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A Pitcher, a Torch, and the Sword of the Lord

(Judges 6-8)

It was a sad time for Israel. They were already living in the Promised Land, but the situation had become almost unbearable as they struggled to survive under the constant onslaughts of their enemies. Because of the sins of the Israelites who worshipped idols, God Himself sent the cruel Midianites against them as a scourge and a punishment for their sins. (Psalm 78:62; Joshua 23:13) The Israelites got desperate and cried out to the Lord for help. God in His everlasting love and mercy sent a helper.And guess who he was? He was the simple son of a farmer, not some influential, highly educated, esteemed man of renown.

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The Angel of the Lord appeared unto Gideon while he threshed wheat, saying, The Lord is with you, mighty man of valor! Go in this your might, and you will save Israel from the Midianites.
But Lord, Gideon answered, still doubting that God could use him, How can I save Israel? My family is the poorest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and worse yet, I am the least of all my family.

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But the Lord encouraged him, saying, Surely I will be with you and you will smite the Midianites as quickly as one man. God wanted Gideon to know, He wanted all Israel to know that He would be with him and He would be their strength. Gideon didnt have to worry; of course his strength was small, of course he was weak, but God would do it all! And finally Gideon consented to simply obey and do as the Lord asked. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet and sent out messengers to rally the men of Israel to do battle against their evil enemies. From all quarters men began to join the ranks until he had a sizeable army of 32,000. The next morning they set out toward the North where the Midianites were camped down in a valley beside the hill of Moreh. This is when the biggest test of faith began for Gideon. He had raised a strong army and was headed for the enemy camp, but suddenly the Lord spoke to him, The people with you are too many for Me to let win this battle, otherwise Israel will boast, saying, My own arm has saved me.

Announce to the people, the Lord told Gideon, anyone who is fearful and afraid, let him return home. And after Gideon delivered his surprising message, 22,000 men left, over twothirds of his forces! But that was only the first test! Next, the Lord said to Gideon, The people are still too many; bring them down to the waters edge and I will try them there. When the men went to drink beside the water, the Lord told Gideon that every man who knelt down and drank with his mouth in the water should be sent home. But those vigilant soldiers who lifted the water in one hand to drink would be chosen for battle. Out of the 10,000 who passed the first test, only 300 men passed the second! Thats right, 31,700 of them never made the grade. Young Gideons faith got tested to the maximum. Not only had he lost 99 percent of all the troops hed gathered, but the armies of the Midianites were thousands and thousands. In fact, They lay along the valley like grasshoppers for multitude.

Gideon ordered all the 300 men to gather the extra provisions and water pots and all the trumpets from those men who were sent home, and then they moved to the highlands near the camp of the Midianites who lay sleeping in the valley below. The Lord told Gideon to give each man a trumpet, a torch, and an empty pitcher. At the right moment the torch was to be lighted and hidden inside the pitcher.

Under cover of darkness Gideon placed his men in three companies surrounding the camp of the Midianites. Then in the middle of the night, at a signal from him, each man broke his pitcher, revealing the flaming torch. And every man blew his trumpet, and they shouted at the top of their voices, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!

And did it work? Well, they made an incredible racket with all those trumpets blowing and all the pitchers breaking, and when those sleeping Midianites awoke and suddenly saw all those lights flashing, they thought the whole World had attacked! They became so excited in the dark that they began smiting one another and they fled frantically, deserting the camp. Imagine, only 300 men with nothing but trumpets, pitchers and torches scared the living daylights out of 135,000 men, and it says that after the battle was over 120,000 had been slaughtered! A great victory was won, as great as any in Israels history.

All through the Bible the Lord miraculously empowered and protected His children who were just weak humans like we are. And the same miracles that occurred back in Bible times can happen now!

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Art and story dramatization The Family International. Background illustrations from various clipart sources.