"Trumpets, Torches, and Tenacity"

Nov.3/02 Judges 6:11-16, 7:9-22

Visit of Wingham Gideons Camp

"My Clan is the Weakest"

Gideon's feelings of inferiority, hopelessness (6:12,15)

A winepress is a very strange place to thresh wheat. Normally in Palestine wheat would be threshed high up on an exposed hill, where the wind would catch the chaff and blow it away from the grain when it was tossed in the air. Down inside a winepress seemed a stupid place to winnow wheat because the high walls would cut down the necessary breeze. But the invasion of the camel-mounted desert peoples made such precaution necessary. Sweltering in the mid-day heat, longing for a steady breeze to evaporate the sweat which made the stubborn chaff coat his skin like armour, Gideon was in a grumpy mood. He hardly noticed the messenger appear close by and greet him saying, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." Was he poking fun at Gideon's being covered in brownish armour?

             Gideon wasted no time in pointing out to the stranger that if God was with him, God sure had a strange way of showing it. Everything was going wrong. "Why has all this happened to us?" he complained. "The Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." When the stranger suggests Gideon go in the strength he has and save Israel, Gideon's protests just continue. "How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." Gideon resisted letting anyone crash in on his pity-party. His inferiority complex at least afforded him ammunition with which to gripe at God.

Increasing ungodliness in society: palm reading in schools, quote of "swingers", global - local (MB child porn)

Surveying the spiritual landscape today, Christians may find themselves relating to Gideon in his sullen depression. Sometimes it seems the forces of ungodliness have over-run us, and opposition is useless. The church has been pushed to the margins of community life; "our clan is the weakest in Manasseh". After focusing on the dangers of occult associations with Halloween last Sunday, it was discouraging to read in the Citizen this week about all the Halloween activities at a local school. A photo shows a woman with a crystal ball reading the palms of a little girl. Young children (Grades 1-5 in this instance) who haven't developed formal thinking skills are not always equipped to distinguish between what's real and what's make-believe. An article in the Globe and Mail on the 26th offered a sympathetic interview with the High Priestess of the Wiccan Church of Canada, which (witch?!) estimates there are "tens of thousands" of members across Canada, and branches in 3 cities in Ontario. The slide of morality nationally is reflected in a court case involving 60 frequenters of "swingers clubs" in Montreal. The defence argues the norms of what's decent in Canadian society have changed, and refer to a poll that shows more than half of Canadians - and about three-quarters of Quebecers - feel swingers clubs should be tolerated. While in Manitoba, there is an appalling instance of child pornography by a couple who exploited their own two nieces who were in their custody. The police staff handling the case say that what was global has now become local: we used to hear of such photos being taken in Sri Lanka and southeast Asia; now it's happening in our own backyard. Like Gideon, we've been invaded. The Midian raiders brought chaos by looting crops and livestock. The spiritual "raiders" invading our world today bring disorder by attacking the Judeo-Christian moral foundations upon which Western civilization was built. The Midianites robbed material goods; sin, though, robs us of purpose and meaning. The elderly are shunted to one side; middle-agers fall prone to the emptiness of materialism and alcoholism; youth are abandoned to battles with eating disorders, drugs, and suicide. And Christians are left with the impression there's not much we can do about it; our clan is weak.

"Go in the strength you have...Am I not sending you?...I will be with you...mighty warrior" (6:12,14,16)

But God saw more in this chaff-coated youth than Gideon realized. "One person plus God is a majority." Gideon felt small and weak, but the angel said, "Go in the strength you have...Am I not sending you?...I will be with you." God wasn't looking for the biggest and the best, just someone who would be obedient, available, put themselves at God's disposal. Many of God's leaders and prophets started out as "nobodies" socially-speaking who merely followed the Lord's commands, and so became part of something huge. 2Chron.16:9 says, "For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." When we yield our will and resources (however measly) to Almighty God, miracles become possible. Maybe the messenger's words "mighty warrior" when he first appeared weren't poking fun after all, for what he said exactly was, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." A divine breeze of the Spirit was coming to the whining winnower's aid. God being with Gideon would make all the difference.

Hold the Position

God's glory shown in using our weakness (7:2)

32,000 troops from four of Israel's tribes responded to Gideon's trumpet call to arms. But in order for this to be shown to be a God-thing, the Lord whittled the attack group down to just 300 men. Why? In Judges 7:2 we read, "in order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her." The Lord was making it very clear that Israel's salvation was something He would accomplish, not through human strength or numbers. Was Gideon scratching his head as he sent away 99% of the human resources available? But he trusted God to do something mighty with the minuscule.

Offensive weapons: trumpets and torches "sword" (7:16-20)

The 300 who were left took over the provisions and trumpets of all the rest. The surprise tactic God planned was a night attack. About 10 pm, when it was quite dark, Gideon's force surrounded the enemy camp, blew their trumpets and broke clay jars that had been concealing torches. To the startled Midianites, it must have seemed that a major force had snuck right up on them, for each trumpet would normally have signalled a whole company. So it was a major shock, they were thrown into fear and confusion by the sudden blast of all these trumpets, and blazing lights where moments before was only darkness. At the same time the 300 shouted, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!"

             Is God giving us an analogy here? What was the sword? If you were one of the 300 you'd be standing there vulnerable, as it says they grasped "the torches in their left hands" and were "holding in their right hands the trumpets". They weren't even holding a metal sword (well supplied though they were). This was a spiritual battle. Trumpets sound a message; torches bring light, which Biblically is associated with God's word. Psalm 119(105) says "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." A prophet had revealed in 6:10 that Israel was plagued by the Midianites in the first place because they had disobeyed God's commands by worshipping other gods, Baal and Asherah. So God's first task for Gideon, to tear down the heathen altar in his hometown. God's "sword" is His Word; Eph.6:17, "the sword of the Spirit" is "the word of God". The Lord was showing Gideon's troops that trusting His promise and obeying His Word was the key to victory. God uses Scripture to pierce our lives with His infinite, eternal truth, cutting away what would drag us down, injecting ways that are pleasing to Him. Heb.4:12: "For the word of God is living and active.Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." No human-made scalpel or atom-smasher penetrates like that!

Holding position, disarray amongst the enemy (7:21-22)

Let's zero in on three little words in verse 21 that tell just what Gideon's men did that caused havoc to break out amongst the enemy. It says, "While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled." Hold your position - stand your ground. It's called "tenacity", which the dictionary defines as "holding fast; keeping firm hold of porperty, rights, principles, etc." Gideon's troops held on for dear life to God's promises. They didn't even have to draw their swords (which would have been tricky seeing as their hands were already full). God's forces just stood there, and the marauders ran for their lives, crying out. Satan's thugs have no defence against God's truth. Our task is to present the Good News and witness to people that Jesus can help them out of their guilt, addictions, and emptiness. He'll do the rest, by His Holy Spirit simultaneously convincing them inside. As Christians we need to be convincd of the truth ourselves and familiar with God's word so we can present it to those who are morally and spiritually mixed up. Hold the position, stick tenaciously to the historic Christian faith. Writing about the spiritual nature of the struggle we're engaged in, Paul urged, "Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes...so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." (Eph.6:11,13)

Scripture distribution: 1 billionth before 9-11; comfort after war (Sierra Leone)

Scripture distribution is an important aspect of sounding the trumpet, letting the torch blaze, and holding your position. The Gideons Spring 2002 newsletter states, "On September 10, 2001, Gideons International sent out their one billionth copy of God's Word since they began Scripture distribution in 1908." One billion on Sept.10th -- and the very next day North America was thrown into turmoil by a terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre. "Heaven and earth will pass away," Jesus said, "but my words will never pass away." (Mt.24:35) Everything else around us may crumble, but what God says lasts - after all, He just spoke this time-space continuum into being.

             That's why Scripture is in such demand; Gideons now distribute 57 million copies a year. In Sierra Leone, the newsletter says, peace is being restored; rebels are laying down their arms according to a disarmament plan. Annual projected scripture distribution for the country this year is 945,000 copies. This hurting, war-torn country is wide open for God's Word. A letter from police headquarters in Freetown stated in part that the Gideon scripture distribution to the police "...instilled confidence and comfort in most of our personnel, who have been affected by 10 years of rebel war."

             Even if you feel small, God's Word is waiting to win spiritual battles through you. God can use each of us, like Gideon's small band of 300, to do wonderful things. Treasure His Word, His promises; He has not abandoned you. "Go in the strength you have" because, when you're doing His will, "The Lord is with you." Let's pray.