For the eighth year in a row, the Midianites along with their Amalekite and other eastern colleagues came on their annual invasion to loot and destroy the land of Israel. This time they came up northward from beyond the Jordan River, crossing the river around Succoth and proceeding into the eastern end of the Esdraelon Valley where they set up camp in the Jezreel section of the valley, Judges 6:33. (See Judges by John Garstang, page 322) In response to this invasion, "The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet," Judges 6:34. This statement literally means the Holy Spirit "clothed or took possession of him." Here is the key to his success. It was by God's power that he became "a mighty warrior" as he is called in Judges 6:12. (It is highly encouraging to remember at this point that this same Holy Spirit indwells every believer at the point of faith, I Cor. 3:16.)

In the power of God's Spirit, Gideon blew a trumpet summoning the people to battle. Judges 7.12 says, "The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the. valley like -grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude." Yet, Gideon had faith to blow a trumpet and call the highly unprepared and outnumbered people of God together against this formidable host.

b. The men of Abi-ezer responded immediately, Judges 6:34. Remember that Abi-ezer was Gideon's hometown. He was one of these, Judges 6:1 . It was here that he had played havoc with Baal worship: destroying Baal's altar, killing the sacred bull, using the grove for firewood, and setting up a true altar to God. In Verse 30 those men were ready to kill Gideon. Now, they're the first to rally to his command. Courage, boldness, and decisiveness in righteousness changes attitudes and rallies hearts. People are not attracted to follow weaklings Who are fearful and unwilling to take a bold and clear cut stand. They're looking for someone who knows what he is doing and is not afraid to do it. My, what electricity that approach generates! How we need more men of this caliber today!

Gideon sent messengers to his kin's people, the tribe of Manasseh. They came to his side. Then Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali were notified, and they came, Judges 6:3 All total, the number was 32,000, still extremely small when compared to the invading host with their countless camels. Consider Judges 7:3 & 12 for the numbers.

c. With 32,000 men at his side, the weakness of Gideon's faith shows up. He asks God for a sign, Judges 6:36-40. Though this has often been cited as Biblical basis by many modern believers who seek a sign, those who do so scorn themselves in the process. The seeking of a sign by Gideon was a display of weakness, not strength. In Jesus' day, "Certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees" said, "Master, we would see a sign fro thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil an adulterous generation seeketh after a sign," Matt. 12:38-39. The apostle Paul expressed both the scorn of God and the proper approach when he said, "The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified," I Cor. 1:22-23. God had already made His will clear to Gideon. To seek a sign was a sign of unbelief and weakness of faith, as is the case today.

Furthermore, to the discomfort of modern sign seekers, Gideon was using the fleece as a sign confirming God's will, not to discover it. He already knew what God's will was. God said so in Judges 6:1 . Gideon is seeking further reinforcement of God's already evident will. He is seeking strength for his weak faith. Most who seek signs today are seeking to discover God's will, not confirm it. Even if they do seek to confirm and not discover it, they testify before all of their weakness in faith.

Gideon first asked God to wet a fleece of lamb's wool overnight with dew while keeping the ground around it dry, Verses 37-38. This God did and Gideon squeezed "a bowl full of water" out of it the next morning. Realizing that the wool would naturally attract water more so than a rock floor, Gideon asked that on the second night, the fleece be dry and the ground around it be wet. Sure enough, it happened as requested, Verses 39-40. From Verse 39 it is obvious that Gideon realized he was treading on the patience of God by making such a request.

3. Gideon's selection of his troops--Judges 7:1-8:

a. Armed with the assurance of God that victory was his, Gideon moved the 32,000 soldiers with him to a location near Herod's Well, which is very near the northern foot of Mount Gilboa. The Midianite invaders were camped only about four miles away to their north, just north of the hill of Moreh, Judges 7.1.

Lest the 32,000 men of Israel later credit the victory to their size and military strength, God determined to reduce the size of Gideon's army, Verse 2. He did it by two means which shed light on the type of soldiers God wants in His service.

b. First, God eliminated all the fearful soldiers, Verse 3. Once and again in the Old Testament God emphasizes the fact that mere numbers themselves are no guarantee of victory and success. It is the presence of the Lord that insures success, and He is able to work through many or few: a large well-trained and equipped army or a handful of dedicated men. God was making sure the glory of this victory came to Him; not men. David cried out, "Not unto us, Oh Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and thy truth's sake," Psalm 115:1.

Furthermore, God had warned in Deut. 20:8 that fearful, fainthearted men in battle can demoralize and dishearten other soldiers. My, how common that is in God's service! One or two fearful, faithless church members can dishearten and cast a negative spell on a whole church. By telling all the fearful to leave, Gideon eliminated 22,000 of his men. He was left with only 10,000. He was now outnumbered more than thirteen to one according to Paul Enns (Judges, page 67).

c. Second, God eliminated all the careless soldiers, Verses 5-6.

All of those who lapped water like a dog were to be separated from those who bowed down on their knees to drink. From Verse 6 those who lapped water like a dog, got water in their hands and brought it up to their mouths to drink thus insuring a good alertness and view as they drank. Those who bowed their heads to the water temporarily were off guard being both in a vulnerable and awkward military position and their vision of their surrounding areas being temporarily lost. God wants alert soldiers. The apostle Peter cautions, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, I Pet. 5:8. In God's army, it is not enough to just be courageous; one must also be careful.

In Gideon's case, 300 of his men put defense and safety ahead of their personal ease in getting water to drink. The remaining 9,700 were sent back.

4. God's strengthening of Gideon's still weak faith: Judges 7:9 -15

a. God knows the heart and He knew where Gideon was: still a little uneasy and doubtful. So He sent him into the camp of the invading host by night. The fearfulness of Gideon is seen in Verses 9-11. God told him to go; but if he was fearful, he could take his servant Prurah. Gideon took Prurah.

The invading force was confident, but not over confident. They had sentries on guard. As Gideon and Prurah infiltrated the camp, they heard two sentries talking. One told his dream to the other. He said he dreamed of seeing a cake of barley bread (Gideon had been harvesting barley) tumble into the host of Midian, knocking down a tent. These invaders were nomads and were symbolized by their tent dwellings. The other sentry recognized immediately that this was a prophecy of Gideon's victory. Gideon also recognized that, and immediately worshipped God. He then returned to his camp to tell his 300 soldiers of the assured victory, Verse 15.

5. Gideon's victory in the face of tremendous odds: Judges 2:16-25

a. Gideon and his men were now outnumbered over 450 to one. Victory seemed utterly impossible. Yet, with God nothing is impossible, Matt. 19:26. If God is for us, nobody can successfully stand against us, Rom. 8:31.

b. Gideon divided the 300 men into three equal companies. Each man was given a trumpet and an empty earthen pitcher in which a torch was placed. Each soldier was instructed to follow the example of his leader Gideon. Again the great lessons of teamwork and following leadership are seen, Verse 17. (Probably ample trumpets, pitchers, and torches were secured from the other soldiers before they departed.)

c. The three companies of Israeli soldiers, in the darkness, literally surrounded the Midianite camp. The pitchers concealed their torches until they were in place. Once in place and at the signal from Gideon, they broke their earthen vessels or pitchers, and blew their trumpets (shopar horns) shouting: "The sword of the Lord. and of Gideon."

It was a surprise attack, and the invading host thinking itself surrounded by a much larger force was panic stricken. Terror reigned supreme. The Midianites began to kill one another in the darkness as they fled eastward toward the Jordan River fords when they had entered the land. Gideon, sensing what they'd do, summoned reserve soldiers from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh. These fresh soldiers came in hot pursuit. As the Midianites continued to flee, Gideon summoned men from Ephraim to guard the fords, and not let the Midianites pass over. The Ephraimites captured and killed the two major Midianite leaders, Oreb ("raven") and Zeeb ("wolf") whose heads were brought to Gideon as trophies of victory, Verse 25.

A beautiful spiritual truth is buried in this great treasure-field of scripture. The torches speak of believers who are the light of the world. Jesus said it: "Ye are the light of the world," Matt. 5:14. But, as Paul wrote in II Cor. 4:7. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels'' The pitchers of Gideon and his men represent us. We're mortals: human instruments, old earthen vessels. The light of God is in us, but it can not shine until our old earthen vessels are broken. Yes, dear ones, the glory and light of God can not shine through you until old self is broken. It wasn't the earthen pitcher that gave light; it was the torch within the pitcher. It is not you that can light the world; it is God shining through you that can do it. God resisteth the proud, I Pet. 5:5. But, "A broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise," Psalm 51:17. Nobody has ever shown as a true spiritual light until the earthen vessel of self has been broken.

But once the pitcher is broken and the light is shining, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet," Isa. 58:1. Let it sound forth the praises and wisdom of our God: long, loud, and consistently. But, until the pitcher is broken and the light is shining, nobody will pay much attention to the trumpet. Effective testimonies are not established merely by What you say. What you do determines whether or not people will listen to what you say.

 

QUESTIONS ON BROKEN PITCHERS

1.    How was Gideon a picture of the average believer's faith?

2.    How many years had the eastern invaders succeeded in their strikes against Israel?

3.    In the year of Gideon's victory, where did the invaders enter the land and camp?

4.    What was the size of the invading force?

5.    When Gideon blew his trumpet, who responded first to his call?

6.    What does this first response say about courage, boldness, and decisiveness?

7.    From what tribe was Gideon?

8.    How many soldiers came to Gideon?

9.    How does the fleece request show the weakness of Gideon's faith?

10.    What is the prevailing attitude of God as seen in the Bible about sign seekers?

11.    If the fleece was not to learn the will of God, what was it for?

12.    How was the dry fleece on wet ground more impressive than the wet fleece on dry ground?

13.    Why did God want to reduce the size of Gideon's army?

14.    How many fearful soldiers were there in Gideon's army?

15.    Why are fearful soldiers particularly dangerous to any army?

16.    How did God eliminate careless soldiers from Gideon's army?

17.    How many soldiers did Gideon have once God was finished with eliminated men?

18.    How much was Gideon and his men outnumbered per man?

19.    Describe Gideon's battle plan.

20.    What is the message of the broken pitchers?