Gideon and the 300

Rout of Midianites

Introduction:

How has your life been marked by fear? Fear takes many forms. There is type of fright that occurs when one is unaware of someone behind them and we get startled. There is the fear stirred up by a horror movie. There is the type of fear that causes extra caution when walking on a slick surface. There is fear that paralyses us from taking action; namely fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, or fear of loss. There is fear that causes avoidance; namely phobias like heights or tight places.

Last week in Judges 6 we saw how Gideon chose to obey God at night by destroying the altar to Baal because he was frightened of how the townspeople would react.

Today we will see 3 ways that God uses Fear to accomplish His purpose.

God used Fear to Increase His Glory (Judges 7:1-8)

Judges 7:1–8 ESV:2016

1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “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.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’ ” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

The Setting of the Purge (v.1)

1. Midianites are in Jezreel valley near Moreh.

2. Hebrews are near Spring of Harod.

a. Harod comes from the root Harad (means “trembling”)

b. The very name of the place indicates the theme of the story—how do we deal with our trembling?

c. The answer is to seek God’s deliverance from that which causes our fright.

3. The tribes represented (6:35) are Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. [North of the battlefield]

4. Later in the story (7:24) we will hear about the Ephraimites [South and East of the battle].

2 Purges

1. Anyone who doesn’t want to be here can go home-- 32,000 leave.

· V.3 gives permission to leave to “whoever is fearful and trembling”

2. Drinking from the stream eliminates 9700 others. (vv.4-7)

Whether you are from these parts and you call it a crick, or you’re from anywhere else that calls it a creek, the separation is made over drinking water.

3. Apologies if your Sunday School teacher taught you that the manner of drinking revealed some virtue or readiness for battle.

· Kneeling and lapping like a dog is one style of quenching your thirst.

· Bringing the water to your mouth, whether from a lying, squatting, or standing position is another.

· Some commentators point out that a kneeling target is easier to hit than one lying down.

· Some commentators say that standing while drinking reveals an alertness to the enemy.

· Since the enemy was still several miles away, and God was not going to use weapons. Military readiness doesn’t seem to be the point. The only skills God was looking for are the ability to make noise and hold a torch.

· Just as neither crick, nor creek is the only way to describe the stream, method of drinking was just an arbitrary way that God used to winnow the army.

If you’ve seen the movie 300 or read in Greek History about the Spartans vs. the Persians, you may default to thinking of the band of 300 as mighty, courageous warriors. The army of 300 that the God of the Bible uses are only described for their ability to stand still hold a torch and make lots of noise.

Transition: In these first verses God uses fear to remove soldiers from the battle. In the next 6 verses God removes fear from the soldier.

God used Fear to Inspire His Servant (Judges 7:9-15a)

Judges 7:9–15 ESV:2016

9 That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “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.” 15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.”

Fear must be rooted out (v.10)

1. If v. 3 dealt with “whoever is fearful”, this verse gets personal with “if you are fearful”.

2. The chapter began (v.1) by using Gideon’s nickname Jerubbaal which reminds of how God gave him victory.

3. God’s promise to deliver is mentioned 6 times between chapters 6 & 7:9. And will be mentioned 2 more times in 14 & 15.

Judges 6:14 (ESV:2016) —14 And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”

Judges 6:16 (ESV:2016) —16 And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

Judges 6:36 (ESV:2016) —36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said,

Judges 7:2 (ESV) — The Lord said to Gideon, “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.’

Judges 7:7 (ESV) — And the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”

Judges 7:9 (ESV) — That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand.

Judges 7:14 (ESV) — And his comrade answered, “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.”

Judges 7:15 (ESV) — As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.”

“Despite being clear about the will of God, being empowered by the Spirit of God [v.34], and being confirmed as a divinely chosen leader by the overwhelming response of his countrymen to his own summons to battle [7:3], he [Gideon] uses every means available to try to get out of the mission to which he has been called.”[i]

Divine “Coincidence”(vv.13-14)

1. God encourages Gideon to eavesdrop on the Midianites.

2. This amazes me because if he is afraid to lead the army that is guaranteed victory, why does he have the courage to sneak into camp without backup?

3. God causes Gideon to just happen to overhear a soldier talking while most of the camp is asleep about 10 PM.

4. This midianite soldier just happened to have had a dream that bothers him so much he describes it to another.

5. The other soldier just happened to have an interpretation of that dream. The barley was the cheapest and most prevalent type of grain which the comrade reasoned had to be the inconsequential Hebrews.

In my mind, the idea that a loaf of barley bread rolling into a tent and knocking it over is not a normal explanation. This must be a God-given interpretation.

“Can You Hear Me Now?” (v.15a)

1. God’s messenger caused fire to come out of a rock to impress Gideon that He was who He said He was.

2. God has confirmed His calling through the Fleece episodes.

3. Now God’s uses eavesdropping to encourage Gideon’s heart.

Transition: After God turns Gideon’s fear into worship, He is now able to use Gideon for a miracle.

God used Fear to Rout His Enemies (Judges 7:15b-25)

Judges 7:15–25 ESV:2016

15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’ ” 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan.

New Confidence (15b-18)

1. In a battle plan that was just as unconventional as Joshua marching around Jericho, Gideon uses the element of surprise.

2. He tells the soldiers to take their places armed with nothing more than noise-makers and torches.

Strategic Chaos (vv.19-25)

1. V.12 mentioned a fact that I skipped until this moment. There were herds of camels surrounding the Midianites as numerous as the sand on the seashore.

If one relaxed camel sounds like this, can you image what a whole regiment of frightened and stampeding camels might sound like in the middle of the night?

2. The breaking Pitchers and ram’s horns would startle those who were sleeping and add in the torches on 3 sides so that the animals feel trapped, you can imagine the chaos in the camp.

3. The Israelites shout “a sword for the Lord and for Gideon” (v.20) but the only swords present were the swords of the Midianites!

4. They are so startled that they turn their swords on each other (v.22) and begin fleeing in the only direction that is not surrounded by torches.

5. In v.23 the tribes of the North (those sent home in vv.3-7?) pursue south and in v.24 Gideon sends messengers throughout the tribe to the SE to capture control of the lowlands and any Midianite soldiers who headed in that direction.

Transition: If God can cause dreams and phobias to turn into a victory for His purpose, What could He do with your fears?

Conclusion:

What is your fear level this morning?

Are you one of the 32,700 who allowed their fear to keep them from seeing the mighty hand of God at work? Are you the type who is going to shrink back in cowardice?

Are you like the Midianites? Allowing fear to cause them to act irrationally and doing harm to themselves?

Are you like Gideon? Are you willing to take God at His word and allow Him to change your fear into Worship? Are you eager to see Him take your feebleness and turn it into His fame?

Could God turn your fear of embarrassment into an opportunity to share Christ with that co-worker? Might God turn your fear of rejection into an opportunity to reach out to that neighbor? Is God prompting you to take a risk in initiating contact with that person who hurt you?

My prayer is that our fears would be turned to Worship as we see God work in all of Chase County.

Song of Response #477. “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus”

3. Stand in His strength alone;

The arm of flesh will fail you,

Ye dare not trust your own;

Put on the gospel armor,

And watching unto prayer,

Where duty calls, or danger,

Be never wanting there.

4. Stand up, stand up for Jesus!

The strife will not be long;

The day the noise of battle,

The next the victor’s song;

To him that overcometh

A crown of life shall be;

He with the King of Glory

Shall reign eternally.[ii]

Benediction: Heb 11:1 & LK 17:5

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) — Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Luke 17:5 (ESV) — The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

[i] Daniel Isaac Block, Judges, Ruth, vol. 6, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 273.

[ii] Paul Eckert, Steve Green’s MIDI Hymnal: A Complete Toolkit for Personal Devotions and Corporate Worship., Electronic ed. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 1998).