Read for this week's study: Judg. 7:1-8:21
Memory text:"And the Lord said to Gideon, 'The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, "My own hand has saved me" ' " ( Judges 7:2, NKJV).
Key thought:
For the benefit of His people, God wants them to cooperate with Him in achieving His purposes. But they should keep in mind that it is God who gives success; they are only instru- ments in His hands.
BEATING THE ODDS. God loves to show who He is by over- coming obstacles that are, humanly speaking, insurmountable. Three hundred Israelites battling 135,000 Midianites and their allies? Un- thinkable! (See Judg. 7:12; 8:10.) Five loaves and two fish to feed 5,000 men, besides women and children? Absurd! (See Matt. 14:15- 21.) A handful of people to shake up an empire with "good news" about an executed Carpenter? Preposterous! (See the book of Acts.) A Jewish girl to give birth to God's Son without losing her virginity? Impossible! (See Luke 1:37, 38—Gabriel said, " 'For nothing will be impossible with God.' Then Mary said, 'Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word' "[NRSV].)
When you feel alone and powerless, overwhelmed by unfavorable odds (1 Kings 19:9, 10), remember the words of Gabriel to Mary and her response. God often demonstrates His love for His children by doing that which, to them, seems impossible. If our eyes could be opened, we would see invincible heavenly forces guarding and guiding our lives.
Outline:
- Sunday May 5 LESS IS BETTER (Judg. 7:1-8).
For an initial strike force against the Midianites and their allies, all God needed was a few good men. Thirty-two thousand Israelites answered Gideon's trumpet call (Judg. 6:34, 35; 7:3). By a two-stage process of elimination, God sent 31,700 of them home!
- Why did God choose only 300 men? Judg. 7:7, 8. Which of the following best answers the question?
- 1. God did not want to use too many Israelites, lest they attribute their success to their own power (Judg. 7:2).
- 2. God could not use the 22,000 who admitted their fear by returning home at the first opportunity (verse 3; compare Deut. 20:5-8). Except for 300 men, even the 10,000 who remained after the proclamation lacked sufficient courage, so God could not use an army of 10,000, as He had in Barak's day (Judg. 4:10).
- 3. God wanted only the 300 who were eager to fight. When they went to a stream, expecting to cross it and keep marching to the enemy camp, they drank by scooping up water in their hands as they went (Judg. 7:4-6).
- 4. Another answer:
- 5. All the above.
- What did the actions of the 300 chosen warriors, even before they went into battle, indicate regarding their relationship with God? Judg. 7:3-7. The enemy hordes appeared innumerable (Judg. 7:12; 8:10). Israelites who were eager to attack such a force must have wholeheartedly believed in the Lord and the message of victory that He had given to Gideon (Judg. 6:16). From a human point of view, their venture was foolhardy, but "God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength" (1 Cor. 1:25, NRSV). As Jonathan put it, "Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few" (1 Sam. 14:6, NRSV). For those who are willing to follow the Lord into spiritual battle, courage is not optional. He commands it because He provides it (Deut. 20:1-4; Joshua 1:6, 7, 9). ,li>How does the presence of Christ with us affect our courage as we carry God's love into territory claimed by y Satan? (See Matt. 28:18-20.)