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Drawing courtesy of Project Gutenberg........
Project Gutenberg's Mother Stories from the Old Testament, by
Anonymous
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever.
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Title: Mother Stories from the Old Testament
A Book of the Best
Stories from the Old Testament that
Mothers can
tell their Children
Produced by Juliet Sutherland, David Garcia, Jeannie Howse
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net
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The Importance of Gideon's Fleeces
When Gideon put forth fleeces asking The LORD for confirmation of His+ will, many men's lives were at
stake, as well as their defenseless wives and children.
Israel's oppressors, the
Midianites, were ruthless towards the Israelites. The Israelites were hiding out, living in caves ( 6:2-6
). It seems this fear was based in reality, substantiated by the
treatment the people of Israel had been receiving. [ Chapter 7 points out that
great fear also.]
Any Other Examples ?
We know, though, that
The LORD did NOT honor OTHER folks who asked , " How can this
be?" ... such as Zachariah who was struck dumb because he did not
believe the Word of the LORD to him via Gabriel.
Part of growing
requires TRUST... a foundational, personal security ... that
HE+ will do it, that HE+
will perform exactly what HE+ says HE+ will do... and whatever HE+ requires us
to do, HE+ WILL ALSO PERFORM!
Why Did the Fleeces "Work" for Gideon ?
Gideon seemed to be a
man after GOD'S own heart, like David was. And, Gideon was so very, very humble
and little in his own eyes, endearing himself unto The LORD.
Also, Gideon had
asked earlier for a sign that he himself had found grace in The LORD'S eyes in verse 19, and The LORD honored that request .
The Key to Answered Prayer
The key to everything that
happened in Judges 6 , included putting forth the fleeces 2 times, is found in verse
6:34.
[ Courtesy of Biblegateway.com ]
34 But
the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was
gathered after him.
Even more striking is the Hebrew of verse 34 of Judges 6:
" And the SPIRIT of
JEHOVAH clothed GIDEON ( with HIMSELF ) " …
The "with
HIMSELF" is understood in the verse, according to JP Green’s Interlinear.
Needing a SIGN for Confirmation
of The LORD'S Will ?
We are always desiring The LORD to give us a CERTAIN AND SURE sign of confirmation, if we need to do something. The more major the decision, the more we yearn for certainty about it, right?
The problem is: signs are easily duplicated by satan
to a doubting heart, and mankind is easily duped.
There IS a way to know The LORD'S Will, however, and The LORD shows us how to do this in Judges 6.
However, Gideon’s 2 fleeces,
as miraculous as they were, ARE NOT THE MAIN message in Judges 6 that The LORD
wants us to see !
Two Main Points
--- not fleeces ---
in Judges 6
--- not fleeces ---
in Judges 6
The First: OBEDIENCE
One of the MAIN points
of this chapter reveals the utter obedience no matter the cost
, on Gideon's part.
Gideon must have determined inwardly to obey WHAT THE LORD TOLD HIM TO DO .
And, Gideon obeyed The Word with his whole heart, even unto death, and The LORD knew it... hence the blessings that followed.
And, Gideon obeyed The Word with his whole heart, even unto death, and The LORD knew it... hence the blessings that followed.
The Second: REMOVING SIN
The OTHER main point was
that SIN had to be knocked down, shredded asunder, and burnt as an
offering unto The LORD (vs 26 ) before... yes, before... any deliverance
would be forthcoming.
In order to do that, Gideon
had to go against his own father's household and the men of his own
community ! In order to shred the enslavement to sin in his own father's
household, Gideon had to lay his own security and well-being
on the altar too.
Do we realize HOW HARD
that was, since he was the youngest, least-in-authority son of his
father? In addition to that... he used his father's bullock for a
sacrifice ! Without asking Dad !
Do we take into account that Gideon likely jeopardized his entire family's lives by angry towns-folks when he destroyed the grove and altar / pillar of Asherah ? Israel was involved in idol worship and its accompanying immorality.
THIS IS THE TRUE
LESSON of this passage...
SIN
must be forcibly and determinedly removed .... before The LORD
will grant any victory..... and indeed, any request.
Yes, ( yawn, ho-hum, ) we
"know" we must remove sin...
... but we fail to realize when our troubles
pile up and our requests are going awry that HE+ sees something in our midst
that is dis-pleasing to HIM+.
Something that is stifling
our growth.
Something that is hindering
our nearness to HIM+.
HE+ wants THAT “something”
removed. And furthermore, HE+ will
not budge until we remove it.
It is STILL TRUE...
"No good thing
will HE+ withhold
from those who walk uprightly,"
GIDEON WON GOD'S APPROVAL !
GOD showed HIS great good approval to Gideon and granted him his requests because Gideon FACED CERTAIN DEATH in order to obey GOD.
Gideon worked immediately and effectively to remove the sin in their midst, which could have cost Gideon his life.
This is why it is SO
IMPORTANT to read the Scriptures. Men are fallible but The WORD of The
LORD is not, and it usually explains itself , if we will just let it reign over
the thoughts of man.
If we could simply
still our own thoughts and WAIT upon the blessed HOLY SPIRIT, HE+ will reveal the real message of Scriptures to us.
Instead of being
enraptured by putting out fleeces, then, our focus should be to REMOVE the sinful
things from our midst that we have drifted into, in order to fight against sin within our own
lives.
Then --- and only then --- would we be able to hear and know ... and yes,
even ABLE to follow ... the Will of The LORD for our lives.
We do not need
fleeces; we need repentance.
Deep, utter, cleansing
repentance of our motives and priorities... our double-mindedness... our
sneaking ways of serving Self.
No, we do not need
fleeces.
We need oneness with GOD.
We need to walk in ONENESS
with The LORD JESUS… so closely that our hearts throb in unity with HIS+ heart
, in unity with His+ Will.
His+ thoughts replacing our
thoughts.
His+ desires, our desires.
His+ concerns, ours.
Then, there will be no
desire to put out fleeces because there simply will be no need to do so.
THIS is the true lesson of
Gideon in Judges 6.
Let us pray:
O LORD JESUS CHRIST! I call THEE+ "LORD, LORD," but I set my own priorities.
Forgive me, LORD, and renew a right spirit within me. I turn over to THEE+ my plans, my desires, and yes, even my daily concerns.
Turn my heart to do Thy+ Will, O CHRIST. Make me ONE WITH THEE+, precious SAVIOR.
Then, LORD, I will know that I please THEE+... THOU+ joy of my heart.
In the Name of THE FATHER
WHO created me;
HIS Beloved SON+
WHO+ saves me;
And the blessed HOLY SPIRIT,
WHO sanctifies me.
Amen.
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