It's been difficult for me to decide today what to comment on in this blog. I love the story of Gideon, and I also love the story of Jesus healing the paralytic. I see a common thread in both stories however, and that is -- Faith! (I will mostly talk about Gideon and comment briefly on Mark 2.)
Gideon started with an army of 32,000, up against an army of Midianites that could not be numbered. The odds don't look good for Israel! So God makes the odds look even less good. "Tell whoever is fearful and afraid to go home!" (In other words, tell those that don't have faith, that don't really trust me to lead them in this battle to go home.) So 22,000 men returned home, leaving Gideon with only 10,000 men. Hmmm... Gideon must have been feeling a bit apprehensive to see his army slimmed so drastically. That's like over 2/3rds of his army instantly gone! But God wants to make the odds even more impossible. "It's still too many!" He tells Gideon. So the Lord commands Gideon to bring his army to the water. There was a greater test of faith needed. And this test must happen at the Water. (What is the water? The Word of God... will we trust the Word or will we look to our feelings or our comforts.
Eph. 5:26 says, "That he might sanctify and cleanse it [me] with the washing of water by the word."
The army needed to purified, cleansed, filtered out by who would REALLY take God at His Word.
Those who lap the water by bringing the water to their mouth with their hands, they are the ones God will use. These 300 that remained showed an alertness, a courage, and a self-control not seen by the 9,700 others. They were also men of faith in God's Word!
Ellen White tells us:
And yet God delivered the Midianites into Gideon's hand! It's interesting that when Gideon went into the Midianite camp, to eavesdrop, the enemy prophesied their own doom. They said the "Sword of Gideon" is going to come upon us. However, when Gideon lines up His army with their torches, he instructs them to shout, "The sword of the LORD and Gideon." It's the Lord's work first... Gideon is simply cooperating with the Lord. Then the pitchers with torches inside are broken and the light shines forth across the dark valley. And the Midianites flee from the light, to their death... Isn't that how it is today as well. Christ is the Light of the world, we are reflectors of His light, and when the truth shines forth, those that are not of God always run from the light. And unfortunately, they run to their death!
I love how even after the successful battle, when Israel tried to make Gideon to be their ruler, he refused. "No, I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord shall rule over you."
Gideon's life was not perfect, as we see by what follows, but he was a man of faith and God honored that faith and used him in his time.
In today's reading in Mark 2, a group of friends brought a paralytic to Jesus. They probably weren't perfect men either, but they had faith, and Jesus honored their faith (the faith of those friends) and as a result the paralytic was healed.
Just imagine the work, the salvation, the deliverance that could come and will come... if we would TODAY have faith... faith like Gideon's less than 1% army... and faith like the friends of the paralytic.
Wow - so many rich lessons and even pictures of Jesus in this reading! I'm having a hard time stopping...
Tomorrow's Reading: Judges 9-10 and Mark 3
Those who lap the water by bringing the water to their mouth with their hands, they are the ones God will use. These 300 that remained showed an alertness, a courage, and a self-control not seen by the 9,700 others. They were also men of faith in God's Word!
Ellen White tells us:
"By the simplest means character is often tested. Those who in time of peril were intent upon supplying their own wants were not the men to be trusted in an emergency. The Lord has no place in His work for the indolent and self-indulgent. The men of His choice were the few who would not permit their own wants to delay them in the discharge of duty. The three hundred chosen men not only possessed courage and self-control, but they were men of faith. They had not defiled themselves with idolatry. God could direct them, and through them He could work deliverance for Israel. Success does not depend upon numbers. God can deliver by few as well as by many. He is honored not so much by the great numbers as by the character of those who serve Him." (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 549)However, just consider this amazing fallout of Gideon's army: 300 is 0.009375 of 32000. So Gideon ends up with less than 1% of the original army that he started with. Wow!!! By human standards this is simply I_M_P_O_S_S_I_B_L_E!
And yet God delivered the Midianites into Gideon's hand! It's interesting that when Gideon went into the Midianite camp, to eavesdrop, the enemy prophesied their own doom. They said the "Sword of Gideon" is going to come upon us. However, when Gideon lines up His army with their torches, he instructs them to shout, "The sword of the LORD and Gideon." It's the Lord's work first... Gideon is simply cooperating with the Lord. Then the pitchers with torches inside are broken and the light shines forth across the dark valley. And the Midianites flee from the light, to their death... Isn't that how it is today as well. Christ is the Light of the world, we are reflectors of His light, and when the truth shines forth, those that are not of God always run from the light. And unfortunately, they run to their death!
I love how even after the successful battle, when Israel tried to make Gideon to be their ruler, he refused. "No, I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord shall rule over you."
Gideon's life was not perfect, as we see by what follows, but he was a man of faith and God honored that faith and used him in his time.
In today's reading in Mark 2, a group of friends brought a paralytic to Jesus. They probably weren't perfect men either, but they had faith, and Jesus honored their faith (the faith of those friends) and as a result the paralytic was healed.
Just imagine the work, the salvation, the deliverance that could come and will come... if we would TODAY have faith... faith like Gideon's less than 1% army... and faith like the friends of the paralytic.
Wow - so many rich lessons and even pictures of Jesus in this reading! I'm having a hard time stopping...
Tomorrow's Reading: Judges 9-10 and Mark 3
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