Gideon has thirty-two thousand men and a valley full of Midianites in front of him. God says the army is too big — not for the battle, for the credit. Fear sends two-thirds home; a drink of water at a stream cuts the rest to three hundred. Armed with trumpets, clay jars and torches, the three hundred surround the camp in the dark, and the enemy destroys itself. The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon — in that order.
A study in Judges 7 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 8 min read
Lest Israel Vaunt Themselves Against Me
“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.”
Judges 7:2
The problem with the army is not its fighting strength but its capacity for self-congratulation. If Israel wins with thirty-two thousand, Israel will say “mine own hand hath saved me,” and the whole point of the deliverance — that the LORD saved them — will be lost. So God shrinks the force until victory is impossible to explain any other way. He would rather have a smaller army and the glory than a large one and a lie.
Every One That Lappeth Of The Water
“Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself… And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men… By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you.”
Judges 7:5-7
First fear thins the ranks — twenty-two thousand leave. Then a small test at the water sorts the last ten thousand: most kneel down and drink at leisure; three hundred scoop water to the mouth and keep their eyes up. It is not that lapping is a virtue; it is that a plain moment revealed who stayed alert on the edge of danger. God often sifts by the ordinary — how a person acts when nothing seems to be at stake.
“By the simplest means character is often tested. Those who in time of peril were intent upon supplying their own wants were not the men to be trusted in an emergency. The Lord has no place in His work for the indolent and self-indulgent.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 549
A Cake Of Barley Bread
“I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian… and overturned it… And his fellow answered… This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon… for into his hand hath God delivered Midian.”
Judges 7:13-14
God knows Gideon is still afraid, so He offers one more prop: sends him down to the enemy camp to overhear a soldier’s dream and its interpretation — a poor man’s barley loaf flattening a tent. Gideon’s response is the right one at last: he “worshipped” (verse 15), then went back and roused his men. The strength for the fight came before the fight, from listening in the dark.
The Sword Of The LORD, And Of Gideon
“And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers… and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon… and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host.”
Judges 7:20, 22
Three hundred men, each holding a trumpet in one hand and a torch in the other — which means not one of them is holding a weapon. They blow, smash the jars so the light blazes out on every side, shout, and stand still. The panicked camp turns its swords on itself. The battle cry names the LORD first and Gideon second, and the order is the whole lesson of the chapter: God does the saving; the man just holds the light where he is told to.
“Success does not depend upon numbers. God can deliver by few as well as by many. He is honored not so much by the great numbers as by the character of those who serve Him.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 549
