Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1907-11-14
Gideon and His
Three Hundred
Sunday SehoolLesson orNov. IL. 1907
Specially Prepared for This Paper
Specially Prepared for This Paper

tncfn, Tor the LORD your SOu lie Snah |
fight for you."-Deut. 1929.
TIME.-The period OF the Judges lasted,
according to our Bible margins, 1872 years,
u. c. ~l427-1095 dncludlng Ell and Samuel.
Gideon lived about the middle of this pc
Rod. Many scholars make the period
shorter, and place 1t later, The question
Is unsettled.
PLACE.-The broad valley of Jezreel,
which extends from the plain of Esdrae-
lon southeast to the Jordan. The south
ern part of Galilee. The test of the 800
was by the Well Harod, 10 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 we're
slain a Sam. 29!1; Bid.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
The Period Of the Judges.-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 ESQ years accord
ing to our common chronology. But
II we add together the numbers given
In Judges they amount to 41O years.
For this and other reasons 1t is en-.
tirely probable that the expressions
and deliverances were not successive.
but, in part, s~ynchronous. There we're,
In fact, without exception, local strug-
giles; ard it is not only conceivable,
but highly probable, that while one
part of the land was enjoying secur.
lty 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 over the whole. 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-
thah, 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.
perity the people had degenerated
morally. Business transactions with
the Canaanites, transactions which
often required the performance of re-
ligious rites,-made It easy not to
realize the difference between them.
They were attracted by the easy NOR.
ais of the heather.
The Cry from the Depths.-1n 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
TAnrh pnl ltrpJ nj nR1,rah nnt for
from Shechem. He vas 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
vas a man of strong common sense,
a patriot, a true lover Of God, al
tious, modest, brave, and enthusiastic.
The signs of the fleece (Judg. 6: SO.
40), says Ewald, illustrate Gideon's
own 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 w almost grown up
(Judg. $500.
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, s%elf-control,
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 over 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. 9-23. The
Encouragement.-Vs. 9.15. Everything
vas now ready, except a new inbreath-
ing of courage and faith. To accom-
plish this Gideon and his officer went
early in the night into the camp OF
the M%idianites sleeping in the security
of their numbers. Listening neal a
tent, they heard a mar telling to his
conrade a dream from which he had
Just awakened. Compare with v.13 the
translation and annexation of the
Polychrome Rible. 81 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 a tent and struck it and
turned II 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
and selected the 800 because OF their
adaptation to the special service re.
Quired.
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 the pitchers
represent our capacity of receiving
the truth and the spirit of God.
Many Nations Have 6agplpes.
The Assyrians ere the first nation
mentioned az using the bagpipes, anc