GIDEON DEFEATS THE MIDIANITES

PROCLAMATION

“And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put a trumpet in every man’s hand … When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side … and say, ‘The sword of The Lord, and of Gideon.’ ”  Judges 7:16-20 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of God which were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Prophet Samuel.  After Gideon had gathered his men to fight the Midianites and the Amalekites who had joined forces against him, (Judges 6:34-35) The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men …” and he was told to send some of them back home.  He sent twenty-two thousand home and was left with ten thousand men. (Judges 7:2-3)  But The Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men …” and He devised a test to separate the men based upon how they drank water from a river.  Then He said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped water I will … give the Midianites into your hands.” (Judges 7:4-8)  That night The Lord told Gideon to get up and take his servant Phurah with him and go down to the enemy camp and listen to their conversations.  He did as God told him and found out that they were already afraid of him. (Judges 7:9-15)  Gideon returned to his camp, told his men to rise, and divided the three hundred men in to three companies.  He gave each man a trumpet, and empty pitcher, and a torch, and told them what to do.  Then he sent each company to a different side of the enemy camp.  When Gideon blew his trumpet, the men all blew their trumpets, broke the empty pitchers, held up their torch and shouted: “The sword of The Lord, and of Gideon.” (Judge 7:16-20)  The Midianites were frightened and confused, and some turned on each other while others fled.  The Israelites defeated the Midianites, slew their two princes, and brought their heads back to camp. (Judges 7:21-25)  

 

APPLICATION

The Lord God told Gideon that he had too many men to fight this battle because He did not want the Israelites to take credit for the victory which He was going to provide.  (Judges 7:2)  We need to recognize when The Lord God makes a way out of no way for us and give Him the credit for what He has done.  When the blessings that we prayed for are given to us, we should thank Him, praise Him, and tell others what The Lord has done for us.  We did not make it this far on our own, and we ought to acknowledge Him for making it possible. (Proverbs 3:6)  No one likes helping an ungrateful person.  Give God the credit and praise which He deserves.

DO NOT PRAISE YOURSELF

Proclamation:

“Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.”  Proverbs 27:2 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by King Solomon under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this verse, Solomon advises the people of God not to indulge in self praise.  He states that they should let others speak highly of them and praise of them rather than say it themselves.

Application:

The Bible teaches us that believers are to be humble. (Romans 12:3)  It is hard to be humble and to brag at the same time.  We should do things which give God glory, and do things which help those who are in need.  However, we should not do these praiseworthy things in order for us to be praised.  We should do those things which are good and honorable because it is the right thing to do.  Those who do things to get attention of others, or who call attention to the blessing which they have been to others, may themselves be cursed instead of blessed. (Proverbs 27:14)  Praising one’s self may do more to ruin one’s reputation rather than enhance it.

PRAISE THE LORD

PRAISE THE LORD

Proclamation:

"I will give thanks to You, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing the praises of Your name, O Most High." Psalms 9:1-2 (NIV)

Explanation:

The human author of this psalm was King David, who wrote it under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  David was essentially praising God for protecting the people of Israel from their enemies and for being God.  His praise was sincere and whole-hearted.  His joy was because of who God is rather than what He had done.

Application:

As believers we should praise The Lord during the times when things are good in our lives and when things are not so good.  No matter what happens to us we should give God praise.  God knows what has happened, why it happened, and what the results will be because it happened.  Everything will work for our benefit. (Romans 8:28)  We cannot see the big picture or the future and God knows everything.  He has blessed us in more ways than we can count.  He is worthy of all praise, honor, and glory.  We should dedicate ourselves to the sincere worship and praise of God.  He has done great things throughout history and in each of our lives.  He gives us what we need, let's give Him what He wants and that is our praise.

WHAT SHALL WE GIVE GOD

Proclamation:

“What shall I return to The Lord for all His goodness to me?  I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of The Lord.  I will fulfill my vows to The Lord in the presence of all His people.” Psalm 116:12-14 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm was written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David when he was fleeing from King Saul.  David was thankful that The Lord had saved him. (Psalm 116:6-8)  Here he asks a rhetorical question and then proceeds to answer it.  The question is: “What can he give to God in return for all of the blessings he has received?”  The answer is that in order to express his gratitude he will offer praise to God for his temporal salvation, and for his spiritual and eternal salvation.  In addition, he would do this publicly in front of God’s people.

Application:

God is the maker and creator of everything.  “The earth is The Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1)  Everything belongs to Him including all the cattle on a thousand hills and the hills also. (Psalms 50:10-11)  All that we can give to Him which He does not already have is our praise and thankful worship.  This we can give Him publicly and privately, with our external behavior and our internal thoughts, and through our praise and prayers.  We can make vows to The Lord publicly before the assembled people of God and then keep them. (Psalm 66:13-14)  Because He gave us the free will to choose when we were created that is all that we have to give Him.  We can choose to praise Him, worship Him, and serve Him.  We should do these things both privately and publicly to the glory of God.