7. THE BOOK OF JUDGES.

A GOD ENCOUNTER.

Among the COMPROMISE and CORRUPTION of Israel in Judges, we have men and women who remained faithful to GOD and His ways.

They were:

“LIGHTS in the DARKNESS.”

“STREAMS in the DESERT and,

“TREES planted by the RIVERS of WATER.”

It is beneficial to read about those difficult times and learn that today’s choices can lead us away from God, and the results are much the same, even though in a different setting.
Gideon was the Sixth JUDGE of Israel and is

known as one of the Heroes in the history of ISRAEL.

Yet he did not start as a Hero.
He was at first a pathetic figure of unbelief!

Judges 6:1-23. He was a nervous young man, secretly threshing wheat in the Wine presses to hide it from marauding MIDIANITES.

God appears to him as a “MIGHTY MAN OF VALOUR.” He also tries to get Gideon to
see ‘himself’ as a Mighty Man of Valour…
But have a closer look at Gideon’s responses!

He gasps, “Oh my LORD, ‘If’ JEHOVAH is ‘with’ us, then ‘Why’ has this happened to us? And where are all His miracles of which we have heard?

Jehovah has forsaken us.
Didn’t He ‘bring’ us out of EGYPT?
GOD HAS FORSAKEN US!”

Whenever things go wrong, do you, as Gideon, question the validity of God?

“OH,” “IF,” “WHY,”

“WERE,” “BUT.”

God is so patient; in verse 14, He gives Gideon encouraging instructions.

“HAVE I NOT SENT YOU?”

But Gideon could only moan.

The “OH LORD, HOW SHALL I SAVE ISRAEL?”

The Lord replies further,
“SURELY I WILL BE WITH YOU.” What security should this bring, but not yet with nervous Gideon?

Knowing this arouses another stammering statement of lack of Faith from Gideon,

“IF I HAVE FOUND GRACE IN YOUR SIGHT, ‘SHOW ME A SIGN’!

This doubt indeed reveals that Gideon was not a man of faith, but rather one of uncertainty and unbelief.

How are you coping with your circumstances today?
Are you contending with God?

Do you have a List of things that God must do before you TRULY BELIEVE?

Think about the verse written in Heb 11:1.

“FAITH IS THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT YET SEEN.”

A poem:

DOUBT SEES THE OBSTACLE,

FAITH SHOWS THE WAY.
DOUBT SEES THE DARK OF NIGHT,

FAITH LIGHTS THE WAY.

DOUBT DREADS TO TAKE THE FIRST STEP,

BUT FAITH WALKS ON THROUGH THE DAY.

DOUBT SAYS, “I CAN’T BELIEVE.”

FAITH ANSWERS.
“JESUS IS
THE WAY!”

We should pray,

“LORD, PLEASE INCREASE MY FAITH.”

It is not the quantity of your faith that counts. It’s the quality of your faith that matters.

It’s a Mustard seed faith in a Mighty Big God.

For your faith to grow, it must be exercised as you would your muscles at the Gym. The more you exercise them, the stronger they become. The more you step out in faith, the stronger it becomes.

Faith not in your own ability but in the ‘Giver of Faith.’ God Himself… The God of the impossible.

What are you believing for?

If it is the healing of an incurable disease, faith announces,

“IT IS DONE” BY THE WOUNDS THAT WOUNDED JESUS, I AM HEALED.

“Isaiah. 53:5.

That is faith in Action!

If you believe in a financial breakthrough. Faith takes hold of God’s promises and believes that all my needs are supplied.

“But my God, shall supply all my needs according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.”

Philippians chapter 4:19.

When you need to move in faith, not knowing the outcome, God already sees you as His Warrior, and He will bring it to pass.

As we will see in the life of Gideon, he became what God had visualised and wrought a great victory against thousands of Midianites with only 300 men.

Amen