Gideon –
Reluctant Warrior
Lesson 44
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[The ever-timid Gideon
is now ready to lead 300 men into the
camp of the Midianites.]
“Dividing the
three hundred men into three
companies, he placed trumpets and
empty jars in the hands of all of
them, with torches inside.
‘Watch me, ‘he told them.
‘Follow the lead. When I get to
the edge of the camp, do exactly as I
do. When I and all who are with me
blow our trumpets, then from all
around the camp blow yours and shout,
“For the Lord and for
Gideon.”’
“Gideon and the
three hundred men with him reached
the edge of the camp at the beginning
of the middle watch [midnight], just
after they had changed the guard.
They blew their trumpets and broke
the jars that were in their hands.
The three companies blew the trumpets
and smashed the jars. Grasping the
torches in their left hands and
holding in their right hands the
trumpets they were to blow, they
shouted, ‘A sword for the Lord
and for Gideon!’
“While each man
held his position around the camp,
all the Midianites ran, crying out as
they fled. 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.’ 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.” (Judges 6:33
– 7:25)
End Time Parallels
There are a few end
time parallels in the story of Gideon
to consider. Here are four:
1.
The empowerment of Gideon and his
army parallels the 144,000.
First, God chose a
timid, self-depreciating man. Then,
God reduced Gideon’s army to a
mere 300 soldiers to eliminate any
possibility for Gideon or a nation of
Israel to claim victory over the
Midianites. Similar circumstances
will occur during the Great
Tribulation. Contrary to what many
people believe, God is not going to
use a religious denomination to
preach the gospel to the world.
Instead, He will handpick a few
thousand people like Gideon.
God’s 144,000 servants will not
be arrogant people, nor will they be
influential scholars or great
preachers. For the most part, they
will be ordinary people. The victory
they achieve will be the Lord’s
doing, not theirs! The ratio of
God’s servants to the population
of the world will be one per 50,000
people. God like impossible odds. God
will not share His glory with man.
God is above man. God is omnipotent
and He will show His strength through
human weakness. “But God chose
the foolish things of the world to
shame the wise; God chose the weak
things of the world to shame the
strong. He chose the lowly things of
this world and the despised things
– and the things that are not
– to nullify the things that
are, so that no one may boast before
him.” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)
2.
God’s wrath parallels the seven
trumpets and the seven bowls.
God’s punishment
of Israel (seven years of occupation
by the Midianites) was justified and
God’s destructive wrath toward
the Midianites was also justified!
God gives every nation a measure of
grace and a cup to measure iniquity.
Grace runs out when the cup overflows
with iniquity. When the majority of a
nation’s citizens conduct
themselves in a way that is offensive
to the “Lord of the Land, “
He moves into action. God’s
actions are redemptive at first. If
they fail to accomplish redemption,
God’s judgments eventually
become destructive. Historians may
disagree with me, but I believe war
is the handiwork of God. He uses one
nation to destroy another when the
offending nation fills its cup of
iniquity. Then, if necessary, God
destroys the destroyer if He deems it
appropriate. Nations rise and fall
– not by the prowess of man, but
by divine decree. (See Daniel 5.)
God’s wrath
against Israel and the Midianites
parallels the seven trumpets and the
seven bowls of Revelation,
respectively. The seven trumpets will
be seven first plagues that
have a generous measure of mercy
mixed in. The seven trumpet judgments
are redemptive judgments. This is why
the quantity of “one third”
is mentioned twelve times during the
seven trumpets. God spares
two-thirds! The seven bowls are the
seven last plagues. These judgments
have no mercy mixed in. God utterly
destroys Earth and everyone on Earth
(except the saints) by the time the
events of the seventh bowl conclude.
We see both types of judgments in the
book of Judges. Israel received
redemptive judgments and the
Midianites received destructive
judgments. (Eventually, Israel also
received a destructive judgment as
well.)
3.
The confusion and defeat of the
Midianites
Gideon and his army
shattered the stillness of the night.
Out of nowhere there came “a
large army” with lights and
trumpets. Generals in ancient times
customarily directed their armies by
the sound of “a “trumpet.
The emphasis here on the word
“a” is important. If there
were many trumpets, no one would know
which trumpet to follow. A soldier
would hear multiple trumpets when
various battalions converged on a
battle. When the Midianites awoke to
the sound of 300 trumpets, they had
one thought. We are out gunned and
vastly out numbered!” Their
resulting panic confirms this point.
When God’s
judgments (the seven trumpets) begin,
the world will be taken by complete
surprise. The world will awaken to a
new reality. The inhabitants of Earth
will realize there is a living God
and He is a deadly, formidable force.
The ensuing panic will confirm this.
To those people who have set their
face and lives against
God’s laws, this will come as a
complete surprise – like a sneak
attack. God is about to send panic
through the camp of His enemies.
Eventually, the wicked will be
destroyed and the saints of God will
at last have peace on Earth! The
occupation of His land will be over
and the saints will live happily ever
after.
4.
The trumpets and the lamps
In ancient times, wars
were not typically fought in
darkness. It was too risky. Warfare
was often hand-to-hand and close
proximity to the enemy was necessary.
In total darkness, it is impossible
to tell a friend from an enemy! When
Gideon’s army startled the
sleeping Midianites with shouting,
300 blazing lamps and 300 blaring
trumpets, the Midianites
instinctively knew they could not
survive the battle. The Lord filled
the hearts of Israel’s enemy
with overwhelming panic so that they
fled in fear. This scenario also
describes how the wicked will feel
when the Great Tribulation begins.
Fear will be everywhere. Anxiety will
be out of control. Jesus said there
would be distress that has no equal
since the beginning of the world!
(Matthew 24:21) Paul wrote, If we
deliberately keep on sinning after we
have received the knowledge of the
truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
but only a fearful expectation of
judgment and of raging fire that will
consume the enemies of God.”
(Hebrews 10:26,27) During the Great
Tribulation, wicked people will have
no rest, day or night (Revelation
14:11) because the Lord will fill
their hearts with fear and anxiety.
During the Great
Tribulation, god will send His
servants, the 144,000, to proclaim
the gospel of Jesus Christ to every
kindred, tongue and nation. People
who love the light illuminating the
truth will step forward into the
light and unite themselves with
God’s servants. The saints will
have peace in the middle of the
raging, chaotic storm. People who
love iniquity will run for cover of
darkness so their deeds will not be
seen in the light. In the darkness of
sin, Paul writes there is a fearful
expectation of judgment and raging
fire. God will ensure it for He wants
everyone to come to repentance. “The
Lord is not slow in keeping his
promises, as some understand
slowness. He is patient with you, not
wanting anyone to perish, but
everyone to come to repentance. But
the day of the Lord will come like a
thief. The heavens will disappear
with a roar; the elements will be
destroyed by fire, and the earth and
everything in it will be laid bare.
Since everything will be destroyed in
this way, what kind of people ought
you to be? You ought to live holy and
godly lives.” (2 Peter 3:9-11)
The Cycles continue
“Thus Midian was
subdued before the Israelites and did
not raise its head again. During
Gideon’s lifetime, the land
enjoyed peace forty years. Jerub-Baal
[Gideon] son of Joash went back home
to live. He had seventy sons of his
own, for he had many wives. His
concubine, who lived in Shechem, also
bore him a son, whom he named
Abimelech. Gideon son of Joash died
at a good old age and was buried in
the tomb of his father Joash in
Ophrah of the Abiezrites. No sooner
had Gideon died than the Israelites
again prostituted themselves to the
Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as
their god and did not remember the
Lord their God, who had rescued them
from the hands of all their enemies
on every side.” (Judges 8:28-34,
insertion mine) As far as I know,
Gideon holds the world record for
having the largest number of
children. (I do not know what
happened – he was timid
guy at first!) If Gideon had 70 sons
(and 70 daughters), his offspring
would number around 140 children! In
a way, Gideon’s heritage
parallels the ministry of the
144,000. Through the efforts of the
144,000, Abraham’s seed will
grow into a numberless multitude
during the Great Tribulation!
“…And there before me was a
great multitude that no one could
count, from every nation, tribe,
people and language, standing before
the throne and in front of the Lamb.
They were wearing white robes and
were holding palm branches in their
hands…. Then one of the elders
asked me, ‘These in white robes
– who are they, and where did
they come from?’ I answered,
‘ Sir, you know.’ And he
said, ‘these are they who have
come out of the great tribulation;
they have washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the
Lamb.’” (Revelation 7:9,
13,14)
Regrettably, this
story ends where it begins. When
Gideon died, the next generation
prostituted themselves to the Baals again.
If Israel’s history proves
anything, it proves how quickly and
how easily so may people be able to
turn away from obeying the Lord. We
would do well to take note of this
fact as we draw near to the Great Day
of the Lord! Remember, if we had been
there after Gideon’s died, some
of us may have followed the
rebellious majority.
Quiz:
1.
In your own words, what is the
difference between submission to the
Lord and rebellion against Him?
2.
Have you taken a look at your own
human nature and what do you see?
3.
Have you ever suffered because of
your faith in the Lord? Explain
one example!
4.
Can you see that the Seventh Day
Sabbath is still important in
God’s eye for His children that
live today?
5.
Have you ever tested the Lord too see
if He’s listening to your
prayers?
6.
What would you do if the Lord
personally spoke to you and asked to
do a work for Him?
7.
Do you now realize after studying the
story of Gideon, that if God is with
you, who can be against you and win?
Notes:
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