GOD SPOKE TO GIDEON AND CHOSE HIM

Proclamation

“And the angel of The Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, ‘The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.’ …  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?’  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.’  And The Lord said unto him, ‘Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites …’ ”  Judges 6:12-16 (KJV)

 

Explanation

These are the words of God which were written by the prophet Samuel under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After the death of Joshua and his generation of elders the next generation did evil in the sight of The Lord. (Judges 2:10-13)  God let them lose in battle and be plundered by their enemies.  Then The Lord God raised up a judge and He was with the judge and saved the Israelites from their enemies as long as the judge was alive.  However, when the judge died the children of Israel returned to their corrupt ways worshiping other gods. (Judges 2:18-19)  The first judge of Israel was Othniel, then there was Ehud, and after him there was Deborah.  Chapter five of the Bible Book of Judges records the song of praise that Deborah sang to The Lord after she won her battles. (Judges 5:1-31)  There was forty years of peace under Deborah. (Judges 5:31)  After she died the Israelites did evil in the sight of The Lord and He let them be subdued by the Midianites and oppressed for seven years. (Judges 6:1)  Then The Lord chose Gideon to deliver Israel and be their next judge. (Judges 6:11-16)  Gideon did not believe that it was God that was talking to him so he asked for several signs to prove it. (Judges 6:17-40)

 

Application

Years ago cartoons would depict a miniature version of a character dressed as a devil standing on one of his shoulders whispering in one ear, and a miniature angel whispering in the other ear, to represent the influences of good and evil on the character.  While not entirely accurate, that depiction is a good representation of what we deal with today.  We “hear voices” but we often listen to the wrong one.  We need to listen to the “still small voice.” (1 Kings 19:12)  Jesus said His sheep know His voice and follow Him. (John 10:4 and 10:27)  We need to read God’s Holly Word to know when He is speaking to us, and when He speaks to us we need to listen and obey.