Juízes 7

Juízes 7

Maclaren: God required but few men, but He required that these should be fit. The first test had sifted out the brave and willing. The liquor was none the less, though so much froth had been blown off. As Thomas Fuller says, there were ‘fewer persons, but not fewer men,’ after the poltroons had disappeared. The second test, ‘a purgatory of water,’ as the same wise and witty author calls it, was still more stringent. The dwindled ranks were led down from their camp on the slopes to the fountain and brook which lay in the valley near the Midianites’ camp. Gideon alone seems to have known that a test was to be applied there; but he did not know what it was to be till they reached the spring, and the soldiers did not know that they were determining their fate when they drank. The two ways of drinking clearly indicated a difference in the men. Those who glued their lips to the stream and swilled till they were full, were plainly more self-indulgent, less engrossed with their work, less patient of fatigue and thirst, than those who caught up enough in their curved palms to moisten their lips without stopping in their stride or breaking rank. The former test was self-applied, and consciously so. This is no less self-applied, though unconsciously. God shuts out no man from His army, but men shut themselves out; sometimes knowingly, by avowed disinclination for the warfare, sometimes unknowingly, by self-indulgent habits, which proclaim their unfitness. (Judges 7:1-8 Fit Though Few) Judges 7:7 And the LORD said to Gideon, "I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his home." Jdg 7:18-22 1Sa 14:6 Isa 41:14-16 YAHWEH PROMISES DELIVERANCE And the LORD said to Gideon, "I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his home: Their options were reduced to trust God and His promise or perish. God graciously gave Gideon one more promise of victory: “By the 300 men that lapped will I save you” (v7). By believing the promise and obeying the Lord’s directions (his obedience indicates his genuine belief), Gideon defeated the enemy and brought peace to the land for forty years (Jdg 8:28). Wherever there is a clear command in Scripture, we are to seek to obey it in every detail in our lives. But God may well reduce our resources to almost nothing in order to prove that it is by His power alone that we can be victorious and that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Paul testified that God had spoken to him… "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9-10+). The Preacher's Commentary adds some practical thoughts commenting that "Gideon’s story proves that when we are at our least, God can be at His greatest. Like Gideon, we may think that we are proving God, but actually He is proving us. Yet all the while, in grace and mercy, He is giving us far more than we could legitimately ask for or expect, because He knows and understands our needs and because He sympathizes with our weaknesses… we are to take seriously the words of Jesus when He said to His disciples, “without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). If we truly identify with Gideon, it should drive us to our knees, seeking from God to rightly discern what He is calling us to do and, secondly, that we might have the faith to believe that He will do it through us. There is all the difference in the world between writing our own agenda and striving to do it for God as best we can and, on the other hand, allowing Him to pick us up and use us in whatever way He chooses. (Briscoe, D. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. The Preacher's Commentary) While facing the threat of imprisonment in Nazi Germany, Dietrich Bonhoeffer pondered the opening petition of the Lord’s Prayer “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done” and based on these meditations, he advised his friends and fellow dissenters that “by these we learn to forget ourselves and our personal condition and to hold them as of little account… How are we to remain steadfast as long as we remain so important to ourselves?” John Wesley once said that the people of God must demonstrate “a willingness to be as the ‘filth and off scouring of the world’ ” Dale Ralph Davis: It is amazing how virtuous the lappers become in the view of expositors. They are heralded as the vigilant, watchful ones who lean down, scoop a little water, always with their eyes on the enemy (which may yet have been several miles to the north!), while the kneelers are the careless, who think only of their thirst. For example, one expositor (who shall remain anonymous, concludes: God saw how untrustworthy would be those thousands who carelessly indulged under the lure of the flesh, over against the three hundred who exemplified a spirit of vigilance [sic] and disciplined life in the Spirit. Thus were selected the strong and resolute, the men who could be trusted under rigorous conditions, those who did not think of themselves before the enemy’s unexpected assault. This is ever the divine principle of selection for service. The problem with this kind of exposition is that it has no basis in the text. The text does not hint at any virtue or vice in how one guzzles water. The water-drinking episode was simply Yahweh’s mechanism for further reducing Gideon’s army …God’s strength made perfect in weakness But God clearly says He is testing the people here – so just as the first test chose out those with a positive characteristic of faith, this second test differentiated those who were more inclined to a focused and alert sense that would lend itself to obedience (Focus on the Bible: Judges) Motyer adds "The object was to reduce Gideon’s army to a force not of a particular kind, but of a particular number. A small corps of crack troops is precisely what God does not want. The three hundred are meant to be not an elite, but a group so inadequate that when the battle is won (God declares) it cannot be a case of Israel’s saying “My own hand has delivered me.” Until the numbers are reduced to the level at which it is clearly the Lord and not Israel who wins the battle, they are too many. Judges 7.7 G Campbell Morgan By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you. Judges 7.7 This is a wonderful illustration of the kind of men that God needs in order to carry out His enterprises in the world. This company of three hundred was an elect remnant, carefully separated from an army of thirty-two thousand. It becomes valuable when we observe the principles of selection. Two were applied. The first was stated in the words: "Whosoever is fearful, and trembling, let him return." On this test, twenty-two thousand retired. Those who were left were devoid of fear. The second was stated in the words : "Every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink." All such were to be sent home. The test was peculiarly military. Men in such a position were not on guard against sudden surprise. Those who took unnecessary time over necessary things were sent back. On this test nine thousand seven hundred were retired. Those who were left were full of caution. It is an old story, and full of Eastern colour, but the central values abide. God needs, to do His work, those who know no fear; and those whose devotion forbids them taking any risks. Courage and caution are the essentials of victorious campaigning. If all those to-day who are fearful about the issue of God's work would retire from the ranks, the armies of the Lord would be much stronger. If those who lack the uttermost devotion, which watches as well as prays, would stand aside, the sacramental hosts would do better work. The work of God needs quality more than quantity. This is the death-warrant of statistics. (Borrow Life applications from every chapter of the Bible) Judges 7:8 So the 300 men took the people's provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. trumpets: Jdg 3:27 Lev 23:24 25:9 Nu 10:9 Jos 6:4,20 Isa 27:13 1Co 15:52 in the valley: Jdg 6:33 THE CHOSEN 300 MEN So the 300 men took the people's provisions and their trumpets (shophar) into their hands - NET - "The men who were chosen took supplies and their trumpets." Note the surprising "weapons" which were trumpets not swords! Holding a shophar had to done with two hands, so they could not hold either a shield or a sword. Clearly Gideon's orders (a "Spirit controlled man") were persuasive, even though they did not seen humanly logical. They 300 did take provisions which would be needed as they pursued the fleeing Midianites. And in fact we see they ran out of provisions and had to request supplies from fellow Israelites in Judges 8:4-9+! And Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley (See map above) - Note usually accurate NET says "Gideon sent all the men of Israel back to their homes." That is not correct. He sent them back to the tents. Presumably he would call on them for the cleanup operation. Below him in the valley indicates the Midianites were camped out in the open because they were confident in their numbers and military supremacy. Brensinger concludes that "Acts of reduction and self-denial repeatedly prepare people for spiritual service. The Bible makes plain that power, pride, and possessions often obstruct divine activity. Yet genuine human weakness provides God with fertile soil in which to perform his mighty works (2 Cor. 12:9). In all divine-human partnerships, God alone brings victory…Frustrated by the failure of conventional missionary strategies to bring people closer to God, Vincent Donovan began to work among the Masai of East Africa. Without the aid of schools, buildings, and sizeable resources, Donovan simply decided to take the message of Christ to the Masai. “I have no theory, no plan, no strategy, no gimmicks—no idea of what will come” (Donovan: 16). What “came” was a reception of the gospel among the Masai well beyond anything previously seen. Frequently today, Christians are enticed into believing that sophisticated equipment and elaborate facilities are essential in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet Gideon’s potsherds and Donovan’s gimmick-free approach remind us that equipment is far less important than the divine Supplier. (Judges Believers Church Bible Commentary) Trumpets (horn, ram's horn)(07782) shophar/shopar/sopar is masculine noun referring to a trumpet or a ram's horn and is made out of a curved ram's horn. At Mt Sinai the trumpet was the signal that Israel could approach the awesome site (Ex 19:16; 19; 20:18). It was used to signal the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:9). Seven trumpets were to be carried before the Ark of the Covenant as the priests and blown on the seventh day after marching around the city seven times (Josh 6:4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 16, 20). The trumpet was used by Gideon and his men to route the enemy (Jdg 7:8, 16, 18-20, 22). In short, these first three uses of the shophar were all associated with miraculous events! The shophar was sounded to announce a new king in Israel (1 Ki. 1:34, 39, 41; 2 Ki. 9:13). The trumpet was sounded at the celebration of God as King over all the earth (Ps. 47:5). The trumpet sound was used to warn of approaching danger (Hos. 5:8; 8:1), and here in Joel, to warn of the dread Day of the Lord (Joel 2:1, 15). Shophar in Judges - Jdg. 3:27; Jdg. 6:34; Jdg. 7:8; Jdg. 7:16; Jdg. 7:18; Jdg. 7:19; Jdg. 7:20; Jdg. 7:22 Judges 7:9 Now the same night it came about that the LORD said to him, "Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands. Now the same night: Ge 46:2,3 Job 4:13 33:15,16 Mt 1:20 2:13 Ac 18:9,10 27:23 Arise, go down against the camp: Jos 1:5-9 Isa 41:10-16 43:1,2 I have given it into your hands: Jdg 3:10,28 4:14,15 2Ch 16:8,9 20:17 THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF COMMANDS GIDEON Now the same night - Night (layil) is the Hebrew word describing the time between sunset and sunrise. Earlier we saw Gideon destroy the Baal altar at night out of fear (Jdg 6:27). Then to bolster his sagging faith he carried two fleece tests at night (Jdg 6:36-40). Now the Commander in Chief (Yahweh) encountered Gideon at night commanding Him that now was the time to attack. it came about that the LORD said to him, "Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands: Note Gideon's part is to obey, and God's part is to deliver, once again showing the mysterious interaction of human responsibility and God's sovereignty. Note Yahweh's use of the past tense "I have given," indicating the future even is a "done deal!" God is telling Gideon God had won the victory for them before the battle even began. That should have greatly encouraged Gideon. This should have encouraged Gideon. Although the battle must be fought, Israel had already won! The 300 men could attack the enemy host confident that Israel was the victor. But God who sees Gideon's heart gives him one more encouraging word in the following verses. It may be a cliché, but the old formula is still true “God says it—I believe it--that settles it". In fact you can subtract the "I believe" and the formula is still true for Psalm 119:89 (+) declares "Forever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven." Judges 7:10 "But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp, Jdg 4:8,9 Ex 4:10-14 ONE MORE SIGN FOR GIDEON But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp - Presumably it is still night and God promises Gideon and Puah will receive inside information (from inside a Midianite tent)! This is the fifth time God encourages Gideon's faith. He had already promised victory in Jdg 6:14, 16; 7:7, 7:9. Not only that, but He also gave Gideon three confirmatory signs - (1) fire from the rock (Jdg 6:19–21), the wet fleece (Jdg 6:36–38), and the dry fleece (Jdg 6:39–40). But in spite of all this evidence He knew Gideon's faith was still vacillating and so He gives him this additional sign. As the Psalmist said "For He Himself knows our frame. He is mindful that we are but dust." (Ps 103:14) Ralph Davis writes that "In light of this, we may need to alter our current stereotypes of what a servant of Christ is (or, is like). We sometimes dupe ourselves into thinking that a real servant of Christ is only someone who is dynamic, assured, confident, brash, fearless, witty, adventuresome, or glamorous — with one or two appearances on a Christian television network (Ed note: Or maybe a famous athlete). Don’t think you are unusable because you don’t have that air about you. Christ takes uncertain and fearful folk, strengthens their hands in the oddest ways, and makes them able to stand for him in school or home or work. We must not forget how the writer of Hebrews describes those we sometimes call the “heroes of faith”: “They were weak people who were given strength to be brave in war and drive back foreign invaders” (Heb. 11:34 NJB). (Judges: Such a Great Salvation - Focus on the Bible)