The Sword of the Lord

Text: Judges 7:1-25

Place Preached - (Mississauga International Baptist Church)

Date Preached - (01/20/02)

Introduction:   

Isaiah 40:29  He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

What God accomplished through Gideon, himself an untried soldier and ignorant of the methods of warfare is truly amazing and yet typical of the way God works.

First of all, I would like to go back to this matter of the dew on the fleece. 

The fleece is not a precedent for seeking God’s will, it is a matter of God’s condescension to human frailty and weakness.

However, We need to ask Him for dew on our barren lives.

In Hosea 14:5 God says, "I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon."

God speaks about this subject several times.

Prov. 3:20 "By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew".

Finally, in Psalm 133:1-3…Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

2  It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

3  As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Tonight we will see the front on which the battle is won.  Clearly it is not in our own might, but in the Lord’s strength.

I. Elimination of the Unfit vs.1-8

EXPLAIN: The setting of the Battlefield.  

They are gathered together at the spring of Harod south of Mt. Moreh.  Beyond lies Jezreel or the Plain of Esdraelon.  Where many 1000’s and tens of thousands of the Midianite coalition are encamped.

Now Gideon goes out and looks at his army. He had thirty-two thousand men, and the thought in Gideon's mind is that this is not enough.

The vast Midianite alliance numbered 135,000 swordsmen plus.

Rather than being in agreement with what Gideon’s sentiment may have been the Lord says “The people that are with thee are too many” vs.2

Do you know what we have here? It is one of the finest lessons concerning divine election and man's free will. This is the way they work together. God said to Gideon, "I am going to choose the men that I want to go with you, but the way I will do it is to let them make the choice.

You can argue about divine election and free will all you want to, but it works. You cannot make it work out by arguing, but it sure works out in life, friend.

The Lord says “If I give the victory at this point, Israel will take the glory”.

Psalms 44:3  For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.

And that is surely our tendency also!!

Now the Lord will not share His glory with another!!

Numbers are no guarantee of Success.

Zechariah 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

1 Samuel 14:6  And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.

The Lord whittles the numbers down through a series of tests…

A. TEST ONE:  The Fear Factor

God's condition, as put down in the Mosaic system in the Book of Deuteronomy was that if anyone was drafted into the army and was afraid, he could go home.

LOOK UP & READ Deuteronomy 20:1-8

You may be surprised that Gideon was not among them.  But Gideon did have a true heart of courage in spite of his weaknesses.

Now there are only 10,000 remaining.

The Lord says, “The people are yet too many”

B. TEST TWO: Alert & Ready for the Battle

EXPLAIN: The drinking test. Vs.4-7

These men demonstrated a spiritual and physical carefulness.  An alertness and readiness not only to face the enemy, but also for the Lord’s leading.

1 Peter 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

2 Corinthians 10:5-6  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Now these three hundred men often have been misunderstood. As a student, I went down to a little church in Georgia. When I got there, a dear little lady wearing a sunbonnet said to me, "Mr. McGee, we have here just a little Gideon's band."

They didn't have a Gideon's band! They had the most discouraged, lazy folk I have ever seen in my life. That is not Gideon's band. Gideon's band was a group of dedicated men, willing to die to deliver Israel, men who had their hearts and souls in this matter.

Now there are but 300 men.  One reduction may have built some sense of morale and comradery amongst the other men, but the second reduction stripped away all reliance on human strength.

II. Encouragement of the Weak vs.9-15

God’s promise is given to Gideon in verse 9.  Now again, that should be enough!!

Nevertheless, God again condescends to human frailty vs.10

LOOK UP & READ Psalm 103:10-17

God permits Gideon to hear this conversation to encourage him just prior to the battle.

Briefly tell the story of the conversation they overheard.

The significance of the Dream.

A Barley Cake – speaks of the weak and impoverished state that Israel was in at that time.

Barley was the staple of the extremely poor.

It also represents the insignificance of Gideon in the eyes of his own people.

Gideon’s response to the dream vs.15A

His response was humility – Note their cry was to be “The sword of the Lord” vs.18 as opposed to “the sword of Gideon” vs.14

III. Encounter with the Enemy vs.15-25

When they went into battle, their cry was to be, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon." The interesting thing is that Gideon did not have a sword and neither did any of the three hundred men.

You see they were under the rule of the Midianites, and the Midianites did not let them have an arsenal. They kept the weapons and the swords for themselves. So Gideon's strategy employed pitchers, lamps, and trumpets.

A. The Trumpets

Israel knew the significance (and the Midianites would know) the significance of the trumpet sound.

Could be a call to worship or a call to war.  SEE Numbers 10:1-10

I Corinthians 14:8 "For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?"

This speaks of the testimony and witness of believers. The testimony and witness of believers must be certain and clear.

B. The Pitchers & Lamps

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels ..." (2 Cor. 4:7).

Those pitchers represent the bodies of believers. That is what Paul means when he says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies [your total personalities] a living sacrifice ... unto God ..." (Rom. 12:1).

That is the reason we ought not to glory in any man. Paul says that. "Therefore let no man glory in men ..." (1 Cor. 3:21). That is the earthen vessel. We have this treasure in earthen vessels-pitchers.

Some of us are not broken and, as a result, the light does not shine through. It is not our light that we should shine, but the light of the Lord Jesus Christ. His light should shine through us. It can only shine in a broken life.

Phil 2:14-15

Conclusion:     (Review)

Main Points