Judges 7:15-25
Gideon’s Three Hundred Men (Part 2)
15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”
Gideon Defeats Midian
19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,[a] as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian.
24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan.
The story in today’s passage is about God’s victory, God’s way, for God’s glory! Isaiah 55:8-19 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” To this, we must entertain how God works, especially in the lives of believers. As our source of authority, we call upon the Holy Scriptures of God. Our passage today in Judges 7, may give us insights into how God operates and how we may live for His glory.
William Cowper (1731–1800) was born to an Anglican minister. Though he was introduced to the teachings of Christ at a young age, it wasn’t until much later in life that he fully came to embrace Christian evangelicalism. Cowper, from a young age, experienced loss upon loss. At the age of six, his mother died and his family had to move and live by the mercies of others. At the age of 24, he was betrothed to the love of his life, his cousin Theodora; but the relationship had to end because her family disapproved of Cowper because he had little prospects for future employment at that time. A year later, Cowper lost his father and his best friend, Sir William Russell. Cowper eventually became the “Keeper of the Journals” in the House of Lords in London. But when his position was threatened by competition in 1763, Cowper fell into depression and attempted suicide by drowning. Afterward, he was committed to an asylum, where he was one of the first to be treated by recognizing mental health as an illness. The treatment focused heavily on prayer with reflections and meditations on the Word of God. This was where Cowper found Christ, Redeemer of his sins and Savior of his immortal soul! Cowper became friends with the great English abolitionist, John Newton. From this relationship, Cowper became well-known for his poetry and Christian hymns. One of which is, ‘God Moves in a Mysterious Way’. This hymn was written in 1773 as a poem titled, Light Shining Out of Darkness. Due to another lapse into depression and attempted suicide, it was Cowper’s friend John Newton who published Cowper’s poem in 1774. Yes, God does work in mysterious ways.
Today’s Bible lesson will reveal how God worked in the life of Gideon to win victory for the Israelites. As we have already seen, Gideon was weak in his faith. On two occasions, the Lord had to strengthen and encouraged Gideon. First, Gideon asked for a sign to know if the Lord would be with Him. Secondly, the encouragement came from the Lord himself, and not by request from Gideon. God told Gideon to go to the camp of the Midianites to hear what they say. And if he was too scared to go alone, he should take his servant with him, which Gideon did. The two went to the Midianite’s camp and overheard a soldier say in Judges 7:13-14,
‘“Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp”’
Our God knows our needs and gives good gifts to those He loves (Matthew 7:11, Luke 11:13). “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1). For us, this call to Him is sufficient, but for Gideon, it was more. God called Gideon to lead others and deliver Israel from the Midianites and Amalekites. God chose a man who obviously, had weak faith. But God instilled in him a growing faith. Because Gideon was confident, by faith, that God was in control, he devised a scheme to attack the enemy that seems too silly to ever possibly succeed. Gideon divided the 300 men into divisions of 3, with him leading one of the battalions. Each man had a trumpet and a clay jar with a torch in it. At Gideon’s call, the men blow their trumpets. smashed the jars, and ran with their torches blazing throughout the night’s attack. The men cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” This brought great confusion upon the Midianites as they slept. In terror, the enemy ran. Gideon called on volunteers from some of the tribes of Israel. They came and chased the Midianites away. Then Gideon called the tribe of Ephraim. They came, captured, and pronounced judgment on the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. Israel defeated the Midianites and God received the glory through them.
In application, we see in 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” Just as William Cowper’s poem, Light Shining Out of Darkness, we also can attest to the fact that God does truly work in mysterious ways. God chose Gideon, a man of weak faith. God also chose and reduce Gideon’s army from 32,000 men to 300. The army of 300 was equipped with trumpets, and jars of clay with torches. The scene must have been comical. Yet, God chose the weak and foolish to confound the strong and wise. In the same way, God works in us with the simple gospel message of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came as a mortal man. Though divine, he lived a sinless, perfect life to become a perfect substitute and sacrifice. Christ died on the cross to take God’s wrath for the punishment of our sins, to those who believe. Christ died, was buried, and on the third day, he arose from the grave to give us a free gift of eternal life, to those who believe in his name and in his work. The cross is the central message of the gospel. First Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” May we also be considered fools to believe in our God and in His salvation! To us who believe, this is the power of God. Therefore, we will glory in His cross!
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Lord God Almighty, thank You for choosing the foolishness of the cross to save sinners. For by grace we are saved! Thank You for choosing a fool like me. May I always depend on and trust You as my Lord and God! May I never consider the cross foolish, but as the only way to come to the Father God. May I be bold to tell others about the cross of Christ and His love for them! In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!
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God Moves in a Mysterious Way, by William Cowper in 1774:
