Sunday 25th May Judges 7.1-14

Qn. 1

The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, “My own hand has saved me.’ (2): God’s way is very different from the people’s way. People look at the physical appearance: quantity, size, things that determine strength, strong weapons at battle, and so on. There are times when God changes the way we have to do things, in order to teach us to focus on him alone. The Midianites had 135,000 fighting men (8.10); whereas the Israelites had only 32,000 men. The war had to leave the Israelites with important lessons to help them to trust God alone: 1) Victory is not determined by the number of the army; 2) People do not win necessarily because of their courage and vigor; 3) God gives victory to whoever he chooses to; 300 men was the accepted number to remain at the battle (Ps. 20.7-8). The dream of the Midianite (13): God could see that Gideon full of fear. In order to encourage him, God used the despised from people’s point of view. The dream he listened to gave him the assurance to attack the Midianites (13, 14). Prayer Request: Pray for God’s servants to always know God’s will and be to move according to that, instead of relying on their own understanding.