Judges 6:1–8:35

First of all, we are reminded that the unfaithfulness of God's people is what puts power into any enemy's hand. No might of Midian could have prevailed if the Lord had not permitted it. And He would not have permitted it if Israel's condition had not made it necessary. Those who will not learn in communion with God, must do so in the hands of the enemy. "Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God." (Jer. 2:19.)

The Midianites did not know that the LORD had delivered Israel into their hands. In reality they were only the rod with which it pleased Him to punish His people. As with the Assyrian (Isa. 10): "Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!" When He has finished with His rod, He can break it or burn it. "Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?" Satan himself is very often the rod used by God for the discipline of His children.

What a humiliating picture! What a reverse for the Israel of God! What a contrast to the conquering army that had crossed the Jordan and walked across the ruins of Jericho! How sad, how humbling, to think of Israel hiding in the dens and caves of the mountains, in terror of the Midianites!

Israel's power and glory consisted simply in having the presence of God with them. Without that, they were as water spilled on the ground… But they could not enjoy God's presence while they allowed evil among them. So when Israel forgot their Lord and wandered away from Him into the forbidden paths of idolatry, He had to bring them to their senses by stretching out His governmental rod.

Midian was a near relative of Israel. He descended from Abraham through Keturah, his second wife, and again and again the Midianites cross paths with the chosen people. In the wilderness the LORD spoke to Moses — who had married Zipporah, daughter of the priest of Midian — and said, "Harass the Midianites and strike them down, for they have harassed you with their wiles." (Num. 25:16-18; Num. 31:1-12.) But now they are in the land itself, though they had never followed the ark across the Jordan… How solemn the warning!

Midian stands for the world, as its history has shown it. The name matches this: it means "strife." "The corruption that is in the world" is "because of sinful desire" (2 Peter 1:4). And "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?" (James 4:1.)… These Midianites were Arab raiders. They wandered and plundered, devouring like locusts what they had no will to produce, as the story here shows. This is what the world is when the professing church lets it in: it has no shared interest with the church, but the reverse, and the effect is simply desolation.

Under Jabin, Israel had no weapons (Judges 5:8). Under the yoke of Midian he was starving. This is what our unfaithfulness costs us, and we always suffer it when we seek our portion with the world. It drags us down and takes away our weapons. Our strength leaves us, and we lose every means of resisting… We notice it by the barrenness that invades the soul when, in our folly, we leave the rich food of the house of God for harvests that are only a mirage of the desert.

Israel's power and glory consisted simply in having the presence of God with them. Without that, they were like water spilled on the ground, like the autumn leaf before the wind. But they could not enjoy God's presence while they allowed evil among them. So when Israel forgot their Lord and wandered into the forbidden paths of idolatry, He had to bring them back to their senses. He stretched out His governmental rod and made them feel the crushing power of one or another of the nations around them.

This was not because the Midianites were more powerful than the children of Israel. When God was among them and fighting for them, the size of the enemy did not matter. The battle was already decided... The reason for their condition was their own unfaithfulness. They disobeyed God's plain, clear word: have nothing to do with idolatry, and give Him the place in your affections.

What a humiliating picture! What a contrast to the conquering army that had crossed the Jordan and walked across the ruins of Jericho! How sad to think of Israel crouching and hiding in the dens and caves of the mountains, in terror of the pagan Midianites!

They had never sunk so low. To live like wanderers and fugitives in the land of God, in their own land, was a burning disgrace to Israel... Gideon felt this, and he felt it all the more because he knew their slavery under Midian was the Lord's doing. Israel's moral state left Him no choice but to reduce His people to such a shameful condition. What must God have felt, to deal so with those He loved!

In short, they hid themselves in the earth. God had set them in that land to be a witness for Himself. If they had walked in His ways, their light would have kept shining, and other nations would have learnt how good it was to have Israel's God. But they were no witness for God while they hid in the dens and caves of the earth. It is the same today. God's people whose souls are under the power of earthly things shine no light for Him. Their light is hidden instead of set on the lampstand for all to see.

Midian means "strife," a fitting name for that spirit of the world which brings the strife of desires into the soul... Look at that happy young Christian: the things of God are his delight, and fellowship with the people of God his only pleasure. But he wanders in heart, and the world finds an entrance. It will not take some blatantly immoral form. He indulges some "harmless pleasure" or forms some "agreeable companionship". Mark the results. Strife with divine things follows.

The food set before the saints is strife and sorrow and backbiting and misrepresentation and cruelties of different kinds. No one can grow spiritually on this food. This was the condition Israel was in. There was no family life, the business life of the nation broke down, and food supply ran very low. In that condition the people were very distressed. It is a very good thing when people do get distressed and cry aloud to God.

Their enemies ruled over them for a complete period, because they had rebelled against the rule of God. So God teaches them, in the land of blessing and privilege, the contrast between His rule and the rule of man. We are always ruled by someone or something. If not by God, then by that power which is hostile to God and His people. We are often brought under that power so that we may learn how much better God's rule is. Under Him our passions are controlled; under the other our very nature is worn out and harassed. This is a discipline that all God's people can come under.

Those were very dark days in Israel. The land was suffering badly because of the evil of God's people. They sowed their grain, but reaped no harvest. The Midianites came up at harvest time with their cattle and tents, as many as grasshoppers, and destroyed the produce of the land.

One of the ancient peoples who held the land promised to Abraham, Genesis 15:19. Probably the same as bene-Kedem, "children of the east." Judges 6:3.

"And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel." Nothing could have prevailed against them, had they been faithful to the Lord.

The name Midian means "strife" or "contention"… How often we have seen normal conditions in assembly life disrupted among the people of God because of strife and contention. People seek their own way. Strong-willed people make demands about things that ought never to be considered among the people of God… There is very little worship of the Father and the Son. There is very little testimony to the Lord or to the unconverted. And there is precious little food supply.

When crops had been sown, the Midianites would come. Amalekites and others from the east came with them, destroying the produce of the earth (vv. 3-4). Amalek speaks of the lusts of the flesh, which we may always expect to accompany an attitude of strife (Midian). The result of such an attack will also always be to destroy all spiritual growth and prosperity.

Now the things of earth are not necessarily bad and grossly sinful. They are things which may be right and proper when kept in their right place, and they may include God's temporal mercies to us. But if they become our object in life they crowd out the things of Christ and heaven. As a result the sunshine leaves the life, the song leaves the lips, and soul prosperity is at an end.

Midian devours or destroys all the fruits of the earth. Canaan was famous, as parts of it still are today, for its wonderful fertility. God could call it "the glory of all lands," and He promised them they should eat their bread without scarcity. How many of the Lord's people have to complain of their leanness. They find so little food, the Bible is a closed book to them, their souls are suffering a famine. The world has devoured the food. You cannot enjoy the world and enjoy Christ. It is impossible.

How often had their fathers sown for others to reap! How often had the enemy invaded the land and carried off the produce of the soil! (Judges 6:3, 11.) Their affairs will prosper. God's blessing will be known in their families… "The Lord will bless you out of Zion. May you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. May you see your children's children, and peace upon Israel."

"And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel." Nothing could have prevailed against them, had they been faithful to the Lord.

But now they are in the land itself, though they had never followed the ark across the Jordan; "and Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites." How solemn the warning!

These Midianites — some think "Midian" is really connected with the modern word "Bedouin" — were Arab raiders, wandering pillagers, devouring like locusts what they had no will to produce, as the story here shows. This is what the world is when it is let into the professing church: it has no shared interest with it, but the opposite; the effect is simply desolation.

Notice, too, the connection with the Philistines, whose name we have seen means "wanderers"… "As far as Gaza" is no mere geographical limit. "In those days, as in later times, Gaza was the great market for stolen goods, brought there by the Bedouins from their raids." It would be natural for Philistines to join Israel's enemies.

The name Midian means 'strife' or 'contention'… How often we have seen strife and contention disrupt normal life among God's people, with people seeking their own way… There is very little worship of the Father and the Son, very little testimony to the Lord or to the unconverted, and precious little food supply. What the saints are asked to feed on is strife and sorrow and backbiting and misrepresentation and cruelties of different kinds. No spiritual growth is possible on this food.

Under the yoke of Midian, Israel went hungry — the result of our unfaithfulness, which we always suffer from when we seek our portion with the world. It drags us down and takes away our weapons. Our strength leaves us, and we lose every means of standing firm. Even the sources of life are missing, for the world never feeds anyone. We see it in the barrenness that invades the soul. In our folly we leave the richness of the house of God for harvests that are only a mirage of the desert. This was Israel's experience; Midian "left no sustenance" for him (v. 4).

Canaan was known for its wonderful fertility, as parts of it still are today. God could call it "the most glorious of all lands," and He promised them they would eat their bread without scarcity. How many of the Lord's people have to complain of their leanness! They find so little food, the Bible is a closed book to them, their souls are suffering a famine. The world has devoured the food. You cannot enjoy the world and enjoy Christ. It is impossible.

The people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD… First, the Lord sent a prophet to bring their sin home to their conscience, and then He sent an angel to raise up a deliverer. He finds Gideon threshing wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

Midian was a close relative of Israel, descended from Abraham through Keturah, his second wife. Again and again they come into contact with the chosen people. In the wilderness the Lord spoke to Moses. Moses had married Zipporah, daughter of the priest of Midian. The Lord said, "Harass the Midianites and strike them down, for they have harassed you with their wiles." (Num. 25:16-18; Num. 31:1-12.) But now they are in the land itself, though they had never followed the ark across the Jordan. "And Israel was brought very low because of Midian." How solemn the warning!

The name Midian means "strife" or "contention." How often we have seen normal conditions among God's people disrupted by strife and contention. People seek their own way. Strong-willed people make demands about things that ought never to be considered among God's people. There are personal or family animosities, parties forming, and strife among the saints of God. There is very little worship of the Father and the Son, very little testimony to the Lord or to the unconverted, and certainly precious little food supply.

"And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel." Nothing could have prevailed against them, had they been faithful to the Lord.

Scripture describes the oppression in great detail. This helps us see clearly who these Midianites are spiritually. For fear of them the children of Israel are driven to dig dens and caves for shelter. They settled down on the land. With them came the Amalekites and a mixed crowd of eastern tribes. Like a plague of locusts, they destroyed all food and provision. Unlike the Moabites, they did not settle on the borders of the land at Jericho. They swept like a destructive plague over the whole territory, "as far as Gaza," the stronghold of the Philistines.

These Midianites were Arab raiders and wandering plunderers. Some think the name "Midian" is really connected with the modern word "Bedouin." Like locusts, they devoured what they had no will to produce, as the story here shows. This is what the world is when it is let into the professing church. It has no shared interest there, but the opposite. The effect is simply desolation.

There is an energy in these hordes that marks an enemy constantly on the move. He is always looking for new points of attack. We hardly need reminding how active Satan is to bring people under the power of the world. Before we know it, some small opening has made a way, and the enemy has come in like a flood. Let us not think of the spirit of worldliness as something slow-moving. It is cunning and active, and its name is legion.

Oh, it is pitiful! This is the sad case of thousands of once-flourishing Christians. They have been overcome not by gross sinfulness, nor even by worldliness, but by the "things of earth"! "The family, the business, the things of this life must be attended to," they say. So they neglect the things of Christ, which are their true and proper portion as God's people. Note carefully the threefold result: (1) No fruit for God. (2) No light for others. (3) No provision for themselves.

The sin of the church has brought it into desolation. Yet little real cry has gone up to the Lord; and why? We are not aware of how far we have departed from our original standing. We have gained so much of the world's dignity, influence and riches! These things, though they do not hide us from God or from Satan, are hiding our real poverty from ourselves. If we only knew our destitution, if we only cried to the Lord, He would deliver and raise up, "when He sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free." Whether for Israel, for one person, or for the church, the lesson to be learned is the same: its own poverty and destitution. No matter how poor we are, if we are aware of our poverty; for there is all fullness in Christ.

When Israel finally cried out to the LORD (v. 7), they cried simply because of their misery. So the Lord did not relieve them at once. He sent a prophet to press on Israel that their own guilt was responsible for these troubles.

Notice the twofold process of the Lord. He sends first a prophet, then an angel. The prophet brings their sin home to their conscience. The angel raises up a deliverer. He loves to rescue His people from the wretched consequences of their failure, but He will have the evil owned first.

The people suffer bitter oppression, and they cry to God. But instead of sending relief at once, He deepens in their souls the sense of the evil of their course. Our first thought is to escape the consequences of our folly and disobedience. God wants us to judge fully what led us into it. His patience and His pity combine in divine proportions, so that we may get the profit of the lesson. Let us not rush to pull His people out of an awkward position. Let us first see that they have been to the bottom of the matter with God.

God answered their cry by working a fresh revival, in which He sought to probe the conscience of this poor people more deeply than in the past. "The LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel." His name is not given, and it does not matter. This man simply carried the word of God, to bring the people into His presence. God has a means by which to bless us: His word, which meets every requirement and ought to be quite enough for us.

God had been faithful to Israel, but Israel had not been faithful to God. This was the point of the prophet's testimony. He always proves His own conduct right: "If we are faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself." If we walked as He wants us to walk, nothing could prevail against us — not the world, not the flesh, not the devil. Whenever we find ourselves under the power of our enemies, we must be sure to charge the fault on ourselves, and not on God.

Not a word about how they might be delivered; He did not yet open the way for their return to Him. The prophet disappeared, leaving them under the weight of their responsibility in the presence of grace. God had carried them in His arms and on His heart; He had fought for them. "Have I failed you in any way?" He asks. "But what have you done?" This silence would touch their conscience far more than any reproach. They were impressed, if not convicted. But the word of grace did not yet give the unfaithful people what they needed, and Israel remained powerless before the enemy.

When Israel at last cried out to the Lord (v. 7), they cried only because of their misery. So the Lord did not relieve them at once. He sent a prophet to press home to Israel that their own guilt was to blame for these troubles.

Notice the Lord's twofold way of working. He sends first a prophet, then an angel. The prophet brings their sin home to their conscience; the angel raises up a deliverer. He loves to rescue His people from the miserable results of their failure, but He will have the evil owned first.

So a prophet does not only mean someone who can predict future events. The messenger of God who rebuked Israel in the days of Gideon (Judges 6:8) was a prophet.

They could not have been poorer than they were. But when they felt that poverty and cried to the Lord in their distress, He met them — and He met them as the God of deliverances. He carried their thoughts back to what He had done for them in the past. He had brought them out of their captivity by a great deliverance... and had planted them in a rich inheritance, driving out all their enemies before them. He wanted them to know that He was the same God He had always been. They had changed, but He remained the everlasting God, whose strength cannot fade or fail.

The fact is that redemption, even when it is only a picture of the greater redemption to come, is a stronger motive to obedience than creation itself... If the aim of all this part of Deuteronomy is to press obedience, then nothing keeps obedience alive like redemption. And if that was true when the deliverance was only an outward one, how much more when it is eternal?

He first shows them their sin, as He did when they could not take the city of Ai. That is where the secret of their poverty comes to light. "You are crying to me now," He says in effect, "because you feel how poor you are. But the real cause of your poverty is this — you have sinned against me." They had no one to blame but themselves.

God had been faithful to Israel, but Israel had not been faithful to God. This was the point of the prophet's testimony... Whenever we find ourselves under the power of our enemies, we must be careful to lay the blame on ourselves, and not on God.

Mark the twofold process of the Lord. He sends first a prophet, then an angel; the one to bring their sin home to their conscience, the other to raise up a deliverer. He loves to rescue His people from the wretched consequences of their failure, but He will have the evil owned first.

What holy wisdom we have here. The people are bitterly oppressed, and they cry to God, but instead of sending relief at once, He deepens in their souls the sense of the evil of their course. Our first thought is to get out of the consequences of our folly and disobedience: God's desire is that we should thoroughly judge what led us into it. His patience and His pity combine in divine proportions, so that we may get the profit of the lesson. Let us not be too eager to deliver His people from an awkward position, but rather to see that they have been to the bottom of the matter with God.

He first of all shows them their sin, as He did when they could not take Ai. There the secret of their impoverishment is found out. He in effect says: "You are crying to Me now because you feel your impoverishment. But the real cause of your impoverishment is this — you have sinned against Me." They had none to blame but themselves.

God is a faithful God and He sends a nameless prophet, and he tells the people the reason why they are in this condition. As we have said in previous lectures, this was not because the Midianites were more powerful than Israel. When Israel had God among them, and God fighting for them, it did not matter how great the enemy was. The battle was a foregone conclusion. God was with His people helping them.

God had been faithful to Israel, but Israel had not been faithful to God. This was the point of the prophet's testimony. He always vindicates His own conduct: "if we are faithless, He remains faithful — for He cannot deny Himself." If we were walking as He would have us, neither the world, nor the flesh, nor the devil could prevail against us. Whenever we find ourselves under the power of our enemies, we must be sure to charge the fault on ourselves, and not on God.

He goes back, as He always does, to the redemption from Egypt — the pledge and the power for all other deliverances — and recalls to them what He had done. He had brought them into this land, had driven the enemy out of it, and told His people not to fear the false gods that the Amorites had served. How simple all this was. How impossible, we might say, ever to fear the powers of evil which had been overthrown. Yet they — and are they alone? — had not obeyed His voice.

As He had done many times before, He reminded them through the prophet that He had brought Israel up from Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He brought them to their present land and drove out their enemies before them. The amazing wonder of all this had failed to impress Israel enough to make them cling firmly to the Lord... How little effect God's Word had in their hearts: they did not obey His voice. This message should certainly have brought them down in repentant confession of their guilt, and it may have been so in some measure, for it was this that God was seeking.

In a way full of grace, God applied His word to the conscience of the Israelites. He told them all that He had done for them. He led them out, gave them deliverance and victory, and brought them in. Then, having spread out all His goodness before them, He adds one word: "But you have not obeyed My voice." He said nothing about how He would deliver them. He did not yet open the way for their return to Him. The prophet disappeared. He left them under the weight of their responsibility, in the presence of grace... "Have I failed you in any way," He says, "but what have you done?" This silence would touch their conscience far more than any reproach could.

He goes back, as He always does, to the redemption from Egypt. That rescue is the pledge and the power for every other deliverance. He reminds them of what He had done. He had brought them into this land and driven the enemy out of it. He told His people not to fear the false gods that the Amorites had served. How simple all this was. How impossible, we might say, ever to fear powers of evil that God had already overthrown. Yet they — and are they the only ones? — had not obeyed His voice.

The deliverer has not yet come on the scene. First the Lord answers that cry. Through the mouth of a prophet He shows the people how they had departed from Him. The first great dealing of the Lord with the soul is to show it its failure and its abandonment of Him. The word of God pierces to the division of soul and of spirit, and discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Its great work is to reveal to the soul its own condition. In the earlier age, the prophets did what the word does now.

The reason for their condition was their own unfaithfulness. They had disobeyed God's plain and clear word: have nothing to do with idolatry, and keep Him enshrined in their affections. The last word of John's first letter is, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." That is not a negative statement. It is a very positive one. It simply means, "I want the affections of My people for Myself; I do not want interference from any other source."

God had been faithful to Israel, but Israel had not been faithful to God. That was the point of the prophet's testimony. He always vindicates His own conduct. "If we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself." If we walked as He would have us walk, the world, the flesh and the devil could not prevail against us. Whenever we find ourselves under the power of our enemies, we must charge the fault to ourselves, not to God... Nothing can weaken our hands but sin; "he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

But notice the solemn words at the end of verse 10: "But you have not obeyed my voice." Here lies the secret of the poverty and distress that had overwhelmed Israel, and here lies the secret of every difficulty and defeat, of all lack of spiritual prosperity and power. If we have to mourn today the poverty of the church generally, or the lack of freshness and blessing in our own souls, we may trace that condition back to disobedience to the Word of God.

First, the Lord sent a prophet to bring their sin home to their conscience. Then He sent an angel to raise up a deliverer. And He finds Gideon threshing wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

Joshua could place his foot on the necks of the kings of Canaan. Gideon had to thresh his wheat in a corner to hide it from the Midianites. The day of Joshua was marked by splendid victories; the day of Gideon was a day of small things. But the day of small things for man is the day of great things for God. So Gideon found it... His was a day of barley cakes and broken pitchers, not of astounding miracles and brilliant achievements. But God was with him; and this was enough.

The angel of the Lord, who is the Lord Himself, came to the home of Gideon the son of Joash. He sat down and appeared to Gideon as he was threshing wheat by the winepress. There he could stay hidden from the Midianites (v.11). Gideon's threshing wheat is a picture of one studying the Word of God, separating the chaff of one's own ideas from the pure seed of the truth of God.

We may name this first qualification — feeding on Christ in secret. Wheat is surely a figure of Christ (see John 12:24; John 6:35). It was a time of great difficulty. Idols had taken the place of the Lord. So those who stayed faithful while everything fell apart could only worship the Lord alone and in private. It was the same with Gideon. Baal had an altar in his father's house. But this "mighty man of valor" threshed wheat alone to find food, despite the watchful eye of the Midianites. Alone in his family, and alone in threshing wheat, he gathered strength from communion with the Lord.

The winepress reminds us of the blood of the grape, and of His blood which cleanses from all sin. It may well then suggest the cross, the winepress for Him. And the cross is a real shelter and hiding place for faith from all the power of the world. We take our place by the cross, and no Midianite dare dispute our position.

His father was Joash, the son of Abiezer — "despairing," the son of "my father is help." The one who despairs of any other help, and knows his own weakness, will turn to the Father. In Him alone our help is found.

Nothing could have been more wretched than Gideon's condition here. He was threshing wheat in secret, for fear of the Midianites, to feed his family! But here is one whom the Spirit of God delights to mention; whose name, unrecorded by men, is thought worthy to be recorded by Him (Hebrews 11:32-34). The Spirit of God writes to magnify the grace of God, not to exalt man. He would have us remember small incidents like this one in the history of the soldiers of faith. Then we may see by what weak and insignificant instruments God works. His mightiest victories have always been won by such, and not by those who had resources in themselves.

An angel of the LORD (Jehovah) appeared to Gideon. He was a young man threshing wheat by the winepress, hiding it from the raiding Midianites. The Angel of the LORD, Jehovah Himself, astonished the young man by saying, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valour." At once He commissioned him to be the deliverer of Israel from the yoke of Midian.

Joshua could put his foot on the necks of the kings of Canaan. Gideon had to thresh his wheat in a corner to hide it from the Midianites. The day of Joshua was marked by splendid victories; the day of Gideon was a day of small things. But the day of small things for man is the day of great things for God. So Gideon found it... His was a day of barley cakes and broken pitchers, not of astonishing miracles and brilliant achievements. But God was with him; and this was enough.

At first sight he might seem like anything but a man of valour. He is in hiding. A man of valour would be facing the enemy, leading the people against them, and driving them from the land. But God does not see as man sees. He sees the valour in that determination to get the wheat at any cost. He knows the purposes of heart that are forming, even if Gideon himself does not know it. And He sees that it is all bound up with that lowly work of beating out the wheat.

What a remarkable greeting! Secretly threshing wheat to hide it from the enemy did not look like valour! To the human eye everything about him showed a crushed spirit. But God's "mighty men" have always been complete cowards in themselves, men who distrusted their own strength and wisdom in facing the enemy — "out of weakness made strong." Nobody is a "mighty man of valour" except those to whom it has been said, "The Lord is with you." When God calls a person by a name, He makes that person what the name means; but He takes the lowest man of a lowly tribe to make him His "mighty man of valour."

"You mighty man of valour!" How hard it was for Gideon to take such astonishing words in! How difficult to apply them to himself! Where was the might, or where was the valour? Certainly not in himself or in his surroundings. Where then? In the living God; exactly where Joshua found his might and his valour.

Gideon's family might be the poorest in Manasseh, and he himself the least in his father's house. But what did Gideon's poverty or his weakness matter, if the Lord, who is rich and mighty, was for him and with him?

Gideon said to him, "Oh my Lord, if Jehovah is with us" — that is where he takes his stand. He says "if Jehovah is with us", not just "with me". He ties the people to the name of Jehovah, not just to himself. That is always the mark of true faith and love.

And yet Gideon was slow to make these words his own — slow to grasp them with that lovely appropriating power of faith which so delights the heart of God... We are prone to reason about ourselves and our situation, instead of believing God. We fail to rest quietly in His perfect love and unfailing faithfulness.

Here Gideon reasons from his surroundings. That is where the "if" comes from — that little word of unbelief. His surroundings were of the gloomiest kind. But one bright ray shone in on his depressed spirit. It came from the very heart of God, carried in one short but complete sentence: "The LORD is with you." There was no "if" in this — no doubt, no difficulty, no reserve, no condition. It needed only one thing to become a spring of joy, strength and victory in Gideon's soul: Gideon had to mix it with faith. But "if" is not faith. True faith never answers God with ifs, for the simplest of reasons: it looks only at God, and there are no ifs with Him.

If Gideon had looked back over his nation's history, he might have found plenty of reason for the sad and humbling state he was in. Those stained pages would have given a full answer to his question, "Why then has all this happened to us?" But had Israel's behaviour dimmed the brightness of the LORD's mighty wonders? Not in the sight of faith. God had done great and glorious things for His people, and the record of those deeds lay always under the eye of faith to sustain the soul. Israel had failed — failed shamefully — and the record of that failure lay under the eye of faith too. Faith recognises God's government as well as His grace. It bows in awe before every stroke of His governing rod.

Gideon said to him, "Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us" — for on that he takes his stand — "if the LORD is with us" — not merely "with me." He binds the people together with the name of the LORD, and not merely with himself — the unfailing mark of true faith and love. "But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian." Both were true. It was the LORD who had blessed them. It was the LORD who had handed them over to Midian. That very fact, overwhelming as it is, is exactly what gives confidence. If the Midianites had simply got the better of Israel, that would be nothing for faith.

He has a deep sense of Israel's condition on his soul, though he has no power to help them. He has been comparing that condition with the LORD's title and power. This is the way of faith. It is not for us to compare ourselves with each other; we should compare our condition with the LORD's title and will to bless.

Gideon had much to learn. His faith was very weak, for he did not count on the goodness of God. Humble, no doubt, but looking at himself, he decided what God must be towards him from what he himself was. "Now," he said, "the LORD has forsaken us." The situation is hopeless, because it is the result of our unfaithfulness. That was Gideon's reasoning — but did God reason like that? "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valour." How little he knew what was in the heart of God, and how many there are who reason like Gideon.

What was Gideon's might? It was his awareness that things were not what they ought to be. Things were different from what they used to be, and he wanted in his heart to do something to put them right. Suppose we see that things in our own lives, and in the shared testimony, are not as good as they used to be. That will make us ask why. Once we know, we will be very concerned, and we will spend prayer and energy to make it better. But if we go along quite comfortably saying, "Well, everything is all right," and are not much concerned, I do not think things will get better.

Here we have the true secret of strength: "The Lord looked upon him." There was divine power in this look, if Gideon could only have taken it in. But sadly, he was still full of questions.

Gideon sees the Lord's hand upon His people, and that it is because of sin. But he identifies himself with the people... The Lord looked upon him. That is the first thing. The man who is really strong and mighty is the one who has come into the secret of Israel's poverty in this way. The Lord has looked upon him. The Lord has identified Himself with him, and shown His heart to be towards him. There is no limit to the might of such a man.

It is such a man that God can use as His instrument to deliver Israel. Notice, He does not give him fresh might, but counts the might he had already shown as enough to deliver Israel... God emphasizes the courage of a faith that gets its own food at all hazards.

Gideon, whose name means "a great warrior" (an overcomer), seeks to preserve the wheat from the enemy... The exercises of the threshing floor are plain to see. Self-importance, self-confidence and self-seeking have gone. His faith in what God has done and can do is clear. His "might" (v.14) is not connected with what he is in himself, but with his faith in God, and his obedience to God's command.

His family is poor in Manasseh, and like David, he is the least in his father's house. Yet, what of all this? "Have not I sent you?" withers up all such thoughts, and places a living reality before the soul.

Unbelief turns the eye in upon self, or out upon our surroundings. It leads us to compare our visible resources with the work God is calling us to... It made very plain that the might he would deliver Israel with was not in himself or in his father's house. It was in the God of Israel. It mattered little whether his family was rich or poor; whether he was little or great. It was God who was about to use him. What was wealth or greatness to Him? He could use a barley cake or a broken pitcher.

So it always is with the soldiers of faith. They have never felt their own weakness so much as when they are called to be God's mighty men of valour... People often say, "I want to feel that I am strong." What we need is to feel that we are weak; this brings in Omnipotence. We shall have a life of feeling later on in the glory. Now we are called to live a life of faith.

Gideon might well wonder what might the Lord was speaking of, for Gideon only felt weakness. But Gideon had strength he was not aware of. He had a heart of true concern for his people, even while he felt his own helplessness. In God's eyes that was strength. Paul later learned this valuable lesson — "when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:10).

He himself was even weaker than his people. He had no confidence in front of the enemy, for he was "beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites" (v. 11). He had no resources among his relatives, for his family was the poorest in Manasseh. He had no power in himself, for he was the least in his father's house (v. 15). That was the man God visited and chose as His servant — a man who knew how utterly weak he was... When it comes to the work of God in this world, we meet a first great principle: God never asks what man can offer Him.

Here we get another very important qualification — a sense of his own nothingness... And all the Lord's servants must learn this lesson sooner or later. There is nothing in themselves, in their position, or in their circumstances that God can use. In a word, all our resources and all our strength lie outside of ourselves, in Him. Our sufficiency is of God. It is then no longer a question of what the Midianites are, but of what God is, for we go to meet them in His strength.

When God is about to use a man, He makes that man keenly aware that he is nothing in himself. If He delivers by Gideon's hand, He must have the glory, not Gideon. The strength must be His, not Gideon's. Strong in the Lord, we are weakest in ourselves. Can we not nearly always trace our failures back to self-confidence?

Unbelief turns the eye in on self, or out on our surroundings. It leads us to compare the resources we can see with the work God is calling us to... God's word left no room for Gideon's "how?" It made it very plain that the might he was to deliver Israel with was not in himself or in his father's house, but in the God of Israel. It mattered little whether his family was rich or poor, whether he was small or great. It was God who was about to use him.

But Gideon, like Moses and many another servant of God, has to come right to the end of himself. He must be done with his humility as well as his pride... He speaks of the poverty of his family, and of how small he is in his father's house. But what have these to do with the living God?

First, we have God's commission, wrapped up in those weighty words, "Do not I send you?" Second, we have the assurance of God's presence, set out in these encouraging words, "But I will be with you."

Gideon's family might be the poorest in Manasseh, and he himself the least in his father's house. But what did Gideon's poverty or his weakness matter, if the Lord, who is rich and mighty, was for him and with him? So, in a later day, Jonathan and his armour-bearer could face a huge army in the might of the Lord. As Jonathan said, "nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few" (1 Samuel 14:6).

As with David in another fight of faith, there was no sword in Gideon's hand, nothing at all to go against the Midianites with. But what does that matter? "If God is for us, who can be against us?" He does not go out unarmed. "Surely I will be with you [and as a consequence of that], you shall strike the Midianites as one man."

The Lord allows Gideon no excuse. He has called Gideon and Gideon must obey. But He encourages Gideon by His Word.

He was now in the place where God's power could come upon and use him. The same was true of the apostle Paul. The thorn in the flesh searched his heart. It brought him face to face with his own complete powerlessness, and with his lack of any natural fitness for the Lord's service. Only then could the Lord say to him, "My grace is sufficient for you." Every servant of the Lord must learn this lesson sooner or later. There is nothing in ourselves, in our position, or in our circumstances that God can use. In a word, all our resources and strength lie outside ourselves, in Himself.

There is a great difference between owning that all power belongs to God, and seeing that power act on our behalf. Often the first conviction only makes us feel our own powerlessness more. And unless we can rest on God acting for us and through us, that feeling will produce despondency. Gideon cannot see how a link can be formed between God and man, so that a man carries out God's power and will. So he pleads how small and unfit he is. To form this link in his soul, the Lord gives him a promise.

See with what grace God rebukes this bit of humble pride in Gideon. It clearly was not deep-seated: one word was enough to displace it. "Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man." After all, the enemy is, for faith, but a single one. He is a whole army when he oppresses and terrifies. But the moment faith asserts itself, there is only one man, as when David met the giant.

The humbler the instrument, the more we see the power of God. What difference does it make to the Almighty God whether His instrument is left-handed or right-handed — a man or a woman — a dwarf or a giant? The instrument is nothing. God is all in all... Let us remember these things, so that we may walk humbly and lean always and only on the mighty arm of the living God. This keeps the soul well balanced. It is free from self-confidence and the excitement of the flesh on one side, and from gloom and depression on the other. If we can do nothing, self-confidence is the height of presumption. If God can do everything, despondency is the height of folly.

There is weakness here, no doubt; he should have had simple confidence and not needed a sign. Still, all he really cares for is having the Lord with him.

Unbelief then draws its plea from the Lord. It assumes, as it were, that there was something unclear in the revelation God has just given. "If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." Gideon was in this frame of mind in Judges 6:17; and John the Baptist, in his measure, in Matthew 11:3.

He asks for a sign, it is true; and the Lord answers. I am far from denying that there was weakness in Gideon's faith. Nor am I saying there was no drawback here, as with all the others we have looked at. But even allowing all this, we must admit what followed. After the Lord stooped in grace to his weakness, we find the power of God at work in his heart and in his ways.

His faith was very weak, because he did not count on the goodness of God. He was humble, no doubt, but he looked at himself, and from what he was he decided what God must be to him. Even with his humility, there had not yet been true self-judgment. He wanted to offer something, to "bring forth his present" to the Lord (v. 18). He was not trying to do something great for God. He thought that all would be well if God accepted his gift.

We have already seen that Gideon wanted to offer something to the Lord, but He can accept nothing from man as such. "Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes," He said, "and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth" (v. 20). The only offering God can accept is Christ. If He did not receive what Gideon offered Him, He accepted what represented Christ in it.

All is put on the rock, another figure of Christ, and fire carries it all up to God. So we might say he brought nothing but Christ, whom God always accepts. What better sign could he, or we, want than that? Suppose we have nothing but Christ, His work and His person. Then God's acceptance of Him is our fullest assurance and pledge that we shall be "more than conquerors through him who loved us."

Gideon cried "alas!" and the Lord answered, "Peace; do not fear." Then he was ready to begin. The Lord had brought him face to face with the angel of God. There he learned that his family was poor in Manasseh and that he was the least in his father's house. He learned more than that: in himself he had no power at all, and all his resources must come from the living God.

From the Lord he gets a further qualification for service: a soul at liberty, at peace before God... Everyone will understand that there can be no true or effective service for the Lord while the soul is taken up with its own condition. It must first be free and at home in God's presence.

There is weakness here, no doubt; he should have had simple confidence, and not have needed a sign. Still, all he really cares about is having Jehovah with him.

Great as this promise was, Gideon could not yet take it as his own. However wonderful and fitting it was, he could not embrace it. First he had to feel in his own soul the link between himself and God, and know that God accepted him... He had asked for a sign so that his soul could trust the help God promised — in a word, so that he might depend on Him in the great service given to him.

Moreover, despite his humility, he had not yet truly judged himself. He wanted to offer something, to "bring out his present" to Jehovah (v. 18). It was surely not with the idea of doing something great for God, but with the thought that all would be well if God accepted his present.

But Gideon wants more confirmation, as though he needed it once God had given him His word! Yet the Lord graciously answered Gideon's request and stayed until Gideon brought an offering (v. 18). To Gideon's credit, the offering was very fitting. The young goat is a picture of Christ as the Substitute for the sinner — and Gideon knew he needed a Substitute.

We have already seen that Gideon wanted to offer something to Jehovah, but He can accept nothing from man as man. "Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes," He said, "and lay them on this rock, and pour the broth over them" (v. 20). The only offering God can accept is Christ. He did not receive what Gideon offered Him, but He accepted what represented Christ in it.

More than that, Gideon wants to bring an offering; he will be a worshipper. So he brings a young goat, flour and unleavened cakes. All these speak of Christ... It is all put on the rock, another figure of Christ, and fire carries it all up to God. So we might say he brought nothing but Christ, whom God always accepts. What better sign could he — or we — want than that? If we have nothing but Christ, His work and His person, we may be sure that God's acceptance of Him is the fullest assurance and pledge that we shall be "more than conquerors through Him who loved us."

His "Alas!" was followed by the Lord's "Peace; do not fear," and then he was ready to begin. He had been brought face to face with the angel of God. There he learned that his family was poor in Manasseh and he the least in his father's house. He also learned that in himself he was completely powerless, and that he must find all his resources in the living God.

Gideon would prove, then, his visitor with an offering, and significantly brings him Abraham's offering of an ephah — that is, three measures — of flour; but Abraham's gift is of fine flour; and instead of Abraham's calf he brings a kid. Though less full a type than that in Genesis, Gideon's offering still speaks of Christ.

Yet despite his humility, he had not yet truly judged himself. He wanted to offer something, to bring out his present to the LORD (v. 18). He did not mean to do some great thing for God. He was thinking, no doubt, that all would be well if God accepted his present.

More than that, Gideon wants to bring an offering. He will be a worshiper. So he brings the familiar sacrifice — a kid, an ephah of flour and unleavened cakes. All these speak of Christ. The kid here seems to be a peace-offering, yet it also brings sin to mind, since it was the animal most often used for sin in the offerings of the law. It reminds us of Christ made sin for us, and also of the One who is fully acceptable to God. The unleavened cakes and the fine flour belong with the kid. They recall the spotless person of Christ, as the kid pictured His work... If we have nothing but Christ, His work and His person, we can be sure that God's acceptance of Him is the fullest pledge that we shall be "more than conquerors through Him who loved us."

Three measures is the same amount as an ephah. Only three other passages in Scripture speak of this quantity of flour, and in every one it is without leaven. Abraham offered cakes of this quantity to the three visitors at his tent door, and he recognised one of them to be his Lord. Gideon did the same when the Angel of the LORD appeared to him as he threshed wheat. Hannah brought this much flour as her offering when she presented Samuel to the Lord at the tabernacle at Shiloh (Gen. 18:1–8; Jdg. 6:19; 1 Sam. 1:24).

This man of God understood very little of the value of the sacrifices the LORD had commanded Israel. The broth in the pot showed how little he knew. But God saw what was real underneath this feeble faith, and accepted the offering when Gideon laid it on the rock.

To Gideon's credit, the offering was very fitting. The young goat is typical of Christ as the Substitute for the sinner, and Gideon knew that he needed a Substitute. The broth seems to show how much the offerer valued the sacrifice, since broth is easy to take in.

We have already seen that Gideon wished to offer something to the LORD, but He can accept nothing from man as such. "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them," He said (v. 20). The only offering which God can accept is Christ. If He did not receive what Gideon offered Him, He accepted what represented Christ in it. The fire of judgment rose up out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. The proof of God's interest in him was, in figure, the judgment that fell on Christ.

God had revealed Himself to His servant, and the effect was terror. But the terror passed away when the LORD spoke peace to him. We need not say more about this, since it is the story of every soul that God brings into His presence... While the soul is taken up with its own condition, there can be no true or effective service for the Lord. That service comes only when the soul is set free and at home in God's presence.

We have already seen that Gideon wanted to offer something to the LORD, but He can accept nothing that comes from man himself. "Take," He said, "the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth" (v. 20). The only offering God can accept is Christ. He did not receive what Gideon offered Him, but He accepted what represented Christ in it.

The kid here seems to be a peace offering, but it also suggests sin, since that is what it was most often used for in Israel's sacrifices. So it reminds us of Christ made sin for us, and also of the One who is perfectly acceptable to God. The unleavened cakes and the fine flour belong with the kid, and recall the spotless person of Christ, as the kid recalled His work. It all goes on the rock, another figure of Christ, and fire carries it all up to God. So we might say he brought nothing but Christ, whom God always accepts. What better sign could he, or we, want than that?

This man of God understood very little of the value of the sacrifices the LORD had commanded Israel. "The broth in the pot" showed his ignorance. But God saw what was real under this weak faith, and He accepted the offering when Gideon laid it "on the rock." The fire of judgment rose up out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. The proof that God cared for him was, in picture, the judgment that fell on Christ.

Gideon's offering is a less full picture than the one in Genesis, but it still speaks of Christ. The angel holds back more here than there, but there is still acceptance. At his direction Gideon places the offering on the rock. The angel touches it with his staff, and it goes up in fire as an accepted offering. Then the angel himself leaves. There is no power here for lasting communion, as there was with Abraham. Yet Christ, as Representative of His people, accepted in sacrifice on the cross, is declared the ground on which God can be with them to deliver them. And this is the true assurance of ability for the Gideons of any generation.

Great as this promise was, Gideon could not yet make it his own. He could not take hold of it until he felt in his own soul the link between himself and God, and was sure of his own acceptance. So the Lord accepts the offering, has it consumed by a miracle, and disappears from Gideon's sight. In this way He gives him unquestionable proof not only of His own presence and power, but also of His servant's acceptance with Him.

Faith has something to bring to God that He can accept. Whatever our own failure, Jesus is the same, and the value of His work is unchanged... God never says to a soul, "Peace be to you, fear not," because of service. We are in danger of putting service in the place of the burnt offering.

It troubled Gideon to realise how great this person was whom he had seen — the Angel of the Lord, not just "an angel" (v. 22). For God had said to Moses, "man shall not see me and live" (Ex. 33:20). It is true that God's glory is too great for us to take in. But the Angel (the Lord Jesus) had appeared to Gideon in the form of a man. So Gideon did not see the greatness of God's glory, but only a very limited showing of God.

Gideon does not seem to realise that he has been face to face with the angel of the Lord until He has departed. Then he is overwhelmed with the solemn fact, and dreads the consequences. But grace quickly reassures him, and he builds an altar to the Lord — Jehovah-Shalom, "Jehovah is Peace."

The presence of God withered him up, and he knew it. That is the usual effect, seen again and again in the Old Testament, of meeting the one called there the angel of Jehovah. The very thing that passed the sentence of death on his nature also strengthened him. So Gideon builds an altar, trusting the word given to him... This is the prime necessity — peace, then work; but no service is safe until the person is secure and at peace.

This is another mark of weakness. We do not see this fear in Abraham, in similar circumstances. But Jehovah will give Gideon the confidence to stand before Him.

He is now certain that he has seen the angel of Jehovah face to face. That very certainty makes him afraid, until His word calms him: he will not die. For us too, whenever we grasp that the Lord is present, we also feel the sentence passed on the flesh. This is where the power to walk rightly comes from, and the energy for the warfare we are called to. "Now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself." Christ crucified confirms this sentence, and He is also our deliverance from ourselves. So, "crucified with Christ," we may still live — no longer we, but Christ living in us.

Gideon had spoken to Him with a secret sense that it was Jehovah. Now he knows for certain: he has seen the angel of Jehovah, of God, face to face. It was a real revelation. It was enough to reduce him to nothing in himself, and that is what it did. But it was also enough to make him strong in his walk among others, who had not known Jehovah in the same way.

Gideon was troubled when he realised the greatness of the person he had seen. It was the Angel of the Lord, not simply "an angel" (v. 22). For God had said to Moses, "man shall not see me and live" (Ex. 33:20). It is true that God's glory is so great that we cannot take it in. But the Angel (the Lord Jesus) had appeared to Gideon in the form of a man. So Gideon did not see the greatness of God's glory, but only a very limited showing of God.

Now Gideon knows that he had seen an angel of the Lord face to face, and he is filled with fear. But the Lord said to him, "Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die." So he receives from the Lord a further qualification for service — a soul at liberty, at peace before God. God had revealed Himself to His servant, and the effect was terror. But the terror passed away when the Lord spoke peace. We need not enlarge on this, as it is the history of every soul brought into the presence of God (see Isa. 6; Job 42; Luke 5).

The fire of judgment consumed the offering, and the result for Gideon was peace. To be a servant of God, you must know the work of Christ for yourself, and the peace that flows from it. You must be sure that peace has been made, because of what has passed between God and Christ. You must be sure of what God, and not Gideon, thought of the sacrifice. Such is the foundation of all Christian service — how much it has been forgotten! If we have not peace ourselves, how can we proclaim it to others?

Whatever our own failure, Jesus is still the same, and the value of His work is unchanged. God never says to a soul, "Peace be to you. Do not fear," because of service. We are in danger of putting service in the place of the burnt offering.

Here we have the answer that produces peace, and, with peace, worship. It is the same with the risen Jesus. After suffering death, He reveals Himself to His disciples with the same words God uses here, and lays the foundation of the Church gathered together in worship. In Luke 7 we find the same experiences in the woman who was a sinner. She believed in the person of Jesus. His grace had made Him her all; but she did not yet know that someone like her was pardoned and saved, and might go in peace.

It was a real revelation. It was enough to reduce him to nothing in himself, and it did. But it was also enough to strengthen him greatly in his walk among others who had not known the Lord in the same way. God may not use visions like this now, but it is always like this when He raises up a special instrument to deliver His people.

The very thing that put the sentence of death on his nature made Gideon strong. He builds an altar, trusting the word given him, and calls it Jehovah-shalom. So he lays hold of the word of peace and acts on it at once… There is no ground for deliverance in God's way. There is no proper basis for His intervention, except the removal of all barriers between God and our souls. This is the prime necessity — peace, then work; no service is safe until the person himself is settled and at peace.

Gideon, therefore, builds an altar, and calls it Jehovah-shalom — "Jehovah is peace." It is not just that there is peace with God. That would not even be the way to say it, since Jehovah is already the covenant name. No; Jehovah is peace. Peace is found in Him. He has produced it and given it. Whatever the fear, the soul takes shelter in Him. And since this is so, the altar itself is now a challenge to the idols. Jehovah's altar cannot stand beside Baal's, and Israel cannot be delivered with a divided faith.

A man who is humbled by the presence of God receives strength from God, if that presence is in blessing. Gideon recognises and lays hold of this for himself: Jehovah is with him in peace and in blessing. The word Shalom, translated "Peace be to you," is the same as that used in the name of the altar.

Then he built an altar and called it "Jehovah-shalom" — the LORD is peace. All is full of meaning. The offering he brought typifies Christ; so does the rock upon which it was brought. The fire consumed it all, carried it upward to God. And upon that the assurance of peace is given. Even so He is our peace... So we need not fear, for He has made peace through the blood of His cross, and He is our peace.

The immediate consequence in Gideon's case was — and this gives us a further qualification — that he became a worshipper. He worships God in the character in which He had revealed Himself — as Jehovah who had spoken peace to his soul. The sequence is very instructive. First peace, then worship. The lesson is that only those who have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ can worship... The true servant must first be a worshipper. To go out in service before we are worshippers is to go out knowing nothing of the character of the One we claim to serve.

The first result of what Gideon had just learned was not to press him into service, but to make him a worshipper. Christians today have completely lost sight of this fact... The believer should enter the presence of God as a worshipper before engaging in service.

Gideon does not seem to realise that he has been face to face with the angel of the LORD until He has departed. Then he is overwhelmed with the solemn fact, and dreads the consequences. But grace quickly reassures him, and he builds an altar to the LORD — Jehovah-Shalom, "Jehovah is Peace." Tumult raged all around him, and dreadful conflicts were soon to come. Yet there was one place where all was perfect peace, one Person with whom there was no conflict — Jehovah Himself.

He felt the ruin and the weakness of all around him. He felt the fallen and humiliating condition of his beloved people. He felt his own littleness, yes, his own emptiness and nothingness. How could he come forward? How could he strike the Midianites? How could he save Israel?

Here we see that Gideon had to begin at home. God called him to raise the flag of testimony in the very heart of his family — in the very centre of his father's house. This is intensely interesting and deeply practical. Testimony must begin at home. It will never do to rush out into public work while our private and domestic ways are anything but what they ought to be. It is useless to set about throwing down the altar of Baal in public while the very same altar remains standing at home.

The word "grove" naturally suggests a row of trees. But that cannot be the meaning, since people set groves up "under every green tree." Manasseh put a carved image of the grove that he had made in the temple. Josiah later removed it, burnt it, and ground it to powder. That image was no doubt made of metal. But the groves were of wood, as we learn from the fact that people cut them down and burned them. One passage speaks of planting groves, another of making them, and another of building them. They always go together with idols and images.

The altar itself is now a challenge to the idols. The Lord's altar cannot stay in the company of Baal's, and Israel cannot be delivered while its faith is divided. So on the same night — the night of the day when the Lord had appeared — the Lord told him to throw down Baal's altar and cut down the asherah. The asherah was a pillar of wood, the symbol of the Ashtaroth worship that went with Baal's. Then Gideon was to build an altar to the Lord on top of the stronghold where Israel used to retreat from the Midianites, and to offer on it his father's second bull, with the wood of the asherah he had cut down.

God will not share His glory with Baal. One altar or the other must be thrown down. Gideon is to make good his name, "the cutter down," and to show the vigour of his faith and the reality of his obedience.

There judgment begins. We must "cease to do evil" before we "learn to do good." The Lord comes to us as "the God of peace." Still the call is, "Down with the idols in your father's house." … And what is more, if God says, "Pull down the altar of Baal," He will give strength to do it.

The positive duty of anyone who would be a testimony for God is, before everything else, to cast down his idols. Why are there so few true servants among Christians, walking in the power of a testimony for Christ? It is because they have not the two altars. And why have they not the second? Because they have not provided themselves wood for the sacrifice. The idols are the wood. Let us overthrow them; let nothing of them remain. Let us begin in the innermost circle of the family. If we do not do this, where will our testimony be? The overthrowing of the idols is the secret of power. The Spirit of the Lord only came upon Gideon when he had done this. We do not now have Baals of stone and groves of wood, as he did, but we have many other idols. Unlike him, we often prefer them to the power of a faithful walk with God.

Gideon obeys, but he does it by night, fearing to do it by day. Here nature breaks in. His faith was not yet strong enough to let him testify openly and boldly; but what his faith did enable him to do, that he did.

Here we see that Gideon had to begin at home. He was called to unfurl the banner of testimony in the very heart of his family — in the very centre of his father's house... Testimony must begin at home. It will never do to rush out into public work while our private and family ways are anything but what they ought to be. It is useless to set about throwing down the altar of Baal in public, while that same altar remains standing at home.

Does he worship and obey God for himself? Then that same obedience must be claimed for the whole circle of his responsibilities. Is a man going to be a deliverer for all Israel, while his own family is in bondage?... How many are tempted to invert this order. They may be jealous enough for God's altar for all Israel, and yet have never set it up in their own homes.

He is to cast down his father's altar of Baal, cut down the wooden image, or column, and offer a bull on an altar to the LORD. After all, this is only the natural enlargement of the worship he had just enjoyed. God will not share His glory with Baal. One altar or the other must be thrown down. Gideon is to make good his name, "the cutter down," and to show the vigour of his faith and the reality of his obedience.

The positive duty of anyone who would be a testimony for God is, before anything else, to cast down his idols. Why are there so few true servants among Christians, walking in the power of a testimony for Christ? It is because they have not the two altars. And why do they not have the second? Because they have not provided themselves with wood for the sacrifice. The idols are the wood (v. 26). Let us overthrow them, and let nothing of them remain. Let us begin in the innermost circle of the family... The overthrowing of the idols is the secret of power; the Spirit of the LORD only came upon Gideon when he had done this.

It is of the essence of self-will to say, "I have a right to worship God how I like." Obedience to God is the saint's rule and liberty. No power in the world has any right to interfere with this. And what is more, if God says, "Pull down the altar of Baal," He will give strength to do it.

Gideon worshipped according to a new revelation of God, despite Shiloh and the tabernacle. His rock became the ordered place, or the anointed altar, only because of this revelation and command of God.

Gideon was associated with evil in his father's house. As another has said, "faithfulness within comes before outward strength: evil must be put away from Israel before the enemy can be driven out. Obedience first, and then strength: this is God's order."

Though the flesh may hinder testimony, it cannot prevent obedience, if there is faith... The stirrings of the flesh are no excuse for failing to obey what we have faith to do. So it was with Gideon. From the start he learned how hostile his own people were to faithfulness for the truth. The world does not realise that its opposition always draws out of God's witness more than enough power to crush it.

Now the Lord calls Gideon to act; but he must first begin at home… Here we get obedience. Gideon was linked with evil in his father's house. As someone else has said, "faithfulness at home comes before strength outside: evil must go from Israel before the enemy can be driven out. Obedience first, and then strength: this is God's order."… So with Gideon: God could not send him to strike the Midianites until he had pulled down the idol in his father's house… Satan is helpless in the presence of an obedient man. The devil resisted in obedience is the devil defeated.

Gideon obeyed, taking ten men who were his servants to do this serious work. They did it at night, because Gideon feared what the men of the city would think. There was timidity in his faith, but faith still acted. True courage does not mean having no fear. It shows itself in doing right despite fear.

Even where a person receives and obeys the word of God, the testimony often falls short. Many a true soul is not ready to speak out as openly as he might. It is better when obedience and testimony go together. The flesh may hold back testimony, but it cannot stop obedience, if there is faith… The feelings of the flesh are no excuse for not obeying what we have faith to do. Because of them we may give up the higher place of testimony, but nothing must stop obedience to God's word.

This is what we may call striking at the very root of the matter. The worship of Baal is completely overturned. This was no small thing. We have little idea what it cost the son of Joash to do this; but by the grace of God, he did it. True, it may have been with fear and trembling — still he did it… No half measures would have worked. There was no use picking a stone out of the idol's altar here and there. The whole structure had to come down from its very foundation.

Gideon obeyed at once, without compromise or holding back. For him the idols were nothing compared with the God he knew. This "mighty man of valour" had been short of courage. Fear of the enemy (v. 11), fear of God (v. 23), fear of his father's house (v. 27) were some of his marks. He did his work at night, afraid to do it by day. He still did it, because God had commanded him. Only in the morning did the people of the city see what had been done. The One who knew Gideon's character had not told him: Do this work by day. Let us too, weak as we are, destroy our idols quietly, when no eye is watching… The world will soon see that we have a new altar it does not know, and that the grove is worth nothing to us except as wood to burn.

We can imagine how anxiously Gideon may have waited for the next day. Or how calmly, if he simply had God before him… Has anyone been trembling and hesitating to take some plain step of faith? Let them learn from Gideon, and take courage. The consequences you dread would fail to happen. The very people whose opposition you fear will approve.

He did his work at night, because he was afraid to do it by day. He did it all the same, for God had commanded him to. Only in the morning did the people of the city see what he had done... Let us, too, weak as we are, destroy our idols in silence, when no one is watching. Let us not talk loudly about it. Let us do this hard work with fear and trembling, looking to God alone, in the silence of the night. The world will soon see that we have a new altar which it does not know.

Faithfulness within comes before outward strength: Israel must put away evil before driving out the enemy. Obedience first, and then strength: this is God's order.

Gideon had nothing but death to expect, if it had not been the will of the Lord; but, come what may, "whoever does the will of God abides forever," and Gideon was content to face whatever followed... It would have been a huge inconsistency for a man to go out and deal with the pagan enemies of Israel while his own father's house worshipped Baal... For nothing wounds people more than something that treats their religion as nothing.

This is what we may call striking at the very root of the matter. The worship of Baal is completely overturned... There would have been no use in picking out a stone here and there from the idol's altar. The whole structure had to be torn down from its very foundation, and the idol itself shamed in front of the very worshippers it had deceived.

The grove might add beauty to the altar of Baal, but God's altar must be set up in its own plain simplicity.

The positive duty of one who would be a testimony for God is, before all else, to cast down his idols. Why is it that there are so few true servants among Christians, walking in the power of a testimony for Christ? It is because they have not the two altars. And why have they not the second? Because they have not provided themselves wood for the sacrifice. The idols are the wood... Let us begin in the innermost circle of the family. If we do not do this, where will our testimony be?

The action of faith always stirs up the flesh. Israel did not know where their strength was; they thought it was in Baal. Gideon had learned that it was in God. These are testing times... How many think the strength of Christians lies in the things they see around them! The soul taught by God knows it is only in Jehovah Jesus.

Is anyone trembling and hesitating to take some plain step of faith? Let them learn from Gideon, and take courage. How all the results you dread would fail to happen! The very people whose opposition you fear will approve. Or if not, what can happen?

Gideon was tied to evil in his father's house. As someone else has said, "faithfulness at home comes before strength outside: evil must be put out of Israel before the enemy can be driven out. Obedience first, and then strength: this is God's order." … So it was with Gideon. Until he had pulled the idol down in his father's house, God could not send him to strike the Midianites. There is plenty here to make all of us search our own hearts. How often have we grieved over our lack of power in the Lord's service, when we could have traced the cause to some lack of obedience?

We have little idea what it cost the son of Joash to do this. But by the grace of God, he did it. True, he may have done it with fear and trembling, but he still did it. He struck one strong blow at the whole system of Baal, and it crumbled to dust under his feet. Half measures would have been no use. Picking out a stone here and there from the idol's altar would have achieved nothing. The whole structure had to come down from its very foundation.

His faith was timid, but faith still acted. True courage does not mean having no fear. It shows itself in doing right despite fear.

It is better when obedience and testimony go together. But though the flesh may hold back our testimony, it cannot stop obedience, if there is faith… The stirrings of the flesh are no excuse for not obeying what we have faith to do… And if we are faithful, even without strong feeling, our acts will speak for themselves. So testimony will follow, even though it did not go with them. That is what happened with Gideon.

Only in the morning did the people of the city see what he had done… Let us, too, weak as we are, destroy our idols in silence, when no eye is watching us… The world will soon see that we have a new altar it does not know, and that the grove is worth nothing to us except as wood to burn. Then the world, which has supported us until now, will hate us. It was the altar of testimony that drew everyone's hatred onto Gideon. Hated — but what did it matter? He was given the name Jerubbaal (let Baal plead), and in front of everyone he became the living witness that the things he had once worshipped were worthless.

The action of faith always stirs up the flesh. Israel did not know where their strength was; they thought it was in Baal. Gideon had learned it was in God. These are sifting times. In the Lord's day everything looked to be in beautiful order. But because He was setting aside men's traditions, everyone was against Him. It is the same now. How many people think the strength of Christians lies in the things they see around them! The soul taught by God knows it is only in Jehovah Jesus.

And from the start, he learns how hostile his own people are to faithfulness for the truth. But how little the world knows that its evil opposition always draws out of God's witness more power than enough to put it down! The people's cry for Gideon's execution is met by Joash's challenge to let Baal plead for himself, if he is a god.

This was very simple reasoning: "If he is a god, let him plead for himself." Gideon's decided course had brought matters to a point. Baal was either a reality or a most complete delusion. If the former, let him plead for himself. If the latter, who would think of pleading for him? Nothing could be simpler. Gideon's action was a complete success. The worship of Baal was overturned, and the worship of Jehovah Elohim set up instead.

It was of no use to argue the case, except to show the people the folly of pleading for Baal. If the things set aside were Baal's, and if Baal was a god, surely he would arise and take their part. It was of no use to debate. And do not let us suppose that all the arguments of all the good men in the world can make that which is evil, good. It is sad indeed to see the arguments that are devised by the wit of men in defence of evil. The binding duty of the saint is to separate from evil, however much long tradition or anything else supports it.

The will of Jehovah was explicitly declared to Gideon. Apart from the will of the Lord, he had nothing but death to expect. But come what may, "he who does the will of God abides forever," and Gideon was content to accept all the consequences… It would have been a glaring inconsistency for a man to go out against the pagan enemies of Israel while Baal was worshipped in his own father's house.

As another has remarked, "Faithfulness within precedes outward strength. Evil must be put away from Israel before the enemy can be driven out. Obedience first and then strength. This is God's order."

Not to be interrupted by the unbelief of those around, he did it by night, and the next morning the challenge to Baal was plain for all to see. So Gideon had to "add virtue" to his faith — the boldness needed by every good soldier of Christ. This boldness is God's means to awaken and embolden others, so that Joash, his father, steps into the ranks.

There is nothing, we repeat, like plain decision — bold, uncompromising faithfulness for Christ, whatever it costs. Had Gideon been less decided, had his line of action been less thorough, his father Joash would not have been so completely won over. It needed just such a way of dealing with Baal to convince a reasonable person that the worship of such a god was a sham and a falsehood.

The name "Jerubbaal" was no defence. On the contrary, it brought up the question whether there was power in Satan now that faith was in exercise.

He answers that the man who pleads for Baal deserves death: it is for Baal himself to avenge the insult. The sarcasm knocks the opposition down at once, and leaves Gideon with the title of idol-challenger, "Let Baal contend!" In the fight that is beginning, the very existence of the man of faith is a sign of victory already won, a pledge of one to come.

Ishbosheth means "man of shame"… We know from Chronicles (1 Chron. 8:33) that his original name was Esh-baal. The same change happened to Jerubbaal, turned into Jerubbesheth (2 Sam. 11:21). In Hosea 9:10 Baal himself is called "that shame." It is hard to doubt that people made these substitutions because they felt how shameful idolatry was.

When we mix with the world, Satan has no reason to disturb us. Let him be alarmed, and up come Midianites, Amalekites, and the rest.

The Midianites, with their allies the Amalekites (a figure of the flesh), came out to fight against Gideon. This was natural, and it is so today. You may be sure of this. If your heart is drawn heavenward, you will have to fight these combined powers. The flesh does not love the things of Christ. It finds its satisfaction in the things of earth.

At first Gideon met hostility from those who bore the name of the people of God. For a time, the sincerity of his testimony held that hostility in check. Midian and Amalek (v. 33), however, were not held back in that way. The men of the city, in their folly, tried to hinder their own deliverance. The world, for its part, made a determined effort to crush the revival that was to free Israel from bondage.

The wide valley or plain around Jezreel, in southern Galilee. It has been called the battlefield of Palestine. Barak won there, and Josiah was defeated there (Judges 5:19; 2 Chronicles 35:22). Megiddo is in the same area. It is also perhaps the place where the great battle of Armageddon will be fought, Revelation 16:16. It is a very fertile plain.

Gideon is now a vessel set apart and fit for the Master's use. So we get the crowning qualification of power… Satan can never get ahead of God. While God is preparing Gideon, the Midianites and the rest stay still; when Gideon is ready, God gathers them together for destruction. They marshal their forces to destroy Israel; but the Spirit of the Lord comes upon Gideon, and now it is God Himself against the Midianites.

God's purpose is to assure the soul of this. Christ has triumphed over every power of evil. Just as surely, every display of evil is a guarantee to us that a far greater power is close at hand. And further, the greater the evil opposition, the plainer the power that overcomes and silences it. In every circumstance of life we should comfort ourselves with this: "when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord raises up a standard against him."

The Midianites come up against Israel. All is ready for the Lord's intervention… This is a new phase in the history; not only faithfulness, but power.

Again let us note, faithfulness does not begin with the Midianites; it begins at home. This is a great principle, whether for an individual soul or for the Church of God. Gideon must attack the evil inside his father's house, and in Israel itself. Only then does the Lord use him to save Israel out of the hands of the Midianites.

The Midianites come up against Israel. All is ready for the Lord's intervention… The power of the Spirit, which sways the minds of men, is with the faith that acknowledges God, that acknowledges Him in His relationship to His people, and faithfully puts away the evil that does not fit that relationship.

The overthrowing of the idols is the secret of power; the Spirit of the LORD only came upon Gideon when he had done this. We do not have, as he did, Baals of stone and groves of wood. But we have many other idols, and, unlike him, we often prefer them to the power of a faithful walk with God.

Unqualified obedience to the word of God is the path of power. At certain periods of our lives power has marked our service, at other times it has been missing. Let us then ask ourselves whether we have rebuilt some idol we had destroyed. All public service for the Christian must begin with faithfulness in the small circle where he is called to live.

In the case of three men (Gideon, for instance: Judges 6:34) the expression is a peculiar one. It means that the Spirit of the Lord clothed Himself with the man. He took full possession of him for a purpose, and until that purpose was achieved.

There were others like Gideon, Amasai and Zechariah, with whom the Spirit clothed Himself for the time being, so that He might witness through them… But in all these cases the Spirit acted upon men from the outside. He used men for His purpose without reference to their inward moral character.

The Spirit of the LORD comes upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet. This is the same Gideon who was threshing wheat to hide it from the Midianites. Now he puts a trumpet to his lips and sounds out defiance in the face of the enemy. In the same way, Peter had trembled before a servant girl. Once the Spirit clothed him with power, he charged the rulers with the sin of crucifying Christ. The apostles too, being filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31).

They were the voice of God, telling the people His mind on four important occasions. They gave the signal for gathering the people together; for the moving of the camps; for battle; and also for the solemn feasts, or worship… Gideon began where God begins (Num. 10). "He sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him." He carried the voice of God, gathering Israel together again after their own failure had scattered them.

The Spirit of God equips him for special work. In response the men of Abiezer, who had demanded his death not long before, join his standard, and so do Manasseh, Asher and Zebulun. Truly, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God lifts up a standard against him. Let there be the first work of God in a soul, and he will find that others long for freedom from bondage too. They will follow his lead, as he follows Christ.

Satan can never get ahead of God. While Gideon is being prepared, the Midianites and the others stay still. When Gideon is ready, God gathers them together for destruction. They line up their forces to destroy Israel. But the Spirit of the LORD comes upon Gideon, and now it is God Himself against the Midianites. Let us make sure we never move forward against the enemy except in the power of the Spirit of God.

Here is Gideon with his own people against him, and the enemies of Israel gathered and camped in Jezreel. But he has peace with God, and the Lord is (so to speak) bound to appear on his side. How does he act? The Spirit of the Lord comes upon him, and he blows the trumpet. Had Gideon been serving Baal, he could not have blown the trumpet like this. But Baal is down, and the altar of God is set up in the ordered place. He sends messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they gather to him too, along with Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. All these gather around the man who is least in his father's house, the poorest of the tribe of Manasseh — the man to whom the Lord has said, "Go in this your might."

Everything is ready for the Lord's intervention. The Spirit of the Lord comes upon Gideon. This is a new phase in the history; not only faithfulness, but power. Gideon blows the trumpet, and those who shortly before would have killed him now follow in his train. He sends messengers to all his tribe, and Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali come up too. The Spirit's power sways the minds of men. It goes with the faith that acknowledges God, and acknowledges Him in His relationship to His people. That faith is faithful to put away the evil that cannot stand with that relationship.

We find the use of the trumpets detailed in Numbers 10:1-10. They were the voice of God, telling His mind to the people on four important occasions. They gave the signal to gather the people together. They gave the signal for the camps to move, for battle, and for the solemn feasts or worship... Most of God's children think that Christianity is only about taking the gospel to people who don't believe. Gideon understood the testimony of faith in another way. He began where God begins. "He blew the trumpet, and Abiezer was gathered after him." He carried God's voice, calling Israel together again after their own failure had scattered them.

In short, there was a thorough awakening. The tide of spiritual energy rose high and carried hundreds and thousands along with it. The work that had begun in Gideon's heart was spreading far and wide, across the whole land. The Spirit of the Lord was displaying His mighty energy, stirring up multitudes to gather round the standard that the hand of faith had raised.

The Spirit of the Lord now clothes Gideon. No mere human wisdom or strength is enough in this fight. We are safe only when we depend on Him. He blows the trumpet, and Abiezer, then all Manasseh, gather behind him. Manasseh's fitness for this place is plain in Gideon, himself a Manassite. The world can only be overcome by the man whose goal lies beyond it, and this is what Manasseh represents. Then Asher, the "happy," Zebulun, the "dweller in relationship," and Naphtali, the "struggler" who overcomes, follow after Manasseh. So Israel's army of victory comes together.

We are very glad to see our friends Zebulun and Naphtali here again. They stood out in the revival in Deborah's and Barak's day. They risked their lives in the high places, ready to die to defend what belonged to God. Here they are in the front line again. This is a very fine thing to see — consistency in the desire to maintain what belongs to the Lord. Now this trumpet call led to this army of 32,000 that was going to meet the Midianites.

Perhaps his spirit was overawed when he saw the huge pagan army massing in front of him. For a moment his courage failed, and his heart longed for a fresh sign from the Lord. "Then Gideon said to God, If You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said" — alas, the poor heart can place its unbelieving "if" right in front of the word of God who cannot lie.

The boldness of faith, even when it seems to need confirmatory signs, never offends our gracious God. When He promised all blessing to Abraham, and that he would inherit the land of Canaan, Abraham asks, "How am I to know that I shall possess it?" Is God offended that His word is not enough? Ah, no, but He gives the wonderful night vision of the furnace and the flaming torch.

But oh, the matchless grace of God! His love that never reproaches! His tender thoughtfulness! He graciously meets the weakness of His poor servant... What condescending grace! Instead of harshly rebuking Gideon's unbelieving "if," He confirms his wavering faith with evidence beyond measure.

The fleece in the middle of the ground is the type of Israel in the middle of the nations. The dew is the symbol of divine grace and mercy. It is the Lord who forsakes and who refreshes Israel. Israel today is like the fleece without the dew, while the ground, the Gentiles, have the grace of God. But before long the dew will fall upon Israel again and the time of their blessing and fullness will come.

When the dew is seen upon the floor and not the fleece, it suggests the blessing that has come to the Gentiles during the period of Israel's rejection. We might say the present time.

In Himself He was always that. In God's eyes He was beautiful beyond compare, and every thought, word and action was completely delightful to His Father. He was indeed like the fleece wet with the dew of heaven, in the middle of the barren dryness — the moral desert of Sahara — that ruled on every side.

Are we prepared to say to God, "Let the dew be upon the fleece; let us be saturated, baptised, entirely marked by what the earth does not have"? That is Christ. Only as our hearts and minds feed on Him will we bear the heavenly character and stand out from what belongs to the earth.

But let believers remember that the Spirit of God lives in us. We can depend on God's Word together with the leading of the Spirit. So we need no confirming signs — only real communion with the Lord and faith in His Word.

How remarkable! And yet we need not be surprised if we know anything of our own hearts. Anything for the poor human heart except the bare word of the living God. A sign, a token, something the eye can see. The word of God is not enough for unbelieving nature.

But oh, the matchless grace of God! His love that never scolds! His tender thoughtfulness! He graciously meets the weakness of His poor servant... What grace, that He should stoop so low! He does not rebuke Gideon's unbelieving "if." Instead He confirms his wavering faith with more evidence than Gideon asked for.

The boldness of faith, even when it seems to need confirming signs, never offends our gracious God. God promised Abraham every blessing, and that he would inherit the land of Canaan. Abraham asks, "How am I to know that I shall possess it?" Is God offended that His word is not enough? No — He gives the wonderful night vision of the furnace and the flaming torch.

Dew was the familiar sign of God's favour. It was largely the source of the land's fertility. Without it the land would have been parched and barren. Isaac uses this figure when he pronounces the blessing on Jacob. Moses repeats it in his closing blessing on the tribes. Elijah shows God's judgment on the land by declaring that no dew would fall... All refreshing, for Israel or for the Church, comes by the Holy Spirit. The divine dew is His blessed influence, bringing refreshing and help. Just as the land bears no fruit without dew, nothing grows where the Spirit's work is hindered.

And how the people had been sheared, we might say, by the Midianites, until nothing was left but the fleece, a remnant.

The fleece in the middle of the ground is a picture of Israel in the middle of the nations. The dew is the symbol of divine grace and mercy. It is the Lord who forsakes and who refreshes Israel. Israel today is like the fleece without the dew, while the ground, the Gentiles, has the grace of God. But before long the dew will fall on Israel again, and the time of their blessing and fullness will come.

His first sign was a fleece of wool soaked with dew, while everything around it was dry. Is this not a picture of the Lord Jesus in this world? Everything in this world (apart from God acting by His Spirit) was dry and lifeless as far as God was concerned.

Gideon's request was that the fleece should be soaked with what the earth knew nothing of... Are we prepared to say to God: "Let the dew be on the fleece; let us be soaked, baptized, entirely marked out by what the earth does not have?" That is Christ, surely. Only as our hearts and minds feed on Him will we carry the heavenly character and stand out from what is of the earth... Your own efforts will always be fruitless. You cannot perform a miracle. Only the power of God can bring this about.

Today some Christians use this history as an excuse. They expect a material sign from God about what His will may be in a given matter. But let believers remember that we have the Spirit of God living in us. We can fully depend on God's Word together with the leading of the Spirit. So we need no confirming signs — only genuine communion with the Lord and faith in His Word.

The poor heart can place its unbelieving "if" right in front of the word of God who cannot lie... Anything for the poor human heart but the naked word of the living God. A sign, a token, something that the eye can see. The word of God is not enough for unbelieving nature.

But oh, the matchless grace of God! His love that never scolds! His tender care! He graciously meets the weakness of His poor servant... What grace, that stoops so low! Instead of sharply rebuking Gideon's unbelieving "if," He confirms his wavering faith with overflowing evidence.

To see how fully God answered, he wrung the water out of the fleece and found a bowl full of water! Those of us who have left clothes outside overnight may have found them damp in the morning. But there was never a bowl full of water in them from the dew.

It is one thing to seek a sign in order to believe in God. It is quite another to seek one that confirms us in the rightness of the path we have entered, and in God's support of us in it. The first the Lord will not grant or allow. "No sign will be given to this generation," He says to the Jews... The divine path must be begun and entered in faith, without signs. But the Lord keeps giving evidence to confirm the soul that is in the right path.

The fleece in the midst of the ground is the type of Israel in the midst of the nations. The dew is the symbol of divine grace and mercy. It is the Lord who forsakes and who refreshes Israel. Israel today is like the fleece without the dew, while the ground, the Gentile nations, shares in the grace of God. But before long the dew will fall upon Israel again and the time of their blessing and fulness will come.

His very chastenings are a pledge of future mercy. The Jews are dry now, while blessing has come to the Gentiles. That very dryness is sure proof that God will one day step in for His beloved earthly people.

His first sign was that of a fleece of wool saturated with dew, while all around was dry. Is this not a picture of the Lord Jesus in this world? All in this world (apart from God's acting by His Spirit) was dry and lifeless as far as God was concerned. There was not a drop of refreshing moisture for God in the world.

There He was made a curse when He took our sins upon Himself. There the dew was wrung from Him. He cried out: "I thirst." ... But now the dew is on all the ground. The ground that sin cursed can now receive the blessing of God! Everyone can now receive the "dew of heaven!"

Are we ready to say to God: "Let the dew be on the fleece. Let us be soaked, baptized, completely marked by what the earth does not have"? ... You may tell me that this is your desire, but that all your efforts have been in vain. And let me assure you that your efforts always will be fruitless. You cannot perform a miracle.

And yet all this was not enough. Gideon seeks still further confirmation… Such is the abounding grace and endless patience of the God we have to deal with. Who would not trust Him, and love Him, and serve Him?

God gives another proof of how graciously He stoops to us. He grants a sign to strengthen the weak but real and sincere faith of Gideon. As he repeats his request (v. 39), Gideon feels that God might well discipline him for his lack of faith. Still, the Lord grants what he asks.

All God's orders to Gideon were clear and simple. But when Gideon asked God for signs, everything became unclear and complicated… Having tested God, Gideon now put Him to a test in return. What poor faith! What feeble confidence in Him! But the God of grace patiently did what His servant asked.

The boldness of faith, even when it seems to need confirming signs, never offends our gracious God. When He promised Abraham every blessing, and the land of Canaan, Abraham asked how he could know he would inherit it. Is God offended that His word is not enough? No — He gives him the wonderful night vision of the furnace and the flaming torch.

Dew was the familiar sign of God's favour. Much of the land's fertility came from it, and without it the land would have been parched and barren… And Hosea, describing the restoration of the nation when God will bless them again, describes Him as saying, "I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon."

We know that all refreshing, whether for Israel or the Church, is by the Holy Spirit, and that the divine dew is His blessed influence bringing refreshing and help. Just as without the dew the land would stop being fruitful, so without the Spirit's unhindered work there can be no fruit. Barrenness will be the result.

The fleece of the shorn sheep pictures desolate Israel, which will be filled with the dew of God's blessing while drought lies on the nations around. But the reverse may also be of God: while His mercies refresh the nations around, Israel for her sins may be left dry. Either way, this is no mere natural event… To see His hand in every condition, however opposite, and to own His power and rule everywhere — this is the secret of wisdom, and of strength no less.

The dew on the floor and not on the fleece suggests the blessing that has come to the nations during the time of Israel's rejection. We might say the present time.

This time the fleece of wool was dry, while all around was dew. How movingly this reminds us of the cross of Christ. God forsook Him who was as the dew of the morning, so that the dew of God's grace might rest on the dry and barren waste of humanity.

Seeking a sign to establish belief in God is one thing. Seeking one to confirm that the path we have entered is right, and that God supports us in it, is quite another. The first the Lord will not grant or allow… The divine path must be begun in faith, without signs. But the Lord keeps on giving evidence to confirm the soul that is in the right path.

How remarkable! And yet we need not be surprised if we know anything of our own hearts. Anything for the poor human heart but the plain word of the living God. A sign, a token, something the eye can see. The word of God is not enough for unbelieving nature.

And yet all this was not enough. Gideon seeks still further confirmation... Such is the abounding grace and endless patience of the God we have to deal with. Forever praised be His holy name! Who would not trust Him, and love Him, and serve Him?

It is one thing to seek a sign in order to believe in God. It is a very different thing to seek one that confirms we are on the right path, and that God supports us in it. The first the Lord will not grant or allow. "No sign will be given to you," He says to the Jews, when they asked for a sign as a ground of belief. We must enter God's path by faith, without signs. But the Lord keeps giving evidence to confirm the soul that is on the right path, and that it will succeed there.

When Gideon asks for the dew on the fleece, it speaks of God giving His blessing to His persecuted people. This is true not only of that time, but of the last days, when He will be as the dew to Israel. When the dew appears on the floor and not on the fleece, it suggests the blessing that has come to the Gentiles during the period of Israel's rejection. We might say the present time.

But whether He gives or withholds blessing, God is showing Himself for His people. His very chastenings are a pledge of future mercy. The Jews are dry now, while blessing has come upon the Gentiles. That very dryness is a sure proof that God will one day step in for His beloved earthly people.

And this brings us to Gideon's second sign. This time the fleece of wool was dry, while all around was dew. How movingly this reminds us of the cross of Christ. God forsook Him who was as the dew of the morning, so that the dew of God's grace might rest on the dry and barren waste of humanity... "my strength is dried up like a potsherd." (Ps. 22:15)

God forsook His Son so that His attitude toward this world might be one of grace and blessing, so that the dew of His goodness might rest on it.

Gideon had one more request to make before he took the field; it was that the fleece might be dry and all the earth wet. Here we have the negative side of the matter, which naturally follows the positive. For us it means this: let us be free in heart and character from what soaks the earth. Let its maxims, principles, ways, hopes and ambitions have no place in our lives. They can only spoil our enjoyment of Him.

With his faith refreshed, Jerubbaal, the challenger of the idols — who is also Gideon, the "cutter-down" — rises up early with all the people, and camps opposite the enemy by the spring of trembling (Harod). And there, right in front of the vast host of Midian, God makes him send away more than two thirds of his small army.

He was hated. But what did that matter? He received the name Jerubbaal (let Baal plead). In front of everyone he became the personal witness that the things he once worshipped were worthless.

God's weapons cut down the evil at home before they cut it down abroad. This is the principle of 2 Timothy 2:21: "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work." The Lord's vessel must not hold anything that is unsuited to the Lord.

Now we see Gideon together with the people. This is not so much his preparation for the service as theirs. The whole army, some thirty-two thousand men, camps at a well with a fitting name — the well of Harod, or "trembling." No doubt that described the state of most of them. For when the Lord had him announce through the army that all who were afraid should go home, twenty-two thousand took the offer.

Ready in this way, he "rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod" with all the people who were with him. Here the Lord steps in, to declare the work as His own. Israel must have no room to boast against God and say, "My own hand has saved me."… It must have tested Gideon's faith to see 22,000 of the people leave his ranks. But where there is faith, this is always the demand.

Thirty-two thousand men followed Gideon. But Jehovah will not have so many. He alone must be glorified in their deliverance. Their faith was so weak, even while the Spirit of God was at work, that twenty-two thousand men were content to turn back at Gideon's invitation, right in front of the enemy. The movement produced by the faith of another is quite a different thing from personal faith.

There is a subtle desire for numbers in all of us. Why do we want statistics — numbers of conversions, numbers of members — unless we think the power lies in the numbers?… We should indeed rejoice for the many who receive blessing. But our eye is not to be on the many; it is to be on the Lord.

He never honours us when we are thinking that we are anything. Great blessing has often come after deep humbling, sometimes even humbling in the eyes of others. We were brought low, and the Lord lifted us up.

"The LORD said to Gideon, 'The people with you are too many.'" What a blessed thing it is to have One to guide us who is entirely independent of circumstances!… No one going to war in this world had ever heard such a reason before. It is good to have God to judge for us, whether in peace or war, service or suffering.

Here the Lord steps in, in order to declare the work as His own. Israel must have no room to boast against God and say, "My own hand has saved me."… It must have been a trial to Gideon's faith to see 22,000 of the people retire from his standard: but this is always the demand where there is faith. If he has believed, he must not lose heart when the means he counted on almost entirely melt away. But Gideon is now strong in God, taught by God's gracious dealing, and he is not discouraged. He need not be: it is better for a man of faith to be with a few faithful people than with many who are weak and wavering.

In this day of battle with the Midianites, the army of Israel went out thirty-two thousand strong… It is God's way to work in the weakness of man, so that "the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us."

Flesh cannot be trusted. It will turn the very service of Christ into an occasion of self-exaltation. It will use the very name of Him who made Himself nothing in order to make itself something. It will build up its own reputation by seeming to further the cause of Him who made Himself of no reputation. Such is flesh! Such are we in ourselves!

There is always great danger of our being mere imitators of other people's faith; of copying their example without their spiritual power… Let us be simple, and humble, and real. We may be very small, our sphere very narrow, our path very retired; but it does not matter in the least, provided we are precisely what grace has made us… Then our God can use us, without fear of our boasting.

At such a period God takes special care to hold down the pride that would attach credit to man in a work which belongs to Himself alone. The Christian world today boasts of how many followers it has, thinking that numbers are a factor in the work of God. If He does any work, she takes the credit for herself. Like Laodicea, she is proud of her resources: "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing."

God's great design in His dealings was to teach Israel to trust in Himself. He wants to find in His people a true heart. A true heart makes a strong hand. Having confidence in the Captain of our salvation and not in ourselves, we do not faint at the sight of our enemies.

What a blessed thing it is to have One to guide us who is entirely independent of circumstances! "The people that are with you are too many." Never before in going to war in this world was such a plea heard. It is good to have God judge for us, whether in peace or war, service or suffering.

God had always provided for this. In the law He had directed this proclamation, so that timid men would not start a panic by spreading their fear. But He has another reason here. There were too many people for the truth to be perfectly plain: divine power, not human power, had won the victory. Man is too prone to boast, and he must lose every chance to do so, or boast he surely will.

This was a direct appeal to His own word in Deuteronomy 20:8: "Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own." How precious it is to find God recalling His word given through Moses!

The same passage teaches us that those who were fearful and trembling were those who had something to lose. A servant of God is full of courage for his work when he has nothing to lose here. The excellence of Christ has made him despise what the world values. Alas, how many fearful ones there are in our days, just as there were then... God wants undivided hearts for His work — hearts that have nothing to lose and fear nothing.

Faint-heartedness is terribly contagious. It spreads rapidly. It withers the arm that should bear the shield, and paralyses the hand that should wield the sword. The only cure for this illness is simple confidence in God. We need a firm grasp of His faithfulness, a child-like trust in His word, and a true personal knowledge of Him. We must know God for ourselves. His word must be everything to us. Then we can walk alone with Him, and stand alone with Him in the darkest hour.

Their faith was very weak, even while the Spirit of God was at work. Standing in front of the enemy, twenty-two thousand men were content to go home at Gideon's invitation. Being moved by someone else's faith is quite a different thing from having faith of your own.

To all appearance, Gideon was weakening his own hands. At the first proclamation, twenty-two thousand left him. But he did not lose strength; their leaving made him stronger. If these fearful, faint-hearted men had stayed, they would have discouraged the rest.

We know that the Lord Jesus sent out the proclamation, "Let those who will follow Me count the cost." One man said to Him, "Lord, I will follow you wherever you go." He answered, "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." And then there was fearfulness and faint-heartedness. Many had nothing but Christ, and everything else was against them. So they turned back and walked with Him no more.

And the Lord said, "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.'" It is God's way to work in the weakness of man, "so that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us."

God will not allow human learning, influence, moral character, or anything else to come in as any part of our deliverance... There is such a thing as the trial of our faith. We are very often quite unable to test one another, but God knows the best way of doing it in each case.

How solemn it is to remember that God tests us without our knowledge. If we knew when the test was coming, we would be on our best behaviour. But God watches us when we least think it, and He accepts or rejects us for the posts of danger and honour.

These people were really not afraid to go to the battle, as those were who had left earlier; they were all soldiers ready for war. The test was this: whether, on that thirsty day, they would lap the water, putting the hand to the mouth, or bow down and drink at their ease. The three hundred chosen ones, the men by whom the Lord was about to work, had no time for stopping. Their hearts were in the work, and they merely took a drink as they went on their way.

Paul speaks of the soldier who is not "entangled in civilian pursuits" (2 Tim. 2:4); all that we can safely take, if we would "please the one who enlisted" us, is just a drink along the way. There is a very great difference between being in the circumstances of this life and being entangled with them. When the Lord tested them, those who bowed down were not fit for His use. They were no more fit than the faint-hearted, though they were not faint-hearted themselves. They had to go home.

Here we see the true use of the mercies of God. We need food and clothing and shelter, and God puts all of them within our reach. How shall we treat them? If our aim is to get as much of them as possible, we have become their servants. We cannot face the enemy, because we have begun to set our minds on earthly things. But if we take them only as God's mercies, and are content with what we have, we shall prove ourselves fit vessels for His service. We are here not to pile up treasure on earth, but for the testimony of the Lord.

It is not a question of salvation; it is a question of service. Gideon dismissed thirty-one thousand seven hundred men from his army. They were as much Israelites as the three hundred who remained. But they were not fitted for the moment of conflict; they were not the right men for the crisis. And why?... They could not trust God and surrender self. They were full of fear when they ought to have been full of faith. They made refreshment their object instead of conflict.

Only three hundred stood the test. Their hearts were in God's battles that day. They did not refuse the blessing when it came their way, out of a strict self-denial, but they were not entangled by it. That was the point... And God delivered Israel by the three hundred self-denying men. The victory was won. And God is delivering many at the present hour by means of the faithful, prayerful, earnest, self-denying few.

Here the Lord steps in to declare the work as His own. Israel must have no room to boast against God and say, "My own hand has saved me." … But though less than a third of the original number remained, even that number the Lord calls "too many." He orders a test for the whole remaining company, to sift it and prove who was really fit to fight and testify for Him. To human eyes this test looks simple and unimportant. Spiritually, it searches the heart.

God's ways are strange to human reasoning; the unbeliever laughs at them. Unlike those who left earlier, these men were not afraid to go into battle. They were all soldiers ready for war. Here was the test. On that thirsty day, would they lap the water, putting their hand to their mouth? Or would they bow down and drink at their ease? The three hundred chosen ones were the men through whom the Lord was about to work. They had no time to stop. Their hearts were in the work, and they took a drink as they went on their way.

Kneeling down and drinking at leisure is the natural way for a man to do it. They showed by this that they were inclined to take things easy and satisfy their need to the full. Taking the water into the hand and lapping it like a dog is not the natural way for a man to drink. They were less absorbed with satisfying their natural wants. They showed by it their eagerness to press on.

These three hundred, who lapped the water as a dog laps, drinking what the hand carried to the mouth, were not only the devoted ones, but the humble ones. They remind us of the poor Syrophoenician woman. When she was compared to a dog, she answered, "Yes, Lord," happy to depend only on His grace (Mark 7:28). God wants devoted yet humble witnesses.

The test seems a plain one. We must quench thirst, but it must not become so absorbing that it takes first place. The needs of this life are obvious, but are they first with us? Do we snatch up the things of this life as we pass, or are they what occupies us completely? … How solemn it is to remember that we are tested without knowing it. If we knew when the test was coming, we would be on our best behaviour. But God is watching us when we least think it. He accepts or rejects us for posts of danger and honour. … Only one thing can make us answer to God's test: a heart that is absolutely set upon His will.

The thirty-one thousand seven hundred sent home from Gideon's army were just as much Israelites as the three hundred who remained. But they were not fitted for the moment of conflict. They were not the right men for the crisis. And why? … They could not trust God and surrender self. They were full of fear when they should have been full of faith. They made refreshment their object instead of conflict.

Being in the circumstances of this life is one thing. Being entangled with them is a very different thing. When the Lord tested them, those who bowed down were not fit for His use — no more fit than the faint-hearted, though these men were not faint-hearted. They had to go home.

Some seek their ease. They enjoy to the full the blessings which God's providence has placed in their path. Others have one aim only: to win the victory. They refuse to turn aside from their object. They taste the water along the way, and find in it only what strengthens them for their service. It is said of the Lord, "He will drink from the brook by the way" (Psalm 110:7). When He drank in this way, "He set His face to go to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51), the place of His agony and death.

God's ways look strange to human sense, and unbelievers mock them. These men were not afraid to go into battle, unlike those who left earlier. They were all soldiers, armed and ready for war. The test was this: on that thirsty day, would they lap the water with the hand to the mouth, or bow down and drink at their ease? The three hundred chosen ones, the men the Lord was about to work by, had no time to stop. Their hearts were in the work, and they took only a drink as they went on their way.

"Everyone who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps" — not those who took the water with ease, as at ordinary times, and like men. This was the very thing they wanted deliverance from: themselves and their comforts. The question here was not only faint-heartedness, but whole-hearted devotion to the Lord and to the work in front of them. If we are to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ, we must not live as mere men do, or tangle ourselves up in the affairs of this life. The faith that counts on God is willing even to be counted as a dog before Him. Those God would use must not seek their own ease or honour.

Some seek their ease and enjoy to the full those blessings which providence has placed in their path. Others have one aim only: to win the battle. They do not let anything turn them aside from it. They taste the water on the way, and find in it only what strengthens them for their service. It is said of the Lord, "He will drink from the brook by the way" (Psalm 110:7). When He drank like that, "He set His face to go to Jerusalem," the scene of His agony and death (Luke 9:51). Nothing holds a Christian back in his testimony like taking his ease. He settles down to enjoy the earthly blessings God gives him, instead of simply tasting them as he passes.

We need food and clothing and shelter, and these are all put within our reach. How shall we treat them? If our object is to get as much of these things as possible, we have become their servants.

It is not a question of salvation; it is a question of service. It is not a question of being a child of God, but of being a proper servant of Christ. The thirty-one thousand seven hundred sent home from Gideon's army were just as much Israelites as the three hundred who stayed. But they were not fit for the moment of conflict. They were not the right men for the crisis. And why? Was it that they were not circumcised? No. What then? They could not trust God and surrender self. They were full of fear when they ought to have been full of faith. They made refreshment their object instead of conflict.

The needs of this life are real, but are they chief with us?… How solemn it is to remember that God tests us without our knowledge. If we knew when the test was coming, we would be on our good behaviour. But God is watching us when we little think it, and accepting or rejecting us for the posts of danger and honour.

The Lord's hand alone must be seen. This was what Israel needed — that the Lord should have His place in their hearts and their faith. And it suited God's just judgment on Israel that the rest should be left out of the glory of the work.

When all the people went up with Gideon, the LORD said to him: "The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands." The danger was that Israel would boast against the LORD, saying, "My own hand has saved me." At such a time God takes special care to hold down the pride that would give man credit for a work that belongs to Him alone.

Jonathan once said, "Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few" (1 Samuel 14:6). When God is working, victory lies with the few rather than with the many. Gideon's three hundred men accomplished great things for God (Judges 7:7).

This at once separated two kinds of men: those who cared nothing for themselves, but only for what God had given them to do. The rest, even at such a moment, could stop to consult their own habits, their own preferences, their own ease. I believe this is exactly the truth meant here for our instruction. With a little handful of that kind, Gideon was to do his errand.

God's ways are strange to human reasoning; the unbeliever scoffs at them. These people were genuinely not afraid to go into battle, unlike those who left earlier. They were all soldiers ready for war. The test was this: in that thirsty day, would they lap the water, putting the hand to the mouth, or bow down and drink at their ease? The three hundred chosen ones — those through whom the LORD was about to work — had no time for stopping. Their hearts were in the work, and they merely took a drink as they went on their way.

What was the great question raised about Gideon's company? Was it whether a man was an Israelite, a son of Abraham, a circumcised member of the congregation? Not at all. What then? Simply whether he was a fit vessel for the service at hand. And what made a man fit for such service? Confidence in God and self-denial. God rejected those who were afraid (v. 3), and He rejected those who consulted their own ease (v. 7). The 31,700 whom He rejected were as truly Israelites as the 300 He approved, but they were not fit servants; the 300 were.

"Bring them down to the water, and I will test them there," is God's command. Water is one of God's greatest mercies. In this case a plentiful supply lay within reach of the army. The way they treated it showed their fitness to be God's warriors, or their unfitness. Nine thousand seven hundred stooped down to get as much as they could, and for the moment seemed to forget the fight. The three hundred took just what would meet their immediate need, and no more. The Lord's battle controlled them, and everything else waited.

There is a subtle craving for numbers in all of us. Why do people want statistics, numbers of conversions, numbers of "members"? Is it not because they think the power is in the numbers? Numbers have too often been the occasion for the pride that goes before destruction. Far be the thought that we should refuse numbers for their own sake. We should certainly be glad for the many who receive blessing, but our eye is not to be on the many — it is to be on the Lord.

When all the people went up with Gideon, the Lord said to him: "The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand." The danger was that Israel would boast over the Lord and say: "My own hand has saved me." At such a time God takes special care to hold down the pride that would credit man with a work that belongs to Him alone. The Christian world today boasts of the number of its followers, thinking it sees in that a factor in the work of God. If He does any work, it claims the credit. Like Laodicea, it takes pride in its resources: "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing."

This is especially true in a day of decline, when God has raised up a remnant testimony to His truth. Numbers, if they are not truly clear — and I might say tested as these were — will only make the testimony unwieldy. A little company, tried and tested by God Himself, is far better than a large and respectable body that wins the world's respect by its size.

God's ways are strange to human sense: the unbeliever laughs at them. These people were not afraid to go to battle, unlike those who had left earlier. They were all soldiers ready for war. The test was this: whether on that thirsty day they would lap the water, putting the hand to the mouth, or bow down and drink at their ease. The three hundred chosen ones were the men by whom the Lord was about to work. They had no time to halt, because their hearts were in the work. They only took a drink as they went on their way.

These men took their trumpets in their hands, symbols of testimony, but they also took their food (v. 8). We cannot overcome without being fed, and Israel was proof of this under the terrible yoke of Midian, which left them without supplies.

But ten thousand men are still too many. The Lord's hand alone must be seen. This was what Israel needed: the Lord must have His place in their hearts and faith. And it fitted the just judgment of God in Israel that, when it came to their part in the work, they should be left out of its glory.

I need not say that this is no question of salvation. It is a question of service, of testimony. Can God use us as instruments to free His beloved people from the bondage of the world? Surely He cannot if we are partly bound to the world ourselves. How dreadful to think that we are not fit for service, and God has to set us aside! May it lead us to search our hearts. Is there a hidden slavery to the world in us, or a failure to put God's interests first? A small thing may show our state, even something as small as a drink of water. Only one thing can make us pass God's test, and that is a heart absolutely set on His will. "One thing I do," says the apostle.

At the same time, dear friends, would not you and I have wanted our place to be with "the three hundred"? Shall we let the chance of confessing Jesus slip because we are saved? In the experience of almost every believer there is a coming down to the water — some turning point, when he either goes on in devotedness to the Lord, or else sinks into an ordinary, commonplace Christian. Not one of us is too obscure to be tested on whether he will put God's honour first, or present things.

The Lord recognizes, however, the strain of all this upon Gideon's faith. He Himself now tenderly offers a means of encouragement. The enemy themselves were to provide it.

Then comes another remarkable dealing of God with other instruction for us. "The LORD said to Gideon, 'Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand.'" He was encouraged, though the work looked extremely dangerous. But what is that to the Lord? Ours is only to obey.

Again the patient care of God gives Gideon absolute assurance of victory before he goes into the fight. You will notice that Gideon does not ask for this sign, but takes it up when it is offered by God.

Seeking a sign to establish belief in God is one thing. Seeking one to confirm us in the rightness of the path we have already entered is quite another. The first the Lord will not grant or allow. "No sign will be given," He says to the Jews, when they asked for a sign as a ground of belief. The divine path must be begun and entered in faith, without signs. But the Lord constantly gives evidence to confirm the soul that is in the right path, and that it will succeed there.

There is no book in the world comparable to the Bible for transparency. The writer was inspired to tell as calmly of Gideon's fear as of his courage. "If you are afraid to go down, go down with Purah." Who but God could speak out so simply? He was afraid, and takes the servant with him. Where is the honour of the successful warrior? It belongs to God alone.

In Judges 7:13 Gideon hears himself compared to a cake of barley bread. He would not have heard this if he had not been afraid (Judges 7:10). But it showed him all the more whose hand must give the victory.

The cake of barley bread was no great thing in itself or in men's eyes. But so it is that God delivers, not by wit, power, or wealth, but by His Spirit working through a despised instrument.

Nothing could be more alarming than the fearful odds against the people of faith — the world, the flesh, and the endless hostility of Satan! Who would not be faint-hearted if we saw only this? God is pleased to let Gideon hear what is in the Midianites' hearts. So too He is pleased to let us know very often what is in the hearts of our enemies.

As surely as Christ has triumphed over every power of evil, so surely we may conclude that every display of evil is really only a guarantee to us that a power is at hand for us that is more than superior to it. And the greater the evil opposition, the more marked and clear the power that will overcome and silence it.

How many and varied are the ways of the Lord on behalf of His servants! In the enemy's camp the interpretation of a dream announces Gideon's success, and he hears how they already count on their own overthrow... Gideon was greatly encouraged by this. The God of the dew was brought near to him again. He worshipped, and returned in full assurance of victory before the conflict had begun.

This sifting must have tested Gideon's faith as well as his followers', for the drop in numbers threw him still more on dependence on God. "The same night" — now that the company is prepared, there must be no delay — the Lord tells him, "Go down against the camp." But with unusual graciousness, and with willingness to meet and strengthen any wavering in Gideon's faith, He adds, "If you are afraid to go down, go down with Purah your servant, and you shall hear what they say." How many are the ways of the Lord on behalf of His servants!

He was encouraged, though it was a service of immense danger in appearance; but what is this to the Lord? Ours is only to obey.

There is no book in the world comparable to the Bible for transparency. The writer was inspired to tell as calmly of Gideon's fear as of his courage. "If you are afraid, go down with Purah." Who but God could speak out so simply? He was afraid, and takes with him the servant. Where is the honour of the successful warrior? It belongs to God alone.

Nothing is more alarming than to see the fearful odds against the people of faith. Look at them: the world, the flesh, and Satan's unceasing hostility! Who would not be faint-hearted, if we saw only this? God is pleased to let Gideon hear what is in the Midianites' hearts. So too is He pleased to let us know, very often, what is in the hearts of our enemies. "Have you come here to torment us before the time?" lets out the secret. Almost everything the intelligent Christian hears tells him, "Be strong."

We read that the Israelites went out of Egypt "harnessed," or "by five in a rank" as the margin reads. Exodus 13:18. The same word, chamushim, is translated "armed" in reference to the way the Israelites crossed the Jordan, when they had plenty of time to arrange themselves in proper order. Joshua 1:14; Joshua 4:12. It is also translated "armed" when it refers to the army of the Midianites and the Amalekites as they were arranged in the camp before action. Judges 7:11. From this we gather that the Israelites did not travel in disorder... it was God who was bringing them out, and it would have been unworthy of Him to have had them moving as a disorderly rabble.

Military attendant on Gideon. Judges 7:10-11.

Once again God's patient care gives Gideon full assurance of victory before he goes into the fight. You will notice that Gideon does not ask for this sign, but uses it when God offers it. It is more than a sign. It begins in figurative language, and then the enemy himself gives the interpretation, along with the assurance of complete victory.

You remember that Gideon feared to do his first work by day. Why should you not take the path of faith even with trembling? That is far better than boasting. May our God give us the courage of obedience, and though trembling, may we follow on in His path.

Gideon and his 300 men were on a hill above the camp of the Midianites, while 31,700 of his men returned home! There is no doubt the Lord knew that Gideon would feel pitifully weak with his small company. So He told Gideon to go down to the camp with only Purah his servant, to hear what those in the camp might be saying (vv. 10-11). Verse 12 tells us of the huge number of men and camels that might well have struck fear into Gideon's heart.

There is no book in the world as open and honest as the Bible. The writer tells of Gideon's fear as calmly as of his courage. "If you are afraid to go down, go down with Purah your servant." Who but God could speak so plainly? He was afraid, and he takes the servant with him. Where is the honour of the successful warrior? It belongs to God alone.

Midian in this way stands for the world, as its history has shown it to be, and the name matches this, meaning "strife." … These Midianites were Arab raiders and wandering plunderers. Some think the name "Midian" is really linked to the modern word "Bedouin." Like locusts, they devoured what they had no will to produce, as the story here shows. This is what the world is when it is let into the professing church. It shares no interest with the church, but the opposite, and the result is nothing but ruin.

What is this "host of Israel"? Three hundred men! The Midianites are "like locusts in abundance," while the LORD's "host" is only a handful of men! It is most important to see the dignity given to the three hundred. God does not count us by what we are in ourselves, but by what He makes us.

Then God placed him in front of the enemy, who lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and drew his portrait through the mouth of one of them. This mighty warrior was compared to a cake of barley bread — coarse, plain food. And this was "the sword of Gideon"! What a sword to strike such a crowd with! But in reality, the sword of Gideon was "the sword of the LORD" (v. 20), and that is where the power lay.

His purpose is to assure the soul of this. Christ has triumphed over every power of evil. We may be just as sure that every display of evil is only a guarantee to us that a power is at hand for us, far greater than it. And further, the greater the evil opposition, the clearer and more obvious the power that will overcome and silence it.

"The cake of barley bread" and "the broken pitchers" proved a match for all the power of the Midianites and the Amalekites. And this was so even though they "lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance." God was with the cake of barley bread and the pitchers. He will always be with those who are ready to take the low place, ready to be nothing and to make Him their all in all. … It does not matter what the difficulties are, or how many our enemies are, or how strong. All must give way before the presence of the living God.

One of the army of Midian had a dream, and Gideon is allowed to hear him tell it to his friend. It is simple almost to the point of being crude... His companion interprets it in plain words: "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." So from the lips of the enemy he receives God's assurance that the whole movement will succeed.

There is plenty of evidence in the Scriptures that God often made His mind known to people through dreams. He did this not only with those who obeyed Him, but also with those outside Israel. Gen. 20:3, 6; Judges 7:13.

Barley bread, because of its coarseness, was the food of the poorest peasants only... The Midianite's dream of a cake of barley bread rolling into the camp was a vivid picture of how desperate the starving, poverty-stricken Israelites had become. Yet by the Lord's help the despised cake overturned the tent of the oppressor (Judges 7:13).

Barley bread is the poorest of all foods — the food of paupers. So it suggested poverty and feebleness — the very lessons stressed all along. The fact, too, that it was food and not a sword that was to overthrow Midian is significant. When the people of God are feeding on Christ, they are getting a sword for the enemy. God can use even our feeble and partial understanding of Christ as a most effective weapon.

Divine encouragement is never given to puff up the flesh. Anything of pride and self-importance must have been badly wounded. God shows His favoured servant what is coming: he will strike down the Midianites as one man. Even so, He makes him feel that in himself he is only a "cake of barley bread."

Nothing strikes such terror into the heart of the enemy as a sense of weakness among God's people... So this cake of barley bread, awkward as the comparison seems, testifies of God at work and of man's utter helplessness... No wonder Gideon could take courage. Even from the mouth of his enemies he learns how weak God's people are. A weakness that has thrown them on Him is a pledge of His victory. If I am strong, then Satan only has myself to deal with. If I am weak and cast on God, it is another matter.

If Christians lost their worldliness and were more like the cake of barley bread — the plainest thing possible — the world would stand more in fear of them. We have dressed ourselves in the world's trappings and wanted its respectability. So it thinks we have to go to it for help... Let us settle down quietly into simple, God-fearing, God-acknowledging Christianity. Then, though we look like a plain cake of barley bread, the world would feel about us as the Midianite speaks of Gideon to his friend.

He hears how his enemies already count on their own defeat... These hints are given to us with a purpose, and that purpose is to encourage us to press on more boldly. Gideon was greatly encouraged by this. The God of the dew was again brought near to him, and he worshipped, and went back in full assurance of victory before the fight had even begun.

The message comes from God Himself, spoken through the lips of the enemy. Gideon had been learning the lesson of weakness in his own soul. That same lesson struck terror into the hearts of his enemies. … If I am strong, it is simply myself that Satan has to meet. If I am weak and cast upon God, it is another matter. Satan knows then whom he has to meet — the Lord of hosts.

Then God placed him in front of the enemy, who lay in the valley like locusts for number. Through the mouth of one of them He drew Gideon's portrait. This mighty man of valour was compared to a cake of barley bread — coarse, homely food — and this was "the sword of Gideon"! A fine sort of sword to strike down such a multitude! But in reality the sword of Gideon was "the sword of Jehovah" (v. 20), and that is where the power lay.

Divine encouragement never puffs up the flesh. Anything of pride and self-importance must have been badly wounded. God shows His favoured servant what is about to happen: he will strike the Midianites as one man. Yet God makes him feel that in himself he is only a "cake of barley bread."

"Bread" and a "sword" seem the most mismatched figures; and yet both are figures of the word of God. And barley bread is the bread of the poorest. It may here speak of that word as its despisers rate it, or more likely of even its simplest and lowest truths. For what more than these is needed against Midian and Amalek, that is, the world and the lusts of the flesh, as they break in here on the Church of God?

Barley bread is the poorest of all foods — the food of the destitute. So it suggested poverty and feebleness, the very lessons stressed all along. It matters, too, that food and not a sword was to overthrow Midian. When the people of God are feeding on Christ, they are getting a sword for the enemy. God can use even our weak and partial grasp of Christ as a highly effective weapon.

Gideon learned to know himself, but God also revealed to him the moral state of the enemy he was called to face. It was a defeated foe. "God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp," said the Midianite to his fellow (v. 14). May we understand this truth better in connection with our three enemies — the flesh, the world and Satan. The flesh is crucified, the world is overcome, Satan is judged. This fills us with courage in front of them. Gideon grasped all this, and worshipped.

And then we read of this barley loaf: "This is no other than the sword of Gideon" (Judges 7:14). This sword of Gideon shows us that the Lord has conquered the enemy and the world. Here Gideon becomes a type of the Lord Jesus.

Is there not instruction for us in this? Suppose Christians were stripped of their worldliness, and were more truly like the "cake of barley bread" — the plainest thing imaginable. Then the world would fear them more. We have dressed ourselves in its trappings and wanted its respectability, so it assumes we must come to it for help. … Let us quietly settle down into simple, God-fearing, God-acknowledging Christianity. Then, though outwardly only a cake of barley bread, the world would feel about us as the Midianite spoke of Gideon to his friend.

Before he goes to battle, he worships in the full confidence of victory. The worship of faith is always the worship of confidence. If we were more truly, in our own eyes, the "cake of barley bread," there would be more abounding praise.

Blessings tend, because of what we are, to lift us up; and we run off with them to enjoy them, and forget God. Trouble brings us to our knees. It is good when our blessings also have this effect. See the beautiful example of this in Gideon (Judges 7:15). He did not rush off elated to tell the hosts of Israel the cheering news he had heard, but first worshipped.

Divine encouragement is never to the puffing up of the flesh. It must have cut deeply into any pride and self-importance. God shows His favoured servant what is coming to pass, and that he will strike the Midianites as one man. At the same time He makes him feel that in himself he is only a "cake of barley bread."

Nothing strikes such terror into the heart of the enemy as seeing a sense of weakness among God's people. Here is what speaks of the greatest poverty, of the greatest weakness — barley. And it is a loaf of barley bread, tossed over into the camp, that is going to destroy the whole power of the enemy. No wonder Gideon could take courage when he learned from his enemies' own mouths that God's people are weak. A weakness that has thrown them upon Him is a pledge of His victory. If I am strong, then Satan only has myself to meet. If I am weak and thrown upon God, it is another matter. Little wonder that Gideon bows in worship as he sees this clearly.

Here again there is the setting aside of self. He does not say "into my hand," but "into your hand." The Lord had said "into your hand" (v. 9), and the Midianite "into his hand" (v. 14).

What is this "host of Israel"? Three hundred men! The Midianites are as many as grasshoppers, and the LORD's "host" is only a handful of men! It is most important to see the dignity attached to the three hundred. God reckons not according to what we are in ourselves, but according to what He makes us.

Full of joy and confidence, Gideon returned to the camp of Israel and told the men to rise. Then he divided the three hundred into three companies. He "put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers." These three things represent the principles of God's testimony in the struggle with Satan and the world.

It was not their skill, nor their strength, but their testimony that God used. They testified loudly to the LORD's mission, the LORD's will, and the LORD's delivering of the Midianites into their hands.

The weapons of their warfare were the most foolish things imaginable — trumpets, pitchers, and lamps in the pitchers! Faith's weapons must be mighty through God alone.

Gideon divided these three hundred men into three companies — as if even that number was too great to be trusted together. They were all armed alike, and in a strange way. They had no sword, no bow, no spear. In one hand they held only pitchers, earthen vessels with a light hidden inside. In the other hand they held a trumpet that was to sound out the note of victory.

If the trumpets represent the word of God in testimony, and the pitchers represent ourselves, what are the lamps but the life of Jesus, the light of Christ? The first two only serve to show the third in the surrounding darkness. Gideon's men blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and the light shone out all about them.

We find the use of the trumpets detailed in Numbers 10:1-10. They were the voice of God, telling the people His mind on four important occasions. They gave the signal for gathering the people together, for the journeying of the camps, for battle, and also for the solemn feasts or worship. What the sound of the trumpets once meant for Israel, we now find in the word of God, in another and very precious way. By it God speaks to us. It regulates and directs the gathering together, the walk, the warfare, and the worship of the children of God.

Notice that the pitchers had been empty, but Gideon put the lights — the brands or torches — inside. This helps us understand the treasure in the earthen vessels that Paul speaks of. From the context, it is clearly the knowledge of the glory of God. God had caused that glory to shine in our hearts, displayed in the face of the glorified Christ. But once we receive it, by the working of sovereign power and grace, it does not come and go. It remains as a lasting possession.

The empty pitchers were probably some of the containers that had held the people's food. Now empty and worthless, they were only fit to be broken. When God raises up a testimony, He only glorifies Himself in instruments which He has broken.

Here you have the pitcher whole, with the light down inside it — and so the pitcher hides the light. There is nothing to do but break the pitcher. Then the light shines out unhindered. And you can understand that the more valuable the pitcher is, the less likely it is to be broken.

Now, I do not have to break the pitcher, blessed be God for that. That is God's part. He will break the pitcher — be sure of that. If you are walking with God, you are certain to be in His mind when He breaks it. And take care that you do not put something else in the way to stop the light from shining.

Now, the weapons we have to fight with are testimony by word of mouth and our own insignificance. Our power is in giving testimony to Jesus. We must never leave the place of being only "earthen vessels." Remember: the vessel only contains the light. Let us not pretend that it is the light.

Then Gideon told them to look at him and to do as he did. What a lovely picture of having Christ as our true leader! He does not only tell us what to do: He shows us by His own example, and we need only to follow Him.

To know what to do at any given moment, we must have the "single eye." When Gideon was about to attack the Midianites, he said to his followers, "Look at me, and do likewise." So it must be now with the Christian. He must look on Christ so that he may do what he sees Him doing. His eye must be on Christ alone, seeing nothing but Christ, desiring nothing but His mind and His glory.

Gideon blew his trumpet and broke his own pitcher at the same time. He commanded his companions to do the things they had "heard and seen" in their leader. As soon as they obeyed the word and followed his example, their enemies fled and they won a great victory. Breaking the pitchers mattered just as much as blowing the trumpet. Until they broke them, the pitchers hid the light inside; then the light shone out.

The weapons of their warfare were the most foolish things imaginable — trumpets, pitchers, and lamps in the pitchers! Faith's weapons must be mighty through God alone.

This self has now become the recipient of the grace of divine light. God has shined into the heart — now what are you to do? It is a question between the light that has shined in, and the vessel that contains the light and may hinder it from shining out. The vessel has received the light. That is what grace has done, and the same grace shows itself through a broken vessel.

The only way to let the light shine out is to break the pitcher. And you can understand that the more valuable the pitcher is, the less likely it is to be broken. And the more you realise that it is an earthen vessel in which you hold the treasure, the more ready you will be to break it, so that the treasure may be shown.

God does not want the trumpet testimony and darkness. He wants the testimony accompanied by light. He does not want words only. It makes no difference how powerful the words are, how true and clear they are, or what trumpet ring of victory they carry. He wants more than words. He wants the broken vessel, so that the light may come to the front.

They came in the middle of the night, just after the changing of the watch. They blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, so the torches showed. So 300 lights suddenly appeared around the camp of Midian. The Midianites rushed from their tents, and the sound of the trumpets and the sight of the lights threw them into confusion.

A little later he says, "Look on me, and do likewise" (verse 17). In this expression Gideon foreshadows the Lord Jesus. Our Lord says to us today: "Look on me, and do likewise."

We find the use of the trumpets detailed in Numbers 10:1-10. They were the voice of God, telling the people His mind on four important occasions. They gave the signal to gather the people, to move the camps, to go to battle, and to keep the solemn feasts or worship. What the sound of the trumpets once meant for Israel, we find today in the word of God, in another and very precious way. By it God speaks to us. It regulates and directs how the children of God gather together, walk, fight, and worship.

The weapons of their warfare were the most foolish things imaginable: trumpets, pitchers, and lamps in the pitchers! Faith's weapons must be mighty through God alone.

The thought throughout is the stripping away of one thing after another, taking from him one prop after another. In the end he and the little band with him face that mighty host that covers the whole face of the earth. He is left with the three hundred, and not even a sword in their hands, only a sword on their lips. They have the trumpets and the torches, and that cry, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon." The sword here is a spoken sword, not a sword in their hands.

God led His servant along a long road of testing to the final victory. The many details are full of interest and instruction, but we must pass over them today. It is enough to say this: all God taught him brought him at last to a conquering faith. He could link his name with God's and cry, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon." His whole thought and purpose was one with the Lord's. He was like that other good soldier who could say, "The testimony of the Lord, and of me His prisoner."

The three hundred stood, every man in his place around the camp, and cried: "The sword of Jehovah, and of Gideon!" This simple cry puts the world to rout! Bear testimony to Christ. Live Christ, taking no account of self. Let the two-edged sword of the Lord be your weapon. Then all the power of Satan and of the world will be unable to resist you.

The middle watch, from 10 P.M. to 2 A.M.

They came in the middle of the night, just after the changing of the watch. They blew the trumpets and broke the jars, and the torches shone out. So 300 lights suddenly appeared around the camp of Midian. The Midianites rushed from their tents. They heard the trumpets and saw the lights, and fell into confusion. They thought the enemy had got inside their camp, so they struck out with their swords at others who had swarmed out of their tents.

The weapons they fought with were the most foolish things imaginable — trumpets, jars, and lamps inside the jars! Faith's weapons must be mighty through God alone.

They were the voice of God, telling the people His mind on four important occasions. They gave the signal to gather the people together, to move the camps, to go to battle, and also for the solemn feasts or worship. What the sound of the trumpets once meant for Israel, we now have in another and very precious way, in the word of God. By it God speaks to us. It regulates and directs the gathering together, the walk, the warfare, and the worship of the children of God.

Now, let us take the trumpet as a figure of the testimony of the lip, and the torch as a figure of the testimony of the life. And both of these forms of witness are necessary to fight the "good fight" of faith.

Empty jars represented what Gideon and his warriors were in themselves. Like Paul's earthen vessel, these empty jars were only fit to be broken. When God raises up a testimony, He glorifies Himself only in instruments He has broken.

What a strange way to fight — and how full of instruction for us! We too have to bear testimony, not of ourselves, but of Christ, as they blew the trumpets. We too must have death working in us, if there is to be life in those we serve, and the earthen vessels must break. That is how the light can shine out brightly.

Every man could be trusted to stand where he was told, and to do what he was told, even in the darkness of midnight and at the edge of the enemy's camp. Unquestioning obedience like this was needed to carry out the unusual kind of attack the Lord planned for them to make on the invaders.

God used not their skill and not their strength, but their testimony — their loud testimony to the Lord's mission, the Lord's will, and the Lord's handing of the Midianites over into their hands.

Bear testimony to Christ. Live Christ, taking no account of self. Let the two-edged sword of the Lord be your weapon, and all the power of Satan and of the world will be unable to resist you. Despite the broken jars, they found their safety and strength in the trumpets of Israel, whose notes were so piercing, and in the lamps of God, whose light was so bright.

The thought throughout is stripping off one thing after another, robbing him of one prop after another. At last he stands with the little band that is with him, facing that mighty host that covers the whole face of the earth. He is left with the three hundred, and not even a sword in their hands, only a sword on their lips. They have the trumpets and the torches, and that cry, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon." The sword is a spoken sword, not a sword in their hands.

Strange way of fighting this — and how full of instruction for us! We too have to bear testimony, not of ourselves, but of Christ, as they blew the trumpets. We too must have death working in us, if life is to work in those we serve, and the earthen vessels breaking. That is how the light can shine out brightly… God did not use their skill or their strength, but their testimony — their loud testimony of the LORD's mission, the LORD's will, and the LORD's giving of the Midianites into their hands.

Of what use were these empty jars? To hold the lamps, the third and most important part of testimony for God… If, in testimony, the trumpets stand for the word of God, and the jars for ourselves, what are the lamps but the life of Jesus, the light of Christ? The first two only serve to make the third visible in the darkness around them.

Now, I do not have to break the jar, blessed be God for that. That is God's part. But He will break it, be sure of that. And if you are walking with God, you are certain to be in His mind when He breaks it.

The best and most effective way is not to take your light out, so to speak, and set the jar carefully to one side to use again. It is to break the jar, and that is the end of it. That is what faith will do.

The enemy compared this mighty man of valour to a cake of barley bread, coarse and plain food — and this was "the sword of Gideon"! A fine sword indeed to strike this huge army with! But in reality the sword of Gideon was "the sword of the LORD," and that was where the power lay.

As a result of all that God taught him, he was able at last, in conquering faith, to link his name with God's, and to cry, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon." His whole thought and purpose was bound up and one with the Lord's, like that other good soldier who could say, "The testimony of the Lord, and of me His prisoner."

Now the weapons we have to fight with are testimony by word of mouth and our own insignificance. Our power is in giving testimony to Jesus. It lies in never leaving the place of being only "earthen vessels." Remember that the vessel only holds the light. Let us not pretend that it is the light.

They came in the middle of the night, just after the changing of the watch. They blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, uncovering the torches. So 300 lights suddenly appeared around the camp of Midian. The Midianites rushed from their tents. They heard the trumpets, saw the lights, and fell into confusion. They thought the enemy had got inside their camp. So they lashed out with their swords at other men who had swarmed out of the tents. So the Lord set every man's sword against his own companions, and the whole army fled.

Bethshittah. Place near the Jordan valley. Judges 7:22.

The war-cry went up: "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon." Each man stood in his place around the camp. The whole army ran, cried out, and fled. And the three hundred blew their trumpets. It was not their skill or their strength that was used. It was their testimony — their loud testimony to the Lord's mission, the Lord's will, and the Lord's handing over of the Midianites into their hands.

Empty pitchers represented what Gideon and his warriors were in themselves. Their leader had just learned this lesson in the camp of Midian. The three hundred had to learn it too, each one for himself. Like Paul's earthen vessel, these empty pitchers were only fit to be broken. When God raises up a testimony, He glorifies Himself only in instruments He has broken. He carried His gospel to the nations by a Saul whom He had first cast down in the dust on the road to Damascus.

The weapons we fight with are testimony by word of mouth and our own insignificance. Our power is in giving testimony to Jesus. We must never get out of the place of being only "earthen vessels." We must remember that the vessel only holds the light; let us not pretend that it is the light. The surpassing power must be of God and not of us.

Let us take the trumpet as a figure of the testimony of the lip, and the torch as a figure of the testimony of the life. Both of these forms of witness are needed to fight the "good fight" of faith.

In this testimony the trumpets represent the word of God, and the pitchers represent ourselves. What then are the lamps but the life of Jesus, the light of Christ? The first two only serve to make the third visible in the surrounding darkness... It is God Himself who takes care to break the vessels, "so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh."

A panic — that is the force of the word "tumult" — will seize the nations besieging Jerusalem. It will be like the panic that fell on the Midianites when Gideon and his three hundred men attacked. It will be like the one that came on the army of Ammon, Moab and Edom as they advanced against Judah in the days of Jehoshaphat. The huge army will melt away and destroy itself.

It is encouraging that testimony breeds testimony. The three hundred were used to reunite the people. The men of Israel gathered and pursued Midian. All the men of Ephraim came, joined the chase, and shared in the spoil. We shall see this result if we are faithful.

But if faith does not wait for numbers, nor rest on them in the battles of the Lord, others follow when the enemy has received a clear defeat.

But ten thousand men are still too many. Jehovah's hand alone must be seen. Only those may remain who do not stop to drink at their ease. They refresh themselves in haste, as the chance comes, more taken up with the fight than with their own comfort along the way. This was what Israel needed: Jehovah must have His place in their hearts and in their faith. And it fitted the just judgment of God in Israel that, as far as their part in the work went, they had no share in its glory.

It is Jehovah who does everything. The trumpets and the lamps alone announce His presence, and that of His servant Gideon. The crowd of Israel pursue the enemy. They profit by the work of faith, though they have no faith themselves — the usual result of such a movement.

The people flock to the victory, just as they will, whenever individual faith has opened the way, and it is a comfort to think that this is the case. We saw the same in Ehud's case: he blew a trumpet, and Israel gathered after him. But first he had to kill the king of Moab alone. So here, once the battle is won and the enemy is in flight, the rest of Israel gather and join the pursuit. Gideon in fact sends messengers to show that he does not want the credit, if we may use that word, of the victory for himself.

We come next to something that, sadly, becomes all too common as the book of Judges goes on: the strife connected with the victory, and in a sense growing out of it.

The enemy being routed, Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and Manasseh gathered and pursued the Midianites (v.23). Gideon also sent messengers throughout Ephraim. They were to bring their armies to help mop up, by taking from the enemy the watering places that matter so much to an army's welfare. In doing this they also captured and killed two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They brought their heads to Gideon on the other side of Jordan.

We are powerless in ourselves for blessing, and we have found this out. But we have proved how good simple dependence on God is. So we can, like Gideon, call others to share with us. But let us not be setting up ourselves. Everything depends on the presence of the Holy Spirit, ungrieved, unhindered. Let this be told, and let us hide ourselves.

Faith does not wait for numbers, and it does not lean on them in the battles of the Lord. But others follow once the enemy has clearly been beaten. Israel gathered from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh and chased Midian, and Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim — and so the victory was complete.

Gideon also sent messengers throughout Ephraim to bring their armies in to finish the work. They were to take from the enemy the watering places that an army needs so badly. In doing this they also captured and killed two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, then brought their heads to Gideon on the other side of Jordan.

Gideon sends messengers to show them that he does not want the credit of the victory himself. He sends messengers to Ephraim, to go down and take the crossings of the Jordan, so that they can wipe out the enemy completely.

We are powerless in ourselves to bring blessing, and we have found this out. But we have also proved how good it is to depend simply on God. So, like Gideon, we can call others into fellowship with us (v. 24, 25). But let us not set ourselves up. Everything depends on the presence of the Holy Spirit, ungrieved and unhindered. Let this be told, and let us hide ourselves.

Ephraim is now called to take part in the fight. They answer the call and win a decisive battle. They take two princes of Midian — Oreb and Zeeb, the "Raven" and the "Wolf" — and bring their heads to Gideon, on the other side of Jordan. There is indeed a place for Ephraim in a fight like this, though it is not the first place. The spiritual meaning again throws light on the history. The names of the princes killed seem to show that they stand only for the rougher and lower of Israel's enemies — or the Church's; and the word used is the plain word "princes," not "kings."

Here, Christian reader, is the true way to overcome jealous and envious brothers. The cake of barley bread and the empty pitcher can overcome jealous Ephraimites as well as hostile Midianites. A self-hiding spirit is the grand secret of victory over envy and jealousy, in all their hateful forms. It is difficult, if not impossible, to quarrel with a man who is down in the dust, in true self-abasement.

Here is Ephraim, though: they are simply jealous, because God had used a more spiritual instrument than themselves. Jealousy is a proof that God cannot use you. If you are jealous of another, if you envy the spiritual state or spiritual power of another, it is just the proof that God cannot use you. You would not be jealous of another if God could use you. What jealousy should teach you first is to go down in the dust and own to God that you are not a faithful instrument. The man who envies his brothers should rather criticise himself.

Isaiah 10:26 shows that Gideon's victory over Midian at the rock of Oreb foreshadows the final victory over the Assyrian. In the same way, Barak's victory over Sisera at Megiddo pictures the final slaughter of the armies that will gather in the last days at Armageddon.

After the victory, with the enemy in flight, the rest of Israel gather together and join in the pursuit. Gideon, in fact, sends messengers to show them that he does not want the credit, if we may use that word, of the victory himself. He sends messengers to Ephraim. They are to go down and take the fords of Jordan, so that they may wipe out the enemy entirely.

We are powerless in ourselves for blessing, and we have found this out. But we have proved how good it is to depend on God alone. So we can, with Gideon, call on others to have fellowship with us. But let us not be setting up ourselves. Everything depends on the presence of the Holy Spirit, ungrieved and unhindered. Let this be told, and let us hide ourselves.

The two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, were slain. Oreb means "raven" and Zeeb means "wolf." Oreb, the raven, is slain on the rock and Zeeb, the wolf, at the winepress. The raven is the bird that represents darkness and evil, so it is the type of corruption. The wolf is the destroyer of the sheep. The rock and the winepress are pictures of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Cross. There the victory over both was won.

The winepress reminds us of the blood of the grape, and of His blood that cleanses from all sin. It may well then suggest the cross, the winepress for Him. And this is indeed an effective shelter and hiding place for faith from all the power of the world. We take our place by the cross, and no Midianite dare dispute our position.

Ephraim is now called to take part in the contest, and they respond and win a decisive battle. There is indeed a place for Ephraim in such a contest as this, though it is not the first place. The spiritual meaning again lights up the history. The names of the princes slain seem to show that they represent only the ruder and lower of Israel's — or the Church's — enemies. According to the plain word, they are "princes," not "kings."

Nor is it wise or right to run down the work of Ephraim. Oreb and Zeeb — Raven and Wolf — the princes of Midian, had fallen at their hands at the fords of Jordan. These names suggest the destructive character of that world whose prince spares no one. But the fruits of the Spirit overcome the hosts of this world, and the principalities and powers who lead them. When works are in their true place — at the Jordan, the river of death — they do their work most effectively.

The men of Ephraim are seen at the close of chapter 7 slaying Oreb and Zeeb. (They are allowed to come in for blessing as a result.) Now they turn and argue with Gideon for not having called them at the first.

In Isaiah 10:26, the victory of Gideon over Midian at the rock of Oreb foreshadows the final victory over the Assyrian. The victory of Barak over Sisera at Megiddo does the same. It pictures the final slaughter of the armies that will gather in the last days at Armageddon.

Once Midian was overcome, Gideon had to meet another difficulty of a different kind: the opposition of those who count as his friends. This opposition takes more wisdom to overcome than the opposition of open enemies. The men of Ephraim scold him for not calling them to the battle. With them he takes the lower place — the place of grace. That is the true, wise and godly position to hold toward those who want to be noticed. Gideon could have replied that God had specially called and chosen him and the three hundred; but he does not.

The men of Ephraim contended with Gideon. In Deborah's time they had held the place of honour (Judges 5:14). But since then there had been decline. Gideon, taught by God, had not summoned them, and they had fallen to second rank. This difference made them jealous of what the Lord had entrusted to their companions. They envied the energy of faith and its results in others. "What is this that you have done to us?" Ephraim, taken up with his own importance, thinks of himself instead of thinking of God. This is a frequent source of strife between believers. Such quarrels are far more painful and trying than conflict with the world.

The internal strife was born in selfishness. Ephraim scolded him sharply because he had not called them to the fight. Gideon's wise and gracious answer turned aside the threatening split. How beautifully it illustrates Philippians 2:1-5. All church quarrels begin with self-seeking vainglory. The remedy is "in humility count others more significant than yourselves."

This is just what the half-hearted Christian does. He is very angry at not being associated with those who are wholehearted. But whose fault is it? Whenever there is any energy of the Spirit of God working in the church, such people speak like the men of Ephraim: "Why not have taken us with you?" Faith's answer is very simple. "Because then we would have had to go on your ground. What we have to do is to go wherever the Lord leads. We cannot stop to make deals and agreements." No Christian has a right to stop on his way for another; he must go forward himself in individual faithfulness. The effort to drag others along with us is really only a device of Satan to keep ourselves back.

God had made him understand that his courage and strength did not come from himself. He had also shown him that Gideon's sword, by itself, was worth as little as a loaf of barley bread. So in Ephraim's presence, the servant the Lord had used for this great deliverance took care not to speak of himself. He gave his attention to what God had done through his brothers. "What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?" He took the lowest place and acknowledged the zeal for God they had shown. Let us act the same way. When we speak of our brothers, let us list not their failures but what God has worked in them.

As descendants of Joseph, Ephraim seems always to have aspired to leadership in the nation. Already in the time of the Judges that pride had twice broken out in haughty behaviour. Gideon's little band won a mighty victory over the Midianites. Then the men of Ephraim scolded him sharply for not calling them to the war, because they envied the fame of such a victory. Gideon's most gracious answer to their haughty scolding prevented a disaster (Judges 8:1-3). Later they scolded Jephthah even more haughtily, and that brought on Ephraim a terrible, though deserved, punishment (chapter 12:1-6).

At the harvest and the grape harvest, the law strictly forbade owners to glean their own fields. They always had to leave what was left for the poor (Leviticus 19:9-10; Leviticus 23:22; Ruth 2:2-23). Gideon calmed Ephraim's anger by saying, "Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?" Abiezer was Gideon's family name (Judges 8:2).

It is admirable to find a man who knows how to calm ruffled feelings. He does it even for those who did little to secure the victory. These men of Ephraim did help, and Gideon only said what was quite true. Everybody knows that an army loses far more men when the battle turns than while it rages. Only a few fall during the fighting itself. Once it becomes a flight, the dead may be very many.

In Deborah's day they had held the place of honour (Judges 5:14). But since then there had been decline, and Gideon, taught by God, had not called them out. They had dropped to second rank. That difference made them jealous of what the Lord had entrusted to their companions. They were jealous of the energy of faith, and of what it produced in others. Ephraim, taken up with his own importance, thinks of himself instead of thinking of God. This is a frequent source of strife between believers. Such quarrels are far more painful and trying than conflict with the world.

All this was uncalled for and unworthy. Had they not heard the sound of the trumpet calling Israel to the battlefield? Had they not heard that the battle flag was flying? Why had they not rushed to the fight at the start? It was an easy thing to come in at the close and gather the spoil. It was easy then to find fault with the one who had been God's real instrument.

Here is the true way to overcome jealous and envious brothers. The barley cake and the empty pitcher can defeat jealous Ephraimites as well as hostile Midianites. A self-hiding spirit is the great secret of victory over envy and jealousy in all their ugly forms. It is difficult, if not impossible, to quarrel with a man who is down in the dust in true self-abasement. "What have I done now in comparison with you?" That is the language of someone who had learned something of the real meaning of self-surrender.

God had made Gideon understand that his courage and strength did not come from himself, and that his sword, in itself, was worth as little as a cake of barley bread. So, standing in front of Ephraim, he took care not to speak of himself. He gave his attention to what God had done through the hands of his brothers... He took the lowest place. He recognised the zeal for God that they had shown, after all, to their credit. So the humility of this servant of God removes a great difficulty. Let us act in the same way, and when we speak of our brothers, let us count up not their failures but what God has worked in them.

Gideon's humility had calmed him the first time. But nothing had reached his conscience, and he had never judged himself. So he brought the same accusations against Jephthah. A fault in our Christian life left unjudged will show up again sooner or later in similar circumstances.

Many who had no heart for the work when everything looked dark are quick to complain about the conquerors… It is wonderful to find someone who knows how to handle irritated tempers, even in people who have done little to secure the victory. These men of Ephraim no doubt helped, and Gideon only said what was quite true. Everyone knows, I suppose, that an army loses far more men when the battle turns and it flees than while the fighting rages. Few fall during the struggle; many are cut down once it becomes a rout. So we can see how Gideon's mild answer might be strictly true. But we do well to weigh how lowly it was. The man who bore the brunt and faced all the danger was willing to take the least place and give the highest place to others, now that God had worked for His people. Sadly, it is as sweet as it is rare.

It is neither wise nor right to belittle the work of Ephraim. Oreb and Zeeb — "Raven" and "Wolf" — the princes of Midian had fallen at their hands at the fords of the Jordan. These names suggest the destructive character of that world whose "prince" spares nobody.

They did not stop to consider that it was God who ordered the assault on Midian. They likely did not know that God had cut the army down to 300 instead of enlarging it by adding Ephraim. Gideon could have pointed these things out to them. Instead he took the wiser way: a soft answer that turned away their anger.

Here, Christian reader, is the true way to overcome jealous and envious fellow believers. The barley loaf and the empty jar can defeat jealous Ephraimites as well as hostile Midianites. A self-hiding spirit is the great secret of victory over envy and jealousy, in all their ugly forms. It is hard, if not impossible, to quarrel with a man who is down in the dust, in true self-humbling.

Where the power of God is most at work, there is always the deepest grace, and the awareness that all that we are, we are by the grace of God… Gideon values others above himself. Nothing hinders blessing, personal or shared, like a feeling of being superior to others… Gideon puts himself and his three hundred in the shade, and brings the victory of the men of Ephraim into the light… It is a blessing when we can sink ourselves, so that others may come to the front. If anyone quarrels with us, let us seek grace to go down, take the lowest place, and give them credit.

In Gideon's case a soft answer turned away wrath. Jephthah went straight on the defense. He told Ephraim, in effect, that he had expected them to rescue Israel from the Ammonites. When they failed to do this, he risked his own life and attacked the Ammonites, and God gave them into his hands. So Jephthah made it clear to them that they were in the wrong. But people rarely take it well when someone proves them wrong, and here it led straight into conflict.

What three little words could be more blessedly descriptive of the Christian than these? Not "faint and sitting down," not "faint and giving up," but "faint, yet pursuing." We have to do with Him who "gives power to the faint" (Isaiah 40:29). "To him who has no might he increases strength." Here is a good use to make of our faintness and weariness: we draw on the full supply of grace and strength in Christ. Scripture says, "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might." But to whom? To the one who has no strength in himself, who would give up his course if strength were not supplied to him.

Gideon cannot linger. He presses forward to make the victory complete. He crosses the Jordan and follows the fleeing army, "faint yet pursuing." What is the link between those two words? We might almost read it as "pursuing them because faint." It is still "out of weakness made strong." The man's own faintness and helplessness are what lead him to press on, for it is God who is working in him. He is like one of the old warriors in David's day whose hand stuck to the sword. Gideon has lost sight of everything but God, and he will never rest until he has overthrown the whole power of the enemy.

Gideon and his companions met a second difficulty, far harder than the first. They were "faint yet pursuing." Outwardly they were perishing day by day, which is what believers face as they bear their testimony. At the same time they pressed forward to reach the goal, whatever it cost (2 Corinthians 4:16; Philippians 3:12).

One victory won, and the conflict starts again. Do we find ourselves fainting in spirit? Still let us go on, for our God gives strength to the weak. It is painful, no doubt, to feel our own weakness day after day. We want the battle to be over. But let us remember that now is our time of war. What we need is to live day by day on God. He is faithful, and He will supply strength for the occasion and the need. Weakness should be no hindrance to going forward — "faint, yet pursuing." If felt weakness were a reason for standing still, who was weaker than Gideon?

Here we have another lesson, bright as to the conquerors, but a painful one as to others. The Christian has a divine spring of power against weariness. But are we always "pursuing" like this? Paul was. "This one thing I do." How little others valued it in Gideon! He asked for refreshment for the 300 men, but he meets with taunts and abuse.

He is cautious, almost timid, until God gives him three signs to confirm his faith. But once he is sure that God is with them, he does not hesitate. He is swift, strong and thorough in action. He scatters the huge armies of Midian, follows them to the Jordan "faint yet pursuing," and captures and kills their rulers. His army had shrunk from 32,000 men to 300… But the victory itself is of course no special credit to Gideon: it is the Lord's doing and marvellous in our eyes.

Gideon and his 300 men pursued Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. They grew weary after a long day's fighting. Crossing the Jordan, they came to Succoth, a city of Israel, and there asked for bread for the army (v. 5). They had every right to it, for they were fighting Israel's battles. But the leaders of the city refused proudly. In effect they said that if Gideon had already defeated Zebah and Zalmunna, he might have reason to expect food from Succoth (v. 6).

What a contradiction to their names. Midian, you remember, is the world and its power, and Succoth means "tents"; it is a pilgrim word. Men who lived in tents should have been completely willing to help overthrow the power of the world. And Peniel means "the face of God." Men who look on the face of God should have been ready to give all the help they could to capture the kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna. How their conduct gives the lie to their names.

What is the connection between those two words? I think we might almost read it, "pursuing them because faint." It is still "out of weakness made strong." It is the very faintness and helplessness of the man that leads him to press on, for it is God who is working in him.

What three little words could be more descriptive of the Christian than these — not "faint, and sitting down," not "faint, and giving up," but "faint, yet pursuing." We deal with Him who "gives power to the faint" (Isaiah 40:29). "To him who has no might He increases strength." Our faintness and weariness have a blessed use: they draw on the full supply of grace and strength in Christ.

This history teaches us next that the world is neither able nor willing to refresh the man of faith. The world never gives. It may concede something to us if we concede something to it, but it never gives. What it asks from us is usually the sacrifice of faithfulness.

To them it seemed a foolish thing to be fighting with three hundred men against such enemies. So we seem to be very fools when we speak of certain glory. We must make up our minds to this. "You say you are kings and priests to God, that you are to have glory," is the taunt of unbelief, "but you cannot show us anything for it. When we see you in the glory, we will believe."

Ephraim had gone out to fight the enemy. But the men of Succoth held back, and they were in fact on the side of Midian. No one can be neutral at a time when the lines between Christ and the world are drawn. No one can be neutral without being on the side of the enemy. "Whoever is not with me is against me," says the Lord. So these men were as much the enemies of God as Midian was. They were more so, because they claimed to be God's people.

The men of Ephraim scold him for not calling them to the battle. With them he takes the lower place, the place of grace. That is the true, wise and godly position to hold toward those who want to stand out... But toward the men of Succoth and Penuel, who refused to supply bread to the "faint yet pursuing," he acts very differently. They must receive no quarter. Their conduct in refusing food to the 300, while they were fighting the enemy, was against the cause of God.

Gideon and his 300 men came to Succoth, a city of Israel, and asked for bread for the army (v. 5). They had every right to it, for they were fighting Israel's battles. But the leaders of the city refused with scorn. They said, in effect, that if the men had already defeated Zebah and Zalmunna they might have reason to expect food from Succoth (v. 6).

So here, among the people of God, was a whole city that carried the name of Israel and yet refused all shared responsibility with those who were bearing witness for the LORD. They said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?" They had confidence in the enemy, and they would not compromise themselves by taking Israel's side. Many today carry the name of Christ and still want the friendship and the backing of the world. Afraid of compromising themselves, they make common cause with our enemies. They make the road harder for believers and keep them from being overcomers.

No one can be neutral at a time when the lines between Christ and the world are drawn. To be neutral is to be on the side of the enemy. "Whoever is not with me is against me," says the Lord. So these men were as much God's enemies as Midian was — even more so, because they claimed to be the people of God.

They were Israelites, and they were to share in the victory. What a shameful answer the men of Succoth and Penuel give, and what a contradiction to their names! Midian stands for the world and its power. Succoth means "tents", a pilgrim word, and men who lived in tents should be completely willing to help overthrow the power of the world. And Penuel means "the face of God." Men who look on the face of God should be ready to give all the help they can to capture the kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna.

To the leaders of Succoth and Penuel it seemed foolish to fight such enemies with three hundred men. So we look like fools too when we speak of a glory that is certain. We must make up our minds to this. The world has no resources to give us for the conflict we are in. "You say you are kings and priests to God, and that you are to have glory," is the taunt of unbelief, "but you cannot show us anything for it. When we see you in the glory, we will believe."

What three little words could describe the Christian better than these? Not "faint and sitting down," not "faint and giving up," but "faint, yet pursuing." We have to do with Him who "gives power to the faint" (Isaiah 40:29). "To him who has no might he increases strength." This is a blessed use to make of our faintness and weariness: it draws on the full supply of grace and strength in Christ.

With the men of Ephraim, who scold him for not calling them to the battle, he takes the lower place — the place of grace. That is the true, wise and godly position to take towards people who want to be noticed. But he acts very differently towards the men of Succoth and Penuel, who refused bread to the "faint yet pursuing". They get no mercy. Refusing food to the 300 while they fought the enemy set them against the cause of God.

They had confidence in the enemy, and would not compromise themselves by taking part with Israel. Many today bear the name of Christ and yet seek the friendship and alliance of the world. For fear of compromising themselves, they make common cause with our enemies. They make the way harder for believers and keep them from being overcomers.

To them it seemed a foolish thing to be fighting with three hundred men against such enemies. So we seem to be very fools when we speak of certain glory. We must make up our minds to this. The world has no resources to give us for the conflict we are in. Unbelief taunts us: "You say you are kings and priests to God, and that you are to have glory. But you cannot show us anything for it. When we see you in the glory, we will believe."

With the men of Ephraim, who scold him for not calling them to the battle, he takes the lower place — that of grace… But he acts very differently towards the men of Succoth and Penuel. They refused to supply bread to men who were exhausted but still chasing the enemy, and they are to get no mercy. Their conduct in refusing food to the three hundred, while they fought the enemy, was against the cause of God and took the part of traitors to His name and glory.

No one can be neutral at a time when the lines between Christ and the world are drawn. No one can be neutral without being on the side of the enemy. "Whoever is not with me is against me," says the Lord. So these men were really as much the enemies of God as Midian; more so, because they were the professed people of God.

He takes the briars of the wilderness to teach the men of Succoth. The briars and thorns speak of the curse that man's sin brought on this world.

How many of God's people get lashed by the briars and thorns of this life because they are neutral in the question between Christ and the world… You will be taught by thorns, if you will not be taught by the word of God… What a bitter way to learn — by sad experience and estrangement from God, instead of beating out the wheat and being made fit as the Lord's instrument.

The man of God kept on his way; the shameful conduct of Penuel no more stops him than that of Succoth. Everything in its own time for God's witness. Satan seeks to bring in confusion about this, so as to make obstacles for us. Zebah and Zalmunna must not escape. The judgment of the rebellious cities comes later.

He asked for refreshment for the three hundred, but he meets with taunts and abuse. Gideon remembers this to their cost at a later hour, for it was heartless. Once the victory was secured, answering the outrage against the Lord's people in carrying out His work has its serious place. Israel was called to be the stage where God displayed His earthly righteousness. That is the true explanation of these things, which sometimes puzzle the Christian mind when it has not learned the difference between the dispensations.

Succoth rejected them, refusing even to give them bread. So here, among the people of God, was a whole city. It bore the name of Israel, yet it had disowned all shared responsibility with those who were bearing testimony for the Lord. They said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?" They had confidence in the enemy. They would not compromise themselves by taking sides with Israel.

Another city in Israel, Penuel, when asked for food, spoke to Gideon in the same insulting way. How sad it is when God's people not only give no support to those fighting God's battles, but insult them instead! In Penuel's case, Gideon tells them that when he came back he would tear down their tower. The tower was there to watch for enemy attacks, but Penuel had no interest in opposing the enemy. So what use was their tower?

Weak in body, he asks the men of Succoth and of Penuel for food. They were Israelites, and they were going to share in the victory. But oh, the shame of their answer! What a contradiction to their names. Midian, you remember, is the world and its power, and Succoth means "tents"; it is a pilgrim word. Surely men who lived in tents ought to have been perfectly willing to help overthrow the power of the world. And Penuel means "the face of God." Men who look on the face of God would surely be ready to help capture Midian's kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. How their conduct gives the lie to their names.

They mock Gideon, and so you find he had no gentle words for them, as he had for the men of Ephraim. It is a very different thing. Ephraim had taken the field against the enemy. But the men of Succoth were holding back, and were really on Midian's side. No one can be neutral at a time when the lines between Christ and the world are drawn. No one can be neutral without being on the enemy's side. "Whoever is not with me is against me," says the Lord. So these men were really as much God's enemies as Midian — more so, because they were His professed people.

Gideon was going forward in the confidence of victory, though he knew he was faint. These princes of Succoth and men of Penuel would not come to the help of the Lord against the mighty. To them it seemed foolish to fight such enemies with three hundred men. In the same way we seem complete fools when we speak of glory that is certain. We must make up our minds to this. The world has no resources to give us for the conflict we are in.

Everything in its time for God's witness. Satan seeks to bring in confusion about this, to create obstacles for us. Zebah and Zalmunna must not escape. Judgment on the rebellious cities comes later.

By and by the tables will be turned. The taunts and reproaches of the world will bring judgment down on their own heads. We are told of one special thing the Lord is coming to judge: "all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him" (Jude 15). There is no present ridicule of His saints that will not be counted as against Himself in that day.

Another city in Israel, Penuel, when asked for food, spoke in the same insulting way to Gideon. How sad it is when God's people give no support to those fighting God's battles, and insult them instead! Gideon tells Penuel that when he returns he will tear down their tower. The tower was there to watch for enemy attacks, but Penuel had no interest in opposing the enemy. Then of what use was their tower?

So right among the people of God stood a whole city that carried the name of Israel. It had thrown off any shared responsibility with those who stood as witnesses for Jehovah. They said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?" They trusted the enemy, and would not risk themselves by siding with Israel. Many today carry the name of Christ and still want the world's friendship and alliance. Afraid of putting themselves at risk, they take the side of our enemies. They make the road harder for believers and hold them back from being overcomers.

Gideon went forward sure of victory, though he knew he was faint, and these leaders of Succoth and the men of Penuel would not come to help Jehovah against the mighty. To them it looked foolish to fight such enemies with three hundred men. In the same way we look like complete fools when we speak of a glory we are certain of. We must make up our minds to this. The world has no resources to offer us for the conflict we are in. "You say you are kings and priests to God, and that you are to have glory," is the taunt of unbelief, "but you cannot show us anything for it. When we see you in the glory, we will believe."

The man of God kept on his way. Penuel's shameful conduct stopped him no more than Succoth's had. Everything in its own time for God's witness. Satan tries to confuse us here, so that he can put obstacles in our way. Zebah and Zalmunna must not escape; the rebel cities will come under judgment later.

He asked for food for the three hundred, but he met taunts and abuse, and Gideon remembered it at their cost in a later hour; for it was heartless. Once the victory was won, the wrong done to Jehovah's people while they were carrying out His work had to be put right, and that has its solemn place. Israel was called to be the stage where God displayed His righteousness on earth. That is the true explanation of these things, which sometimes trouble Christians who have not learned how God's ways differ from one age to another.

We must keep going, feeling our weakness and sure of victory. In time the tables will be turned. The taunts and insults of the world will bring judgment down on their own heads. One special thing the Lord is coming to judge, we are told, is "all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." (Jude 15.) In that day He will count every present mockery of His saints as aimed at Himself.

Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, with 15,000 men, for 120,000 of their army had been killed, an amazing decimation (v. 10). The 15,000 were clearly paralyzed with fear and unable to resist the assault of 300 men! They had traveled some miles and felt safe from any more fighting (v. 11). Then the attack came and routed them completely. Of course it was the Lord who gave the victory, and they took the two kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, captive (v. 12).

Everyone knows, I suppose, that an army suffers its main destruction when the battle turns, far more than while it rages. Few fall during the struggle itself. Many more are cut down once it has become a flight.

What is the connection between those two words? We might almost read it as, "pursuing them because faint." It is still "out of weakness made strong." The very faintness and helplessness of the man is what makes him press on, for it is God who is working in him. Like one of the old warriors in David's day, whose hand stuck to the sword, Gideon has lost sight of all but God. He will never rest until he has overthrown the whole power of the enemy.

Succoth rejected them, refusing even to give them bread. Here, among the people of God, was a whole city bearing the name of Israel that had thrown off any shared responsibility with those who stood for the Lord. They had confidence in the enemy, and would not compromise themselves by taking part with Israel. Many today bear the name of Christ and yet want friendship and alliance with the world. For fear of compromising themselves, they make common cause with our enemies. They make the road harder for believers and keep them from being overcomers. Our hearts, like Gideon's, should be wholly in the conflict. The man of God kept on his way. The shameful conduct of Penuel stops him no more than that of Succoth did. Everything in its time for God's witness. Satan tries to confuse us about this, so as to put obstacles in our way. Zebah and Zalmunna must not escape; the rebellious cities face their judgment later.

Much depends here upon the names, and the meaning of some of them is hard to determine. Karkor, from a root meaning "to dig," describes deep, soft, level ground — the usual rendering is "deep ground."

Zebah, "sacrifice," points here not to the way of approach to God, but to the "slaughter" the world delights to inflict on the people of God, without mercy — as Zalmunna, "shade," or "refuge denied," suggests. So a like slaughter would come back on them, without mercy to shelter them: "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy." This victory over Midian becomes the pattern for the final overthrow of Israel's enemies, both in the prayer of the suffering remnant (Ps. 83), and in what Isaiah predicted (Isa. 9:4).

Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with 15,000 men, for 120,000 of their army had been killed, an amazing reduction. The 15,000 seemed almost paralyzed with fear. They could not resist an assault by 300 men! They had travelled some miles and felt safe from any more fighting. Then Gideon's men attacked and routed them completely. Of course it was the Lord who gave the victory.

Much depends here upon the names, and the meaning of some of them is hard to determine… Karkor comes from a root meaning "to dig." It describes deep, soft, level ground — usually given as "deep ground." Jogbehah means "elevation," or "it is exalted." Nobah means "barking."

Gideon cannot linger. He presses forward to make the victory complete. He crosses the Jordan and follows the fleeing army, "faint yet pursuing." What is the connection between those two words? We might almost read it, "pursuing them because faint." It is still "made strong out of weakness." The man's own faintness and helplessness is what drives him on, for it is God who is working in him… Gideon has lost sight of everything but God. He will never rest until he has overthrown the whole power of the enemy.

But he goes on without their help, and God gives the whole host of Midian, and Zebah and Zalmunna also, the kings, into his hands.

What three little words could describe the Christian better than these? Not "faint, and sitting down." Not "faint, and giving up." But "faint, yet pursuing." We have to do with Him who "gives power to the faint," and "to him who has no might He increases strength" (Isaiah 40:29)… It is a blessed use to make of our faintness and weariness — to draw on the full supply of grace and strength in Christ… One victory achieved, the conflict goes on afresh. We want to feel that the battle is over; but let us remember that now is our time of war… But weakness ought to be no hindrance to our going forward — "faint, yet pursuing." If felt weakness were a reason for standing still, who was ever as weak as Gideon?

Two kings, rather than one, would suggest the duplicity of the world, its variety, and the varied forms in which Satan presents himself. Zebah means "sacrifice." Here it suggests not the way of approach to God, but the slaughter the world delights to inflict on God's people, without mercy — as Zalmunna, "shade," or "refuge denied," also suggests. So the same slaughter would fall on them, with no mercy to shelter them: "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy." This victory over Midian became the pattern for the final overthrow of Israel's enemies. It shapes the prayer of the suffering remnant (Psalm 83) and the fulfilment Isaiah predicted (Isaiah 9:4).

He crosses over the Jordan and follows after the fleeing army, "faint yet pursuing." What is the link between those two words? We might almost read it as "pursuing them because faint." It is still a case of being "made strong out of weakness." The man's very faintness and helplessness is what leads him to press on, for it is God who is working in him. Like one of the old heroes in David's day, whose hand stuck to the sword, Gideon has lost sight of everything but God. He will never rest until he has overthrown the whole power of the enemy.

Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with 15,000 men, for 120,000 of their army had already fallen — an amazing reduction (v. 10). Fear had clearly almost paralysed the 15,000. They could not resist the assault of 300 men! They had travelled some miles and felt safe from any more fighting (v. 11). Then Gideon attacked and routed them completely. Of course it was the Lord who gave the victory, and they took the two kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, captive (v. 12).

To Gideon belongs the honour of destroying not just the princes, but the kings of Midian. Perhaps the fact that there were two suggests the double-dealing and variety in the world, and the many forms in which Satan presents himself.

Zebah means "sacrifice." Here it does not point to the way of approach to God. It points to the "slaughter" that the world loves to inflict on the people of God, without mercy — as Zalmunna, "shade," or "refuge denied," shows. So the same slaughter would fall on them, with no mercy to shelter them: "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy." This victory over Midian becomes the pattern for the final overthrow of Israel's enemies. You see it in the prayer of the suffering remnant (Psalm 83), and in the fulfilment Isaiah predicted (Isaiah 9:4).

The princes of Succoth and the men of Penuel would not come to help the Lord against the mighty. To them it seemed foolish to fight with three hundred men against such enemies. We seem to be great fools too when we speak of certain glory. The world has no resources to give us for the conflict we are in. "You say you are kings and priests to God, that you are to have glory," is the taunt of unbelief, "but you cannot show us anything for it; when we see you in the glory, we will believe."

Our hearts, like Gideon's, should be wholly in the conflict. The man of God kept on his way. The shameful conduct of Penuel no more stops him than that of Succoth. Everything in its time for God's witness. Satan seeks to bring in confusion about this, so as to make obstacles for us. Zebah and Zalmunna must not escape; the judgment of the rebellious cities comes later.

He asked for food for the three hundred, but he met taunts and insults. Gideon remembered this, and it cost them later, for it was heartless. Once the victory was won, what was needed to answer the outrage done to Jehovah's people while they were doing His work has its solemn place. Israel was called to be the stage where God displayed His earthly righteousness. That is the true explanation of all these things, which sometimes puzzle Christians who have not been taught how God's ways differ from one age to another.

So here, among the people of God, stood a whole city that bore the name of Israel. It had thrown off all shared responsibility with those who were testifying for Jehovah... Many today bear the name of Christ and yet want the world's friendship and alliance. Afraid of compromising themselves, they side with our enemies. They make the road harder for believers and keep them from overcoming... Everything has its time for God's witness. Satan tries to confuse us about this, so as to put obstacles in our way. Zebah and Zalmunna must not escape; the judgment of the rebellious cities would come later.

The men of Ephraim scold him for not calling them to the battle, and with them he takes the lower place. That is the place of grace, and it is the true, wise and godly position to hold towards those who want to be seen... But he acts very differently towards the men of Succoth and Penuel, who refused bread to the men who were "exhausted yet pursuing." They must receive no mercy. They refused food to the 300 while those men were fighting the enemy. That was against the cause of God, and it took the side of traitors to His name and glory... The principle is the same in both ages. Some cases we must meet and deal with in grace; in others we must contend earnestly for the faith.

Ephraim had gone out to fight the enemy, but the men of Succoth held back, and so they were on the side of Midian. No one can be neutral at a time when the line between Christ and the world is drawn. No one can be neutral without being on the side of the enemy. "Whoever is not with me is against me," says the Lord. So these men were as much the enemies of God as Midian — more so, because they claimed to be God's people.

Gideon went forward sure of victory, though he knew he was worn out. These princes of Succoth and the men of Penuel would not come to help Jehovah against the mighty. To them it looked foolish to fight three hundred men against such enemies. So we look like fools when we speak of a glory that is certain. We must make up our minds to this. The world has no resources to give us for the conflict we are in.

He had energy, to gather and purify the people for battle and for the pursuit of the enemy. He had humility, which freed him from all self-confidence and led him to rely completely on Jehovah. And yet the enemy was about to set a trap for him on the side that seemed to need the least watching. In the end that trap brought about the moral ruin of this great leader in Israel.

On the way back from the battle, as they came near Succoth, Gideon caught a young man who lived in that city. He wanted to learn from him who the leaders and elders of Succoth were. The young man gave him 77 names (v. 14). So Gideon confronted these leaders with the fact that he had now captured Zebah and Zalmunna. He reminded them of their insulting words (v. 15), and "taught" them with the thorns and briars of the wilderness, just as he had promised (v. 16).

Succoth turned them away and refused even to give them bread. So here, among the people of God, was a whole city that carried the name of Israel, yet had thrown off all shared responsibility with those who stood as witnesses for the LORD… They put their confidence in the enemy, and would not risk their own position by siding with Israel. Many today carry the name of Christ, and yet look for the world's friendship and partnership. Afraid of compromising themselves, they side with our enemies. They make the road harder for believers, and they keep them from being overcomers.

Remember that Midian stands for the world and its power. Succoth means "tents." It is a pilgrim's word. Men who lived in tents should have been more than willing to help overthrow the power of the world. And Peniel means "the face of God." Men who are looking at the face of God should have been ready to give every help in capturing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. Their behaviour made a lie of their names.

Ephraim had gone out to fight the enemy. The men of Succoth held back, and so they were really on Midian's side. No one can be neutral at a time when the line between Christ and the world is clear. To be neutral is to be on the enemy's side. "Whoever is not with me is against me," says the Lord. So these men were as much the enemies of God as Midian was — and more so, because they claimed to be the people of God.

The men of Ephraim scold him for not calling them to the battle. With them he takes the lower place — the place of grace. That is the true, wise and godly way to treat people who want to be noticed… But he acts in a very different way towards the men of Succoth and Penuel. They refused bread to men who were "exhausted yet pursuing"… They held back food from the 300 while the 300 were fighting the enemy, and that set them against the cause of God.

How many of God's people are whipped by the briars and thorns of this life, because they stay neutral in the question between Christ and the world. Are you standing in a neutral place between God and the world? You will get the thorns on your back. You will be taught by thorns, if you will not be taught by the word of God.

Returning from the battle, as they neared Succoth, Gideon caught a young man who lived in that city. He wanted to learn from him who the leaders and elders of Succoth were. The young man gave him 77 names (v. 14). So he confronted these leaders: he had now captured Zebah and Zalmunna. He reminded them of their insulting words (v. 15).

Confident of victory, Gideon was going forward, though he knew he was worn out. Meanwhile these leaders of Succoth and the men of Penuel would not come to the help of the Lord against the mighty. To them it seemed a foolish thing to fight such enemies with only three hundred men. So we seem to be great fools when we speak of certain glory. We must make up our minds to this. The world has no resources to give us for the conflict we are in. The taunt of unbelief says, "You say you are kings and priests to God, and that you are to have glory. But you cannot show us anything for it. When we see you in the glory, we will believe."

Ephraim had taken the field against the enemy, but the men of Succoth were holding back, and were really on the side of Midian. No one can be neutral in a time when the lines between Christ and the world are drawn. No one can be neutral without being on the side of the enemy. "Whoever is not with me is against me," says the Lord. So these men were really as much the enemies of God as Midian; more so, because they were the professed people of God.

They had confidence in the enemy, and would not compromise themselves by taking part with Israel. Many today bear the name of Christ and still want the friendship and alliance of the world. For fear of compromising themselves, they make common cause with our enemies. This makes the way harder for believers, and keeps them from being overcomers.

But toward the men of Succoth and Penuel, who refused to supply bread to the "exhausted yet pursuing," he acts very differently. They must receive no mercy. They refused food to the 300 while the 300 were fighting the enemy. That was against the cause of God, and it took the part of traitors to His name and glory. The principle is the same in both ages. Some cases we must meet and deal with in grace. In others we must contend earnestly for the faith.

The man of God kept on his way; the shameful conduct of Penuel no more stopped him than that of Succoth. Everything in its time for God's witness. Satan seeks to bring in confusion about this, so as to make obstacles for us. Zebah and Zalmunna must not be allowed to escape; the judgment of the rebellious cities will be carried out later.

We have not one thing to show, nothing the natural man can take notice of. Our wisdom is foolishness. We must go on feeling our weakness, confident of victory. By and by the tables will be turned. The taunts and reproaches of the world will bring down judgment on their own heads. One special thing the Lord is coming to judge is "all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against Him" (Jude 15). There is no present ridicule of His saints that will not be counted as against Himself in that day.

Succoth rejected them, refusing even to give them bread. So here, in the middle of the people of God, was a whole city bearing the name of Israel. It had dropped all shared responsibility with those who were bearing testimony for the Lord. They said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?" They trusted the enemy. They would not compromise themselves by taking Israel's side.

Gideon was going forward in the confidence of victory, though he knew he was faint. But these leaders of Succoth and the men of Penuel would not come to the help of the Lord against the mighty. To them it seemed a foolish thing to fight such enemies with three hundred men. So we seem to be great fools when we speak of certain glory. We must make up our minds to this. The world has no resources to help us on in the conflict we are engaged in. Unbelief taunts us: "You say you are kings and priests to God, that you are to have glory. But you cannot show us anything for it. When we see you in the glory, we will believe."

He does not stop for the punishment he threatens them with: "faint yet pursuing," they press on.

As they neared Succoth on the way back from the battle, Gideon caught a young man who lived in that city, to learn from him who the leaders and elders of Succoth were. The young man gave him 77 names (v. 14). So he faced these leaders with the news that he had now captured Zebah and Zalmunna. He reminded them of their insulting words (v. 15), and "taught" them with thorns and briars of the wilderness, as he had promised (v. 16). This meant the thorns and briars tore their bodies (v. 7) — certainly a painful punishment, to say the least! Then he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city (v. 17), likely meaning the leaders among them. We are not told why the punishment of the men of Succoth differed from that of Penuel, but no doubt Gideon had a reason for this.

How many of God's people get whipped with the briars and thorns of this life, because they are neutral in the question between Christ and the world. Do you take a neutral place between God and the world? You will get the thorns on your back. You will be taught by thorns, if you will not be taught by the word of God.

The men of Ephraim complain that he did not call them to the battle, and with them he takes the lower place. That is grace — the true, wise and godly position to hold toward those who want to be noticed... But toward the men of Succoth and Penuel, who refused to supply bread to the "faint yet pursuing," he acts very differently. They must receive no mercy. They refused food to the three hundred while those men were fighting the enemy. That was against the cause of God, and took the part of traitors to His name and glory. The same principle holds in both Old and New Testament times. There are cases we must meet and handle in grace; but we are, on the other hand, to contend earnestly for the faith.

Then he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city (v. 17), likely meaning the leaders among them. We are not told why there was a difference between the punishment given to the men of Succoth and those of Penuel, but no doubt Gideon had a reason for this.

Another city in Israel, Penuel, when asked for food, spoke in the same insulting way to Gideon. How sad it is when God's people give no support to those fighting God's battles, and insult them as well! In the case of Penuel, Gideon tells them that when he returned he would tear down their tower. The tower was there to watch for enemy attacks, but Penuel had no interest in opposing the enemy. Then of what use was their tower?

They were Israelites, and they were to share in the victory. What a contradiction to their names! Midian, you remember, is the world and its power. Succoth means "tents." It is a pilgrim word, and men who lived in tents ought to be perfectly willing to help overthrow the power of the world. And Peniel means "the face of God." Men who are looking on the face of God would surely be ready to give all the help they could to capture the kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna. Their conduct makes a lie of their names.

They mock Gideon, and so you find that he had no gentle words for them, as he had for the men of Ephraim. Ephraim had taken the field against the enemy, but the men of Succoth were holding back, and were really on the side of Midian. No one can be neutral in a time when the lines between Christ and the world are drawn. No one can be neutral without being on the side of the enemy. "Whoever is not with me is against me," says the Lord. So these men were really as much the enemies of God as Midian; more the enemies, because they were the professed people of God.

They had confidence in the enemy, and would not compromise themselves by taking part with Israel. There are many in the present day who bear the name of Christ, and yet seek the friendship of and alliance with the world; who, through fear of compromising themselves, make common cause with our enemies.

The men of Ephraim scold him for not calling them to the battle. With them he takes the lower place — the place of grace, the true, wise and godly position to hold towards people who want to be noticed... But he acts very differently towards the men of Succoth and Penuel, who refused bread to men exhausted but still chasing the enemy. They must be shown no mercy. Their refusal of food to the 300, while the 300 fought the enemy, worked against the cause of God and took the part of traitors to His name and glory... Some cases we must meet and deal with in grace; in others we must contend earnestly for the faith.

We must go on feeling our weakness, confident of victory. In time the tables will be turned. The taunts and insults of the world will bring down judgment on their own heads. One thing the Lord is coming to judge, we are told, is "all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him," Jude 15. There is no ridicule of His saints now that will not count as ridicule against Himself in that day.

This killing at Tabor must have taken place some time before, but we have no record of it. They answered that those men resembled Gideon, their appearance being as sons of a king (v. 18). So Gideon tells them they were his own brothers, and if Zeba and Zalmunna had let them live, Gideon would not kill them (v. 19). Gideon may have been too partial in saying this, for these kings were enemies of God, which is more serious than their attitude toward individual Israelites who were Gideon's relatives.

The defeated kings praised Gideon freely (v. 18-21), and that praise was all the more dangerous because they seemed to have no selfish motive for it.

This speech does not appear to have turned Gideon aside from God's path. But he seems to have lost a true sense of the power of the enemy, and to have despised it instead of fearing it… Two things are fitting for us when we fight the enemy. We need fear and trembling about ourselves, and full assurance about God, which shuts out all alarm, for we know that Satan and the world are defeated foes.

But something very fine is said about Gideon. He threshed wheat in secret, despite all that was going on around him (verse 11). And I think we can infer something more from verse 19 of this chapter. He shared it with his brothers, and the result was that his brothers were like himself; each one "resembled the son of a king."… If we read the Scriptures only in order to give out, it will be a poor thing. But if we read the Scriptures, if we are threshing wheat, there will be one inevitable result: we shall want to share the wheat with our brothers.

Do we not have a lovely picture here of Christ claiming as His brothers those whom the great men of this world have persecuted and killed? The kings had to admit the likeness that Gideon's brothers bore to him, and the royal dignity that marked them. And do not Christ's brothers carry His own features — traits of moral dignity and beauty that mark them as associated with Him?

The words of Zebah and Zalmunna, "As you are, so were they," remind us of what is said of the children of God, "as He is so also are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). We have been brought before the Father to share the place of His own Son. Like Gideon's brothers, we have a relationship of closest intimacy and affection with Him who is ours. We are "accepted in the Beloved," loved as He is loved, sharing His place of favour and relationship.

When the time of reckoning came, the enemies of God's people had to acknowledge the true likeness of those they had killed, and Gideon was not ashamed to call them his brothers. Saul of Tarsus had been persecuting the saints of God in ignorance. He had not thought that he was "breathing threats and murder" against the brothers of Christ when he persecuted the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth. But his distress must have been great when the Lord from heaven acknowledged those Saul had been trying to destroy as His brothers — yes, as part of Himself.

Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna what kind of men they had killed at Tabor. This killing must have taken place some time before, but we have no record of it. They answered that those men resembled Gideon, their appearance being as sons of a king (v. 18). So Gideon tells them they were his own brothers, and if Zebah and Zalmunna had let them live, Gideon would not kill them (v. 19). Gideon may have been too partial in saying this, for these kings were enemies of God, which is more serious than their attitude toward individual Israelites who were Gideon's relatives.

Zebah means "sacrifice." Here the name points not to the way of approach to God, but to the slaughter that the world delights to inflict on the people of God, without mercy — which is what Zalmunna, "shade," or "refuge denied," suggests. So the same slaughter would come on them, with no mercy to shelter them: "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy." This victory over Midian becomes the pattern for the final overthrow of Israel's enemies. We see it in the prayer of the suffering remnant (Ps. 83), and in the fulfilment Isaiah predicts (Isa. 9:4).

There is something very touching in what Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. He asked what kind of men they had killed at Tabor. Their answer was, "As you are, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king." And is not Gideon's reply full of feeling? "They were my brothers, the sons of my mother." Do we not have a lovely picture here of Christ owning as His brothers those who have been persecuted and killed by the great men of this world? And do not the brothers of Christ have His own features, traits of moral dignity and beauty that mark them as associated with Him?

When the time of reckoning came, the enemies of God's people had to acknowledge the true likeness of those they had killed, and Gideon was not ashamed to speak of them as his brothers. Saul of Tarsus had been persecuting, in ignorance, the saints of God. When he persecuted the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, he had not thought that he was "breathing threats and murder" against the brothers of Christ. Then the Lord from heaven acknowledged as His brothers — yes, as part of Himself — those whom Saul had been seeking to destroy. How great his distress must have been.

There is something very fine said about Gideon: he threshed wheat in secret, despite all that was going on around him (verse 11)… And I think we can infer something more from the 19th verse of chapter 8. He shared it with his brothers, and the result was that his brothers were like himself; they "resembled the children of a king." If we read the Scriptures only to give out, it will be a poor thing. But if we read the Scriptures, if we are threshing wheat, there will be one inevitable result: we will want to share the wheat with our brothers.

This was fresh flattery, and Gideon ought to have protested against it, for he had learned a completely different lesson in the school of God. In reality, his strength was the exact opposite of anything that came from man… In his better days, Gideon would not have accepted this flattery, nor allowed the adversary to plant a seed of self-confidence in his heart.

Gideon does not appear to have left God's path because of this speech. But he seems to have lost a true sense of the enemy's power. He despised the enemy instead of fearing him... Two things suit us when we fight the enemy. One is fear and trembling about ourselves. The other is full assurance about God, which shuts out all alarm. We know that Satan and the world are defeated foes. Gideon realized these things imperfectly. He entrusted to his son Jether the task of killing these two kings. "But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid." In Judges 7 the Lord had separated those who were afraid. He withdrew them from the conflict. Here Gideon handed a child the destruction of an enemy he despised. He did not act in keeping with the ways of God. God does not call those who are only children in the faith to perform public, brilliant actions. A child goes to school, not to war.

Then those kings said, "Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength." This was a fresh piece of flattery. Gideon should have protested against it, for he had learned a completely different lesson in God's school. In reality his strength was the exact opposite of human strength. Did he not know it when the angel of the Lord said to him — the least in his father's house — "Go in this might of yours"? Had he not grasped it on that solemn night? God revealed to him that a cake of barley bread was about to overturn all the tents of Midian. In his better days Gideon would not have accepted this flattery. He would not have let the enemy plant a seed of self-confidence in his heart.

Let us distrust the flattery of the world. A moment's thought before the Lord would tell us this: the world flatters to weaken us and to strip us of the weapons we fight it with.

The name Zebah means sacrifice. Here it suggests not the way of approach to God, but the slaughter which the world delights to inflict on the people of God without mercy. The name Zalmunna means shade, or refuge denied, and it points the same way. So the same slaughter would fall on them, with no mercy to shelter them: "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy." This victory over Midian becomes the pattern for the final overthrow of Israel's enemies. We see it in the prayer of the suffering remnant (Psalm 83) and in the fulfilment Isaiah predicted (Isaiah 9:4).

When the time of reckoning came, the enemies of God's people had to admit the true likeness of those they had killed. Gideon was not ashamed to call them his brothers. Saul of Tarsus had been persecuting the saints of God in ignorance... Think how great his distress must have been. The Lord from heaven owned as His brothers — yes, as part of Himself — the very people Saul was trying to destroy. A terrible day awaits those who have killed the servants of the Lord Jesus. At His judgment seat He will confess as His brothers the saints who suffered oppression, torture and martyrdom for His name's sake.

Notice those three things. Now you see that a "babe" is not exposed to meeting the devil in this form. Such a one is sheltered, just as in our homes on earth... The infant state is protected by the love that busies itself with the very weaknesses, exposure and inability found in infancy... But when you come to manhood, there you have to meet and face the real obstacles of life; and in God's family the first thing that meets a person when he reaches this state of manhood is the devil — Satan.

While the work was still to be done, they were taken up with the work and passed on: there is time enough for vengeance when the work is done.

Everything in its time for God's witness. Satan tries to confuse us about this, so that he can put obstacles in our way. Zebah and Zalmunna must not escape. Judgment on the rebellious cities will come later.

Zebah means "sacrifice." Here that does not point to the way of approach to God. It points to the slaughter that the world delights to inflict on the people of God, without mercy. Zalmunna means "shade," or "refuge denied," and shows the same thing. So the same slaughter came on them, with no mercy and no shelter: "judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy." This victory over Midian is made the pattern for the final overthrow of Israel's enemies, both in the prayer of the suffering remnant (Ps. 83), and in what Isaiah predicts (Isa. 9:4).

Then those kings said: "Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength." This was fresh flattery, and Gideon should have refused it. He had learned a completely different lesson in the school of God. In reality, his strength was the exact opposite of what belongs to man. Did he not know it when the angel of the Lord said to him — the least in his father's house — "Go in this might of yours"? Had he not proved it on that solemn night? God showed him that a cake of barley bread was about to overturn all the tents of Midian. In his better days, Gideon would not have accepted this flattery. He would not have let the adversary plant a seed of self-confidence in his heart.

Let us be suspicious of the flattery of the world. A moment's thought before the Lord would tell us why. The world flatters to weaken us, and to strip us of the weapons we fight it with.

He entrusted to his son Jether the task of killing these two kings. "But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid." In Judges 7, the Lord had separated those who were afraid and kept them out of the fight. Here Gideon handed over to a child the destruction of an enemy he despised. That was not in keeping with the ways of God. God does not call those who are still children in the faith to perform public and brilliant actions. A child goes to school, not to war.

In all this history, I am not sure I have said enough about two marks joined together in Gideon: humility and energy of faith. Energy gathered and purified the people for battle and for the pursuit of the enemy. Humility freed him from all self-confidence and led him to depend on the Lord completely. And yet the enemy was about to set a snare for him on the very side that seemed to need the least watching. In the end that brought about the moral ruin of this outstanding leader in Israel.

Gideon had earned the respect of Israel. The people who saw the Lord feed the five thousand wanted to take Him by force and make Him king (John 6:15). In the same way, the men of Israel wanted Gideon to reign over them, and his sons to reign after him (v. 22). They thought this was the way to perpetuate the blessing that God had brought to them through Gideon. But this would be confidence in the vessel, not confidence in the Lord. Gideon saw this at once and refused their proposal, telling them the Lord should rule over them, not Gideon or his sons (v. 23).

Gideon refused this principle absolutely, even for himself or his descendants. He had left the power with Him who had given it, God Himself: "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you" (Judges 8:23). So too Moses, when told that he could not lead Israel any further than the border of the land, and that he must lay down his leadership, did not presume to name his successor, much less to think of his own son as taking up what he had laid down.

But we see him exposed to a fresh snare (vv. 22-23). It is no longer the flattery of the world, but that of the people of God… They put their leader in the place of the LORD and offer him the sceptre… None are more prone to clericalism than the people of God. It is not only the curse of Christendom. It is also the natural bent of a believer's heart. When a ministry is blessed, we are apt to treat the servant as a "minister" in the human sense, and so lose sight of God… The aim of Gideon's ministry was that God should have first place, and lose none of His authority over His people.

The Lord Jesus would not be made king by the people (John 6:15). He came in His Father's name, and they would not receive Him that way. He would not be received in His own name… Gideon retires; he will not take the place of rule that belongs only to the LORD. He knows what happens if the people fix their minds on Gideon: nothing but weakness and dishonour. But if they acknowledge the LORD and lean on Him, there will be strength and blessing.

Paul hides himself. He had received great revelations from the Lord, and he had a wide range of knowledge. Yet the moment he sees people starting to set Paul up, he says, "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase"… Had he put himself forward, Christ would not have been seen. This principle was true of Gideon and true of Paul. It is true of every believer who acts in faith.

Great service often breeds self-satisfaction. It also breeds a hunger for honour, which unspiritual people are far too ready to give us. The crowd urges Gideon to rule over them, but he replies, "I will not rule over you… the LORD will rule over you." How could he take the place of the God who had so blessed and honoured him? So far he spoke in the wisdom of the Spirit. But then he asked for the earrings taken from the enemy. That showed a hidden wish to keep a memorial of his own service, even though he had refused the place of power and dignity. What could such a desire produce but a snare?

Great service often breeds self-satisfaction. It also breeds a wish to be lifted up, and unspiritual people are only too ready to grant it. The crowd urges Gideon to rule over them. He replies, "I will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you." How could he take the place of the God who had so blessed and honoured him? So far he spoke in the wisdom of the Spirit. But his request for the earrings of his spoil shows a hidden desire to be remembered for his services. He had refused the place of power and dignity, yet that desire stayed. What could such a desire produce but a snare, whether in the form of an ephod or anything else?

Such is man, even the best of men, when left to himself. Here we see the very man who had led his brothers on to victory over Midian now leading them into dark and detestable idolatry. The earrings of the Ishmaelites did what their swords could not do. The loving gifts of the men of Israel proved far more dangerous than the sharp scolding of the men of Ephraim. The scolding drew out a lovely spirit of self-emptying. The gifts proved a snare to Gideon and to the whole house of Israel.

Gideon did not covet these things as Achan did, whose greed brought judgment on Israel. He was noble-hearted and unselfish, and wanted to make good use of the gold. Long before, Aaron had asked for such ornaments and made the golden calf with them. Gideon had thrown down the idols and had no wish to set them up again. But he was full of a sense of his own importance, so he wanted to set up a memorial of his victory at Ophrah, his home town. This memorial was to be an ephod, something God Himself had appointed. It was part of the clothing worn by the priest who represented the people before God. It was indeed a beautiful object, yet in the LORD's eyes it was worthless apart from the high priest who wore it.