King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Monday, April 01, 2024
Chapters: Judges Chapters 6-7
Message: From Fear to Faith
Hello My Friend,
I have not been on social media or listened to the news for a while because I have been so busy, but heard something about President Biden declaring Easter Sunday as Transgender Day of Visibility and did not believe it until I read it. It quotes, [On Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor the extraordinary courage and contributions of transgender Americans and reaffirm our Nation’s commitment to forming a more perfect Union — where all people are created equal and treated equally throughout their lives.]
Okay, once again they make a mockery out of the constitution, which states, [We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.]
Leave it to a godless administration to use Easter Sunday for this pagan celebration, but when you stop to think about it the original Easter celebration was pagan as well, it was even mentioned in the Bible, [Acts 12:1-5 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. 2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) 4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. 5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.]
From creation the world has been using pagan celebrations to insult God and if you think that God is not control of this, He certainly is. He knows exactly what is going on, why we are overrun with evil no matter where we turn, false religion is on every street corner, and true Christians are being persecuted and oppressed almost as much as when Jesus ascended up into heaven. If fact, it is going to get worse, and believe it or not, things must get worse before people see the need for Christ. The history of Israel ought to be a guide as to what happens when a nation turns on God, and since the world tries everything they can to remove the landmarks that prove history, the Bible cannot be removed no matter how many perversions they make. As we continue in the reading of Judges, we learn that yet again Israel forsook God and turned to the false gods.
[Judges 6:1-6 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.]
[that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites,] This time it was not just one nation of adversaries oppressing them, they had nations coming at them from every direction. It was so bad that they were forced to live in caves, hid themselves, were extremely impoverished, and even had to guard their crops because as soon as the would start to grow they would be destroyed. God, did hear their cries, and this time He sent a prophet to reach out to the people, he was going to use a man named Gideon to judge them.
[Judges 6:8-12 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.]
[The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour] [Valor; Strength of mind in regard to danger; that quality which enables a man to encounter danger with firmness; personal bravery; courage; intrepidity; prowess.] My new word now whenever someone does or says something that I question is, “Seriously!” So, I am thinking that this is something similar to what Gideon was thinking when this man appeared and called him a mighty man of valor. If fact, Gideon even questioned God’s faithfulness to His people.
[Judges 6:13-16 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.]
[where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of,] You see, there is the difference right there as to why it appears that God is not with us, especially when we are oppressed, we can do nothing without Christ. The number one reason why saved, born again Christians live defeated lives is because they our trying to carry all their burdens by themselves. We need Christ for more than just our salvation, we need to depend on Him for everything and that includes taking our burdens upon Him, [Matthew 11:28-29 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.]
[Go in this thy might…have not I sent thee?] Sometimes in order to see a miracle, we need to become one. Here Gideon is questioning why he has not seen any miracle when God tells him that He sent him to be one. Of course, just like Moses, he tried to make excuses as to why he was not qualified to do what He called him to do, but if he truly called him, then he wanted some proof that He was God.
[Judges 6:19-23 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.]
[lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth.] Why did the angel have Gideon do this? First of all, what Gideon had given him was an offering and only God takes offerings. Second, the rock would have been the proper place for an offering as it would withstand the fire. And third, Jesus Himself is not only the rock upon which we stand, He is the living water, the sacrifice, and the bread of life, [1 John 5:6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.]
Well, as soon as Gideon saw the offering go up in flames he knew right away that it was the LORD and just knew that his proving God would bring his death, but it did not. God, still had plans to use him, but this time He was going to prove him. The very first command that He gives him is to tear down the altar that his father had built for the god of Baal.
[Judges 6:25-27,30 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. 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.]
[offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.] He not only wanted Gideon to tear down the altar and grove, but use the wood to build another altar for Him. How is that for boldness? God, is definitely not subtle to say the least when it comes to worshiping Him, He is truly a jealous God, consuming like fire, [Deuteronomy 4:23-24 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. 24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.]
Well, the next morning when the people showed up to worship their false god and discovered that it was torn down and another altar was in its place they automatically wanted to know who it was and kill him. Well, his father actually had something to say about that.
[Judges 6:31-35 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.]
[Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.] Joash, had a point, if this false, dead god was a living God and the Almighty Himself could he not have easily destroyed the altar and Gideon? This is why Gideon was also given the name, Jerubbaal, literally meaning “Let Baal plead”. Joash, and the people knew that this settled the matter once and for all, for none of them seriously believed in the idol, which only had been there by someone who had given some illusion of hope. The world still does this today, they seek hope in the idols of the world to help with their oppression, but in reality they know that it is worthless, [Ephesians 2:12-13 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.]
In case you have not noticed, much of the world is facing oppression right now and the churches that are preaching the truth are being forced to either comply with the worlds demands or get out. The sad truth is this, the Church has forgotten God in all this, they are the ones who have brought all of this into the Church and now that the people are seeing this, it is pouring out into the world. It is getting more wicked by the day, but that does not mean that God will not watch over and protect His faithful. Or as in Gideon’s case when He would use them to deliver them from oppression. And this is where His faithful come in, He will bring us down to the lowest level we can get so that all can know that only the Almighty, living God can do this. Now, after all this, God, told Gideon to get an army together, to which thirty-two thousand men showed up.
[Judges 7:1-3 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. 2 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. 3 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 there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.] Okay, so, twenty-two thousand men were too scared to fight and left without judgment, leaving ten thousand. It was not ideal, but it was possible with God on their side, but wait, God told Gideon that there were still too many.
[Judges 7:4-7 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. 5 So he brought down the people unto the 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. 6 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. 7 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.]
[By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you,] Did you notice the key words in the phrase? [will I save you] Once again, we can nothing without Christ. One thing we must understand is that God will not use, and I will be bold to say that He will not even save someone who is too fearful to come to Him through His Son, [Revelation 21:7-8 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.]
So, why did God choose the men who lapped the water with their hands? Think about the position they were in. The men knelt down on one knee by the water, scooped up some water in their hand, then sipped it. This enabled them to be on the lookout while still taking care of their thirst, had they been attacked they would have been able to see them coming. This is proof of several things; One; God, does His best work with fewer people. Two; God, wants us to always be alert to the dangers around us. And Three; God, always wants us prepared to fight, [Luke 12:37-39 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.]
It is not really us who fight our battles, it is God, and He does it for us once we put our faith and trust in Him. And now, with only three hundred men, God’s little army was going to defeat a multitude of Midianites. Now, He knows that we are going have some fears and is okay with that because fear is often what drives us to Him, what He does not want is for that fear to engulf us to the point that we endanger ourselves. Knowing that Gideon as a little fearful God spoke to him.
[Judges 7:10-14 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: 11 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. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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.]
[Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men] God, knows that we cannot handle everything on our own, and this is exactly why He places Godly people in our lives. Sometimes it may be only for a season, sometimes we marry them, and sometimes we become best friends or acquaintances with them, but they are someone we can depend on. This is why we are to be a friend that sticks closer than a brother because we may be just the person they need to help them do what God has called them to do, [Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.]
Now, Gideon divided the men into three groups, each one had a trumpet, an empty pitcher, and a lantern in their hands. When Gideon gave the command, each of them were to blow their trumpet, break the pitcher, and shout, “The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon!” And I love this part every time I read it.
[Judges 7:20-22,24 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. 21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. 22 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 Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath. 24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.]
[and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow,] Their adversaries were fighting each other. All we really need to fight each battle that we face is the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and our faith. Let me tell you, we are going win some battles, and we are going to lose some battles, but even if we lose some we are still winners because we have Christ on our side, [1 Corinthians 3:13-15 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Judges 6:21 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.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for sending Your Son to save all who believe in Him from death and hell. Time and time again You have proved Yourself mighty in my life, yet there are times when I have failed in giving You the glory for it. I am sorry that I do not thank You enough for all the times that You have delivered me from my oppression when I let my guard down. I am also blessed that You have used me to be a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Lord, Lead me and guide me, as one of Your called, keep my eyes open and prepared for an attack at all times, let me be a living sacrifice, always willing to do what You ask, leading all You send my way to Your Son. I ask these things in Your name Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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