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Chapter 6
(Judges 6 KJV) "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. {2} 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. {3} 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; {4} 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. {5} 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. {6} And Israel was greatly
impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel
cried unto the LORD. {7} And it came to pass, when the children of
Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites, {8} 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; {9} 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; {10} 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. {11} And there came an angel of the
LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto
Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the
winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. {12} And the angel of the
LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou
mighty man of valour.
I don’t think Gideon immediately knew who he was talking to. But he was
puzzled, because he thought very little of himself. Gideon was not a
flamboyant leader, but an ordinary farmer. This is important to the story.
The lessons from Gideon have been all but worn out by preachers over the
years, but you would do well to read on. It is a very endearing story
regarding this faithful man.
{13} 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 fathers 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. {14} 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? {15} 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. {16} And the LORD
said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the
Midianites as one man. {17} And he said unto him, If now I have found
grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me.
{18} 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. {19} 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. {20} 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. {21} 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. {22} 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. {23}
And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt
not die. {24} Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and
called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the
Abiezrites. {25} 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: {26} And build an
altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered
place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with
the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. {27} 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. {28}
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.
{29} And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when
they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done
this thing. {30} 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. {31} 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. {32} Therefore on that day he called him
Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown
down his altar. {33} 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. {34} But the spirit of the LORD came
upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after
him. {35} 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. {36} And
Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou
hast said, {37} 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. {38} 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. {39} 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. {40}
And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and
there was dew on all the ground."
Continue in Judges 7
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The
Sinless Life
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considered what it would mean if you could just live a sinless life?
Youth in Action
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