Judges 7:1-15
Gideon’s Three Hundred Men (Part 1)
1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.
4 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
9 That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “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.”
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.”
As seen in Israel’s ancient history, and in current world events, it seems that enslaved people do not remain submissive forever. For it that were so, then the dominant country would have no need to continue its ongoing mistreatment of persecution and trying to squash any hint of sedition. Eventually, enough is enough and a rebellion happens. This is the story in today’s passage in Judges 7:1-18. The structural outline for this passage is attached below.
From our previous studies in Judges 6:33-35, Gideon is obedient to God’s call and sends messengers throughout Manassa, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali to come and meet him to prepare for war. And what a great number of men who responded and accepted Gideon’s call! According to our passage today, there are 32,000 men, strong and ready for war. Gideon must have been so pleased and confident. However, God spoke with Gideon and told him in verse 7:2, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boasts over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.'” Therefore, a lesson for Gideon and for us is to rely on the strength of the Lord, not on our own strength or abilities. Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” God had to reduce the size of Gideon’s army for Him to get the victory. First, Gideon asked for volunteers. “Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home,” as it says in verse 7:3, and 22,000 men turned to go back home, leaving Gideon with an army of 10,000. However, this number was still too large for God’s purposes. Therefore, God reduced the amount again telling Gideon to take the men to the water. Those who cupped water with their hands and brought the water to their mouth so they can lap it like a dog were set aside. As well as those who stooped over, got on their knees, and drank from the water. Those who lapped like a dog were 300 men. These were the men God chose. God told Gideon to send the 9,700 men home. Gideon was left with only 300 men.
We already know about Gideon’s weak faith from our previous study when Gideon asked God for a sign instead of trusting Him and His promises. The Lord God is still working with Gideon to encourage him and increase his faith. The Lord tells Gideon to take his servant and in stealth, go to the enemy’s camp to hear what they say and be strengthened. Gideon and his servant obeyed God. They heard a soldier’s dream and its interpretation in verse 7:14, “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.” Gideon hears this and his first response is to worship God (verse 7:15).
Isaiah 48:11 says, “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.” And as we saw from today’s passage, God had to reduce the size of Gideon’s army so Israel will not boast about themselves. God will give His glory to no other! In the same way, we also have many lessons to learn and take home. God is sovereign in our lives. He is in control. And while we know that all things do work together for our good because we love God and are called according to His purposes, we also know that God works in us so He is glorified and honored through us. Colossians 1:16 says, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” We were created for God and for His glory. In application to our text, we can truthfully say, whatever comes our way, it comes so that God may be gloried in and through us. Sometimes this means, though we may be high and exalted now, God will have to reduce us in size (metaphorically speaking) to humble us. Like Christ, we also are to be meek and lowly. We are to work for his kingdom, not to be seen so we may be praised in triumph for all the great things we do, but that all works by us will glorify our Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). When our marriages fail, when our children become rebellious, when God takes our loved one away, when we become physically enabled when we are chronically sick, and when we become old: our minds are deteriorating and we do not want to be a burden to others. God has reduced us so we cannot boast about ourselves. All we can do is live by faith, pray fervently and incessantly, and depend on the strength of His might! Our seniors in our community of faith have a purpose: they teach the church how to persevere through tough times. They have been with the Lord through good times, bad times, and when life seemed unbearable. These are the saints we need to imitate. We need to trust and be confident that victory is God’s and our lives are giving Him glory. Like John the Baptist said when others asked him if he were the Christ in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
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My sovereign Lord God, I come to worship You, like Gideon, because You have encouraged me through Your Word. I trust You that through me, You receive glory. Help me, Lord God! Help me to live by faith with the grace that is faithful and trust. In all my affliction, may I be confident that you are doing work for my good and for Your glory! In all things, Lord God, may Jesus Christ be praised because of me! In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!
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Oh, That Will Be Glory For Me, by Charles H. Gabriel in 1900:
