NOT A SWORD IN SIGHT
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Opening Prayer
I praise you, Lord; your purposes are always carried out, and your plans for me are perfect.
Read JUDGES 7:16–24
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
16 Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.
17 “Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”
19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. 23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.”
So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they seized the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
When were you last aware of trusting God to do something that mattered to you?Just imagine: it’s around 10 pm, one set of tired watchmen in the Midianite camp being replaced by another set who may be half- asleep and unfamiliar to those on the first watch. There is complete darkness when the silence is broken by the blast of trumpets, smashing pots, victory cries, and lights burning around the camp! No wonder the Midianite army erupts into chaos, soldiers turning upon one another in panic, rushing to escape. Maybe some of the 20,000 Israelites who had stood down, along with some from Ephraim, join Gideon’s platoon in hot pursuit of the enemy—‘A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!’ (v. 20).
We might think that all Gideon and his troops had to do was be bystanders. That would not be true. They had been called upon to follow Gideon, and Gideon had to put his trust in God and actively cooperate with him.
Here’s a question: In what ways do we intentionally communicate to others that God really can be trusted and actively live in the light of that? Younger generations living in a world with opportunities, chaos, violence, and godlessness need to know this.
Apply
Think of one person, place, or situation where you long for what is wrong to be put right, only you cannot imagine how. With this in mind, reflect on Gideon’s experience actively cooperating with God to achieve the impossible.
Closing prayer
Great God and Father, indeed, you are a miracle worker. Help me relate to the challenges around me in ways that anticipate great things because I know who you are.
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