Bismarck weekly tribune., 1888-12-14
GIDEON'S ARMY.
LESSON X, FOURTH QUARTER, IN
TERNATIoNAL SERIES, DEG. 8.

Text Of the Lesson, Judges vii, l-s-Com.
init Verses 2. 3-Golden Text, zech. iv,
e-Commentary by Rev. d. M. stearns.
from 81 Eesso1 ad%Rsn aRs1
The summary of the history Of Israel un-
der the judges for $50 years, as given in our
last lesson, was that they forsook the Lord
and served idols, then their enemies op-
pressed them, then they cried unto the Lord
in their distress and He raised up judges who
delivered them, the Lord being with the
judge; after the judges death they sinned
again, were again oppressed, cried, were
again delivered, and thus they lived, SHINING
and repenting. The book of Judges opens up
to us this history and tells us who the oppres-
sors were and who the deliverers were whom
God raised up; the manner and duration Of
the various expressions, and the manner of
the deliverance, with the number of years
they rested. Up to the present lesson the
oppressors were the kings of Mesopotamia,
Moab, and Canaan for periods of eight, eigh-
teen and twenty years; the deliverers were
Athmiel, Ehud and Shamgar, Deborah and
Barak, and the years of rest were forty
eighty and forty years respectively. After
the rule of Deborah and Barak the
next oppressors were the Midianites, who
for seven years had cruelty oppressed Israel
when God called Gideon to be their deliverer.
The record of his call and the appearance of
the Lord to him is found in the previous
chapter, where we learn that the secret of
his success as saviour and Judge of his peo.
pie was in these words Of the Lord to him:
"Go in this thy might, have not sent thee;
surely will be with thee" wi, 1916, which
is just the secret of the life of every true be-
lever today. Being encouraged by God he
overthrow his fathers altar to Baal and
built an altar unto the Lord and offered sac
rifice; the spirit of the Lord came upon
him, he blew trumpet, sent out messengers
and gathered an army of $4,000 men. To-
days lesson tells US Of the sitting Of that
army down to 800 men, with whom God
wrought Israels deliverance.
!. "Jeruhbaal, who is Gideon" Gideon
signified ''feller or bruiser," and is a type
Of the Lord Jesus, the great deliverer and
judge who came to destroy the works of
the devil and who will bruise Satan under
our feet shortly. He was the youngest Of q
poor family in the tribe Of Manasseh wi, 15),
but the spirit Of the Lord qualified him for
the work to which he was called and made
him successful leader Of men. God chooses
the foulish and the weak to confound the
wise and mighty that no flesh may glory in
His presence. Il Cor. i, 28-31.) s57
Jerubbaal signifies "a contender with
Baal," and Gideon was so called by his father
after he had overthrown the altar of Baal
wi, 81, 32); il any one will be filed with the
spirit and used of God they must first be
willing to overthrow all the idols Of pride
and self and let the Lord alone possess and
control them. Baal signifies s'lord, !" and all
the other lords must be set aside that Jesus
may reign supreme
q "The Lord said unto Gideon" Did your
heart ever say: "Oh, if could only hear the
Lord speak to me would be strong and Of
good courage" Well, be sure of this, that
just as truly as the Lord spoke to Gideon, He
Is speaking to you today in His word; and
until you are sure Of this the Bible will never
be very precious book to you. s'The people
are too many. lest Israel vaunt
themselves against Me-" A small company
surely, when compared with the great host
of Midian, and yet God says they are too
many. Numbers are not to God what thew
are to us. and until we can see the unseen
Almighty One rather than the seen multitude
who are only flesh we shall not be valiant for
God.
8. "Whosuever is fearful and afraid, let
him return" This was in accordance with
the law, and the reason was, lest they should
make others to be fearful and faint hearted.
Ueut. k, 8.) A fearful or discouraged per-
son is not one whom the Lord can use; there
fore He so often exhorts His people to ssBe
strong and courageous" Deut. xxi, 6, z, 23:
Josh. i. =, 8, 18; K, rs; xiii. 6; Ps. xvii IL:
XXI, "A, and many othersl There is one
text which, it seems to me, ought to cure all
discouraged workers for Christ. and it is
this: "He shall not fail nor be discouraged
till He have set judgment in the earth"
4. "The people are yet too many; bring
them down unto the water, and I will try
them for thee there" If $4,000 was COM
paratively small army with which to con.
tend with indian, what shall we think Of
only 10000; and what must Gideon have
thought when the Lord said to him. ssThe
people are yet too manyp' The process of
weakening down our apparent strength for
service is not an uncommon one; but the
Lord knows what He is doing, and He must
have well tried material; faith says, .sEven
SO, Father" and yields and obeys, although
it seems more and more like courting utter
failure. Gideon might have said, "Lord, if
you send me with less than 10000 cannot
go, for it would be sheer madness" but he
evidently had no such thoughts; he was not
managing this business and he had perfect
confidence in the Lord.
81. "By the three hundred men that lap
ped will save you" The 10000 were
brought down to the water to drink; 300
knelt down to drink, while the other 800
lifted the wa:er to their mouths with their
hands, and that simple test decided who
should go. What little thing, ana what
was there in it; why should not soldier
kneel down and take good drink, and what
virtue was there in tapping it like doga 1t
was simply matter of self indulgence or
qualification in very innocent and harmless
thing, but it was at very critical time. The
three hundred seemed to feel the Importance
Of the work before them so much, and their
hearts were SO set on the conquest Of their
enemies and the deliverance Of their peopla
that they had no time nor inclination Ia,
think Of their own personal ease or comfort
or qualification: theirs was whole hearted
service for their God and their country, and
this test was Gods way Of selecting them. In
the matter of the fearful ones it is easy to see
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