The Tupelo journal., 1907-11-15
Gideon and His
Three Hundred
Sunday schoolLesson Tor Nov. II. 1907
Specially Prepared for This Paper.

<toO - Ia As1-sn h%LAl-
DRY verses II. IS.
GOLDEN TExT.-"Ye shall not fear
them; for the Lord your God He shah
fight for you."-Deut. 3:22.
TIME.-Thc period OF the Judges lasted.
according to our Bible margins. 1872 years.
y. G. l4Z7-10e5 Including ELI and Samuel
Gideon lived about the middle of this pc
Rod. Many scholars make the period
shorter. and place 1t later. The question
La unsettled.
PLACEs-The broad valley of Jezreef.
which extcndg from the plain OF Esdrae-
Ion southeast 20 the Jordan. The south
ern part OF Gaiilcc. The test of the 800
was by the Wen Harod. u miles from
the Jordan. and ten miles south of Naz-
areth. In this region took place the great
battle in which Saul and his sons were
slain Il Sam. z3:l; 3l:1).
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
The Period OF the Judees.-The
Book of Judges is a collection of rec
ords belonging TO the period between
the death OF Joshua and the birth OF
Samuel, a period of $50 years accord
ing to our common chronology. But
il We add together the numbers given
in Judges they amount to 410 years.
For this and other reasons it is en-
tirely probable that the expressions
and deliverances were not successive.
but, In part, synchronous. There were.
in fact, without exception, local strug-
giles; and it Is not only conceivable,
but highly probable, that while n
part Of the land was enjoying secur-
ity under its Judge other tribes were
grooming under the foreign yoke
Prof. Moore. While several of the
events were thus occurring at the
same time in different parts of the
land, in other cases the judges ruled
practically owe the whole. 1.-THE
judges formed temporary heads in
particular c%enters, or over particular
| groups OF tribes,-Barak, in the north
of Israel, Gideon, in the center, Jeph-
than, on the east of Jordan, Samson,
in the extreme southwest."-Driver-
The Moral Decline.--At the close
OF a long period of peace and pros
pcrity the people had d~egeneratei
morally. Business transactions with
the CanaaEites,-transactions which
often required the performance Of re-
ligious rites,-made 1t easy not to
realize the difference between them
They were attracted by the easy NOR
ais of the heather.
The Cry from the Depths.-In their
great distress the people began to re-
pent and cry unto the Lord for help
A prophet was sent to show them that
their trouble was on account of their
sins (Judg. 6:7-10).
The Answer,--God Raises Up Gid
eon.-Gideon belonged to the tribe Of
Manasseh. His fathers name was
Joash and lived at Ophrah, not far
from Shechem. He was a man OF
highly noble person, and a noble race.
like the son OF a king, and whose
brothers each one resembled the
children of a king" (Judg. S:1S). He
was a man Of strong common sense.
a patriot, a true lover of God, eau
tiOus, modest, brave, and enthusiastic.
The signs of the fleece (Judg. s: Sc
40), says Ewald, illustrate Gideon's
W character: warm and Jealous.
while all around were Indifferent and
cold; calm and cool. when all around
were excited. Gideon was probably a
middle-aged man at this time, for he
had a son of his own almost grown up
(Judg. S:20).
The Sitting of the Army.-Gideon
| proclaimed: Whoever is fearful and
afraid, let him depart" In view OF
the fearful odds against them two
thirds of the army turned back. leav-
ing only 10000 soldiers.
Still there were too many for the
purpose. The second sieve was WOW
en- of alertness, quick wit, se%lf-controi,
vigorous strength, holiness. The test
was through their way of drinking in
the near presence of the enemy.
In order to understand the test we
must see clearly the circumstances
Gideon's army was on one side of the
stream. and the enemy on the other,
and how near some scouting parties
might be was unknown. for the reeds
and shrubs along the banks afforded
ample cover for hostile ambushes.
Those who bowed down, drinking
headlong. did not appreciate their po-
sition or the foe
The Victory by the Sword of the
Lord and Of Gideon.-Vs. 9-2S. The
Encouragement.-Vs. 9-15. Everything
was now ready, except a new inbreath-
ing Of courage and faith. To accom-
pl:sh this Gideon and his officer went
early in the night into the camp of
the Midianites sleeping In the security
Of their numbers. Listening near q
tent, they heard n man telling to his
comrade a dream from which he had
IL
translation and annexation of the
~Pofychrome Bible. II dreamed that
a cake Of barley griddle-bread,-a
kind of fiat, round, hard-baked, ash
cake, representing the Israelite peas
antry-was rolling hither and thither
through the camp of INDIAN. and it
came to q tent end struck it and
turned it upside down" The men
interpreted the dream as meaning the
overthrow of INDIAN by Israel.
Practical Points.
The story of Gideon does not teach
that he cares nothing for means adapt
ed to the end. Gideon had faith, but
he used his forces in the best a
and selected the 500 because of their
adaptation to the special service re-
CURED.
In the Christian warfare the trum-
pets express our power of speaking
for God. The lamps are our character
and example, lighted by Gods grace.
and shining for men. and tho nitpherS