Judges 7-8

March 15

Judges 7-8

God knows the heart of men. He empowered Gideon to lead the Israelites to defeat the Midianites, but He had Gideon reduce his army to 300 men. The odds would be against the Israelites, except they had God on their side. God was with them and they defeated the entire Midianite army using trumpets, torches, and jars. Just as the Midianites were changing guard, when men would be moving through the camp to and from their posts, Gideon and his army of 300 blew their trumpets, broke the jars and the torches shone bright in the night sky. The Midianites panicked and killed each other, not knowing who was friend and who was foe.

God once again delivered Israel. The people came to Gideon desiring to make him king over them. Gideon realized that he was not to be king, but God was King over Israel. But Gideon had the people bring him an offering from the earrings his men had gotten off the Midianites and he made a gold ephod. The ephod became a stumbling block for Gideon and Israel because they began to worship the ephod.

God used Gideon, but Gideon still had to make a choice to serve God alone. Just because we serve God does not mean we are in a right relationship with God. Anything we put before God in our lives is a stumbling block. Anything that comes before our relationship with God can cause us to fall on our faces. Jesus told those He taught over and over again that those who loved Him would obey Him. God is not just looking for those who serve Him in particular circumstances, He is looking for those who love Him and walk in obedience to Him on a daily basis.