Devotion 218

“The Sword of Gideon”

Reference: Judges Chapter 7

There was the Sword of Moses, the Sword of Gideon, and the Sword of Jesus Christ.

Joshua 5:13-14 “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? [14] And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?”

There is also the Sword of the Spirit.

Ephesians 6:17 “ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”

The Sword is always the Word of God.

The Sword if used in the strong arm of faith will win every battle whether physical or spiritual. This Sword will open every Red Sea, take over every Jericho, and defeat every enemy of disease, sin, and the grave.

Let’s read:

Judges 7:1-2 “Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. [2] And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.”

Man cannot save himself. We do not come to God for salvation but He came to us.
John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Salvation is outside of us. We have nothing to do with it. Even the faith we expressed when He drew us began with Him.

The LORD wants to show Israel He is the one doing the fighting. He is the Sword. If only we will sit down and recognize the LORD is the one Who had already fought and defeated the Enemy for us. Then we can believe and receive.

We continue our reading:

Judges 7:3 “Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.”

Fear is the opposite of faith. The first separation is the believer from the unbeliever. God is a segregationist. He segregates the believer from the unbeliever, the sheep from the goats, the wise from the foolish virgins.

We continue our reading:

Judges 7:4-10 “And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. [5] So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. [6] And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. [7] And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. [8] So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley. [9] And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. [10] But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host:”

The LORD is always looking for faith and not fear, for the Sword of the Word must always be carried by a strong arm of faith. Jesus always said “your faith has made you whole.”
Mark 10:52 “And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.”

We relate to God by no other way but faith. Without a strong arm of faith the Sword is limited. The Sword needs an arm to wheel it. Without faith, we lose the battle with the Sword in our hands. But with a strong arm of faith like the arm of Moses that was cleansed of leprosy, we can wheel the Sword of the Word and He will cut every opposition.

We continue our reading:

Judges 7:11-14 “And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host. [12] And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. [13] And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. [14] And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.”

Even the heathen knew about the Sword. They called it the sword of Gideon but it was the Sword of God. It’s the Word of God. His Name is Jesus Christ. This Sword is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

We conclude our reading:

Judges 7:15-25 “And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. [16] And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. [17] And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. [18] When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. [19] So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. [20] And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. [21] And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. [22] And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Beth–shittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abel–meholah, unto Tabbath. [23] And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites. [24] And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Beth–barah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Beth–barah and Jordan. [25] And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.”

The Sword will conquer every enemy. It does not matter physical or spiritual.

Wheel the Sword of faith today. BELIEVE and confess Christ the Word as we’ve revealed Him from the First Adam. The Sword of the Holy Spirit, in Christ!

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