King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 11 notes
1And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
2And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
3And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
4And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
5For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
6And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
7And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
8That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
How come they always remember the Lord?
Meaning not that they had forgotten him, but wanted to chase their own lusts.
Then when they began to reap the consequences of their action, they repented.
Meaning they would not have if there were no consequences, but how can there be no consequences for actions not just contrary to God's word and ordinances, as the ceremonial cleansing and rituals,
Nature will itself reject the people. The land will vomit 🤮 them out.
The sicknesses and diseases from illicit sex.
The confusion from whorish lifestyle.
The deaths and wickedness from demonic worship 🛐, including that of babies 🤱.
Here in Africa 🌍, where juju is common.
So much wickedness is committed by it, including death of the innocent and what have you.
The laws of God are indeed perfect 👌
Psalm 19:7-10,14 KJV
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. [8] The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. [9] The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. [10] More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. [14] Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
9And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;
The people had forgotten their covenant with the Lord... Life happened, but the Lord did not forget. It is understandable that the people were not there when the covenant was made, but that did not matter; their very existence is tied to that covenant, so in that wise the covenant was legally binding on them.
God had protected and kept them alive on account of that, so they having not been part of it did not matter.
10And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.
11And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
12And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
16And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
17And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
18Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
See Gideon's reaction and response; it was almost as if they expected miracles and the supernatural.
Based on the stories they had been told, they knew it was not unusual for the supernatural to happen to them.
But each generation really finds it difficult to connect and relate to the stories of the supernatural because it did not happen to them.
But to the eternal God, who lives through all time, he can and does connect the dots.
That is why our trust is in him.
19And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
20And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
21Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
This is how a sacrifice is accepted before the Lord. He set it ablaze, causing the fire 🔥 to consume it.
In such difficult times, for Gideon to prepare such a meal for the Lord shows the extent of sacrifice.
22And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.
23And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
This happens. Many times... It appears the Lord detests his children fearing because of him or something supernatural.
He always brings that assurance needed.
Now that awareness of the supernatural had been created, and that God was with him and had chosen him.
God could now directly speak to him.
He, Gideon, was now aware that the supernatural is close.
24Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.
25And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:
26And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.
27Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
28And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
29And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
30Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.
Oh, when did they get in so low an estate that the worshippers of Baal rather crucified the worshippers of Jehovah?
31And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.
It seems Joash was a leader in a sense in his family 👪 for the people to have even given him attention.
It also goes to show how backslidden the people had become.
32Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
33Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
It seems that a spirit or some unseen force had gathered the enemy for this battle, so the Lord can destroy them.
Looking at the order of events, the Midianites ravaged Israel for years,
Then now the Lord tells Gideon he would use him mightily to save Israel 🇮🇱.
Next thing we see, Midian gather in their number with other enemies for a full-fledged war.
Ideally Israel would have fled, but next we see the Spirit of the Lord come upon Gideon with an anointing to gather.
This scene reminds me of the gathering to Armageddon, where a final death ☠ blow was to be dealt the enemies of God.
And we see that same spirit gather the enemies and the people of God for to destroy the enemy.
34But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him.
One of my personal all-time favorite verses.
Anytime the Spirit of the Lord comes upon his people, they are endued with extraordinary ability.
They know something different has come upon them, and they know it is the Lord.
And with the Lord upon them, they can do anything and will be victorious in their wars and overcome the challenges and their enemies.
They had heard of men and women who did great things because the Lord was with them.
Now here they were, almost like a dream, the Spirit of the Lord has come upon them too, and they can do mighty works.
There is much the Holy Ghost 👻 endues us with which we underutilize because we do not recognize the import of his Spirit upon us.
We often jump and roll on the floor and get up and do nothing with such an ability of a lifetime.
Here in Gideon is wisdom for us. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he blew the trumpet 🎺, and Abiezer was gathered to him.
His people and kinsmen were gathered to him.
35And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
36And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
37Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
38And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
He knew God could do anything, so such fleecing was doable by him.
40And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.