraged, we'll give it another try;
We refuse to be downhearted, and here’s the reason why.
We have a God who’s mighty, Who’s sovereign and supreme;
We have a God who loves us, and we are on His team.
He is all wise and powerful, Jesus is His name;
Though everything is changeable, our God remains the same.
Our God knows all that’s happening, Beginning to the end;
His presence is our comfort, He is our dearest friend.
When sickness comes to weaken us, To bring our head down low;
We call upon our mighty God, Into His arms we go.
When circumstances threaten to rob us of our peace;
He draws us close unto His breast, Where all our strivings cease.
And when our hearts melt within us, and weakness takes control;
He gathers us into His arms, He soothes our heart and soul.
The great "I AM" is with us, our lives are in His hand;
The "Son of God" is our hope, It’s in His strength we stand.
We refuse to be defeated, our eyes are on our God;
He has promised to be with us, as through this life we trod.
We're looking past our circumstances, To Heaven’s throne above;
Our prayers have reached the heart of God, we're resting in His love.
We give God thanks in everything, our eyes are on His face;
The battle’s His, the victory’s ours; He’ll help us win the race.
