April 1, 2017

Insights on Today's Reading

Judges 6 - One of the great judges in this book is Gideon.  How the Lord worked through him with a small number of warriors is truly remarkable and amazing!  Gideon was a lone Israelite who had come to believe God and who honored Him in all he did.  However, he felt alone and abandoned.  Midian had invaded Israel and completely overwhelmed the Jews and literally made life miserable for them.  All hope appeared to be gone, but then, the Angel of the Lord came and appeared to Gideon, giving him hope and encouraging him to deal with Israel's sin of idolatry before he would deal with Israel's enemy, Midian.  When God told Gideon he would see victory over the Midianites, Gideon asked for a sign.  He needed reassurance and God gave that to him.

Judges 7 - Gideon would learn that "you don't need a lot for God to do a lot!"  God chose 300 men who would follow Gideon into this conflict.  I believe these men were inspired and encouraged because of Gideon's devotion to God and his willingness to go into battle no matter how many would go with him.  God brought about a great victory even though Gideon's men would only have a water pitcher, a torch, a trumpet, and a shout!  But they needed nothing else simply because they had God!