 Amen. Thank you guys for praying. It's good to see you. Welcome back Turn with me in your Bibles to Judges chapter 7. We're going to continue our work Verse by verse through the book of Judges Tonight we find ourselves in Judges chapter 7 as the Lord is preparing Gideon and the nation of Israel for war Judges chapter 7 This will be our first night in Judges chapter 7. We'll spend a couple of sermons here and So I want to read the chapter together then we'll get into the beginning part of this text So this is Judges chapter 7 verses 1 through 25 our sermon title this evening is strength through faith strength through faith Hear the word of the Lord beginning in verse 1 Then Jerubal that is Gideon and all the people who are with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Herod So that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Mora in the valley and The Lord said to Gideon the people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands Lest Israel claim glory for itself against me saying my own hand has saved me now therefore Proclaim in the hearing of the people saying Whoever is fearful and afraid let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead And 22,000 of the people returned and 10,000 remain But the Lord said to Gideon the people are still too many Bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there Then it will be that of whom I say to you this one shall go with you the same shall go with you and of whomever I say to you this one shall not go with you the same shall not go So he brought the people down to the water and the Lord said to Gideon Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue as a dog laps you shall set apart by himself Likewise, everyone who gets down on his knees to drink and the number of those who lapped Putting their hand to their mouth was 300 men But all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water Then the Lord said to Gideon by the 300 men who lapped I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand let all the other people go every man to his place So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands And he sent away all the rest of Israel every man to his tent and retained those 300 men Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley And it happened on the same night that the Lord said to him arise Go down against the camp for I have delivered it into your hand But if you are afraid to go down go down to the camp with Pura your servant You shall hear what they say and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp Then he went down with Pura his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp Now the Midianites and the Amalekites all the people of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts And their camels were without number as the sand by the seashore in multitude And when Gideon had come There was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said I've had a dream To my surprise a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian It came to a tent struck it so that it fell and overturned and the tent collapsed Then his companion answered and said this is nothing else But the sword of Gideon and the son of Joash a man of Israel into his hand God has delivered Midian in the whole camp And so it was when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation that he worshipped He returned to the camp of Israel and said a rise for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand Then he divided the 300 men into three companies and he put a trumpet into every man's hand with empty pitchers and torches inside the pitchers And he said to them look at me and do likewise watch when I come to the edge of the camp You shall do as I do when I blow the trumpet I and all who are with me Then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp and say the sword of the Lord and of Gideon So Gideon and the 300 men or Gideon and the hundred men who are with him Came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle of watch Just as they had posted the watch and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers They held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing and they cried the sword of the Lord and of Gideon And every man stood in his place all around the camp and a whole army ran and cried out and fled When the 300 blew the trumpets the Lord set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp and the Army fled to Bet Acacia toward Zerera as far as the border of Abel Mahola by Tava And the men of Israel gathered together from Naftali, Asher, and Al Manasseh and pursued the Midianites Then Gideon set messengers throughout the mountains of Ephraim saying Come down against the Midianites and seize from them the watering places as far as Bet Barah and the Jordan Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as Bet Barah and the Jordan And they captured two princes of the Midianites Aureb and Zeb They killed Aureb at the rock of Aureb and Zeb they killed at the winepress of Zeb They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Aureb and Zeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan This is the word of God. Amen. Amen. Let's say go to the Lord in prayer and then we'll look at this text together Father and heavy heaven. Thank you so much for our time together tonight Thank you for the blessing and the privilege Lord of Going through this book together on Sunday night Sunday evenings, and we're grateful for our opportunity to be here Grateful for those who are tuning in online at home. Grateful Lord for our fellowship together and you the spirit of God Joining us together one Lord one faith one baptism. We praise you and thank you for our unity praise you and thank you for our fellowship We rejoice Lord at what you're doing among us in our church and just Our hearts Lord pour out praise to you and gratitude to you for who you are and what you've done be with us now As we consider this text Lord we want to consider our own weakness consider your mighty power and Consider all the many reasons that we have to put our complete faith and trust in you and everything that happens in this life We are yours a sheep of your hand And we know Lord that you are Powerful and mighty to say that you through great providence Lord direct all your decrees And execute all your plans No one can turn your hand or thwart your decrees and we rejoice Lord in knowing that you are faithful to your word Help us Lord often as our faith is weak just to simply trust you in all things We thank you for the example that you give us here in your word to do just that We love you and pray that you'll be with us now as we study your word in Jesus name. Amen Again the title of our sermon strength through faith judges chapter 7 beginning in verse 1 As we set the stage we set the table for what's going on in Israel at this moment The Midianite menace with the Amalekites the people of the east are once again Marauding in Israel They are in camp to their spread out in the Jezreel Valley and they're like locusts the Bible says Devouring the land they've been doing this for the past seven years straight Destroying crops stealing cattle wreaking general havoc on the people and ordinarily when the Midianites the Amalekites the people of east sweep down across the land Israel is found fleeing into the hills into the mountains and hiding out in the caves These enemies of God have been a Devastating plague on the people of God Judges 6 described that the nation is physically impoverished because of the Midianites this plague People have been literally starved out. They are small in number They've been systematically killed off by this pagan tsunami It's been encroaching every seven every year for seven years But this physical oppression that we see the Israelites under this physical oppression is the judgment of God All right, this plague is the judgment of God God sold them into the hand of Midian in chapter 6 verse 1 When they once again did evil in the side of the Lord and that evil time and time again has to do with the wicked and deplorable sin of idolatry They have abandoned the true worship of God for the worship of Baal and the asheras and so they're devastated and destitute physical condition as bad as that may be and it is certainly really really bad It's merely an outward depiction of an inward spiritual rottenness that is eating away at the nation from the inside and we're to Take a lesson from this aren't we right all of this has been brought upon them because of their disobedience They did not heed the word of the Lord and because of their faithlessness They have abandoned the Lord for Baal and the asheras and this frankly is a good depiction if you will a good lesson for us to see we're to learn from their example of The spiritual rot that begin can begin to set in in our own hearts and minds when we begin to Disobey the Lord and depart from the living God when we disobey when we fall into disobey disobedience Faithlessness unbelief then spiritual rottenness begins to take root in our own heart We've got to constantly dig that out by obeying the Lord trusting the Lord Learning from the Lord in his word. We have to follow him in faith to keep that rottenness out of our own bones But here we see it just eating away at Israel from the inside out now of course It's the physical pain that physical oppression that causes the children of Israel to remember the Lord right remember Baal hasn't Rescued them out of their oppression. So what do they do? They cry out to the Lord Ultimately, they know the Lord is the one who can deliver them So they cry out to the Lord for help and what does the Lord do the Lord is faithful to his covenant promises Faithful to his word. He remembers Israel He wants them to remember him and Because he wants Israel to remember why they're in the mess that they're in and to remember the Lord He doesn't deliver them right away. He sends them a prophet, right? He sends them a prophet to remind them of his word to them Essentially, he says to Israel look I've delivered you. I am the Lord your God and you have not obeyed my voice That's why you find yourself in the mess that you're in and then in mercy once again God is in a bounding in mercy. Is he not a bounding in patience time and time and time again? God raises up a deliverer raises up a judge a warrior savior a warrior governor To deliver them out of the hand of this hellish pagan menace And as we've seen so far as we've looked at Gideon now Gideon isn't exactly what you might expect The weakest man from the weakest clan Gideon isn't fearless as we might expect Gideon is fearful Gideon isn't faithful as some have portrayed him to be Gideon is faithless and unbelieving however It will be through the weakness of Gideon and the weakness of the nation That God has determined to show his strength and his power in delivering Israel and we saw that last Lord's Day in chapter 6 God delights to demonstrate his great power through our great weakness however He often determines to do that not apart from means but through means God often determines to do that through the means of our faith not always right God can operate entirely apart from us if he decides to do that if he intends to do that, but God Often operates through the means of the faith of his people John says Whatever is born of God Overcomes the world and this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith So Gideon and the people they're gonna have to learn how to trust the Lord This lesson is going to teach them to trust in the Lord to turn back from their sin and turn to following him And the Lord has sovereignly raised up this very circumstance to teach them this lesson Why have the Midianites been in the land every year for seven years marauding? It's because the Lord has orchestrated these very circumstances for their good to teach them this very valuable lesson So we come then to chapter 7 Gideon so far by the Lord has been taken by the hand so to speak The Lord being very patient very Merciful he looks upon Gideon with pity and he patiently Endures all of Gideon's doubts and questions and Gideon's testing He reassured Gideon time and time and time again and now finally it appears that Gideon is ready Where he's torn down the idolatrous altar of his family He's blown the Trump the trumpet the troops have rallied to him Gideon has put away his fleece God has promised to deliver the Midianites into his hand. Gideon and the Israelites are ready for war I'm not so fast Not so fast. We would think that would be the case, but we're gonna find that's not exactly the case The one who searches the heart knows that there's far more far more at work That needs to be done in the heart of Gideon in the heart of the people Before he leads them to victory through a God glorifying faith Gideon and the people are powerless They are weak in and of themselves spiritually weak physically weak Think with me about a couple of points relative to that one. They cannot win without the Lord They can't do it They've not even been able to lift a finger against the Midianite men menace for the last seven years They cannot win without the Lord for them to go off into battle without the Lord would be like the Israelites who? Went up the mountain after they refused to go into the promised land, right? Bible says they went up presumptuously Because they went up without the Lord and men were killed They cannot prosper without the Lord their corpses would be strewn across the Jezreel Valley Just like the corpses of that faithless first generation in the wilderness one. They cannot win without the Lord to if the Lord provides the victory in their current state of Faithlessness and unbelief Chapter 7 verse 2 surely they would say my own hand has saved me and they would claim glory for themselves You see the the double punch that that is One they are powerless Entirely weak and they will lose apart from the Lord. They will not prosper Secondly if the Lord did give them the victory and they're going to take the glory so to speak for themselves Against God, which would be even worse worldly hope worldly security For the glory of God and for their own good worldly hope and worldly security must be ripped From their clenched fist, right? God is going to peel their Stealy fingers off of that worldly hope worldly security the towers of independence the monuments to self And even in their destitute condition that they've raised of themselves must be Systematically torn down the heart of the people the heart of Gideon must be humbled That's because God is worthy and deserving of all glory But it's also for their good that he gets the glory, right? They need to learn to trust in him their strength is not in themselves if they are trusting in themselves They will perish they need to learn to trust in the Lord and so as much as this gives glory to God It's also anything that gives glory to God is good for us, right good for us It's like Paul in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1. He entered a trial or he encountered a trial where they were made to despair even of life And Paul said they encountered that trial so that they would learn to trust in the one who raises the dead We're talking about the apostle Paul So in this text then as we consider the circumstances of the Israelites There must be for the glory of God and for their good. There must be a breaking down There's going to be a breaking down Then there is a building up a building up and then God's provision of strength through faith Think about it in those three parts right a breaking down a building up and then God's gracious and Merciful provision of strength through faith Let's pick up the account in verse one and consider the breaking down. Let's consider the breaking down verse one then Jerubahal that is Gideon or remember that name right he calls him Jerubahal because that's the the name that he picked up from His dad after he tore down the altar to bail and tore down the asherapole that was next to it Gideon is a walking taunt Against bail on the part of God here as long as Gideon is alive and walking around and called Jerubahal it means that Gideon is a living taunt of bail. Here's the one Here's the man who contends against bail. He's a bail fighter a bail contender, right? He's a living taunt So Jerubahal and all the people who are with him rose early and in camp beside the well of Herod So that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moorah in the valley And the Lord said to Gideon The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands Lest Israel claim glory for itself against me saying my own hand has saved me Now notice with me first That the Lord has determined to deliver his people He told Gideon right I'm going to deliver the Midianites into your hand as by one man, right? You'll defeat the Midianites as by one man But that deliverance will come By the strength of his own hand through the weakness of Gideon and the people God has determined to deliver his people And he's determined the means through which he will deliver them so that No flesh should glory in his presence. They need to understand. There's nothing about which they can boast We have nothing Nothing how much like nothing Nothing about which we can boast God has determined that they will not be allowed to boast He is committed to no boasting no boasting no boasting. They cannot be prideful in this. There's no room no room for that That's not for their good There can be no glorying in his presence You see in this situation The problem is not the size or the strength of the Midianite army Is it the problem isn't even the physical? Impoverishment or the smallness of the children of Israel the problem is Israel's pride and unbelief. That's the problem and It's often the problem with us to our shame, isn't it our pride and our unbelief Lord I believe help my unbelief right oftentimes. We simply don't trust the Lord the problem is not the the the size of some project at work or the Impoverishment of your bank account at the building down the street The problem is our pride and unbelief. That's where the problem lies. The Lord can take care of all those other things But notice second with me that any boasting that takes place is particularly Said to be against him Verse to lest Israel claim glory for itself against me now Think of the absurdity at this moment of any pride With their entire army Israel is too weak too impoverished to take on the horde of Midian two week with their entire 32,000 man army. They've been oppressed like this for seven years. They haven't lifted a finger to help themselves They cannot and if Israel had won the victory They would not have acknowledged God one might in it in that fascinating right Israel cries out to the Lord for help They acknowledge the Lord in their need But when the Lord gives them what they want and delivers them they wouldn't acknowledge God one might in it They would claim all the glory for themselves, right? They would have credited the victory to their own strength. How typical is that of us? Right how typical how typical that is pride and unbelief and that pride and unbelief is Against the knowledge of God. God is the one who gave the victory God is the one who provides God is the one who gives us the strength that we need the provision that we need God is the one who gives us breath in our lungs Clothes on our back a roof over our head that money in the bank account that you've got God Supplies the job that you have God has given us everything that we need and yet often we Go about as though it was the strength of our own hand that has given us that and we become Nebuchadnezzar Don't we we become walking Nebuchadnezzar's Small and oppressed and in difficult circumstances They cry out to the Lord for help and the Lord graciously Patiently comes to their aid and then they forget They forget the Lord act as though it's by the strength of their own hand. They've gotten to where they are listen They would say right. I worked hard in that battle Did you see me down there in the valley swinging the sword? I labored I was working hard swinging the sword 40 hours a week in a Thankless battle so we could get food on this table right they would say to themselves. No No, the Lord gave you that job the Lord gave you that sword You're holding in your hand the Lord gave you the strength in your arm to swing that sword The Lord gave you that 40 hours to work praise God the Lord gave you the food the Lord gave you the table Lord gave you the strength to swing the sword with when difficulty comes though when the time of testing the time of remembrance comes So does the worry so does the Complaining and so does taking matters into your own hands when the difficulty comes When the adversity comes so does the worry so does the complaining and so does the iron grip that you think you have on all your Stuff or in all your circumstances So does the twisted pride so does the self-reliance so does the unbelief You're not concerned first with the kingdom of God and his righteousness right we become concerned first With holding on to what is quote-unquote mine When they didn't have it when they didn't have it they were humble They cried out to him for help can you imagine in Israel at the time all the prayers that were lifted up to God for help For mercy for deliverance for a they'd heard all the stories before there were judges before them And then God had delivered Israel out of the hand of their oppressors before this so they knew those stories They knew that God was a delivering saving God and so they lift up prayers to God all the crying out for help They were they were cast down. You could you could say they were they appeared to be humble in heart crying out to the Lord for help But when they did have it They would be prideful Unbelieving boasting into themselves for what they had. It's just a terrible Testimony of the human condition isn't it the terrible testimony of our own faithless faithless unbelieving arts All that boasting is Against him right if that's not an idol boast. It's directly Against God. It's kicking against the goads Often and we learn this over time Often it's only the mature in faith who can well handle prosperity Isn't it like it takes maturity to Handle a long period of comfort or eat. We don't do well in comfort and an ease We don't do well in prosperity Often it's a mature faith that can handle that Paul said Speaking of mature faith Paul said that he learned how to abound and learned how to be a based It's interesting that he would have to learn how to abound But we have to learn how to abound here the Midianites giddy and they have to learn how to abound what happens when they abound They forget God and they trail off into their idolatry Grasping on to the things that they have as though they had gotten them by their own strength All that to say all that to say There must be a breaking down. Do you see a breaking down at breaking down often is good for us It's good for us often when we face loss It's good for us often when we face adversity Difficulty if you're in Christ all things all of those things are made intended by God for our good We must be broken down. There must be a breaking down physically here with respect to numbers but spiritually isn't it with respect to their pride the Sending home now of two-thirds of their army God is breaking them down Breaking down their self-reliance breaking down self-trust breaking down independence breaking down pride breaking down Faithlessness all through Sending home two-thirds of the army They're gonna have to trust God. I look at verse 3 now therefore Proclaim in the hearing of the people saying Whoever is fearful and afraid Let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead and 22,000 of the people returned and 10,000 remained now that is a deep cut right a deep deep cut of the 32,000 troops that rallied to Gideon men of war He just lost 22,000 of them Now this wasn't Unprecedented by the way, this wasn't an unprecedented thing to do There were instructions given in the law that called for this very action turn back with me quickly to Deuteronomy chapter 20 Look at Deuteronomy chapter 20 Let's just look at this from the law This very thing for the Lord Instructed them to do he says this in Deuteronomy 20 verse 1 listen When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you It's a situation. They find themselves in in the Jezreel Valley, isn't it? Do not be afraid of them Why? Because the Lord your God is with you who brought you up from the land of Egypt So it shall be when you were on the verge of battle That the priests shall approach speak to the people and he shall say to them here Oh Israel today you're on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint Do not be afraid and do not tremble or be terrified because of them. Why? Why verse 4? Because the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to save you Strength through faith right strength through faith the Lord is concerned with our faith in him these faint hearted The fearful are the ones who are faithless here. The Lord is saying I'm the one who fights for you. Don't fear Trust in me look at verse 5 The officer shall speak to the people saying what man is there who's built a new house has not dedicated Let him go and return to his house. Let's see dying battle another man dedicated What man is there? He's planted a vineyard right? Let him go return to his house What man is there verse 7 who is betrothed to a woman and has not married her let him go and return to his house Then look at verse 8 The officers shall speak further to the people and say What man is there who is fearful and faint hearted? Let him go and return to his house same circumstances in it judges chapter 7 Now that has that statement that command in verse 8 has a purpose The purpose is this Lest the heart of his brethren fate like his heart Faithlessness is a contagion Faithlessness is a contagion Lest his faithlessness infect the others Then let him go home send him back to his house, right? We don't need you go back go home Go home Lest his faithlessness infect the others and and so it shall be verse 9 When the officers have finished speaking to the people that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people, right? Lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart lest the lest the fear the zeal The commitment level the fervency the earnestness of his brethren Be like his fear his zeal his commitment his fervency his earnestness, which is entirely lacking. You see Lest his weakness become their weakness Lest his lukewarmness infect them with lukewarmness Faithlessness is a contagion as is fear as is complaining. It's all a contagion. It's a plague. It's a plague, right fear Complaining faithlessness you take a pot Boiling hot water that water is hot, right that that boiling hot water What happens that boiling hot water when you pour another pot of lukewarm water into it? Does the boiling hot water make the lukewarm water boiling hot? No, it loses all its heat and pretty soon you got a pot of lukewarm water, right? It's good for nothing Something you'd vomit out of your mouth, right something you'd vomit out of your mouth Faithlessness is a contagion We have our own Battles that we're facing right. We don't battle against flesh and blood do we but we battle against principalities and powers We have a war that we're waging and you are in the army. You're in the army What are you going to do about it? Listen? Don't just throw in the towel and go home. That's the wrong answer, right? That's the wrong answer What is the right answer faith in God? Faith of the Lord Obedience of the Lord commitment to the Lord fervency for the Lord urnuses for the Lord zeal for the Lord zeal for the Lord's People zeal for the Lord's cause zeal for the Lord's victory, right zealousness for God faith in him Don't throw in the towel stay and learn how to fight Stay and learn how to fight commit to the battle faithlessness here is so Discouraging Right lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart Get a bunch of people when Right when it's um, it's easy to get discouraged over a faithless Person who not committed to the things of God and they're just you know all the time, you know it's easy to be discouraged about that and when you've got a Group of people, you know in this case in Gideon's time chapter 7's 22,000 that just went home They were probably tempted to discouragement tempted to fear tempted to faithlessness But let me say this to Fervency zeal Faithfulness commitment Earnestness is also contagious It's also contagious. It will spur us on we can charge one another up That's why the New Testament gives us continuous exhortation to exhort one another even more while it is called today, right? Because fervency faithfulness earnest as zeal commitment devotion is also contagious Can you see from that like how? important it is How critical it is to be committed to a church that is full of committed people Right where the brothers are zealously serving the Lord I've seen it too many times over the years many many many many many many many many many many times over the years where someone The only thing that they were zealous about was getting out of here, right? it's like the cartoon scene when the service is over and You just hear the doors fly open you look up the chair where they were sitting is spinning There's a little puff of smoke above the place where they're sitting and there you hear rubber screeching out of the parking lot Right the only thing they're zealous about is not being here or zealous about I'm gonna live my so-called Christian life in this faithless non-committed devotionless way And because you're not gonna bend and come alongside me in my faithlessness in my Disobedience in my lack of commitment lack of zeal lack of fervency lack of earnestness because you're not gonna come alongside me and be like me Well, I'm out of here then Good riddance if you're not going to turn from that and put your faith and trust in the Lord and serve him with faithfulness And zeal and commitment and devotion We need to be surrounded by people who love the Lord Jesus Christ and obey him heart soul mind and strength We need I need that for my own heart I need that right we need that praise God Praise God for how he's cultivated that in our church, right? Iron sharpening iron men Pushing men and it's just it's a beautiful thing. The Lord Uses that as a means to prepare us for battle prepare us for war to sustain us in the fight Until he comes to get us right We need that the zeal Starts with you The zeal starts with you. All right, how zealous are you how fervent are you? Are you faint-hearted? Are you? Faithless are you lacking in fervency zeal devotion commitment or are you zealous in your love zealous in your service? zealous in evangelism zealous in preaching the gospel or Are you one whom the Lord will vomit out of his mouth the one who is lukewarm? Well when Gideon applied this law this command of the Lord in chapter 7 Two-thirds of his army left 22,000 Imagine his fledgling faith, which is just beginning to get its legs under it was being tested once more May have been a discouragement to Gideon, but this is meant to build him up Do you see this breaking down this breaking down is going to be followed by a Merciful and a gracious and a helpful and a loving and a caring Compassionate building up of Gideon's faith. The Lord often does that with us The Lord may say of Our blessings the blessings that we have here Lord may say what he said of Gideon's army. There are too many of them Too many of them too many of them for me to bear the fruit in you that I Intend to bear in your life in my life. The Lord may look upon us and say there's too many blessings too many blessings for me to build you up For me to strengthen your faith and move too many blessings for me to bear the fruit in you that I want to bear in you Maybe it's too much money Too much money too much health Maybe it's too much health Too much pleasure too much comfort too much leisure in earthly things and What the Lord is concerned with in you and I is a mature faith It's faith trust in him not in those things trust in him that we need This is the wisdom of God is it not and it's marvelous in our eyes. This is the wisdom of God Look at verse four after Two-thirds of the army left the Lord said to Gideon Gideon the people are still too many Still too many Bring them down to the water. I will test them for you there Then it will be that of whom I say to you this one shall go with you The same shall go with you and of whomever I say to you this one shall not go with you The same shall not go Lord is sovereign over all this, isn't he sovereign over at all? So Gideon brought the people down to the water verse five and the Lord said to Gideon Everyone who laps from water with his tongue as a dog laps you shall set apart by himself Likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink The number of those who lapped putting their hand to their mouth was 300 men But all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water Then the Lord said to Gideon By the 300 men who lapped I will save you And deliver the Midianites into your hand that all the other people go every man to his place So the people took provisions took their trumpets in their hands. He sent away all the rest of Israel every man to his tent and He retained those 300 men now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley So the army of Gideon was cut from 32,000 to 10,000 to 300 300 men Now the way in which God chooses the men who will stay it's very interesting What is the reason for this there have been many who have speculated about the reason for this the lapping of the water one who? Laps like a dog laps to the one who kneels and drinks What's the reason for this does this have anything to do with their strength? There have been some that have made that claim the one who stood on their feet and lapped with their right They're stronger. They're more alert. That's an alertness. God chose the 300 that would be most alert Some physical trait that the Lord was going to use to win the battle with no No, no, no all of that like entirely misses the point entirely. What's the point? I'm going to cut them down to the point where you can't say you won the victory for yourself I'm gonna cut them down by any means. I'm gonna cut them down Essentially the battle is gonna be one without them. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter And I think that's the point the way the fact that it doesn't matter the Lord picks this arbitrary thing about lapping or drinking To make his point listen put crackers in their mouth and the ones who can whistle the song of Moses Those are the ones who go into battle, right? It doesn't it doesn't matter how you're gonna cut them down The Lord cuts them down for the point of cutting them down to where they were entirely impoverished of their own strength The Lord is going to be the one who wins the battle. That's the point So we're at we're at 300 we're 300 men and the whole Valley is full of Midianites They're like locusts upon the land So is this a challenge to Gideon's faith you bet it was hey you bet it was was this a challenge to Israel's faith Yes, it was it was a challenge Verse seven then the Lord said to Gideon by the three hundred men who lapped I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand let all the other people go every man to his place Gideon You're going to have to take me at my word I told you that I would deliver Midian into your hand three times Essentially Gideon tested him and the Lord has said to him I will deliver Midian into your hand Gideon you're going to have to take me at my word It will be an act of faith won't it for Midian to send those men home. It's an act of faith The horde is in the valley and I'm sending home piece by piece by piece my army God says my strength will be yours Through faith strength through faith trust in me like the Lord is saying I will win the victory and the glory will be mine And then essentially says to Gideon. Can you live with that Gideon? Can you live with that? I asked Gideon to believe Reminds me of 1st Corinthians chapter 1 verse 26 for you see you're calling brethren Not many wise according to the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called But God has chosen the foolishness the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty The base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen and the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are So that no flesh should glory in his presence But of him you are in Christ Jesus right, but of him you are in Christ Jesus who became for us Wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption that as it is written He who glories let him glory in the Lord well the weak The very weak and the small the very small 300 We'll go to war next week and we'll see what happens I'm not worried about what's gonna happen. Are you worried? We shouldn't be worried. I we know the Lord is entirely in control. Listen, we shouldn't be worried in our own life either Should we now let's trust the Lord. Let's pray Father in heaven. Thank you for this example from Gideon. Thank you for this example that you have given for our admonition this example that Should teach us Lord that we are to trust in you not to be as they were unbelieving or faithless but our God rules in heaven and Sovereign over all the affairs of our life and we can trust in you You are our God and our savior and our deliverer and in you we will place our trust Thank you Lord that you are our rock You are our refuge and our provider and through even in the midst of our Tremendous weakness you are the one who supplies all strength all the strength that we need Lord Comes from you and that through faith teach us Lord to trust in you. It's a I know a Gracious place to be Lord when we are Fully trusting in you when we rest in you and hope in you and help us Lord as we trust in you and as we rest in you and as we Seek Lord in faith to follow you and to take you at your word Help us Lord in that to be zealous In fervent and committed and devoted as an expression of our faith We trust in you Lord help us to be zealous in your cause We believe in you Lord help us to be faithful and committed and devoted and fervent in our preaching of the gospel We believe in you Lord help us to trust you and to obey you in all the difficulties and the adversities in which we find ourselves Help us Lord to believe in you our great God We pray all these things in the blessed name of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ who gave his life a ransom for us Who became obedient to the point of death even the death of the cross? Help us Lord to follow him into every battle Knowing that it's in him. We've been given victory. We love you. We thank you in Jesus name amen