In the Book of Judges, there is the story of a man named Gideon. At the word of the LORD, Gideon led an Israeli army against the combined forces of all the Medianites, Amalekites, and other eastern people. The opposing army comprised 135,000 fighting men (see Judges 8:10). Gideon started off with an army of 32,000 men. The LORD told Gideon that He did not want the army of Israel to have that great a number, because Israel would then take the credit for defeating the opposing army. At the Lord's request, Gideon sent 22,000 of his men home. At this point, Israel was outnumbered 13.5 to 1. The LORD once again told Gideon, that the Israeli army was too large. Gideon was told to reduce the number again. This time, the Israeli army was reduced to 300 men. The 300 men of the Israeli army then went to war against the 135,000 man opposing army. The Book of Judges records that the opposing army was defeated. How did 300 men defeat an army of 135,000? The 300 men didn't defeat them, the LORD did.
But what does this mean to most people? To many, the Bible is full of stories. With no eyewitnesses willing to give testimony, doubters feel secure in doing what they do best. However, I have seen something similar to Judges 6 through 8 happen twice in my own lifetime.
In 1967, Israel fought the Six-Day War. In June 1967, Israel fought against the combined Arab nations of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Egypt, Jordan, and Syria were aided by Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Algeria. The fighting began on June 5th. The fighting was halted on June 10th. In the six days of fighting, Israel took control of the Gaza Strip, pushed into the Sinai, took control of Old Jerusalem, and advanced into Syria. Israel was able to gain control of the entire Sinai Peninsula, all the Jordanian territory west of the Jordan River, as well as the strategic Golan Heights of Syria. Basically, Israel tripled it' size from 8,000 square miles to 26,000 square miles while defeating it's enemies on all three sides. Israel fought the Six-Day War on three fronts, against three countries, and won despite being outnumbered three to one.
A fluke? In 1973, Israel fought the Yom Kippur War. Frustrated by Israel's refusal to give back some territories it won during the Six-Day War, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on October 6, 1973. The Egyptians and Syrians were numerically superior in both manpower and material. Egypt and Syria had Russian support and Soviet-made weapons. Egypt and Syria felt that they would have won the Six-Day War if they had struck first, so this time they waited for a day when Israel would be caught off guard. They assumed that on Yom Kippur (October 6), Israel would be at its lowest state of preparedness. The Arabs had a 20-to-1 edge over Israel in infantry forces and a 5-to-1 advantage in tanks. After 17 days of fighting, Israel won again. Or did they?
Israel is smaller than New Jersey. The country is as narrow as 10 miles wide in some places. The surrounding countries dwarf Israel in both population and resources. Those same neighboring countries would like nothing better than the annihilation of Israel. Yet Israel is the country that won both the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War? I don't think so. I believe GOD won those two wars. In which case, the opposing countries never stood a chance.
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And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them
into the
hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and
because of the
Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the
mountains, and caves, and
strong holds. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the
Midianites came up, and the Amalekites,
and the children of the east, even they came up
against them; And they encamped against them, and
destroyed the increase of the earth,
till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel,
neither sheep, nor ox, nor
ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came
as grasshoppers
for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered
into
the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites;
and
the children of Israel cried unto the LORD. And it came to pass, when the children of
Israel cried
unto the LORD because of the Midianites, That the LORD sent a prophet unto
the children of Israel,
which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I
brought you up from Egypt, and brought
you forth out of the house of bondage; And I
delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and
out of the hand of all that oppressed
you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their
land; And I said unto you, I
am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land
ye dwell: but ye
have not obeyed my voice. And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an
oak which
was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed
wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD
appeared unto
him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
And Gideon said unto him,
Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this
befallen us? and where be all his miracles
which our f athers told us of, saying, Did not
the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD
hath forsaken us, and delivered us into
the hands of the Midianites. And the LORD looked upon him,
and said, Go in this thy
might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have
not I sent thee?
And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family
is
poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the LORD said unto him,
Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said
unto him,
If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest
with me. Depart not
hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my
present, and set it before thee. And
he said, I will tarry until thou come again. And
Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and
unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the
flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot,
and brought it out unto him
under the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him,
Take the flesh and
the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And
he did
so. Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and
touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and
consumed
the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of
his sight. And when
Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas,
O Lord GOD! for because I
have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. And the LORD said
unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear
not: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar
there unto the LORD, and called it
Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of
the Abi-ezrites And it came to pass the same
night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy
father's young bullock, even the second bullock of
seven years old, and throw down the
altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that
is by it And build an
altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the or dered place,
and take
the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou
shalt cut down. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said
unto him:
and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the
city, that he could
not do it by day, that he did it by night. And when the men of the
city arose early in the morning,
behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove
was cut down that was by it, and the second
bullock was offered upon the altar that was
built. And they said one to another, Who hath done this
thing? And when they enquired and
asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing
Then the men of the city
said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast
down the altar
of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. And Joash said unto
all
that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for
him,
let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for
himself,
because one hath cast down his altar Therefore on that day he called him
Jerubbaal, saying, Let
Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar Then
all the Midianites and the
Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered
together, and went over, and pitched in the
valley of Jezreel But the Spirit of the LORD
came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer
was gathered after him. And he sent
messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after
him: and he sent
messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to
meet
them. And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only,
and it be
dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by
mine hand, as thou
hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and
thrust the fleece together, and
wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine
anger be hot against me, and I will speak but
this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once
with the fleece; let it now be dry
only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
And God did so that
night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the
ground.
Judges 6 KJV |
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Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and
pitched
beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north
side of them, by the
hill of Moreh, in the valley. And the LORD said unto Gideon, The
people that are with thee are too
many for me to give the Midianites into their hands,
lest Israel vaunt themselves against me,
saying, Mine own hand hath saved me Now
therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people,
saying, Whosoever is fearful and
afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And
there returned of the
people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand And the LORD
said unto
Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them
for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee,
the same
shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with
thee, the same shall
not go. So he brought down the people unto t he water: and the LORD
said unto Gideon, Every one
that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth,
him shalt thou set by himself;
likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to
drink. And the number of them that lapped,
putting their hand to their mouth, were three
hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed
down upon their knees to drink water. :
And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men
that lapped will I save you, and
deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other
people go every man unto
his place. So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets:
and he sent all
the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men:
and the
host of Midian was beneath him in the valley. And it came to pass the same night, that
the
LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into
thine hand.
But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the
host: And thou shalt hear
what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened
to go down unto the host. Then went
he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of
the armed men that were in the host. And the
Midianites and the Amalekites and all the
children of the east lay along in the valley like
grasshoppers for multitude; and their
camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for
multitude. And when Gideon
was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and
said, Behold, I
dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian,
and
came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along
And
his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son
of Joash, a man
of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.
And it was so , when
Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation
thereof, that he worshipped, and
returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for
the LORD hath delivered into your hand the
host of Midian. And he divided the three
hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in
every man's hand, with empty
pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. And he said unto them,
Look on me, and do
likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that,
as I do,
so shall ye do. When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the
trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of
Gideon. So
Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the
camp in the beginning
of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they
blew the trumpets, and brake
the pitchers that were in their hands. And the three
companies blew the trumpets, and brake the
pitchers, and held the lamps in their left
hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow
withal: and they cried, The sword of
the LORD, and of Gideon. And they stood every man in his place
round about the camp: and
all the host ran, and cried, and fled. And the three hundred blew the
trumpets, and the
LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host:
and the host
fled to Beth-shittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abel-meholah, unto Tabbath.
And
the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out
of
all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites. And Gideon sent messengers throughout
all mount
Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the
waters unto Beth-barah
and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves
together, and took the waters unto
Beth-barah and Jordan And they took two princes of the
Midianites , Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew
Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at
the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and
brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to
Gideon on the other side Jordan.
Judges 7 KJV |
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And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us
not, when
thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.
And he said unto
them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of
the grapes of Ephraim
better than the vintage of Abi-ezer? God hath delivered into your
hands the princes of Midian, Oreb
and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of
you? Then their anger was abated toward him,
when he had said And Gideon came to Jordan,
and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that
were with him, faint, yet pursuing
them. And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you,
loaves of bread unto the
people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah
and Zalmunna,
kings of Midian And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna
now
in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army? And Gideon said, Therefore when
the
LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunn a into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh
with the thorns
of the wilderness and with briers. And he went up thence to Penuel, and
spake unto them likewise:
and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had
answered him. And he spake also unto
the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in
peace, I will break down this tower. Now Zebah and
Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their
hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left
of all the hosts of the
children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men
that drew sword
And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and
Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was secure. And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled,
he pursued
after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and
discomfited all the host. And
Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun
was up, And caught a young man of the
men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he
described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the
elders thereof, even threescore and
seventeen men. And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said,
Behold Zebah and Zalmunna,
with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna
now in thine
hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary? And he took the elders of
the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of
Succoth.
And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city. Then said he
unto Zebah and
Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they
answered, As thou art, so
were they; each one resembled the children of a king. And he
said, They were my brethren, even the
sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had
saved them alive, I would not slay you. And he
said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and
slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared,
because he was yet a youth.
Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the
man is, so is his
strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the
ornaments that
were on their camels' necks. Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou
over us,
both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the
hand
of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not r ule over you, neither shall my son
rule
over you: the LORD shall rule over you. And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a
request of you,
that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had
golden earrings, because
they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly
give them. And they spread a garment,
and did cast therein every man the earrings of his
prey. And the weight of the golden earrings that
he requested was a thousand and seven
hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and
purple raiment that was on
the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their
camels' necks. And
Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and
all Israel went
thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his
house.
Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads
no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon. And
Jerubbaal the son
of Joash went and dwelt in his own house. And Gideon had threescore and
ten sons of his body
begotten: for he had many wives. And his concubine that was in
Shechem, she also bare him a son,
whose name he called Abimelech. And Gideon the son of
Joash died in a good old age, and was buried
in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in
Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. And it came to pass, as soon as
Gideon was dead, that the
children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and
made Baal-berith
their god. And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had
delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side: Neither shewed they
kindness to
the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which
he had shewed unto
Israel.
Judges 8 KJV |
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