Judges 7:15-8:3 Faith is the Victory
Channel: Mike Attwood
Date: 08/04/2022

There has been a radical change in Gideon.  He is no longer possessed of that spirit of fear that gripped him previously.  His fear had been self-focused, but now his focus was on his faith in the Lord.

He divided the 300 men into three companies and gives them their "weapons":  a pitcher, a lamp, and a trumpet.  The pitchers were empty earthenware jars whose purpose was to contain the lamp and to be broken.  The trumpet was an audible way of communicating God's mind and God's direction to the people.  The lamp reminds us of what Jesus said about light and lamps.  The trumpet must be sounded, the pitchers must be broken, and the lamp must not be put under a bushel.

Gideon's victory began with him threshing in a winepress.  He made his offering on a rock.  At the end of this battle the Midian princes are slain on a rock and on a winepress.

Then we read of a series of tests that come to Gideon after the victory.  Often it is after a great victory that we are tested.

We learn why Gideon did not call Ephraim initially.  To win over God's people can be very difficult.  Gideon took the lowly place, making much of what Ephraim has done and belittles his own work.