Paulie | 300 Men and a Most Audacious Plan
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300 Men and a Most Audacious Plan

09 Aug 300 Men and a Most Audacious Plan

Gideon is a worried man.

A most uneasy one, I would imagine.

He has gathered 32,000 great men of war, from Manasseh, his tribesmen.

And from Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali..

Good strong, men.

Fighting men.

Men with whom he intends to vanquish the Midianites, once and for all.

No more hiding from these godless invaders.

No more!

He’s going to rout them out, finish them off, settle the score, once and for all!

But alas..

The Lord has declined to allow him to proceed with this mighty army.

“The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands.” He said.

“Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once..”

And 22,000 left.

Twenty-two thousand!

And only about 10,000 have remained.

But the Lord is still not satisfied.

“The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there..”

And, to Gideon’s surprise, the testing has left him with only 300 men, with which to face the Midianties.

Not to mention the Amalekites and “all the people of the East”.

These people are as numerous as locusts I tell you, innumerable – like the sand of the sea!

It seems like all Israel’s enemies have come down to the Valley of Jezreel, for this momentous occasion.

And brave Gideon has only a handful of men with which to win this battle.

A most vicious one, we can safely assume.

Naturally, he is somewhat alarmed.

But our forever-gracious Lord appears to him that very night.

“Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand,” He says.

“But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant.”

Afraid is sort of an understatement, considering the odds.

So Gideon takes his servant Purah, and makes his way down to the enemy’s camp.

And from his vantage point, he listens.

Incredibly, right next to them are two men, discussing their eminent demise.

Their own, that is.

One of them has had a dream.

And in this dream, a great loaf of barley bread came tumbling down, and destroyed one of the tents in the Midianite camp.

Splat! Just like that.

“This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel!” his friend cries out.

“Into his hand, God has delivered Midian and the whole camp,” 

He he he.

Gideon is delighted to oblige.

He rushes back to his camp, emboldened by this confirmation that the Lord is surely with him.

And by daybreak, with the aid of some mighty implements of war (water jugs, torches and trumpets), and a mighty shout unto the Lord, Gideon and his men are able to vanquish the enemy completely.

The Midianites flee the battle-ground, terrified.

Far far away, they run – as far as the border of Abel Meholah, near a place called Tabbath.

That is, a place very far away from Israel, I presume.

And as a result of this victory, peace eventually returns, and the people enjoy another forty years of Gideon’s bold leadership.

No more injustice, oppression, harassment.

No more Midianites..!

All occasioned by 300 men, and an incredible game-plan from the Lord.

The Lord, Jehovah Sabaoth, the Winner of all battles, the Master of all strategy.

That’s all the Nation of Israel needed, my friends.

 

The story of Gideon and his 300 Valiant Men can be found in the Book of Judges, Chapter 7.

Go on, head on down to the Valley of Jezreel and pay them a visit!

Image Courtesy, Christian Wallpapers.

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