Gideon's 300

Judges  6:11-12

"Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

 

(The Angel of the Lord Visits Gideon.)

 

How awesome!  THE Angel of the Lord visited Gideon and even called him a mighty man of valor!"  Sounds like he's off to a pretty good start, doesn't it?  But then he starts going through a laundry list of complaints.
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Now, the Bible calls this Visitor, "THE ANGEL of the LORD."  It wasn't Gabriel and it wasn't Michael; it was Jesus Himself in a pre-incarnate appearance....and Gideon was whining and complaining to Him!  Let's follow the story:

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Judges 6:12-15

"Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

 

I'm sure you noticed the names in bold font in the opening passage?  Most of you who have read my articles know that there are 4 levels of Bible study.  This story is all about Jesus and how he defeated our enemies at the cross!

 

The Trinity is mentioned in these verses.  "Joash (Ya-esh)" literally means "God Fire."  Who is like a burning fire?  The Father!  "Abiezer (Av-ezer)" means "Father Help," literally.  Who is that?  The Holy Spirit, the Helper!  And you already know that "The Angel of the Lord," is Jesus!

 

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Encouraging Words.

That's quite a list of woes. But, our gracious Jesus was non-plussed.  He sat there and listened to his laments, and then spoke to him the following encouraging words:

^{14 "}Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”
¹⁵ So he said to Him, “O my Lord,  how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
¹⁶ And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”

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Notice the Angel said to him, "Go in this might of YOURS."  Wait, what?  Who's might?  You mean, scared-to-death Gideon's?  Why, he even admitted to being a weakling! What might could he possibly have? 

But that's just like God, isn't it!  He does things for you then gives you credit for what He did.  Don't think for a minute it's you, though.
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Gideon goes on to say, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
¹⁶ And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”

Now, there's an offer for you!  But it still wasn't quite enough to convince Gideon.  So, he asked the LORD if he might test and see if he was really the man for the job in the famous story of the fleece that he threw out.....twice!
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We're not going to go into that here.  Please refer to the link below for more on that story:

https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/05/04/the-real-meaning-of-gideons-fleece/)

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The Trouble Of Israel.

All the trouble Israel ever was in started when they left the God of their fathers and began worshipping other gods.  At this point in time, they were being oppressed by the Midianites, as well result, and faced a horde of their troops so great, no one could number them!  
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Every time in their history that they got in trouble or were oppressed by other nations, and this happened many times, God raised a champion to lead them.  This time, it was Gideon.  
(For more on the topic of their indiscretions, please follow the link below.  It demonstrates how God really sees things!https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/06/04/gods-math-is-not-like-ours/)
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Secrets In The Hebrew.
Gideon's name means, "One who hewed down (the enemy.)"  Apt description!  In Hebrew it is spelled like this:
[גדעון]
The letters from right to left are "gimel-dalet-ayin-vav-nun."
Hebrew is a language of picture writing, like Chinese.  Each letter is a picture of something.
[ג] Gimel is a picture of a camel, a form of transportation.
[ד] Dalet is a picture of a door.  The "Door" is Jesus!
[ע] Ayin is a picture of the eye.
[ו] Vav is a picture of a nail or hook, depicting Jesus' sacrifice when He was "nailed" to the cross.
[ן] Nun is a picture of a fish which depicts believers.
Gideon wasn't God's man because of anything special in and of himself.  He was a man who had "TRAVELED through the DOOR, who SAW the SACRIFICE ON THE CROSS and became a BELIEVER!
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When you trust in Jesus, He goes before you and "Hews down the enemy" for you.....and gives you the credit!
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TOO MANY!
He started out with 32,000 men.  But God said that there were "too many." 

WHAT?!  The Midianites were so numerous, they couldn't be counted!  That's quite a tide of evil, not unlike what we are facing today as election day 2016 draws near here in America.  

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So why did the LORD say there were too many? Let's follow the story:

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"And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites (Media-nites maybe?) into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’³ Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained."

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God wanted Israel to know that He was the One Who defeated their enemies for them.  It wasn't because of any strength or intelligence they possessed.  That's how we know without a doubt that our Abba loves us!  He isn't content to tell us:  HE ALLOWS US TO HAVE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF IT!   That is what bolsters and cements our faith.  We may start out "fear-FULL," but we end up "fear-LESS."(For more on the Hebrew words for "fear and fearless" and God's perspective on the subject, follow the link below:https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/fear-%d7%a4%d7%97%d7%93-and-fearless-%d7%9c%d7%90%d7%a4%d7%97%d7%93/)

 

So, anyone who was "fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead."  It's interesting to note that the root word for "Gilead," is the Hebrew verb, "galal," which means, "to roll some object on, upon or away."  Figuratively, it carries the idea of rolling oneself onto the Lord.  These folks did not have great faith or trust in the Lord, hence their fear.

 

 

Still Too Many.

But there were still far too many, God said.  So He had Gideon weed out more of the Israelites in this way:

 

Judges 7:1-8

"And the Lord said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.”⁶ And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. ⁷ Then the Lord said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.” 

 

 

300.  That's the number God was aiming at. Very interesting number!  300, in Bible numerics, is the number of VICTORY!  Now, finally He reached a number He could use to defeat this innumerable horde, bring great glory to His Name and BLESS HIS PEOPLE!!!
-Hmmm.....300.....VERY interesting number!  As many of you know, numbers in the Bible have meaning.  The Holy Spirit doesn't have His "secretaries" write them down in scripture on a whim.  They are there to teach us something important about Jesus.
The rabbis call this phenomenon, "Gematria:  The meaning of numbers."  300 is the number of VICTORY!(For more on the subject of numbers in the Bible, follow the link below:https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/03/20/bible-numerics/)-Bear in mind, this is NOT numerology or some other superstitious nonsense.

 

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God Encourages Gideon.

 

Joshua 7:9-12
⁹ "It happened on the same night that the Lordsaid to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered 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 outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. ¹² Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude."

God knew that there might still be just a "little bit" of fear on Gideon's part.  So, He told him to take his servant and sneak down into the camp of Midian.  They would overhear something that would totally turn the tide and encourage them.  Let's continue the story:
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Judges 7:13-15
¹³ And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.”
¹⁴ Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon 
the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.”
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15 And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.” ¹⁶ Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do: ¹⁸ When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!’”
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The Hebrew word for "trumpet" here is literally, "Shofar."  Do you know what a Shofar is?  It's a ram's horn.  And how do you get it?  BY KILLING A MALE LAMB.  It's a remembrance to God of the death of Jesus!
It is said that demons tremble and flee in terror at the sounding of the Shofar.  Well, as we shall soon see, indeed they did flee.....IN ABJECT TERROR!
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The Darkest Time Of The Night.

Judges 7:19-21

"So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers—they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing—and they cried, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” And every man stood in his place all around the camp;"

This whole scene occurred just as one watch was coming off duty and the next coming on.  It's the darkest time of the night.  The guys who were coming off shift were really tired and the ones coming on duty were just waking up, most likely still not fully awake.
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Now, when it's REALLY dark, even the tiniest light can be seen for miles.  Well, imagine the confusion when, all of a sudden, you see your encampment surrounded by torch lights from presumably a great army and you hear shouting and sounding Shofars all around!  What do you do?  YOU PANIC, that's what!Yep.  That's exactly what they did!  They started killing each other in their confusion or fleeing in terror, leaving everything they owned behind.

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VICTORY!

Judges 7:22-25
"When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.
²³ And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites.
²⁴ Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.” Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan. ²⁵ And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.

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Wow!  It was a complete rout!  Not only that, but they captured the two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb, killed them and brought their heads to the OTHER SIDE OF THE JORDAN."
More Secrets In The Hebrew Language.

 

The name, "Midian," means "Strife."  Oreb and Zeeb are also very telling.  "Oreb," comes from the root word that means "evening: Erev."  The other name, "Zeeb," means "wolf."  What do wolves go after?  SHEEP!
In the last days (the "evening").....like NOW.....there will be ravening wolves that go around looking to devour the sheep of God's pasture:  The Church."
But our "300," few by comparison to the number of "Midianites," will shout and lift up the Name that is above EVERY name:  JESUS!  She will be completely victorious over the enemies that have sought to steal, kill and destroy.

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So Church, earthen vessel of the Light of God, let your light...no matter how dim...shine through the darkness of this fallen world.  Sound the Shofar! The enemy has to flee when he hears it! Righteousness will again rule our land if we will follow Jesus, the Greater Gideon.

The Battle belongs to the LORD, just like in the story of Gideon's 300!

No Longer Disciples: SONS AND DAUGHTERS

Luke 14:26-27

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."

According to Jewish tradition, a rabbi is "a teacher of the Torah."  The word rabbi is derived from the Hebrew word "rabi" (רבי) which is the way a student would address a master of Torah.  The word master (רב):rav, literally means "great one."

Jesus was most often addressed as "Rabbi" (Teacher) by the religious leaders, leading citizens and people of His day and His followers were called "disciples."  

Back then there were many different "teachers or rabbis," each with their various followers who were called "disciples: students."

As Christians, you've heard it said time and again that you are to "go into all the world and make disciples," I'm sure. All through your growing-up years, you heard about discipleship, the cost of discipleship, about denying your father, dwhying mother, your, brother and that you must "take up YOUR CROSS and follow Jesus;" and, don't forget: "Put Jesus first!!"  Then a scripture like the one above is referenced, right?

Of course, ABSOLUTELY:  WE MUST PUT JESUS FIRST!  Now, I understand the what we all mean when say, "Go into the world and spread the gospel to every nation and make disciples."  Nothing wrong with saying that; but let's remember who and what we really are.

When you accepted Jesus, you already did ALL the above.  You already denied everyone to follow Him.  You already died at the cross with Him.  You are not like someone who needs to "take up your cross" as if you are on the way TO death: YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD!  And dead is dead.

Rabbis And Disciples.
Let's take a closer look at the word "disciple."  Whether singular or plural, "disciple" appears 200 times in the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. 

In the very last chapter of John, it is used a total of 10 times!  

In stark contrast, in the entire book of Acts, it is used only 30 times. The very last time it appears is here in Acts 21:16:
"There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an OLD DISCIPLE, with whom we should lodge."

Notice that in this last appearance of the word it says "OLD disciple."  Would you care to guess how many times the word appears in the rest of the New Testament? 

ZERO. Why?

Because the days of "rabbi" and "disciple" are OVER!
What??? 

Yep. Let me explain.   

First of all, understand, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG with using the word or calling ourselves "disciples." I understand the reasoning.  But if you really want to foster grace-New-Covenant-sonship mentality, perhaps it's wiser to stick to scriptural guidelines. After all, Abba writes EVERYTHING in our Manufacturer's Handbook with only our greatest welfare in mind. That being said, let each of us walk before Him as he or she is lead.

The word "disciple" in Greek simply means "learner or pupil."  While it is true that we never want to stop learning, the word "disciple" implies there is a "rabbi."

You see, in Jesus' day, and even in modern-day Israel, there are "disciples" of various "rabbis." You can even tell who their mentor is by their clothing, their mannerisms and the teachings of each particular disciple because they don't merely listen to their mentor, THEY INTERNALIZE THE CHARACTER, MANNERISMS, EVEN THE DRESS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE RABBI.  That's why, when Jesus came, they called him "Rabbi" or teacher; same thing.

 

   

Son's And Daughters.

After He rose from the dead He said, "I go to your Father and My Father; your God and my God," meaning "WE are now all in the family of God."  We are no longer disciples, like the Jewish people were. There is a clear distinction between that model and our
dispensation.  We are now identified as as "sons and daughters of God."

  

Paul and the other writers of the New Testament call us either "sons of God" or "servants."  The Greek word used here is "doulos" which means "glorious servant." Only a son can be a "glorious servant;" like Jesus.

Think of it this way:  If, say, Prince William were to walk into a room as a lady tripped and fell, instead of waiting for an usher to come and help, he stooped down to help her to her feet. Since He doesn't have to bow down and serve but chooses to, there is "glory" in his action because he's a prince.  An usher, on the other hand, would be expected to help, and would not be accorded any special honor.

That's why we do not call God "Jehovah"...although He is...or "Almighty God"...although He most certainly is.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  There is a place for those titles, but "Abba:Father" is His FAVORITE NAME because we are no longer merely friends of God or disciples of our teacher:

WE ARE FAMILY!

That is why, Church, you are no longer merely disciples:  

YOU ARE SONS AND DAUGHTERS!