You’re too Large a Group!

The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ Judges 7:2 (ESV)

Background

Before I start, let’s get some background on Gideon. At first we see the Angel of the Lord coming to proclaim Gideon as the person that will deliver Israel from the Midianites. Gideon answers the proclamation with doubt and fear; however, after many proofs from the Lord, he responds to the call and raises an army to fight the oppressors of Israel.

It is at this point that we need to put ourselves in Gideon’s shoes. The Lord has just told Gideon that he is to fight the Midianites, the cruel oppressors of Israel. The first thing he does is raise a large army of people. In retrospect, it seems obvious to us that Gideon did the wrong thing. However, at that time it may not have appeared that way to him. After all, he was going to fight a tough, almost intractable enemy. Raising a large army may have seemed the only logical thing to do. After all, that is what every one else does in similar circumstances.

When Gideon raises the army that he believes is large enough to do the job, he then marches off to do battle. When they reach the place where they will camp before doing battle, the Lord appears to Gideon and drops a bomb on his plans. Your group is too big. The army of Israel needs to be smaller. After making that statement, the Lord puts forth a series of directives to whittle down the size of the army. Eventually, the Lord considers Gideon’s army ready when the size is at 300 people. The complete opposite of what most armies would consider the correct way to do battle

Learning from this situation

Did anyone notice that the Lord did not give directives to Gideon on how to do battle at the same time as he received his calling? Did you also notice that Gideon did not make the effort to ask the Lord how to do battle?  He simply assumed that bigger is better.

We need to ask ourselves some questions:

• How many of us, after receiving direction from the Lord, would do the exact same thing as Gideon? Be honest!
• How many of us would go out and do what we thought is the right way to do things?
• Would you assume that bigger is better?
• How many of us would do things simply because everyone expects you to do the job this way?
• How many of us failed to inquire of the Lord for His battle plans?

Which Door Did You (or It) Come Through?

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. ⁷ So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. John 10:1-8 (ESV)

Last week, when I read this scripture, an interesting image came to mind. I saw a man preaching or teaching. At the same time, a question was going through my mind. Is the preaching of this individual coming through the proper door or through another way? It is an interesting question.

In context, Yeshua is stating outright that the only proper way to enter the sheepfold (the true body of Messiah) is through the door, which is Yeshua. Any individual who chooses to enter the sheepfold through any other door but the correct one, Yeshua, will find that the sheep will not accept him – at least those sheep that know scripture. That person will be coming from a direction he/she has chosen. Yeshua labels that person a thief and a robber.

Based on the context of the scripture, the mental image I had while reading this scripture gives me pause to think. Now I am asking myself a question. What do I think about sermons or teachings that attempt to bypass the proper door to the sheepfold? A possible answer: Sermons need to be not only Scripture based but also Messiah-centered. It is all too easy to give a sermon based on scripture and still be miles away from being Messiah-focused. Even worse, is the sermon or teaching that seems to be Messiah-focused yet does not come from the heart of God (Rhema). What do I mean by that statement? The sermon or teaching is actually coming from the head and not by the prompting of the Spirit (Ruach) of God. The source of that teaching is the flesh (your head).

In an age where attempts to influence you are coming from multiple directions, we need to be in daily fellowship with the Lord and in his Word. Only then will His people be able to fulfill the scripture:

A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” John 10:5 (ESV)