Podcasts about when gideon

Psalms and Wisdom: Song of Solomon 5:10–6:3 Song of Solomon 5:10–6:3 (Listen) The Bride Praises Her Beloved She 10   My beloved is radiant and ruddy,    distinguished among ten thousand.11   His head is the finest gold;    his locks are wavy,    black as a raven.12   His eyes are like doves    beside streams of water,  bathed in milk,    sitting beside a full pool.113   His cheeks are like beds of spices,    mounds of sweet-smelling herbs.  His lips are lilies,    dripping liquid myrrh.14   His arms are rods of gold,    set with jewels.  His body is polished ivory,2    bedecked with sapphires.315   His legs are alabaster columns,    set on bases of gold.  His appearance is like Lebanon,    choice as the cedars.16   His mouth4 is most sweet,    and he is altogether desirable.  This is my beloved and this is my friend,    O daughters of Jerusalem. Others 6   Where has your beloved gone,    O most beautiful among women?  Where has your beloved turned,    that we may seek him with you? Together in the Garden of Love She 2   My beloved has gone down to his garden    to the beds of spices,  to graze5 in the gardens    and to gather lilies.3   I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine;    he grazes among the lilies. Footnotes [1] 5:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [2] 5:14 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 5:14 Hebrew lapis lazuli [4] 5:16 Hebrew palate [5] 6:2 Or to pasture his flock; also verse 3 (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Judges 7 Judges 7 (Listen) Gideon's Three Hundred Men 7 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 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.' 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.'” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,' shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,' shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 That same night the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” 15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.'” Gideon Defeats Midian 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man's sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,1 as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan. Footnotes [1] 7:22 Some Hebrew manuscripts Zeredah (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 23:9–40 Jeremiah 23:9–40 (Listen) Lying Prophets 9 Concerning the prophets:   My heart is broken within me;    all my bones shake;  I am like a drunken man,    like a man overcome by wine,  because of the LORD    and because of his holy words.10   For the land is full of adulterers;    because of the curse the land mourns,    and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up.  Their course is evil,    and their might is not right.11   “Both prophet and priest are ungodly;    even in my house I have found their evil,      declares the LORD.12   Therefore their way shall be to them    like slippery paths in the darkness,    into which they shall be driven and fall,  for I will bring disaster upon them    in the year of their punishment,      declares the LORD.13   In the prophets of Samaria    I saw an unsavory thing:  they prophesied by Baal    and led my people Israel astray.14   But in the prophets of Jerusalem    I have seen a horrible thing:  they commit adultery and walk in lies;    they strengthen the hands of evildoers,    so that no one turns from his evil;  all of them have become like Sodom to me,    and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”15   Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets:  “Behold, I will feed them with bitter food    and give them poisoned water to drink,  for from the prophets of Jerusalem    ungodliness has gone out into all the land.” 16 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well with you'; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.'” 18   For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD    to see and to hear his word,    or who has paid attention to his word and listened?19   Behold, the storm of the LORD!    Wrath has gone forth,  a whirling tempest;    it will burst upon the head of the wicked.20   The anger of the LORD will not turn back    until he has executed and accomplished    the intents of his heart.  In the latter days you will understand it clearly. 21   “I did not send the prophets,    yet they ran;  I did not speak to them,    yet they prophesied.22   But if they had stood in my council,    then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,  and they would have turned them from their evil way,    and from the evil of their deeds. 23 “Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!' 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD. 29 Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who steal my words from one another. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the LORD.' 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the LORD. 33 “When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?' you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden,1 and I will cast you off, declares the LORD.' 34 And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the LORD,' I will punish that man and his household. 35 Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the LORD answered?' or ‘What has the LORD spoken?' 36 But ‘the burden of the LORD' you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man's own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the LORD answered you?' or ‘What has the LORD spoken?' 38 But if you say, ‘The burden of the LORD,' thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have said these words, “The burden of the LORD,” when I sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of the LORD,'” 39 therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up2 and cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. 40 And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.'” Footnotes [1] 23:33 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew What burden? [2] 23:39 Or surely forget you (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Hebrews 5:11–6:20 Hebrews 5:11–6:20 (Listen) Warning Against Apostasy 11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. 6 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings,1 the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. 9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. The Certainty of God's Promise 13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,2 having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Footnotes [1] 6:2 Or baptisms (that is, cleansing rites) [2] 6:15 Greek he (ESV)

With family: Judges 7; Acts 11 Judges 7 (Listen) Gideon's Three Hundred Men 7 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 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.' 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.'” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,' shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,' shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 That same night the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” 15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.'” Gideon Defeats Midian 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man's sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,1 as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan. Footnotes [1] 7:22 Some Hebrew manuscripts Zeredah (ESV) Acts 11 (Listen) Peter Reports to the Church 11 Now the apostles and the brothers1 who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party2 criticized him, saying, 3 “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 6 Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' 9 But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.' 10 This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. 11 And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.' 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” The Church in Antioch 19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists3 also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. 27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers4 living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. Footnotes [1] 11:1 Or brothers and sisters [2] 11:2 Or Jerusalem, those of the circumcision [3] 11:20 Or Greeks (that is, Greek-speaking non-Jews) [4] 11:29 Or brothers and sisters (ESV) In private: Jeremiah 20; Mark 6 Jeremiah 20 (Listen) Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur 20 Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the LORD. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. 4 For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. 5 Moreover, I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.” 7   O LORD, you have deceived me,    and I was deceived;  you are stronger than I,    and you have prevailed.  I have become a laughingstock all the day;    everyone mocks me.8   For whenever I speak, I cry out,    I shout, “Violence and destruction!”  For the word of the LORD has become for me    a reproach and derision all day long.9   If I say, “I will not mention him,    or speak any more in his name,”  there is in my heart as it were a burning fire    shut up in my bones,  and I am weary with holding it in,    and I cannot.10   For I hear many whispering.    Terror is on every side!  “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”    say all my close friends,    watching for my fall.  “Perhaps he will be deceived;    then we can overcome him    and take our revenge on him.”11   But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior;    therefore my persecutors will stumble;    they will not overcome me.  They will be greatly shamed,    for they will not succeed.  Their eternal dishonor    will never be forgotten.12   O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous,    who sees the heart and the mind,1  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 13   Sing to the LORD;    praise the LORD!  For he has delivered the life of the needy    from the hand of evildoers. 14   Cursed be the day    on which I was born!  The day when my mother bore me,    let it not be blessed!15   Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,  “A son is born to you,”    making him very glad.16   Let that man be like the cities    that the LORD overthrew without pity;  let him hear a cry in the morning    and an alarm at noon,17   because he did not kill me in the womb;    so my mother would have been my grave,    and her womb forever great.18   Why did I come out from the womb    to see toil and sorrow,    and spend my days in shame? Footnotes [1] 20:12 Hebrew kidneys (ESV) Mark 6 (Listen) Jesus Rejected at Nazareth 6 He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles 7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.1 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. The Death of John the Baptist 14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus'2 name had become known. Some3 said, “John the Baptist4 has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. 21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's5 head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand 30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii6 worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. Jesus Walks on the Water 45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night7 he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret 53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. Footnotes [1] 6:9 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin [2] 6:14 Greek his [3] 6:14 Some manuscripts He [4] 6:14 Greek baptizer; also verse 24 [5] 6:27 Greek his [6] 6:37 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer [7] 6:48 That is, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. (ESV)

Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 140 Lessons from their lives Talk 6: Gideon (Part 3) - Raising up an army Welcome to talk 6 in our series Lessons from their lives. Today we've reached the final section of our talks on Gideon. So far we've seen how when God's people were in defeat because they had disobeyed the Lord, when they turned back to him God raised up a leader. Last time we saw three things that were essential in preparing for victory: Destroying your idols The power of the Spirit Finding the will of God. Today we're in Judges 7. Our subject is Raising up an army and we'll be considering the men and methods God uses in bringing his people into victory. To save time, rather than reading the whole chapter, here's a quick summary:   God tells Gideon that he has too many people in his army. He doesn't want Israel to boast that her own strength has saved her. He tells Gideon to send away everyone who is fearful and 22,000 leave, reducing the army to 10,000.   But God says it's still too many! The men are to be taken down to the water and selected according to the way they drink - more of this later. As a result Gideon is left with just 300 men.   During the night God tells Gideon, if he's afraid, to go down to the Midianite camp and listen to what they're saying. Gideon arrives just as a man is telling his friend his dream in which a round loaf tumbled into the Midianite camp and overturned it. His friend interprets the dream as meaning that God has given Gideon victory over the Midianites.   This encourages Gideon and he prepares to attack. He divides his men into three companies of 100 men. Each man is given a trumpet and an empty jar with a torch inside. Following Gideon's lead they go to the edge of the enemy's camp and simultaneously smash the jars and shout, ‘A sword for the Lord and for Gideon'. The Midianites flee and the Israelites are victorious.   So, what can we learn from this story about the men and methods God uses in bringing his people into victory? It's very clear that doing things God's way is the only guarantee of success.   The Men God chooses   Those who are courageous   3 Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back   It's not surprising that people were afraid. The enemy was very powerful:   12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.   But there's a difference between being afraid and trembling with fear. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is acting despite your fear. It's clear from verse 10 that even Gideon was fearful but the assurance of God's presence is the antidote to fear 6:11 The Lord is with you mighty warrior.   How often does God remind us of what he has told us many times? Cf. Hebrews 13:5-6 5 ... be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6 So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"   Fear can be incapacitating! But we don't have to let it. The Lord is with us.   Now let's look at vv 5-7.   5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." 6 Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 7 The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place."   To be honest, the precise details are not quite clear here, but the NLT summarises as follows: When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the Lord told him, “Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream.”   So the men are separated into two groups:   those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream   Now this may have just been God's way of reducing the army to the size he wanted, but it's also possible that the way they drank revealed something about their character. One way of interpreting this is as follows:   GROUP A Why did God choose these? Have you ever noticed how a dog drinks? With its eyes always open for the enemy. This suggests to me that God uses those who are disciplined.   GROUP B Why did God reject these? Drinking water is a legitimate exercise. Indeed, it's essential! But it's not something we should bow down to. There are many legitimate things in our lives, less essential than water, that can, if we're not careful, become a barrier to our service for the Lord if we let them become the controlling motivation for our actions. This suggests to me that God uses those who do not bow down to the legitimate. They are totally dedicated to the task.   So God uses those who are courageous and disciplined and totally dedicated.   The methods God uses   He wants us to rely totally on him   2 The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her   He continually encourages and guides us   9 During that night the LORD said to Gideon, "Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. 10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah 11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp."   He even uses the enemy to bring about his purposes   13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed." 14 His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."   He has a unique solution for every situation   16 Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.   He has a right moment for everything   17 "Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the LORD and for Gideon.'" 19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!"   He expects us to know our place and to follow the leaders he has appointed   17 "Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do.   21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.   He works with us   22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled...     He guarantees us victory 25 They also captured two of the Midianite leaders (AV princes), Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.   The princes were taken Satan will be destroyed Jesus has already won the victory!          

Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 138 Lessons from their lives talk 4: Gideon   Welcome to Talk 4 in our series Lessons from their lives. Today we're talking about Gideon. In fact I have so much material on Gideon that it will take three talks to cover the subject. But it's an important one. God used Gideon to lead his people from a place of defeat to a place of victory, and there are so many lessons we can learn from his story that are very relevant to our situation today.   There are times in our Christian experience when it seems that everything is against us. Nothing seems to go right. Such occasions are opportunities for us to rise up in faith. But if we're not careful, instead of doing so, we slide into defeat. The Book of Judges tells us of one such occasion. We'll be looking at chapters 6-7. We will see how God uses a most unlikely person to lead his people into victory. Although our enemy is spiritual rather than physical, there are many lessons we can learn from the story of Gideon. We'll take two talks to cover the subject which I've divided into four sections:   God's people in defeat God raises up a leader Preparing for victory Raising up an army   We'll deal with the first two headings today and then take two further talks to deal with #3 and #4. So today we'll start with God's people in defeat and we'll begin by reading Judges 6:1-6 which give us a graphic picture of the symptoms of defeat.     God's People in Defeat (6:1-10)   The symptoms of defeat (1-6)   1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.   In this passage we see that God's people were:   On the defensive (v2) - prepared shelters for themselves In hiding (v2) - mountain clefts, caves and strongholds Engaged in unproductive activity (v3-4) Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites...ruined the crops Sowing much and reaping little (cf. Haggai 1:6) Impoverished (v6) Midian so impoverished the Israelites What a tragedy in the light of Deuteronomy 28:1-14 where God promises his people victory over their enemies and prosperity if only they will obey him Experiencing no miracles happening (v13) Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about?   b) The cause of their defeat   The Apparent Cause – the Midianites v.2 the power of Midian was so oppressive v.6 Midian... impoverished the Israelites   The Real Cause – themselves v.1 the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD v.10 you have not listened to me   It's easy to blame the enemy, or other people, but God doesn't want us to be in bondage to anyone. If we are, it's our fault!   c) The remedy for defeat   They cried to the Lord (vv 6-8) 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.   God sends a prophet 7 When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian, 8 he sent them a prophet   The prophet reminded them of what God had done for them in the past and told them what they were doing wrong (8-10) But he did not only send a prophet. He raised up a leader.               God raises up a leader (6:11-24)    a) The Leader God chose   Just like the rest – in hiding   v.11 Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.   Had very little faith   12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." 13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."   Aware of his own inadequacy   v.15 "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."   Humility is appropriate, but we mustn't limit God.   Needed lots of reassurance   v.17 If now I have found favour in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me Cf. v.36 – if you will save Israel by my hand    b) God's Answer   He revealed himself to Gideon   v.12 - the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon the angel was the Lord himself Cf. vv. 14 & 16   He reassured him of his presence   v.12 - "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." Both apparently untrue! The Lord did not appear to be with Israel. Gideon did not feel like a mighty warrior! But God sees us as we are IN HIM Note the plurals in v.13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."   But note the singular in v. 12 and v. 16. "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together (AV as one man) To be a leader it must be enough to know that God is with ME   He told him to go and promised him success (vv.14+16)   14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" 16 The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."   He confirmed his word In v.17 Gideon asks for a sign. He hadn't seen any miracles (13) So God grants him the sign he asks for:   17 Gideon replied, "If now I have found favour in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. 18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you." And the LORD said, "I will wait until you return."   When Gideon comes back and presents his offering to the angel, the angel touches it with the tip of his staff and fire flares up and consumes the offering. Then the angel disappears (21).   22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!" 23 But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die." 24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.   Note: The sign followed a sacrifice (17-21) The supernatural manifestation of God's presence had departed (21) but God was still with him (23) How foolish Gideon's fear was (22-23)

GIDEON GETTING FAITH Hebrews 11:32 And what more do I need to say? It would take a long time for me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, ruled the people well, obtained promises, kept from harm in dens of lions, and in a furnace of fire, escaped death by the sword, and out of weakness were made strong ‘Out of weakness and being made strong' was how Gideon learned how to respond to God in faith. He thought ‘I'm not worthy so God would not bother with me'. He had to learn and to understand the partnership arrangement that God desired to have with him. This message of Gideon getting faith is also God's message to each one of us, where life and power can be released into any situation through our faith partnership with Jesus, which is simply trusting that God is at work for good in the situation.  We learn to focus upon the fact that God invites us into that partnership with him.  Gideon's response to God's invitation. Judges 6:11 Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress Not where wheat was usually threshed!, in order to hide it from the Midianites (which were an oppressive nation that God had used to punish Israel for seven years because of their continual disobedience). And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” There is a lot of ‘O, if, but, why, where,' in there. That is because Gideon had a very low estimation of himself and he also underestimates God's desire to have us work with him. God has to remind Gideon that salvation is his idea and that he will accomplish what he sets out to do and we will have the privilege to be part of what he is doing. So God overrides the ‘O, if, but, why, where,' and tells him to get on with it. Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” Gideon makes one more attempt to wriggle out of the assignment and explains his lack of status and qualifications to God and outlines his CV that identifies him as unemployable. Judges 6:15 So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” But God shuts down Gideon's resistance by assuring Gideon that all he needs to know is that God will be with him and that the project will succeed.  And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” Then Gideon does certain sacrificial offerings as directed by the Angel of The Lord.  Judges 6:24 And Gideon built an altar there and named it ‘The Altar of Peace with Jehovah' (peace speaks of oneness with God) and he burned down the altars of Baal (burning the  idols was the signal to all of Israel about trusting only in God).  Vs.33 Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and other neighboring nations united in one vast alliance against Israel. They crossed the Jordan and camped in the valley of Jezreel.  Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet as a call to arms, and the men of Abiezer came to him. He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their fighting forces, and all these tribes responded. So Gideon has amassed a vast army of 32,000 men and The Lord said ‘Sorry Gideon, that's too many'. Judges 7:3 If you win, Israel will boast that it was because of their massive army – so tell any of them that are scared to go back home, and 22,000 went home, and there were 10,000 left. But the Lord told Gideon, ‘There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring and I'll show you which ones shall go with you and which ones shall not.' So Gideon assembled them at the water. There the Lord told him, ‘Divide them into two groups decided by the way they drink. In Group 1 will be all the men who cup the water in their hands to get it to their mouths and lap it up. In Group 2 will be those who kneel, with their mouths in the stream.' Only three hundred of the men drank from their cupped hands; all the others drank with their mouths to the stream. So God said ‘I'll conquer the Midianites with these three hundred! Send all the others home!' God then instructed Gideon to take his servant down into the vast valley and creep into the enemy camp where many thousands of them had swarmed within the entire countryside like the sand upon the seashore, and the camels were too many to count. When they got close enough they heard one soldier telling his friend that he had had a dream that they would all be defeated by Gideon and massacred. Judges 7:24 When Gideon heard the man talking about the dream all he could do was just stand there worshiping God! Then he returned to his men and shouted," Get up! For the Lord is going to use you to conquer all the vast armies of Midian!" He divided the three hundred men into three groups and gave each man a trumpet and a clay jar with a torch in it. Then he explained his plan. 'When we arrive at the outer guardposts of the camp (on high ground) do just as I do. As soon as I and the men in my group blow our trumpets, you blow yours on all sides of the camp and shout, ‘We fight for God and for Gideon!' Suddenly they blew their trumpets and broke their clay jars so that their torches blazed into the night. Then the other two hundred of his men did the same, blowing the trumpets in their right hands, and holding the flaming torches in their left hands, all shouting, "For the Lord and for Gideon!" Then they just stood and watched as the whole vast enemy army began rushing around in a panic, shouting and running away. For in the confusion the Lord caused the enemy troops to begin fighting and killing each other from one end of the camp to the other, and they fled into the night to places far far away…  It is amazing to see the intervention of God as he works in partnership with Gideon. He is told to do some simple things that whittle down Gideon's chances of seeing the victory as anything else but God's strategic wisdom and God's supernatural power. He will do the same with us as we accept that God wishes to break through our everyday routine lives and manifest the riches of his wisdom and power through us.   We are not going to be told to do anything as mad as what Gideon had to do but we can expect God to put us into everyday situations where God puts it into our hearts to do simple and often little surprising things that express his heart of love and peace and blessing, and his wisdom will be seen to act. Those promptings are signs of the intervention of Jesus in his vision for our lives of partnership and friendship with him. The amazing interventions of God for Gideon were made for the express purpose of showing Gideon that the work was of God and not of him. We saw this with the peace offering he had to offer on the altar, which spoke of his oneness with God, and burning the  idols - the signal for all Israel about trusting only in God. That was the starting point. All the other signs were framed within situations where the conditions were turned from one extreme to the other, to show Gideon that it was not in his strength but in God's; He went from 32,000 troops to 300; the battle became one of the enemy fighting against one another instead of fighting against Israel; the reason for the confusion of the enemy was that one man had a dream that Gideon's army would annihilate them and they had better flee, and his panic threw panic into all of them - and that was all God's work, not some smart strategic negotiation from General Gideon, who blew a trumpet and ran down a hill with  300 men all shouting and carrying vessels full of fire that they smashed to pieces as they ran.  All of these signs were tests of faith set up for Gideon by God. However there was one test that was set up by Gideon for God, very early in the story; and that was the riddle of the sign of the fleece. This happened before he sent out the messages to gather all the tribes of Israel together. It was when God said that Gideon would have an army that would defeat the Midianites as one man. Judges 6:36 So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said— look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground. This test was also framed within a situation where the conditions were turned from one extreme to the other; the fleece had to be either wet or dry according to Gideon's request. The Bible makes no comment about why this was the request or even about what Gideon thought or said afterwards, or what God said. It just happened - and Gideon got faith – God' s faith.  In simple terms, a fleece of wool can only exist if a lamb has been slain/sacrificed. This is prophetic for us of Jesus, who gives us HIS faith for every situation  Galatians 2:20 … the life I now live, I live by the faith OF the Son of God…. No matter what the extremes are of our circumstances, or how little faith we have that things will work out for good, the reality of our faith is our trust in the faith of Jesus who asks the Father on our behalf for his good will to be done.  The fleece was going to be there for Gideon no matter how implausible the test was for God to show that he was there for him. Jesus was going to turn up for Gideon – wet or dry - and he will turn up for us OUR FAITH, in a way that assures us by his Spirit that it is really him who is doing the supernatural for us and through us as his vessel.  2Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us… When this rest of faith has been entered into and we know that the power of God is at work it becomes clear that it is not about our estimation of ourselves anymore (in our weakness he becomes our strength). When we activate this kind of faith we will be in partnership with God, being guided along the way forward by the Holy Spirit and not by our own drivenness, and being prompted by him about what to do. Our battle is against our unbelief that God is with us in everything that is happening and even if we do not understand why it is happening we trust that God is bringing about the best for us right now – it is a present moment experience. As earthen vessels we battle against; The unbelief that there is an excellence of power within us. Not understanding why what is happening to us is happening. Trusting that God is bringing about the best for us right now. When we know by faith that the earthen vessel and the treasure always act together; It is no longer about our wrong estimation of ourselves as an empty earthen vessel. It is about God being with us in everything that is happening. It is about God bringing about the best for us in the situation right now. Thank you Lord for being our faith, and our strength in our weakness. Amen        

When Gideon accepted how God saw him as his identity and trusted God Himself for the victory—no matter the odds—he became creative and successful. Then he lost his integrity holding on to power. Sermon Outline Life Group Questions Series: No More Kings Speaker: Billy Knieriem

When Gideon accepted how God saw him as his identity and trusted God Himself for the victory—no matter the odds—he became creative and successful. Then he lost his integrity holding on to power. Sermon Outline Life Group Questions Series: No More Kings Speaker: Billy Knieriem

When Gideon accepted how God saw him as his identity and trusted God Himself for the victory—no matter the odds—he became creative and successful. Then he lost his integrity holding on to power. Sermon Outline Life Group Questions Series: No More Kings Speaker: Billy Knieriem

Old Testament: Judges 6–7 Judges 6–7 (Listen) Midian Oppresses Israel 6 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD. 7 When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites, 8 the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 And I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.” The Call of Gideon 11 Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And the LORD1 turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17 And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.” 19 So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah2 of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. 22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” 23 But the LORD said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. 25 That night the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night. Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal 28 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” 32 Therefore on that day Gideon3 was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar. 33 Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them. The Sign of the Fleece 36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. Gideon’s Three Hundred Men 7 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 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.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 That same night the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” 15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’” Gideon Defeats Midian 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,4 as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan. Footnotes [1] 6:14 Septuagint the angel of the Lord; also verse 16 [2] 6:19 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters [3] 6:32 Hebrew he [4] 7:22 Some Hebrew manuscripts Zeredah (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 108 Psalm 108 (Listen) With God We Shall Do Valiantly A Song. A Psalm of David. 108   My heart is steadfast, O God!    I will sing and make melody with all my being!12   Awake, O harp and lyre!    I will awake the dawn!3   I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples;    I will sing praises to you among the nations.4   For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;    your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 5   Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!    Let your glory be over all the earth!6   That your beloved ones may be delivered,    give salvation by your right hand and answer me! 7   God has promised in his holiness:2    “With exultation I will divide up Shechem    and portion out the Valley of Succoth.8   Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;    Ephraim is my helmet,    Judah my scepter.9   Moab is my washbasin;    upon Edom I cast my shoe;    over Philistia I shout in triumph.” 10   Who will bring me to the fortified city?    Who will lead me to Edom?11   Have you not rejected us, O God?    You do not go out, O God, with our armies.12   Oh grant us help against the foe,    for vain is the salvation of man!13   With God we shall do valiantly;    it is he who will tread down our foes. Footnotes [1] 108:1 Hebrew with my glory [2] 108:7 Or sanctuary (ESV) New Testament: Romans 12–13 Romans 12–13 (Listen) A Living Sacrifice 12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,1 by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.2 2 Do not be conformed to this world,3 but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.4 Gifts of Grace 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members,5 and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,6 with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Marks of the True Christian 9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,7 serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.8 Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it9 to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Submission to the Authorities 13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Fulfilling the Law Through Love 8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Footnotes [1] 12:1 Or brothers and sisters [2] 12:1 Or your rational service [3] 12:2 Greek age [4] 12:2 Or what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God [5] 12:4 Greek parts; also verse 5 [6] 12:8 Or gives aid [7] 12:11 Or fervent in the Spirit [8] 12:16 Or give yourselves to humble tasks [9] 12:19 Greek give place (ESV)

Old Testament: Judges 6–7 Judges 6–7 (Listen) Midian Oppresses Israel 6 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD. 7 When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites, 8 the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 And I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.” The Call of Gideon 11 Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And the LORD1 turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17 And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.” 19 So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah2 of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. 22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” 23 But the LORD said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. 25 That night the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night. Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal 28 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” 32 Therefore on that day Gideon3 was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar. 33 Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them. The Sign of the Fleece 36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. Gideon’s Three Hundred Men 7 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 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.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 That same night the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” 15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’” Gideon Defeats Midian 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,4 as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan. Footnotes [1] 6:14 Septuagint the angel of the Lord; also verse 16 [2] 6:19 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters [3] 6:32 Hebrew he [4] 7:22 Some Hebrew manuscripts Zeredah (ESV) New Testament: John 14 John 14 (Listen) I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life 14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;1 believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?2 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”3 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.4 From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. 12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me5 anything in my name, I will do it. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,6 to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be7 in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. 25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here. Footnotes [1] 14:1 Or You believe in God [2] 14:2 Or In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you [3] 14:4 Some manuscripts Where I am going you know, and the way you know [4] 14:7 Or If you know me, you will know my Father also, or If you have known me, you will know my Father also [5] 14:14 Some manuscripts omit me [6] 14:16 Or Advocate, or Counselor; also 14:26; 15:26; 16:7 [7] 14:17 Some manuscripts and is (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 108 Psalm 108 (Listen) With God We Shall Do Valiantly A Song. A Psalm of David. 108   My heart is steadfast, O God!    I will sing and make melody with all my being!12   Awake, O harp and lyre!    I will awake the dawn!3   I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples;    I will sing praises to you among the nations.4   For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;    your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 5   Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!    Let your glory be over all the earth!6   That your beloved ones may be delivered,    give salvation by your right hand and answer me! 7   God has promised in his holiness:2    “With exultation I will divide up Shechem    and portion out the Valley of Succoth.8   Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;    Ephraim is my helmet,    Judah my scepter.9   Moab is my washbasin;    upon Edom I cast my shoe;    over Philistia I shout in triumph.” 10   Who will bring me to the fortified city?    Who will lead me to Edom?11   Have you not rejected us, O God?    You do not go out, O God, with our armies.12   Oh grant us help against the foe,    for vain is the salvation of man!13   With God we shall do valiantly;    it is he who will tread down our foes. Footnotes [1] 108:1 Hebrew with my glory [2] 108:7 Or sanctuary (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 14:34–35 Proverbs 14:34–35 (Listen) 34   Righteousness exalts a nation,    but sin is a reproach to any people.35   A servant who deals wisely has the king’s favor,    but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully. (ESV)

Morning: Judges 6–7 Judges 6–7 (Listen) Midian Oppresses Israel 6 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD. 7 When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites, 8 the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 And I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.” The Call of Gideon 11 Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And the LORD1 turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17 And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.” 19 So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah2 of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. 22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” 23 But the LORD said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. 25 That night the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night. Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal 28 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” 32 Therefore on that day Gideon3 was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar. 33 Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them. The Sign of the Fleece 36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. Gideon’s Three Hundred Men 7 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 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.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 That same night the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” 15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’” Gideon Defeats Midian 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,4 as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan. Footnotes [1] 6:14 Septuagint the angel of the Lord; also verse 16 [2] 6:19 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters [3] 6:32 Hebrew he [4] 7:22 Some Hebrew manuscripts Zeredah (ESV) Evening: Luke 8:1–21 Luke 8:1–21 (Listen) Women Accompanying Jesus 8 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them1 out of their means. The Parable of the Sower 4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” The Purpose of the Parables 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. A Lamp Under a Jar 16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” Jesus’ Mother and Brothers 19 Then his mother and his brothers2 came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” Footnotes [1] 8:3 Some manuscripts him [2] 8:19 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verses 20, 21 (ESV)

Judges 6–7 Judges 6–7 (Listen) Midian Oppresses Israel 6 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD. 7 When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites, 8 the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 And I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.” The Call of Gideon 11 Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And the LORD1 turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17 And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.” 19 So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah2 of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. 22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” 23 But the LORD said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. 25 That night the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night. Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal 28 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” 32 Therefore on that day Gideon3 was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar. 33 Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them. The Sign of the Fleece 36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. Gideon’s Three Hundred Men 7 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 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.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 That same night the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” 15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’” Gideon Defeats Midian 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,4 as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan. Footnotes [1] 6:14 Septuagint the angel of the Lord; also verse 16 [2] 6:19 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters [3] 6:32 Hebrew he [4] 7:22 Some Hebrew manuscripts Zeredah (ESV)

Judges 6–7 Judges 6–7 (Listen) Midian Oppresses Israel 6 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD. 7 When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites, 8 the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 And I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.” The Call of Gideon 11 Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And the LORD1 turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17 And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.” 19 So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah2 of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. 22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” 23 But the LORD said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. 25 That night the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night. Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal 28 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” 32 Therefore on that day Gideon3 was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar. 33 Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them. The Sign of the Fleece 36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. Gideon’s Three Hundred Men 7 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 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.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 That same night the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” 15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’” Gideon Defeats Midian 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,4 as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan. Footnotes [1] 6:14 Septuagint the angel of the Lord; also verse 16 [2] 6:19 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters [3] 6:32 Hebrew he [4] 7:22 Some Hebrew manuscripts Zeredah (ESV)

Date: February 28th, 2021 Scripture:  Judges 7 15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” For more resources please visit crosslifechurch.org

Victory – This story is crafted from Judges 7:19-25 where God had done the most amazing thing. When Gideon attacked with his 300 men with trumpets and water jars as weapons, the enemy destroyed themselves in the midst of the confusion. To find out how you can support this ministry by visiting our website at https://lizardtracks.net. My stories can be fond of your favorite podcast, App, or Alexa, search for Podcast Lizard Tracks.

When Gideon was called by God to do a seemingly impossible task he was living in fear, just trying to survive. Though he had a very low opinion of himself, God saw him as a mighty man of valor. It’s time for each of us to live as He sees and rise up to do what He has called us to do!"Because There Is A War For Your Soul" 

When Gideon was called by God to do a seemingly impossible task he was living in fear, just trying to survive. Though he had a very low opinion of himself, God saw him as a mighty man of valor. It’s time for each of us to live as He sees and rise up to do what He has called us to do!"Because There Is A War For Your Soul" 

Wednesday 30th September,2020. Hello and a wonderful Wednesday morning to you in the name of Jesus. Today is the last day of the month of September. We thank God for how he has kept us. We thank God for His mercy and grace and we declare in the name of Jesus. We are finishing strong; we are finishing well and we are entering the month of October in grand style in Jesus name. Judges 7:9-11 (NLT) 9.That night the Lord said, “Get up! Go down into the Midianite camp, for I have given you victory over them! 10.But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah. 11.Listen to what the Midianites are saying, and you will be greatly encouraged. Then you will be eager to attack. “So Gideon took Purah and went down to the edge of the enemy camp. God had told Gideon that he was going to defeat the midianites. As he and his soldiers were getting ready. He was getting a bit discouraged and God said, "I want to encourage you. I want to help you boost your conviction". I know I have spoken to you but just in case you are scared, go down to the camp of the midianites and hear what they are saying about you. So, when Gideon and his servants went in there, he heard one of the midianite soldiers talk about a dream he had. He said " Listen; I had this dream, there was a loaf of barley bread that rolled within our camp and was knocking off our tents. The other said "That means, God has given victory to Gideon. He is going to decimate us; he is going to win this war and we are going to be at his mercy. When Gideon heard that he was encouraged and went back to his camp. Sometimes the place of external confirmation to those things God has spoken to us can help us build and cultivate our faith. God had spoken to Gideon about the fact that he was going to battle with the midianites and was going to win but He gave him some external confirmation. It is important from time to time we understand that God's supernatural power is there, signs and wonders, the manifestation of the gift of the Spirit etc. All these things are there to help us boost our faith. Paul was writing to the Corinthian Christians and he was talking in 1 Cor 14 he said "we should not just speak in tongues but we should pray that we can interpret or prophesy". He said because in so doing we can speak mysteries and talk about the mysteries in people's heart and when the see such a supernatural manifestation. It makes them fear and it makes them know that the power of God is real. When we demonstrate the power of God, when we demonstrate the supernatural, when we experience the supernatural. It heals our faith; it cultivates our faith. I want us to believe God, have faith in God. Expect and look out for the supernatural manifestation of God in your life. Yes it is important to know what He has said, yes it is important to have a confirmation in His word, yes it is important to have a witness in our spirit but it also helps from time to time when we see the demonstration of the supernatural. I pray in the name of Jesus as we begin to go into another month of October and towards the end of year. We will begin to see increased manifestation of the supernatural in our life and it will boost our faith in Jesus name. May God's hand rest upon you mightily. May His grace be with you in Jesus name. God bless you! Have a great day.

Friday 25th September 2020 . Hello and lovely Friday morning to you in the name of Jesus. We are gradually coming to the end of the month of September. We trust God it will be a wonderful weekend for you in the name of Jesus. How do we cultivate our conviction? We have spoken about the place of knowing who God is, we have spoken about the power of hanging around God and fellowshipping with Him. Today, we want to see another one from the life of Moses. So, from the book of Exo 3:11 (NLT) " 11.But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” This is what Moses was saying to God. This is the same Moses who years ago about 40 years had believed he could just take the children of Israel out of Egypt and lead them into their deliverance. He was the mighty prince of Egypt and he thought so much about himself but after that failure experience and he had an encounter with God in this burning bush he just saw his ordinariness . The truth is this; Every true encounter with God reveals the limitations and helplessness of Human beings. Remember the story of Gideon, Isaiah and Mary. When Gideon met with God. God told him "Listen; you are a mighty man of valour and Gideon said, "I can't do anything, I am the smallest in my family, my family is the smallest". In Isaiah chapter 6, The Bible talks about the year that Uzziah died, I saw the Lord when Isaiah saw the Lord he said" I am undone, I am finished. How can I stand before God? When Mary met God through the angel and Gabriel brought the message to her that she is going to have a child. She said, "How can these things be?" I don't even know a man and how would this thing be ? The truth is that; Every true experience with God, every encounter with God will show us that we don't have the power to do it on our own. If you are going to build your conviction, you must admit your limitations and open up to God's power to cultivate you, to make you what you are not. It is like when you want to cultivate a field. If you are going to cultivate a field, the first is this; You must know the state of the field, you must know what you want to do with the field and know whether you want to put ridges there, whether you want to make heaps there or whatever you want to put there. It is important you admit that this is where I am when it comes to working with God, we have to admit our limitations, we have to understand that Listen; we are weak in ourselves, we are low in ourselves and without him we are helpless. In Luke 1:54 (NLT) He said, " He had filled the hungry with good things and send the rich away empty ". God send those who feel they are more than enough, those who feel they are powerful in themselves. He sends them away empty" but the hungry, those who desire Him he feels them with good things .The Bible also says, " Blessed are the poor in spirit because they shall inherit the kingdom of God" . When we come to Him needy, when we come to Him helpless and look to Him for strength then God's strength is made available to us. He told the apostle Paul He said" my power is made perfect in your weakness " when we see our weakness, limitations then is when we will begin to understand and enjoy the power of God. You want to cultivate your conviction, admit your limitations as a human being and know that without Him you can do nothing and watch how God's power will flow through your life and watch out your conviction will soar in your spirit. God bless you! Enjoy your weekend and have a lovely day.

When Gideon and the Israelite army moved with God, He gave them strategies to defeat all their enemies!

Proper 13 First Psalm: Psalm 78:1–39 Psalm 78:1–39 (Listen) Tell the Coming Generation A Maskil1 of Asaph. 78   Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;    incline your ears to the words of my mouth!2   I will open my mouth in a parable;    I will utter dark sayings from of old,3   things that we have heard and known,    that our fathers have told us.4   We will not hide them from their children,    but tell to the coming generation  the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,    and the wonders that he has done. 5   He established a testimony in Jacob    and appointed a law in Israel,  which he commanded our fathers    to teach to their children,6   that the next generation might know them,    the children yet unborn,  and arise and tell them to their children,7     so that they should set their hope in God  and not forget the works of God,    but keep his commandments;8   and that they should not be like their fathers,    a stubborn and rebellious generation,  a generation whose heart was not steadfast,    whose spirit was not faithful to God. 9   The Ephraimites, armed with2 the bow,    turned back on the day of battle.10   They did not keep God’s covenant,    but refused to walk according to his law.11   They forgot his works    and the wonders that he had shown them.12   In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders    in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.13   He divided the sea and let them pass through it,    and made the waters stand like a heap.14   In the daytime he led them with a cloud,    and all the night with a fiery light.15   He split rocks in the wilderness    and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.16   He made streams come out of the rock    and caused waters to flow down like rivers. 17   Yet they sinned still more against him,    rebelling against the Most High in the desert.18   They tested God in their heart    by demanding the food they craved.19   They spoke against God, saying,    “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?20   He struck the rock so that water gushed out    and streams overflowed.  Can he also give bread    or provide meat for his people?” 21   Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath;    a fire was kindled against Jacob;    his anger rose against Israel,22   because they did not believe in God    and did not trust his saving power.23   Yet he commanded the skies above    and opened the doors of heaven,24   and he rained down on them manna to eat    and gave them the grain of heaven.25   Man ate of the bread of the angels;    he sent them food in abundance.26   He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,    and by his power he led out the south wind;27   he rained meat on them like dust,    winged birds like the sand of the seas;28   he let them fall in the midst of their camp,    all around their dwellings.29   And they ate and were well filled,    for he gave them what they craved.30   But before they had satisfied their craving,    while the food was still in their mouths,31   the anger of God rose against them,    and he killed the strongest of them    and laid low the young men of Israel. 32   In spite of all this, they still sinned;    despite his wonders, they did not believe.33   So he made their days vanish like3 a breath,4    and their years in terror.34   When he killed them, they sought him;    they repented and sought God earnestly.35   They remembered that God was their rock,    the Most High God their redeemer.36   But they flattered him with their mouths;    they lied to him with their tongues.37   Their heart was not steadfast toward him;    they were not faithful to his covenant.38   Yet he, being compassionate,    atoned for their iniquity    and did not destroy them;  he restrained his anger often    and did not stir up all his wrath.39   He remembered that they were but flesh,    a wind that passes and comes not again. Footnotes [1] 78:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 78:9 Hebrew armed and shooting [3] 78:33 Hebrew in [4] 78:33 Or vapor (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 78:40–72 Psalm 78:40–72 (Listen) 40   How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness    and grieved him in the desert!41   They tested God again and again    and provoked the Holy One of Israel.42   They did not remember his power1    or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,43   when he performed his signs in Egypt    and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.44   He turned their rivers to blood,    so that they could not drink of their streams.45   He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,    and frogs, which destroyed them.46   He gave their crops to the destroying locust    and the fruit of their labor to the locust.47   He destroyed their vines with hail    and their sycamores with frost.48   He gave over their cattle to the hail    and their flocks to thunderbolts.49   He let loose on them his burning anger,    wrath, indignation, and distress,    a company of destroying angels.50   He made a path for his anger;    he did not spare them from death,    but gave their lives over to the plague.51   He struck down every firstborn in Egypt,    the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.52   Then he led out his people like sheep    and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.53   He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid,    but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.54   And he brought them to his holy land,    to the mountain which his right hand had won.55   He drove out nations before them;    he apportioned them for a possession    and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents. 56   Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God    and did not keep his testimonies,57   but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;    they twisted like a deceitful bow.58   For they provoked him to anger with their high places;    they moved him to jealousy with their idols.59   When God heard, he was full of wrath,    and he utterly rejected Israel.60   He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,    the tent where he dwelt among mankind,61   and delivered his power to captivity,    his glory to the hand of the foe.62   He gave his people over to the sword    and vented his wrath on his heritage.63   Fire devoured their young men,    and their young women had no marriage song.64   Their priests fell by the sword,    and their widows made no lamentation.65   Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,    like a strong man shouting because of wine.66   And he put his adversaries to rout;    he put them to everlasting shame. 67   He rejected the tent of Joseph;    he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,68   but he chose the tribe of Judah,    Mount Zion, which he loves.69   He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,    like the earth, which he has founded forever.70   He chose David his servant    and took him from the sheepfolds;71   from following the nursing ewes he brought him    to shepherd Jacob his people,    Israel his inheritance.72   With upright heart he shepherded them    and guided them with his skillful hand. Footnotes [1] 78:42 Hebrew hand (ESV) Old Testament: Judges 7:1–18 Judges 7:1–18 (Listen) Gideon’s Three Hundred Men 7 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 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.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 That same night the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” 15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’” (ESV) New Testament: Acts 3:1–11 Acts 3:1–11 (Listen) The Lame Beggar Healed 3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.1 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Peter Speaks in Solomon’s Portico 11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. Footnotes [1] 3:1 That is, 3 p.m. (ESV) Gospel: John 1:19–28 John 1:19–28 (Listen) The Testimony of John the Baptist 19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight1 the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” 24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. Footnotes [1] 1:23 Or crying out, ‘In the wilderness make straight (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Song of Solomon 5:10–6:3 Song of Solomon 5:10–6:3 (Listen) The Bride Praises Her Beloved She 10   My beloved is radiant and ruddy,    distinguished among ten thousand.11   His head is the finest gold;    his locks are wavy,    black as a raven.12   His eyes are like doves    beside streams of water,  bathed in milk,    sitting beside a full pool.113   His cheeks are like beds of spices,    mounds of sweet-smelling herbs.  His lips are lilies,    dripping liquid myrrh.14   His arms are rods of gold,    set with jewels.  His body is polished ivory,2    bedecked with sapphires.315   His legs are alabaster columns,    set on bases of gold.  His appearance is like Lebanon,    choice as the cedars.16   His mouth4 is most sweet,    and he is altogether desirable.  This is my beloved and this is my friend,    O daughters of Jerusalem. Others 6   Where has your beloved gone,    O most beautiful among women?  Where has your beloved turned,    that we may seek him with you? Together in the Garden of Love She 2   My beloved has gone down to his garden    to the beds of spices,  to graze5 in the gardens    and to gather lilies.3   I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;    he grazes among the lilies. Footnotes [1] 5:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [2] 5:14 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 5:14 Hebrew lapis lazuli [4] 5:16 Hebrew palate [5] 6:2 Or to pasture his flock; also verse 3 (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Judges 7 Judges 7 (Listen) Gideon’s Three Hundred Men 7 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 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.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 That same night the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” 15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’” Gideon Defeats Midian 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,1 as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan. Footnotes [1] 7:22 Some Hebrew manuscripts Zeredah (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 23:9–40 Jeremiah 23:9–40 (Listen) Lying Prophets 9 Concerning the prophets:   My heart is broken within me;    all my bones shake;  I am like a drunken man,    like a man overcome by wine,  because of the LORD    and because of his holy words.10   For the land is full of adulterers;    because of the curse the land mourns,    and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up.  Their course is evil,    and their might is not right.11   “Both prophet and priest are ungodly;    even in my house I have found their evil,      declares the LORD.12   Therefore their way shall be to them    like slippery paths in the darkness,    into which they shall be driven and fall,  for I will bring disaster upon them    in the year of their punishment,      declares the LORD.13   In the prophets of Samaria    I saw an unsavory thing:  they prophesied by Baal    and led my people Israel astray.14   But in the prophets of Jerusalem    I have seen a horrible thing:  they commit adultery and walk in lies;    they strengthen the hands of evildoers,    so that no one turns from his evil;  all of them have become like Sodom to me,    and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”15   Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets:  “Behold, I will feed them with bitter food    and give them poisoned water to drink,  for from the prophets of Jerusalem    ungodliness has gone out into all the land.” 16 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’” 18   For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD    to see and to hear his word,    or who has paid attention to his word and listened?19   Behold, the storm of the LORD!    Wrath has gone forth,  a whirling tempest;    it will burst upon the head of the wicked.20   The anger of the LORD will not turn back    until he has executed and accomplished    the intents of his heart.  In the latter days you will understand it clearly. 21   “I did not send the prophets,    yet they ran;  I did not speak to them,    yet they prophesied.22   But if they had stood in my council,    then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,  and they would have turned them from their evil way,    and from the evil of their deeds. 23 “Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD. 29 Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who steal my words from one another. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the LORD.’ 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the LORD. 33 “When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?’ you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden,1 and I will cast you off, declares the LORD.’ 34 And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the LORD,’ I will punish that man and his household. 35 Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the LORD answered?’ or ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ 36 But ‘the burden of the LORD’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man’s own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the LORD answered you?’ or ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ 38 But if you say, ‘The burden of the LORD,’ thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have said these words, “The burden of the LORD,” when I sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of the LORD,’” 39 therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up2 and cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. 40 And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’” Footnotes [1] 23:33 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew What burden? [2] 23:39 Or surely forget you (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Hebrews 5:11–6:20 Hebrews 5:11–6:20 (Listen) Warning Against Apostasy 11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. 6 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings,1 the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. 9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. The Certainty of God’s Promise 13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,2 having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Footnotes [1] 6:2 Or baptisms (that is, cleansing rites) [2] 6:15 Greek he (ESV)

Gideon Shalwick is a serial entrepreneur who’s been creating content in the online video space for over a decade. His entrepreneurial journey started about a decade ago, when he felt unfulfilled in his career. He had a wonderful job in New Zealand, but felt that something was “off.” After leaving his job to work for himself, Gideon and his wife decided to start over, and on a whim they moved from New Zealand to Australia. With this fresh start, they found a renewed energy to focus on their life as an entrepreneurial family. After learning a few lessons from The Entrepreneurial School of Hard Knocks, Gideon found his niche in video marketing. He honed in on his passion for video content creation, learning all he could about leveraging exceptional video content to reach the right audience in today’s increasingly-noisy digital world. Since then, Gideon has kept his finger on the pulse when it comes to trends in social media and content marketing, and he knows how crucial it is for brands to connect and engage with their online communities through video. When Gideon realized that 85% of viewers watch video content on silent mode, he realized the importance of captions — and not just native captions, but real, personalized captions that add value to video content. So he launched Splasheo, a video captioning service where his team of real people manually transcribe the videos of brands and influencers, and burn those captions directly into the video using engaging layouts. Because of the human touch, the result is exceptional: appealing videos, free of distracting typos/grammatical errors, to help engage your audience and make an impact. What you will learn from this episode: How Gideon’s entrepreneurial journey began by being stuck in a job that wasn’t making him happy, and how he and his wife decided to immigrate to Australia and start a business How writing a successful book taught Gideon the importance of learning to run a business, and how chance and good fortune led him to beginning his work in the video space Why video is a unique and empowering medium that allows people to share their message like never before in history What issues Gideon recognizes that often holds business owners back from making the jump to video, and why great video content is about authentic messages and connections Why Gideon believes we are all motivated by four core drivers: connections to others, feeling significant, the need for freedom, and feeling in control How Gideon and his team built the four core drivers into their business model, and why helping clients build significance is the company’s main focus How Gideon’s realization that 85% of viewers watch video content with the sound off was important for the success of Splasheo How Splasheo users have seen significant gains in their engagement statistics by adding captions to their video content Why video captions trigger mental images in viewers, adding an entirely new level of visual element to viewers’ experience How video content can be sliced and diced and repurposed for many different uses, and why creating video content is easier than it might seem Resources: Free Trial of Splasheo: www.splasheo.com/onwardnation Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/GideonShalwick LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gideonshalwick/ Additional Resources: Sell With Authority by Drew McLellan and Stephen Woessner: https://amzn.to/39y7x13 Predictive ROI Free Resource Library: https://predictiveroi.com/resources/ Stephen Woessner’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/

Victory – This story is crafted from Judges 7:19-25 where God had done the most amazing thing. When Gideon attacked with his 300 men with trumpets and water jars as weapons, the enemy destroyed themselves in the midsts of the confusion. To find out how you can support this ministry by visiting our website at https://lizardtracks.net. My stories can be fond of your favorite podcast, App, or Alexa, search for Lizard Tracks.

When Gideon asked God to deliver his people from their enemy, he received a surprising answer. The Lord then had to reassure the young man that all would be well. Tune in and let's discuss how God's words apply to all of us!

WEEK 2 - YHVH (LORD), Revive Our Land April 16th - 22nd Day 12 - Yahweh Shalom April 20, 2020Today, is the 4 month, the 20th day in the year 2020. The number 4 relates to the earth. In Hebrew it’s the letter ‘dalet’ which is symbolized by a ‘door’. The number 20 symbolizes redemption and expectancy. It is connected to a perfect period of waiting, labor or suffering anticipating the breakthrough. In Hebrew 20 is the letter ‘kaph’ which represents the ‘palm of the hand’. It signifies giving freely with the palm up, or covering sin with the palm down.2020 / 2 Chronicles 20:20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD (Yahweh) your God, so shall you be established; believe his prophets, so shall you prosper. (NKJV)I say, a door is opening before you, those things that you have longed and waited for are right at hand. Stay expectant this year! For your redemption from a hard season is coming to an end. I say, breath, O Breath of God, breath upon the four corners of the Earth - bring new life of out the death structures that have had us captive. I release the Ruach Ha’kodseh to brood over the waters and the face of the earth bringing life out of chaos and disease.Names of God: A Way to Understand His Nature and CharacterThe Names of God used in the Bible act as a roadmap for learning about the character of God. Since the Bible is God's Word to us, the names He chooses in scripture are meant to reveal His true nature to us. Along with revealing God’s nature His names covey His character, promises, authority and power over all.Yahweh ShalomIn the book The God Behind The Names is says; “In order to understand the importance of this covenantal attribute of YHWH Shalom, we must consider the historical setting in which it was given. As a result of Israel’s idolatrous rebellion against YHWH, He sent the Midianites against them. For several years, they severely oppressed Israel, ruining their crops and destroying their land and livestock. When Israel cried out to YHWH to save them, the Angel of the LORD appeared to an unlikely deliverer, Gideon, who was threshing wheat in a secret place for fear of the Midianites.Prior to this, the LORD had sent a prophet to teach and exhort Israel (Judges 6:8-10). Now, the Angel of the LORD had come to confirm the word of the prophet, to commission Gideon as Israel’s deliverer, and to inspire him through various miracles. Most Bible scholars believe that the Angel of the LORD was a preincarnate self-manifestation of YHWH—or Jesus Himself, as Jesus is YHWH incarnate. This, of course, is borne out by Gideon’s own testimony after the Angel suddenly disappeared.” http://www.myredeemerlives.com/namesofgod/namesofgod.html God is Calling Modern Day Gideon’s Judges 6:11-15, 20-2711 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah…Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior.” 13 Then Gideon said to him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian."14 The LORD looked at him and said, "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” 15 He said to Him, "O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house.” 16 But the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man….(Giedon prepares an offering meal) 21 Then the angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. 22 When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” 23 The LORD said to him, "Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and named it The LORD is Peace. 25 Now on the same night the LORD said to him, "Take your father's bull and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner, and take a second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.” 27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had spoken to him; and because he was too afraid of his father's household and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night.I will bless you with…Visitation - Glory - Fire! KEY SCRIPTURE: Numbers 6:22-27 22 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 May Yahweh bless you and protect you; 25 may Yahweh make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 may Yahweh look with favor on you and give you peace. 27 In this way they will pronounce My name over the Israelites, and I will bless them.” (HCSB) Pronounce: declare or announce, to declare (a person or thing) to be as specified.I Will Keep You… Shamar: A close watching of something for guarding or protecting.Psalms 12:5-8 5”Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise," says the LORD; "I will set him in the safety for which he longs.” 6 The words of the LORD are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. 7 You, O LORD, will keep them; You will preserve him from this generation forever. 8 The wicked strut about on every side When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.I Will Bless You!NAME OF GODYahweh-ShalomHebrew words go beyond their spoken pronunciation. Each word conveys feeling, intent, and emotion. Shalom is much more than simple ‘peace’ ‘free from war or strife’ - shalom is complete peace. I’ve heard it said that shalom conveys ‘Nothing broken, nothing missing’ in your life.“Peace (07965) (shalom from salam/salem/shalam = to be safe, sound, healthy, perfect, complete [1Ki 7:51, Neh 6:18]) signifies a sense of well-being and harmony both within and without - Completeness, wholeness, peace, health, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, fullness, rest, harmony; the absence of agitation or discord, a state of calm without anxiety or stress…Shalom also includes the idea of vigour and vitality in all dimensions of life. In short, shalom speaks of holistic ("holy") health for our souls and spirits.” https://www.preceptaustin.org/shalom_-_definition “Although the compound name appears only once in the Old Testament, the word "shalom" by itself appears ±326 times. Transliterated "peace" in our English Bibles, the word appears ±120 times as a greeting or blessing and ±157 times in its various contexts meaning "well", "peace", "good health", "whole", "perfect", or “fulfilled".Based on the many uses of the word throughout the Old Testament, we can conclude that "shalom" means much more than the English word "peace", which means generally "harmonious relations" and the "absence of strife". While "shalom" certainly means that, it goes so much further. to that kind of peace that results from being a whole person in right relationship with God and with others.” http://www.myredeemerlives.com/namesofgod/namesofgod.htmlShalom is a blessing, a manifestation of divine grace.Guzik - The Hebrew word shalom, is more than the cessation of hostility - it is God’s word for wholeness and goodness and total satisfaction in life. This is the abundant life Jesus promised! (John 10:10) Jesus Gives His Peace "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (John 14:27) And the peace of God (YHWH Shalom), which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7) 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. [Ephesians 2:14-22 New King James Version (NKJV)] Scripture: Judges 6:24 So Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh. He called it Yahweh Shalom. To this day it is still in Ophrah, which belongs to Abiezer’s family. (NOG) Blessing / Declaration of the Name:I bless you with Yahweh Shalom! Peace that surpasses ALL understanding is yours - this Peace is a person Jesus Christ / Yahweh Shalom. As I called Gideon I am calling you in this hour, Arise mighty men and women of valor. It’s time to cleanse the land of defilement. It’s time to tear down the false gods you have worship (mammon, entertainment, your denominations and church structures, your education and health structures, etc.) These things have often led My People away for the purest form of worship - face to face - with Yahweh! I have come as a jealous God in this season, removing all those things that have gotten your eyes off of Me. Yahweh Shalom has come to bring wholeness to every aspect of your life whatever you have need of ask of Me. For I AM is present - I Will Be to You Whatever You Need Be to BE! Call out, for I hear your every cry. I collect your every tear and I AM here to bring you into the place of Destiny, into the place Victory. Not just for you Beloved but so the people of the earth can be blessed by you through ME!Yahweh Shalom!

Gideon takes a group of men and destroys the altar of Baal. People want him to die but he gets a nickname instead. God has more for him to do but Gideon has some doubts and tests God with a fleece. When Gideon agrees to go to battle, God thinks he has too many men with him and comes up with a strange way of reducing the forces. Chad and Daniel discuss all of this. Have a listen! 1517 Podcast Network Houston City Event Las Vegas City Event Great Freedom Conference in Germany Freedom Conference in Stockholm Donate

A slim volume you can swallow in one melancholy winter afternoon, best with sips of a mellow amber whisky with undertones of peat, Priya Sharm's Ormeshadow (Tor.com, 2019) is about more about human beasts than the actual dragon that slumbers under the earth. The fraternal archetypes; the civilized and the wild brother, are seen through the eyes of a bewildered child, Gideon, who becomes a man during the course of the story. The two brothers in question are Gideon’s father and uncle. Gideon’s father, John, is a scholar, happy with books, but also bound to the land (and what lies under it.) Uncle Thomas, first described in a sentence that can be read several ways, is a dark man. When Gideon’s father, John, is forced to bring his family back to the farm where he and Thomas grew up, familial competition raises its ugly head. From a lone mysterious carved chair to John’s beautiful wife, everything seems to be contested ground. John often yields both to his demanding wife and his volatile brother, Thomas. It seems Gideon, who has inherited John’s gentle nature, is fated to be an underdog as well. But Gideon’s kindness and gentleness have won him protection among forces more powerful than men. Gabrielle Mathieu is the author of the historical fantasy Falcon series and the epic fantasy Berona’s Quest series, beginning with Girl of Fire (watch the trailer: http://bit.ly/2KFOQhb). She blogs about travel and her books at http://gabriellemathieu.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter to get updates about new podcasts and more @GabrielleAuthor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A slim volume you can swallow in one melancholy winter afternoon, best with sips of a mellow amber whisky with undertones of peat, Priya Sharm's Ormeshadow (Tor.com, 2019) is about more about human beasts than the actual dragon that slumbers under the earth. The fraternal archetypes; the civilized and the wild brother, are seen through the eyes of a bewildered child, Gideon, who becomes a man during the course of the story. The two brothers in question are Gideon’s father and uncle. Gideon’s father, John, is a scholar, happy with books, but also bound to the land (and what lies under it.) Uncle Thomas, first described in a sentence that can be read several ways, is a dark man. When Gideon’s father, John, is forced to bring his family back to the farm where he and Thomas grew up, familial competition raises its ugly head. From a lone mysterious carved chair to John’s beautiful wife, everything seems to be contested ground. John often yields both to his demanding wife and his volatile brother, Thomas. It seems Gideon, who has inherited John’s gentle nature, is fated to be an underdog as well. But Gideon’s kindness and gentleness have won him protection among forces more powerful than men. Gabrielle Mathieu is the author of the historical fantasy Falcon series and the epic fantasy Berona’s Quest series, beginning with Girl of Fire (watch the trailer: http://bit.ly/2KFOQhb). She blogs about travel and her books at http://gabriellemathieu.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter to get updates about new podcasts and more @GabrielleAuthor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A slim volume you can swallow in one melancholy winter afternoon, best with sips of a mellow amber whisky with undertones of peat, Priya Sharm's Ormeshadow (Tor.com, 2019) is about more about human beasts than the actual dragon that slumbers under the earth. The fraternal archetypes; the civilized and the wild brother, are seen through the eyes of a bewildered child, Gideon, who becomes a man during the course of the story. The two brothers in question are Gideon’s father and uncle. Gideon’s father, John, is a scholar, happy with books, but also bound to the land (and what lies under it.) Uncle Thomas, first described in a sentence that can be read several ways, is a dark man. When Gideon’s father, John, is forced to bring his family back to the farm where he and Thomas grew up, familial competition raises its ugly head. From a lone mysterious carved chair to John’s beautiful wife, everything seems to be contested ground. John often yields both to his demanding wife and his volatile brother, Thomas. It seems Gideon, who has inherited John’s gentle nature, is fated to be an underdog as well. But Gideon’s kindness and gentleness have won him protection among forces more powerful than men. Gabrielle Mathieu is the author of the historical fantasy Falcon series and the epic fantasy Berona’s Quest series, beginning with Girl of Fire (watch the trailer: http://bit.ly/2KFOQhb). She blogs about travel and her books at http://gabriellemathieu.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter to get updates about new podcasts and more @GabrielleAuthor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever heard the expression “putting out the fleece” when referring to someone trying to make a decision?  Its origin comes from an unlikely biblical hero from an unremarkable tribe. He was the youngest of an insignificant family.  Yet, Gideon was chosen by God to do a mighty work – to free Israel from the cruel oppression of the Midianites and Amalekites.  Getting such an unnoticed individual to do works of such greatness took providence and patience on God’s part. Gideon needed to develop a God-based confidence to boldly move forward and stand against enemies of immense power.  The story of this man’s journey inspired a nation and left a trail of lessons for us to apply in our everyday Christian walk. When it came to Israel, God was specific and predictable.  From the time they became a nation when Moses led them out of Egypt, God’s approach was always the same:  Accept My guidance, follow My Laws and keep Me first and I will bless you.  Make light of My guidance, ignore My laws and descend into idolatry and you will suffer consequences.  When Gideon arrived on the scene, Israel was blatantly idolatrous and had gone through seven years of being terrorized by enemies.  God determined it was time for deliverance, and Gideon was to be their vessel of salvation. How the victory was won One of the two basic themes of Gideon’s story is the counterintuitive nature of how the victory is won. It begins with Gideon himself.  As he is called into God’s service by way of a visit from an angel, Gideon’s response sets the tone.  He basically says, "Who are you calling a 'valiant warrior'? I am insignificant! You must have the wrong guy!"  Yet the angel persists and gives him a task that will lead to war with an enemy who is overwhelmingly more powerful than Israel. Gideon does what he is assigned to do and promptly has his life threatened.  This small action seems senseless and makes it look like Gideon is picking a fight with the toughest, meanest warrior around.  Why does God begin and follow through in this experience this way?  It is the counterintuitive approach that says, "When I am on God’s side, the odds are always with me." The odds were seemingly stacked against him The second basic theme of Gideon’s story is his continued need for assurance.  God gave Gideon a nation-changing task of conquering an enemy whose soldiers at the time of battle would outnumber Gideon’s small army 450 to one.  To be able to consciously go into battle with such ridiculous odds stacked against you, reassurance becomes a major necessity.  Check out our November 4, 2019 podcast, “Who Was Gideon?” for more.  We examine the extraordinary requests Gideon makes of God to help him be sure of his actions and see how God responds.  We look at the equally mind boggling, and on the surface ridiculous, requests God makes of Gideon to secure victory.  Gideon’s valiant and godly behavior in the face of impossibility is an inspiration.  Be part of it!

Judges 7:1 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. 2 The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ 3 Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. 4 But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” 6 Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 7 The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others. Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. 9 During that night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. 10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah 11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. 12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore. 13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.” 14 His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.” 15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands.”

The nation of Israel is far from the Lord and has turned to worship idols. The false gods were meant to bring fertile crops and prosperity, but they only bring despair and a fractured relationship with the One True God. In His kindness, the Lord selects Gideon to fight for Israel. When Gideon goes to war, the Lord reduces the number of men who will go to battle so that Israel will not forget the power of God and His merciful deliverance. That is exactly what happens, however, and Israel reverts to it’s former idolatry. ::: Christian Standard Bible translation. All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross. Co-produced by Eric Williamson. facebook.com/commuterbible twitter.com/CommuterPod patreon.com/commuterbible

In part one (0:00-7:35), Tim outlines the biblical authors' idea that God is totally transcendent and above creation, but they also work hard to show that God gets involved in human activities through mediators. Tim briefly mentions that there are a lot of old Hebrew traditions surrounding different beings like “the watchers.” These figures are often portrayed in movies like the new Noah movie by Darren Aronofsky. and much of the literature written about them comes from other Hebrew literature and tradition. In part two (7:35-17:25), Tim says that the Hebrew word “malak” means “messenger,” and it's the word used for “angel.” In the New Testament, the Greek word “aggelos” is used, which is then translated as “angel.” Jon asks if they have wings, and Tim says there is no winged angel depicted in the Bible. Tim says there’s a particular elohim/spiritual being depicted in the Bible that is called “malak Yahweh,” or “messenger of Yahweh.” One notable appearance of this character is in the story of Hagar in Genesis 21. The story starts out with Hagar conversing with the Angel of the Lord, but then later she says she had conversed with God (Yahweh). Jon asks if this is a sign of the literary seams of different sources as this story was told throughout the years. Tim says this is possible, but he also wonders if it’s intentional. Is the Angel of Yahweh Yahweh, or is it distinct from Yahweh? Tim thinks it's both. Tim mentions the story in Exodus 23. Yahweh says, “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my name is in him.” Jon asks what it means to have Yahweh’s name in someone. Tim says this is a really unique phrase in the Bible. Tim thinks the point is that there’s a balance beam the biblical authors are walking. They want to present Yahweh as distinct from the Angel of God, but also they can be the same. In part three (17:25-26:55), Tim outlines the story of Gideon in Judges 6:11-23. "The Angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, 'The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.' 'Pardon me, my lord,' Gideon replied, 'but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.' The Lord turned to him and said, 'Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?' 'Pardon me, my lord,' Gideon replied, 'but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.' The Lord answered, 'I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.' Gideon replied, 'If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.' And the Lord said, 'I will wait until you return.' Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak. The Angel of God said to him, 'Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.' And Gideon did so. Then the Angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the Angel of the Lord disappeared. When Gideon realized that it was the Angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, 'Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!' But the Lord said to him, 'Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.'" In this story, the character keeps alternating between “the Lord” and “the Angel of the Lord.” Why is this? Is this just lazy writing, or is it a biblical contradiction? Tim says he thinks this is a strange story on purpose. Tim thinks that this is a human figure that can appear, a figure that is Yahweh but also distinct from Yahweh. The point of this story is to form a mental shelf in the reader's mind that there is a human figure, a messenger who acts as God and also on behalf of God. This figure has “my name in Him,” according to Exodus 23. In Part four (26:55-end), Tim outlines the history of the ideas surrounding this figure. Some traditions and scholars think that this figure is Michael, archangel or chief angel. Tim says there’s a book called “The Apocalypse of Abraham.” It's a second temple Jewish text that tries to give more background on this figure. In that text the figure is called “Ya-ho-el.” In other Jewish traditions, the Angel of the Lord is known as Metatron. The early church fathers believed that this being was a pre-incarnated Jesus. Tim says there are lots of ideas, and the biblical authors, especially the New Testament authors, consider Jesus to be “greater than an angel.” This theme is especially noticeable in the book of Hebrews. To a modern reader, the meaning slips past us, but to an ancient Jewish reader, saying that Jesus was “greater than an angel” or that he was the Angel of Yahweh was equivalent to saying that he was Yahweh. Thank you to all of our supporters! Show Music Defender Instrumental, Tents He’s Always There, Tae the Producer Another Chance, Tae the Producer In the Distance, Tae the Producer He’s Always There, Tae the Producer Produced By: Dan Gummel, Jon Collins. Show Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metatron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_of_Abraham

When Gideon was called to lead he was not found fighting off lions or in the midst of a great battle. He was found hiding in fear, yet the Lord still called him forth as Mighty Warrior. Often times we are so focused on our situations that fear takes up residence where it doesn't belong. We forget that our Heavenly Father has called US to be Mighty Warriors. The storms of life come and we get fixated on the what instead of the why. Are you being perfected, corrected or brought to a new perspective? In this podcast you will be encouraged to remember how God sees you regardless of the storms surrounding you!

When Gideon built his alter, there is a new name of God that is revealed. Gideon’s alter is very significant for our daily life. No matter what you are facing with, this new name of God that was revealed will bring comfort to you.

Continuing the series on Gideon, Vijay looks at Judges 6.33-7.8. The passage gives us the account where Gideon tests the Lord by putting out the fleece. It also records the incident where the Lord sifts Gideon's troops from and army 32,000 soldiers to that of 300. When Gideon tests the Lord, he does so because he has a distorted view of himself. He underestimates himself. When the Lord sifts down the soldiers, the Lord reminds Gideon that he is in danger of overestimating himself. Ultimately, we are useful to the Lord, not because we have or do not have assets and gifts, but because the Lord is with us. We are completely freed from the temptation to think that our talents or resources are what help us live satisfied and complete lives. It is the presence of the Lord that allows us to live lives that matter.  

Featuring BliSs, Mrs. BliSs, Octavia Harris, Kirk Franklin, 1NC, 21:03, Flame, Driven, Applejaxx, Lunie 3:80 and More!   Judges 7 Gideon Defeats the Midianites  1 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. 2 The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, 3 announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.  4 But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."  5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." 6 Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.  7 The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.       Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. 9 During that night the LORD said to Gideon, "Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. 10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah 11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. 12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.  13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."  14 His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."  15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands." 16 Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.  17 "Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the LORD and for Gideon.' "  19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!" 21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.  22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. 23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah."       So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. 25 They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.   God Bless, BliSs