JUDGES, THE CHURCH AND FORESHADOWING: Part 5
The story of Gideon is the longest one yet. And he's likely the smallest male Judge.
Jg 6:1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
No King in Israel-Gospel Hall online books
The repetition of this sad comment impresses us when we read this book. Once again, “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord;” (Judges 6:1). Only forty years of rest resulted from Deborah and Barak’s delivering work, and God’s people had lapsed so quickly into an evil condition again. After such a remarkable deliverance by God’s hand, one would think that an extended period of blessing would result, but that was not to be.
2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. {prevailed: Heb. was strong}
3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. {sheep: or goat}
5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; {a prophet: Heb. a man a prophet}
9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;
10 And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.
God sends a prophet first. Previously the judges WERE prophets but this time a separate prophet, sent only to prophecy, not to judge. This precursors the time of the kings.
But that prophet isn't enough. The manifestation of Jesus comes to the man he has selected.
11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. {Gideon: Gr. Gedeon} {to hide...: Heb. to cause it to flee}
12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. {my family...: Heb. my thousand is the meanest}
16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
Recall our Lord's comment that "an evil and idolatrous generation seeks after a sign." What more sign can the Lord himself appearing to you require? Gideon was raised in the idol worshiping atmosphere and even Jesus himself isn't enough sign to counter the exposure. Imagine all the cynicism of that era as god after god was rejected for another as one prayer after another was a failure.
18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. {present: or, meat offering}
19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. {a kid: Heb. a kid of the goats}
20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.
23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. {Jehovahshalom: that is, The LORD send peace}
Matt Henry:
Ver. 11. thru Ver. 24.
It is not said what effect the prophet's sermon had upon the people, but we may hope it had a good effect, and that some of them at least repented and reformed upon it; for here, immediately after, we have the dawning of the day of their deliverance, by the effectual calling of Gideon to take upon him the command of their forces against the Midianites.
I. The person to be commissioned for this service was Gideon, the son of Joash, Jg 6:14. The father was now living, but he was passed by, and this honour put upon the son, for the father kept up in his own family the worship of Baal (Jg 6:25), which we may suppose this son, as far as was in his power, witnessed against. He was of the half tribe of Manasseh that lay in Canaan, of the family of Abiezer; the eldest house of that tribe, Jos 17:2. Hitherto the judges were raised up out of that tribe which suffered most by the oppression, and probably it was so here.
II. The person that gave him the commission was an angel of the Lord; it should seem not a created angel, but the Son of God himself, the eternal Word, the Lord of the angels, who then appeared upon some great occasions in human shape, as a prelude (says the learned bishop Patrick) to what he intended in the fulness of time, when he would take our nature upon him, as we say, for good and all. This angel is here called Jehovah, the incommunicable name of God (Jg 6:14,16), and he said, I will be with thee.
1. This divine person appeared here to Gideon, and it is observable how he found him,
(1.) Retired--all alone. God often manifests himself to his people when they are out of the noise and hurry of this world. Silence and solitude befriend our communion with God.
(2.) Employed in threshing wheat, with a staff or rod (so the word signifies), such as they used in beating out fitches and cummin (Isa 28:27), but now used for wheat, probably because he had but little to thresh, he needed not the oxen to tread it out. It was not then looked upon as any diminution to him, though he was a person of some account and a mighty man of valour, to lay his hand to the business of the husbandman. He had many servants (Jg 6:27), and yet would not himself live in idleness. We put ourselves in the way of divine visits when we employ ourselves in honest business. Tidings of Christ's birth were brought to the shepherds when they were keeping their flocks. The work he was about was an emblem of that greater work to which he was now to be called, as the disciples' fishing was. From threshing corn he is fetched to thresh the Midianites, Isa 41:15.
(3.) Distressed; he was threshing his wheat, not in the threshing-floor, the proper place, but by the wine-press, in some private unsuspected corner, for fear of the Midianites. He himself shared in the common calamity, and now the angel came to animate him against Midian when he himself could speak so feelingly of the heaviness of their yoke. The day of the greatest distress is God's time to appear for his people's relief.
2. Let us now see what passed between the angel and Gideon, who knew not with certainty, till after he was gone, that he was an angel, but supposed he was a prophet.
(1.) The angel accosted him with respect, and assured him of the presence of God with him, Jg 6:12. He calls him a mighty man of valour, perhaps because he observed how he threshed his corn with all his might; and seest thou a man diligent in his business? whatever his business is, he shall stand before kings. He that is faithful in a few things shall be ruler over many. Gideon was a man of a brave active spirit, and yet buried alive in obscurity, through the iniquity of the times; but he is here animated to undertake something great, like himself, with that word, the Lord is with thee, or, as the Chaldee reads it, the Word of the Lord is thy help. It was very sure that the Lord was with him when this angel was with him. By this word,
[1.] He gives him his commission. If we have God's presence with us, this will justify us and bear us out in our undertakings.
[2.] He inspires him with all necessary qualifications for the execution of his commission.
"The Lord is with thee to guide and strengthen thee, to animate and support thee."
[3.] He assures him of success; for, if God be for us, who can prevail against us? If he be with us, nothing can be wanting to us. The presence of God with us is all in all to our prosperity, whatever we do. Gideon was a mighty man of valour, and yet he could bring nothing to pass without the presence of God, and that presence is enough to make any man mighty in valour and to give a man courage at any time.
(2.) Gideon gave a very melancholy answer to this joyful salutation (Jg 6:13): O my Lord! if the Lord be with us (which the Chaldee reads, Is the Shechinah of the Lord our help? making that the same with the Word of the Lord) why then has all this befallen us?
"all this trouble and distress from the Midianites' incursions, which force me to thresh wheat here by the wine-press--all this loss, and grief, and fright; and where are all the miracles which our fathers told us of?"
Observe, In his reply he regards not the praise of his own valour, nor does this in the least elevate him or give him any encouragement, though it is probable the angel adapted what he said to that which Gideon was at the same time thinking of; while his labouring hands were employed about his wheat, his working head and daring heart were meditating Israel's rescue and Midian's ruin, with which thought he that knows the heart seasonably sets in, calls him a man of valour for his brave projects, and open him a way to put them in execution; yet Gideon, as if not conscious to himself of any thing great or encouraging in his own spirit, fastens only on the assurance the angel had given him of God's presence, as that by which they held all their comfort. Observe, The angel spoke in particular to him: The Lord is with thee; but he expostulates for all: If the Lord be with us, herding himself with the thousands of Israel, and admitting no comfort but what they might be sharers in, so far is he from the thoughts of monopolizing it, though he had so fair an occasion given him. Note, Public spirits reckon that only an honour and joy to themselves which puts them in a capacity of serving the common interests of God's church. Gideon was a mighty man of valour, but as yet weak in faith, which makes it hard to him to reconcile to the assurances now given him of the presence of God,
[1.] The distress to which Israel was reduced: Why has all this (and all this was no little) befallen us? Note, It is sometimes hard, but never impossible, to reconcile cross providences with the presence of God and his favour.
[2.] The delay of their deliverance:
"Where are all the miracles which our fathers told us of? Why does not the same power which delivered our fathers from the yoke of the Egyptians deliver us out of the hands of the Midianites?"
As if because God did not immediately work miracles for their deliverance, though they had by their sins forfeited his favour and help, it must be questioned whether ever he had wrought the miracles which their fathers told them of, or, if he had, whether he had now the same wisdom, and power, and good-will to his people, that he had had formerly. This was his weakness. We must not expect that the miracles which were wrought when a church was in the forming, and some great truth in the settling, should be continued and repeated when the formation and settlement are completed: no, nor that the mercies God showed to our fathers that served him, and kept close to him, should be renewed to us, if we degenerate and revolt from him. Gideon ought not to have said either, First, That God had delivered them into the hands of the Midianites, for by their iniquities they had sold themselves, or, Secondly, That now they were in their hands he had forsaken them, for he had lately sent them a prophet (Jg 6:8), which was a certain indication that he had not forsaken them.
(3.) The angel gave him a very effectual answer to his objections, by giving him a commission to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Midianites, and assuring him of success therein, Jg 6:14. Now the angel is called Jehovah, for he speaks as one having authority, and not as a messenger.
[1.] There was something extraordinary in the look he now gave to Gideon; it was a gracious favourable look, which revived his spirits that dropped, and silenced his fears, such a look as that with which God's countenance beholds the upright, Ps 11:7. He looked upon him, and smiled at the objections he made, which he gave him no direct answer to, but girded and clothed him with such power as would shortly enable him to answer them himself, and make him ashamed that ever he had made them. It was a speaking look, like Christ's upon Peter Lu 22:61, a powerful look, a look that strangely darted new light and life into Gideon's breast, and inspired him with a generous heat, far above what he felt before.
[2.] But there was much more in what he said to him. First, He commissioned him to appear and act as Israel's deliverer.
Secondly, He assured him of success. This was enough to put courage into him; he might be confident he should not miscarry in the attempt; it should not turn either to his own disgrace or the damage of his people (as baffled enterprises do), but to his honour and their happiness: Thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites, and so shalt not only be an eye-witness, but a glorious instrument, of such wonders as thy fathers told thee of. Gideon, we may suppose, looked as one astonished at this strange and surprising power conferred upon him, and questions whether he may depend upon what he hears: the angel ratifies his commission with a teste meipso--an appeal to his own authority; there needed no more.
"Have not I commanded thee--I that have all power in heaven and earth, and particular authority here as Israel's King, giving commissions immediately--I who am that I am, the same that sent Moses?"
Ex 3:14.
...
The angel gives him a sign in and by that which he had kindly prepared for his entertainment. For what we offer to God for his glory, and in token of our gratitude to him, will be made by the grace of God to turn to our own comfort and satisfaction. The angel ordered him to take the flesh and bread out of the basket, and lay it upon a hard and cold rock, and to pour out the broth upon it, which, if he brought it hot, would soon be cold there; and Gideon did so (Jg 6:20), believing that the angel appointed it, not in contempt of his courtesy, but with an intention to give him a sign, which he did, abundantly to his satisfaction. For,
[1.] He turned the meat into an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto himself, showing hereby that he was not a man who needed meat, but the Son of God who was to be served and honoured by sacrifice, and who in the fulness of time was to make himself a sacrifice.
[2.] He brought fire out of the rock, to consume this sacrifice, summoning it, not by striking the rock, as we strike fire out of a flint, but by a gentle touch given to the offering with the end of his staff, Jg 6:21. Hereby he gave him a sign that he had found grace in his sight, for God testified his acceptance of sacrifices by kindling them, if public, with fire from heaven, as those of Moses and Elias, if private, as this, with fire out of the earth, which was equivalent: both were the effect of divine power; and this acceptance of his sacrifice evidenced the acceptance of his person, confirmed his commission, and perhaps was intended to signify his success in the execution of it, that he and his army should be a surprising terror and consumption to the Midianites, like this fire out of the rock.
[3.] He departed out of his sight immediately, did not walk off as a man, but vanished and disappeared as a spirit. Here was as much of a sign as he could wish.
(8.) Gideon, though no doubt he was confirmed in his faith by the indications given of the divinity of the person who had spoken to him, yet for the present was put into a great fright by it, till God graciously pacified him and removed his fears.
The substance of what he said to him:
"The Lord spoke peace, and created that fruit of the lips, bade me be easy when I was in that agitation."
Or,
(3.) A prayer grounded upon what he had said, so the margin understands it: The Lord send peace, that is, rest from the present trouble, for still the public welfare lay nearest his heart.
25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: {even: or, and}
26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. {rock: Heb. strong place} {in the ordered...: or, in an orderly manner}
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.
31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.
32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar. {Jerubbaal: that is, Let Baal plead} {Jerubbesheth: that is, Let the shameful thing plead}
Easton's Bible Dictionary - Baal
Baal [N] [B] [H] [S]
lord.
The name appropriated to the principal male god of the Phoenicians. It is found in several places in the plural BAALIM ( Judges 2:11 ; 10:10 ; 1 Kings 18:18 ; Jeremiah 2:23 ; Hosea 2:17 ). Baal is identified with Molech ( Jeremiah 19:5 ). It was known to the Israelites as Baal-peor ( Numbers 25:3 ; Deuteronomy 4:3 ), was worshipped till the time of Samuel ( 1 Samuel 7:4 ), and was afterwards the religion of the ten tribes in the time of Ahab ( 1 Kings 16:31-33 ; 1 Kings 18:19 1 Kings 18:22 ). It prevailed also for a time in the kingdom of Judah ( 2 Kings 8:27 ; comp 11:18 ; 16:3 ; 2 Chr 28:2 ), till finally put an end to by the severe discipline of the Captivity ( Zephaniah 1:4-6 ). The priests of Baal were in great numbers ( 1 Kings 18:19 ), and of various classes ( 2 Kings 10:19 ). Their mode of offering sacrifices is described in 1 Kings 18:25-29 . The sun-god, under the general title of Baal, or "lord," was the chief object of worship of the Canaanites. Each locality had its special Baal, and the various local Baals were summed up under the name of Baalim, or "lords." Each Baal had a wife, who was a colourless reflection of himself.
33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him. {came...: Heb. clothed} {gathered: Heb. called}
35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. {gathered: Heb. called}
36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
Jg 7:1 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.
https://www.gotquestions.org/Gideon-Jerubbaal.html
Gideon earned the title Jerubbaal (or Jerub-Baal) after he destroyed his family’s altar of Baal. “Because Gideon broke down Baal’s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal that day, saying, ‘Let Baal contend with him’” (Judges 6:32). The name Jerubbaal means “Baal will contend” and is a combination of two Hebrew words: the first is riyb or rub, which means literally “to grapple” and holds the figurative meaning “to wrangle” or “to hold a controversy.” The second is the proper noun Baal, the name of the Phoenician god that Gideon picked a fight with.
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.
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.
4 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.
At this point I would have been feeling like a very foolish man if I was one of the 300 left to fight the hordes of Midianites. I mean, everybody else gets to go home and here I am just for drinking like a dog. I could have gotten down on my knees but, no...I had to stand up looking around to make sure the enemy wasn't attacking while I drank. What was I thinking?
Then again, I have to wonder what the church at Sardis was thinking:
Re 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
(KJV)
Like the Israel of Gideon's day. almost everyone in the Sardis church was lost in failure to worship God.
Sardis was the old capitol city of Lydia. (Not the woman Lydia we just talked about.)
http://www.ancient.eu/lydia/
Lydia was a region of western Asia Minor which prospered due to its natural resources and position on trading routes between the Mediterranean and Asia. The Kingdom of Lydia flourished in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE and expanded to its greatest extent during the reign of Croesus, famed for his great wealth. Lydia then became a Persian satrapy with its capital at Sardis. Conquered by Alexander the Great, Lydia was absorbed into the Seleucid Empire in the Hellenistic Period. Part of the Roman province of Asia, Lydia was made a separate province in the 3rd century CE. (Or A.D.)
(Side note: Again the intellectual atheism hinted at by declaring an entirely different division of the calendar. BCE Before Christian Era. CE Christian Era. Did whoever came up with this idea stop and think and realize that only Christ has divided the calendar? Did they ever stop and think no other religious figure does that? Did they ever think the term Christian has the name Christ in it? Was it merely their intent to annoy? Did they realize they made Him even important in their own minds by doing this and by taking the time to try and find some way to reduce the impact of Christ? They were working to get God out of the calendar and only pointed out how very important He is to them.)
The way Gideon's Era Israel worked to get God out by their worship of the idols, even as the tabernacle stood witness that He was still there.
Return to Judges 7:
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:
11 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. {armed men: or, ranks by five}
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.
15 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. {interpretation: Heb. breaking}
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. {a trumpet...: Heb. trumpets in the hand of all of them} {lamps: or, firebrands, or, torches}
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 Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath. {in: or, toward} {border: Heb. lip}
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 Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah 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.
Now comes another interesting part. Gideon has followed God and God has defeated the Midians' alliance, leading them to think a great army pursues them because of the clamor and lights of Gideon' forces in the night .
Some end times comparisons occur in the battle:
https://www.wake-up.org/newsletter-archive/day-star-newsletter/seven-cycles-of-apostasy-servitude-and-restoration-april-2002.html
Gideon and his army shattered the stillness of the night. Out of nowhere there came "a large army" with lights and trumpets. Generals in ancient times customarily directed their armies by the sound of "a" trumpet. The emphasis here on the word "a" is important. If there were many trumpets, no one would know which trumpet to follow. A soldier would hear multiple trumpets when various battalions converged on a battle. When the Midianites awoke to the sound of 300 trumpets, they had one thought. "We are out gunned and vastly out numbered!" Their resulting panic confirms this point.
When God’s judgments (the seven trumpets) begin, the world will be taken by complete surprise. The world will awaken to a new reality. The inhabitants of Earth will realize there is a living God and He is a deadly, formidable force. The ensuing panic will confirm this. To those people who have set their face and lives against God’s laws, this will come as a complete surprise – like a sneak attack. God is about to send panic through the camp of His enemies. Eventually, the wicked will be destroyed and the saints of God will at last, have peace on Earth! The occupation of His land will be over and the saints will live happily ever after.
In ancient times, wars were not typically fought in darkness. It was too risky. Warfare was often hand-to-hand and close proximity to the enemy was necessary. In total darkness, it is impossible to tell a friend from an enemy! When Gideon’s army startled the sleeping Midianites with shouting, 300 blazing lamps and 300 blaring trumpets, the Midianites instinctively knew they could not survive the battle. The Lord filled the hearts of Israel’s enemy with overwhelming panic so that they fled in fear.
This scenario also describes how the wicked will feel when the Great Tribulation begins. Fear will be everywhere. Anxiety will be out of control. Jesus said there will be distress that has no equal since the beginning of the world! (Matthew 24:21) Paul wrote, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." (Hebrews 10:26,27) During the Great Tribulation, wicked people will have no rest, day or night (Revelation 14:11) because the Lord will fill their hearts with fear and anxiety.
Now Gideon gets the "no respect" Rodney Dangerfield thing going on.
Jg 8:1 And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply. {Why...: Heb. What thing is this thou hast done unto us} {sharply: Heb. strongly}
"Now that you've won, WE want the glory we would have gotten if we'd come to help you."
Last post, we talked about the conflict of ego and Christ. It gets perfect display here. No complaint that they didn't get to serve God in the battle. No comment on how they wish to thank God they got to serve in the clean up action. Just their human desire for the personal glory of the victory.
2 And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
3 God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that. {anger: Heb. spirit}
And Gideon follows God's leading.
Later in time, Solomon will counsel:
Pr 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
(KJV)
Gideon doesn't argue or raise his voice in defense or chastise them for not taking up arms in the main battle. He merely tells them they are much better than him since their victory has killed off the kings. He wins them over and wins the confidence of is 300 in him as a leader.
4 And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.
5 And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
6 And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?
7 And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers. {tear: Heb. thresh}
8 And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
9 And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword. {men that...: or, every one drawing a sword}
11 And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was secure.
12 And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host. {discomfited: Heb. terrified}
13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,
14 And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men. {described: Heb. writ}
15 And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth. {taught: Heb. made to know}
17 And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
18 Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king. {resembled...: Heb. according to the form, etc}
19 And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
20 And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks. {ornaments: or, ornaments like the moon}
We see the failure of Gideon's son. He has shown he is not fit to rule. Gideon meanwhile has seized the day and become violent in every intent. It is his vengeance that gets the attention of the people. Not his honoring of God.
22 Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.
After his victory in the Revolution, "Washington rejected a movement among army officers to make him King of the United States, saying, 'I didn't fight George III to become George I.'"
So, Now You Know by Harry Bright and Harlan Briscoe
Gideon carries it farther and states God's will for Israel. What was always His will for Israel: to be their only king. God has refused to name any man king. Some assume it is because he wanted them to wait for David, but David could as easily have been a Gideon judge as the king. God actually seems to want them to wait for the arrival of Jesus.
24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks. {collars: or, sweet jewels}
27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
He defeated idol worshipers only t create an idol himself. The earrings were by Law sign of slavery in Israel and the melted earrings became a sign of the slavery Israel still had to idols.
28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.
30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives. {of his...: Heb. going out of his thigh}
31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech. {called: Heb. set}
32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
34 And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:
35 Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.
(KJV)
Meanwhile, back at this "date" in Church history,
Re 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
https://rcg.org/pillar/1206pp-lftse.html
Again the rise of tolerance. The acceptance of idols, here and in Israel. The city had been conquered over and over as Israel and still occupied as Israel was then, had been in Gideon's day and was in the time of the "future Sardis" church era. What we call the Reformation.(1517-1793)
http://www.history.com/topics/reformation
The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice. They argued for a religious and political redistribution of power into the hands of Bible- and pamphlet-reading pastors and princes. The disruption triggered wars, persecutions and the so-called Counter-Reformation, the Catholic Church’s delayed but forceful response to the Protestants.
Historians usually date the start of the Protestant Reformation to the 1517 publication of Martin Luther’s “95 Theses.” Its ending can be placed anywhere from the 1555 Peace of Augsburg, which allowed for the coexistence of Catholicism and Lutheranism in Germany, to the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years’ War. The key ideas of the Reformation—a call to purify the church and a belief that the Bible, not tradition, should be the sole source of spiritual authority—were not themselves novel. However, Luther and the other reformers became the first to skillfully use the power of the printing press to give their ideas a wide audience.
THE REFORMATION: GERMANY AND LUTHERANISM
Martin Luther (1483-1546) was an Augustinian monk and university lecturer in Wittenberg when he composed his “95 Theses,” which protested the pope’s sale of reprieves from penance, or indulgences. Although he had hoped to spur renewal from within the church, in 1521 he was summoned before the Diet of Worms and excommunicated. Sheltered by Friedrich, elector of Saxony, Luther translated the Bible into German and continued his output of vernacular pamphlets.
When German peasants, inspired in part by Luther’s empowering “priesthood of all believers,” revolted in 1524, Luther sided with Germany’s princes. By the Reformation’s end, Lutheranism had become the state religion throughout much of Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltics.
THE REFORMATION: SWITZERLAND AND CALVINISM
The Swiss Reformation began in 1519 with the sermons of Ulrich Zwingli, whose teachings largely paralleled Luther’s. In 1541 John Calvin, a French Protestant who had spent the previous decade in exile writing his “Institutes of the Christian Religion,” was invited to settle in Geneva and put his Reformed doctrine—which stressed God’s power and humanity’s predestined fate—into practice. The result was a theocratic regime of enforced, austere morality.
Calvin’s Geneva became a hotbed for Protestant exiles, and his doctrines quickly spread to Scotland, France, Transylvania and the Low Countries, where Dutch Calvinism became a religious and economic force for the next 400 years.
THE REFORMATION: ENGLAND AND THE “MIDDLE WAY”
In England, the Reformation began with Henry VIII’s quest for a male heir. When Pope Clement VII refused to annul Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he could remarry, the English king declared in 1534 that he alone should be the final authority in matters relating to the English church. Henry dissolved England’s monasteries to confiscate their wealth and worked to place the Bible in the hands of the people. Beginning in 1536, every parish was required to have a copy.
After Henry’s death, England tilted toward Calvinist-infused Protestantism during Edward VI’s six-year reign and then endured five years of reactionary Catholicism under Mary I. In 1559 Elizabeth I took the throne and, during her 44-year reign, cast the Church of England as a “middle way” between Calvinism and Catholicism, with vernacular worship and a revised Book of Common Prayer.
THE COUNTER-REFORMATION
The Catholic Church was slow to respond systematically to the theological and publicity innovations of Luther and the other reformers. The Council of Trent, which met off and on from 1545 through 1563, articulated the Church’s answer to the problems that triggered the Reformation and to the reformers themselves.
The Catholic Church of the Counter-Reformation era grew more spiritual, more literate and more educated. New religious orders, notably the Jesuits, combined rigorous spirituality with a globally minded intellectualism, while mystics such as Teresa of Avila injected new passion into the older orders. Inquisitions, both in Spain and in Rome, were reorganized to fight the threat of Protestant heresy.
THE REFORMATION’S LEGACY
Along with the religious consequences of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation came deep and lasting political changes. Northern Europe’s new religious and political freedoms came at a great cost, with decades of rebellions, wars and bloody persecutions. The Thirty Years’ War alone may have cost Germany 40 percent of its population.
But the Reformation’s positive repercussions can be seen in the intellectual and cultural flourishing it inspired on all sides of the schism—in the strengthened universities of Europe, the Lutheran church music of J.S. Bach, the baroque altarpieces of Pieter Paul Rubens and even the capitalism of Dutch Calvinist merchants.
From Got Questions:
As a background to the history of Protestantism and the Reformation, it is important to understand the Catholic claim of apostolic succession. This doctrine says that the line of Roman Catholic popes extends through the centuries all the way from the apostle Peter to the current pope. This unbroken chain of authority makes the Roman Catholic Church the only true church and gives the pope preeminence over all churches everywhere.
Because of their belief in apostolic succession and the infallibility of the pope (when speaking ex cathedra), Catholics place church teaching and tradition on a level equal to Scripture itself. This is one of the major differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants and was one of the foundational issues leading to the Protestant Reformation.
Even prior to the Protestant Reformation, there were pockets of resistance to some of the unbiblical practices of the Roman Catholic Church, yet they were relatively small and isolated. The Lollards, the Waldensians, and the Petrobrusians all took a stand against certain Catholic doctrines. Before Luther ever picked up a hammer and headed to Chapel Church, there were men who had stood up for reform and the true gospel. Among them were John Wycliffe, an English theologian and Oxford professor who was condemned as a heretic in 1415; Jan Hus, a priest from Bohemia who was burned at the stake in 1415 for his opposition to the Church of Rome; and Girolamo Savonarola, an Italian friar who was hanged and burned in 1498.
The opposition to the false teaching of the Roman Catholic Church came to a head in the sixteenth century when Luther, a Roman Catholic monk, challenged the authority of the pope and, in particular, the selling of indulgences. Rather than heed the call to reform, the Roman Catholic Church dug in its heels and sought to silence the Reformers. Eventually, new churches emerged from the Reformation, forming four major divisions of Protestantism: Luther’s followers started the Lutheran Church, Calvin’s followers started the Reformed Church, John Knox’s followers started the Presbyterian Church in Scotland (using Calvinistic doctrine), and, later, Reformers in England started the Anglican Church.
At the heart of the Protestant Reformation lay four basic questions:
How is a person saved?
Where does religious authority lie?
What is the church?
What is the essence of Christian living?
In answering these questions, Protestant Reformers developed what would be known as the “Five Solas” (sola being the Latin word for “alone”). These five essential points of biblical doctrine clearly separate Protestantism from Roman Catholicism. The Reformers resisted the demands placed on them to recant these doctrines, even to the point of death. The five essential doctrines of the Protestant Reformation are as follows:
1 - Sola Scriptura, “Scripture Alone.” The Bible alone is the sole authority for all matters of faith and practice. Scripture and Scripture alone is the standard by which all teachings and traditions of the church must be measured. As Martin Luther so eloquently stated when told to recant his teachings, “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.”
2 - Sola Gratia, “Salvation by Grace Alone.” Salvation is proof of God’s undeserved favor; we are rescued from God’s wrath by His grace alone, not by any work we do. God’s blessing in Christ is the sole efficient cause of salvation. This grace is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit who brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.
3 - Sola Fide, “Salvation by Faith Alone.” We are justified by faith in Christ alone, not by the works of the Law. It is by faith in Christ that His righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God’s perfect standard.
4 - Solus Christus, “In Christ Alone.” Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone; no one and nothing else can save. Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross is sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to God the Father. The gospel has not been preached if Christ’s redemption is not declared and if faith in His resurrection is not solicited.
5 - Soli Deo Gloria, “For the Glory of God Alone.” Salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God for His glory alone. As Christians we must magnify Him always and live our lives in His presence, under His authority, and for His glory.
These five important doctrines are the reason for the Protestant Reformation. They are at the heart of the Reformers’ call for the church to return to biblical teaching. The Five Solas are just as important today in evaluating a church and its teachings as they were in the sixteenth century.
Because, I would add, Catholicism still exists and, if you listen to it's radio broadcasts, is as much opposed to true Gospel today as then. Because there are forces outside both churches that have infiltrated and are in the process of distorting the truths of both,
The Catholic church was almost dead in it's corruption. The Borgias were the epitome of what happened under the previous church age:
http://www.historytoday.com/alexander-lee/were-borgias-really-so-bad
"Renaissance Italy was dominated by rich and powerful families whose reputations have been shaped by the many dark and dastardly deeds they committed. In quattrocento Florence, the Medici bought, bribed, and blackmailed their way to the top; in Rimini, the Malatesta flitted continually between self-destructive megalomania and near psychopathic brutality; and in Milan, the Sforza were every by as infamous for their sexual proclivities as they were for their political ruthlessness. But in this devilish roll-call of nefarious names, none sends such a chill up the spine as that of ‘Borgia’.
"It is impossible to imagine a family more heavily tainted by the stains of sin and immorality, and – as even those who have not seen the eponymous television series will know – there is scarcely one of their number who does not seem to be cloaked in an aura of iniquity. The founder of the family’s fortunes, Alfons de Borja (1378-1458) – who reigned as Pope Callixtus III – was decried even by his closest allies as the “scandal of [his] age” for his monstrously corrupt ways. His nephew, Rodrigo (1431-1503) – who he himself elevated to the cardinalate, and who would be elected Pope Alexander VI in 1492 – was reputed to be even worse. Accused of buying the papacy, he would later be besmirched by rumours so severe that the Venetian diplomat Girolamo Priuli felt able to claim he had “given his soul and body to the great demon in Hell”. Indeed, as the papal master of ceremonies, Johann Burchard, was to contend in the middle of Alexander’s reign:
"There is no longer any crime or shameful act that does not take place in public in Rome and in the home of the Pontiff. Who could fail to be horrified by the…terrible, monstrous acts of lechery that are committed openly in his home, with no respect for God or man? Rapes and acts of incest are countless…[and]great throngs of courtesans frequent St. Peter’s Palace, pimps, brothels, and whorehouses are to be found everywhere!
"But worse still was the reputation of Alexander’s children, and Burchard’s blithe comment that they were “utterly depraved” barely begins to cover the crimes with which they were associated in the contemporary imagination. Lucrezia (1480-1519) – with whom the pope was reputed to have slept – was cast not only as a whore, but also as a poisoner, a murderer, and a witch. And Cesare (1475/6-1507) – the most handsome, dashing, and despicable Borgia of all – was widely believed to have killed his elder brother Juan in a fit of jealousy, bedded his sister, and embarked on a campaign of slaughter and conquest aimed at carving a kingdom out of the scattered states of Northern Italy."
Perhaps the worst comment on that comes from this same article which was written to say this:
On the other hand, even those crimes of which the Borgias were guilty weren’t anything out of the ordinary. Indeed, when the evidence is interrogated more carefully, it is apparent that the Borgias were entirely typical of the families who were continually vying for the papal throne during the Renaissance.
Simply put, the previous church age led to the "Sardis" age where the war with the Protestant movement became a losing battle. The state church had little life in itself but what was there was raised to new consciousness even as the divergent grew in strength. But look again at Gideon's failures:
25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks. {collars: or, sweet jewels}
27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.
30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives. {of his...: Heb. going out of his thigh}
31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech. {called: Heb. set}
32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Gideon created a new idolatry, had many wives and generally succumbed to the temptations of fame. Remember he did not have the Holy Spirit inside just as the Church at Sardis had no guidance because they chose not to seek it and because they were led by those who were so embroiled in the world that they drove off true believers. The idols of the world had invaded. So too the reformation churches. But the new revolutionaries began as an objection to the policies of oppression. They only later rose to the level of complete rejection of the old idols of money and power and developed fully the five truths.
Some closing thoughts from No King in Israel:
"In Sardis, the Lord presents Himself as the one who has “the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars.” (Revelation 3:1). He is the One who exercises sovereign control over His church and over those who, like the stars, bear responsibility to guide in the dark night of its experience. His desire is to have His people subject to His sovereign control and not dominated by men who fit the characteristic of having “a name that thou livest, and art dead,” (Revelation 3:1).
"Sardis seems to refer to the entire Protestant system that resulted from that great movement of God called the Reformation. We see that, like God’s work under Gideon, He raised up men who, though conscious of their own weakness, acted for God and in dependence on God to bring deliverance. However, this sadly only resulted in those and other men seeking to use political power to control what men believed and practiced, and this would be seen typically in the abominable conditions that resulted after Gideon’s death under Abimelech’s domination (Judges 9). The Lord says to the church in Revelation 3:2, that “I have not found thy works perfect before God.” Another translation indicates that the Lord is saying that in His sight, no works were perfect before God. This was the case in the Reformation, and it has resulted in men, as always, falling short of the Divine ideal and failing to respond perfectly to the desires of God’s heart. The fragmented state of Christendom today is only the result of men failing to return entirely to the basic principles of God’s Word with subjection to Divine authority.
"However, the Lord also identifies among them in Sardis, a few faithful ones who he describes as “a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments,” (Revelation 3:4). Jotham, in Judges 9, would correspond with those who are identified as overcomers and who refused to be dominated by man’s rule as seen in Abimelech. During and following the Reformation period, there were those who stood apart from the state church system and who sought to remain faithful to the truths of God’s Word and show loyalty to the Lord in belief and practice. These included those persecuted believers identified as “Anabaptists” and others who were also fiercely persecuted and martyred by those in the “Protestant” camp, even as they had been by the Roman Catholic system. This condition of persecution and offense connected with faithfulness to the Lord has not changed, and no doubt, it will always be true until the Lord comes.
"Again, directly referring this part of Israel’s history in Judges 6-9 to the time of the reformation, we think of the strife, wars and fighting that existed during that period. Time and space doesn’t allow a more complete consideration of the intrigues of the Roman Catholic system, fighting between the popes and the political powers, and the conflicts that also existed between the different parties of the reformation. It makes sad reading, considering what God intended to accomplish to bring deliverance to His people, but which fell so far short due to man’s failure. It was a period of conflict that robbed God’s people of their peace and prevented them from enjoying spiritual food and prosperity. We think of the Thirty Years Wars in Europe that had such a devastating effect on the populace, the wars in Bohemia, campaigns against the Albigenses, the Waldenses and other faithful believers, along with the inquisitions that resulted in many martyrs for the faith of Christ. Certainly it was a time of strife, conflict and confusion that arose from man’s greed for power and possessions derived from innocent men. The divisions among “Protestants” that exist today began, in part, at that early stage, and they continue to cause strife and division among God’s people."
Next time a discussion of the church everyone wants to be in. Then a discussion of the one every fears they are in today.
The story of Gideon is the longest one yet. And he's likely the smallest male Judge.
Jg 6:1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
No King in Israel-Gospel Hall online books
The repetition of this sad comment impresses us when we read this book. Once again, “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord;” (Judges 6:1). Only forty years of rest resulted from Deborah and Barak’s delivering work, and God’s people had lapsed so quickly into an evil condition again. After such a remarkable deliverance by God’s hand, one would think that an extended period of blessing would result, but that was not to be.
2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. {prevailed: Heb. was strong}
3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. {sheep: or goat}
5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; {a prophet: Heb. a man a prophet}
9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;
10 And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.
God sends a prophet first. Previously the judges WERE prophets but this time a separate prophet, sent only to prophecy, not to judge. This precursors the time of the kings.
But that prophet isn't enough. The manifestation of Jesus comes to the man he has selected.
11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. {Gideon: Gr. Gedeon} {to hide...: Heb. to cause it to flee}
12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. {my family...: Heb. my thousand is the meanest}
16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
Recall our Lord's comment that "an evil and idolatrous generation seeks after a sign." What more sign can the Lord himself appearing to you require? Gideon was raised in the idol worshiping atmosphere and even Jesus himself isn't enough sign to counter the exposure. Imagine all the cynicism of that era as god after god was rejected for another as one prayer after another was a failure.
18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. {present: or, meat offering}
19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. {a kid: Heb. a kid of the goats}
20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.
23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. {Jehovahshalom: that is, The LORD send peace}
Matt Henry:
Ver. 11. thru Ver. 24.
It is not said what effect the prophet's sermon had upon the people, but we may hope it had a good effect, and that some of them at least repented and reformed upon it; for here, immediately after, we have the dawning of the day of their deliverance, by the effectual calling of Gideon to take upon him the command of their forces against the Midianites.
I. The person to be commissioned for this service was Gideon, the son of Joash, Jg 6:14. The father was now living, but he was passed by, and this honour put upon the son, for the father kept up in his own family the worship of Baal (Jg 6:25), which we may suppose this son, as far as was in his power, witnessed against. He was of the half tribe of Manasseh that lay in Canaan, of the family of Abiezer; the eldest house of that tribe, Jos 17:2. Hitherto the judges were raised up out of that tribe which suffered most by the oppression, and probably it was so here.
II. The person that gave him the commission was an angel of the Lord; it should seem not a created angel, but the Son of God himself, the eternal Word, the Lord of the angels, who then appeared upon some great occasions in human shape, as a prelude (says the learned bishop Patrick) to what he intended in the fulness of time, when he would take our nature upon him, as we say, for good and all. This angel is here called Jehovah, the incommunicable name of God (Jg 6:14,16), and he said, I will be with thee.
1. This divine person appeared here to Gideon, and it is observable how he found him,
(1.) Retired--all alone. God often manifests himself to his people when they are out of the noise and hurry of this world. Silence and solitude befriend our communion with God.
(2.) Employed in threshing wheat, with a staff or rod (so the word signifies), such as they used in beating out fitches and cummin (Isa 28:27), but now used for wheat, probably because he had but little to thresh, he needed not the oxen to tread it out. It was not then looked upon as any diminution to him, though he was a person of some account and a mighty man of valour, to lay his hand to the business of the husbandman. He had many servants (Jg 6:27), and yet would not himself live in idleness. We put ourselves in the way of divine visits when we employ ourselves in honest business. Tidings of Christ's birth were brought to the shepherds when they were keeping their flocks. The work he was about was an emblem of that greater work to which he was now to be called, as the disciples' fishing was. From threshing corn he is fetched to thresh the Midianites, Isa 41:15.
(3.) Distressed; he was threshing his wheat, not in the threshing-floor, the proper place, but by the wine-press, in some private unsuspected corner, for fear of the Midianites. He himself shared in the common calamity, and now the angel came to animate him against Midian when he himself could speak so feelingly of the heaviness of their yoke. The day of the greatest distress is God's time to appear for his people's relief.
2. Let us now see what passed between the angel and Gideon, who knew not with certainty, till after he was gone, that he was an angel, but supposed he was a prophet.
(1.) The angel accosted him with respect, and assured him of the presence of God with him, Jg 6:12. He calls him a mighty man of valour, perhaps because he observed how he threshed his corn with all his might; and seest thou a man diligent in his business? whatever his business is, he shall stand before kings. He that is faithful in a few things shall be ruler over many. Gideon was a man of a brave active spirit, and yet buried alive in obscurity, through the iniquity of the times; but he is here animated to undertake something great, like himself, with that word, the Lord is with thee, or, as the Chaldee reads it, the Word of the Lord is thy help. It was very sure that the Lord was with him when this angel was with him. By this word,
[1.] He gives him his commission. If we have God's presence with us, this will justify us and bear us out in our undertakings.
[2.] He inspires him with all necessary qualifications for the execution of his commission.
"The Lord is with thee to guide and strengthen thee, to animate and support thee."
[3.] He assures him of success; for, if God be for us, who can prevail against us? If he be with us, nothing can be wanting to us. The presence of God with us is all in all to our prosperity, whatever we do. Gideon was a mighty man of valour, and yet he could bring nothing to pass without the presence of God, and that presence is enough to make any man mighty in valour and to give a man courage at any time.
(2.) Gideon gave a very melancholy answer to this joyful salutation (Jg 6:13): O my Lord! if the Lord be with us (which the Chaldee reads, Is the Shechinah of the Lord our help? making that the same with the Word of the Lord) why then has all this befallen us?
"all this trouble and distress from the Midianites' incursions, which force me to thresh wheat here by the wine-press--all this loss, and grief, and fright; and where are all the miracles which our fathers told us of?"
Observe, In his reply he regards not the praise of his own valour, nor does this in the least elevate him or give him any encouragement, though it is probable the angel adapted what he said to that which Gideon was at the same time thinking of; while his labouring hands were employed about his wheat, his working head and daring heart were meditating Israel's rescue and Midian's ruin, with which thought he that knows the heart seasonably sets in, calls him a man of valour for his brave projects, and open him a way to put them in execution; yet Gideon, as if not conscious to himself of any thing great or encouraging in his own spirit, fastens only on the assurance the angel had given him of God's presence, as that by which they held all their comfort. Observe, The angel spoke in particular to him: The Lord is with thee; but he expostulates for all: If the Lord be with us, herding himself with the thousands of Israel, and admitting no comfort but what they might be sharers in, so far is he from the thoughts of monopolizing it, though he had so fair an occasion given him. Note, Public spirits reckon that only an honour and joy to themselves which puts them in a capacity of serving the common interests of God's church. Gideon was a mighty man of valour, but as yet weak in faith, which makes it hard to him to reconcile to the assurances now given him of the presence of God,
[1.] The distress to which Israel was reduced: Why has all this (and all this was no little) befallen us? Note, It is sometimes hard, but never impossible, to reconcile cross providences with the presence of God and his favour.
[2.] The delay of their deliverance:
"Where are all the miracles which our fathers told us of? Why does not the same power which delivered our fathers from the yoke of the Egyptians deliver us out of the hands of the Midianites?"
As if because God did not immediately work miracles for their deliverance, though they had by their sins forfeited his favour and help, it must be questioned whether ever he had wrought the miracles which their fathers told them of, or, if he had, whether he had now the same wisdom, and power, and good-will to his people, that he had had formerly. This was his weakness. We must not expect that the miracles which were wrought when a church was in the forming, and some great truth in the settling, should be continued and repeated when the formation and settlement are completed: no, nor that the mercies God showed to our fathers that served him, and kept close to him, should be renewed to us, if we degenerate and revolt from him. Gideon ought not to have said either, First, That God had delivered them into the hands of the Midianites, for by their iniquities they had sold themselves, or, Secondly, That now they were in their hands he had forsaken them, for he had lately sent them a prophet (Jg 6:8), which was a certain indication that he had not forsaken them.
(3.) The angel gave him a very effectual answer to his objections, by giving him a commission to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Midianites, and assuring him of success therein, Jg 6:14. Now the angel is called Jehovah, for he speaks as one having authority, and not as a messenger.
[1.] There was something extraordinary in the look he now gave to Gideon; it was a gracious favourable look, which revived his spirits that dropped, and silenced his fears, such a look as that with which God's countenance beholds the upright, Ps 11:7. He looked upon him, and smiled at the objections he made, which he gave him no direct answer to, but girded and clothed him with such power as would shortly enable him to answer them himself, and make him ashamed that ever he had made them. It was a speaking look, like Christ's upon Peter Lu 22:61, a powerful look, a look that strangely darted new light and life into Gideon's breast, and inspired him with a generous heat, far above what he felt before.
[2.] But there was much more in what he said to him. First, He commissioned him to appear and act as Israel's deliverer.
Secondly, He assured him of success. This was enough to put courage into him; he might be confident he should not miscarry in the attempt; it should not turn either to his own disgrace or the damage of his people (as baffled enterprises do), but to his honour and their happiness: Thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites, and so shalt not only be an eye-witness, but a glorious instrument, of such wonders as thy fathers told thee of. Gideon, we may suppose, looked as one astonished at this strange and surprising power conferred upon him, and questions whether he may depend upon what he hears: the angel ratifies his commission with a teste meipso--an appeal to his own authority; there needed no more.
"Have not I commanded thee--I that have all power in heaven and earth, and particular authority here as Israel's King, giving commissions immediately--I who am that I am, the same that sent Moses?"
Ex 3:14.
...
The angel gives him a sign in and by that which he had kindly prepared for his entertainment. For what we offer to God for his glory, and in token of our gratitude to him, will be made by the grace of God to turn to our own comfort and satisfaction. The angel ordered him to take the flesh and bread out of the basket, and lay it upon a hard and cold rock, and to pour out the broth upon it, which, if he brought it hot, would soon be cold there; and Gideon did so (Jg 6:20), believing that the angel appointed it, not in contempt of his courtesy, but with an intention to give him a sign, which he did, abundantly to his satisfaction. For,
[1.] He turned the meat into an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto himself, showing hereby that he was not a man who needed meat, but the Son of God who was to be served and honoured by sacrifice, and who in the fulness of time was to make himself a sacrifice.
[2.] He brought fire out of the rock, to consume this sacrifice, summoning it, not by striking the rock, as we strike fire out of a flint, but by a gentle touch given to the offering with the end of his staff, Jg 6:21. Hereby he gave him a sign that he had found grace in his sight, for God testified his acceptance of sacrifices by kindling them, if public, with fire from heaven, as those of Moses and Elias, if private, as this, with fire out of the earth, which was equivalent: both were the effect of divine power; and this acceptance of his sacrifice evidenced the acceptance of his person, confirmed his commission, and perhaps was intended to signify his success in the execution of it, that he and his army should be a surprising terror and consumption to the Midianites, like this fire out of the rock.
[3.] He departed out of his sight immediately, did not walk off as a man, but vanished and disappeared as a spirit. Here was as much of a sign as he could wish.
(8.) Gideon, though no doubt he was confirmed in his faith by the indications given of the divinity of the person who had spoken to him, yet for the present was put into a great fright by it, till God graciously pacified him and removed his fears.
The substance of what he said to him:
"The Lord spoke peace, and created that fruit of the lips, bade me be easy when I was in that agitation."
Or,
(3.) A prayer grounded upon what he had said, so the margin understands it: The Lord send peace, that is, rest from the present trouble, for still the public welfare lay nearest his heart.
25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: {even: or, and}
26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. {rock: Heb. strong place} {in the ordered...: or, in an orderly manner}
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.
31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.
32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar. {Jerubbaal: that is, Let Baal plead} {Jerubbesheth: that is, Let the shameful thing plead}
Easton's Bible Dictionary - Baal
Baal [N] [B] [H] [S]
lord.
The name appropriated to the principal male god of the Phoenicians. It is found in several places in the plural BAALIM ( Judges 2:11 ; 10:10 ; 1 Kings 18:18 ; Jeremiah 2:23 ; Hosea 2:17 ). Baal is identified with Molech ( Jeremiah 19:5 ). It was known to the Israelites as Baal-peor ( Numbers 25:3 ; Deuteronomy 4:3 ), was worshipped till the time of Samuel ( 1 Samuel 7:4 ), and was afterwards the religion of the ten tribes in the time of Ahab ( 1 Kings 16:31-33 ; 1 Kings 18:19 1 Kings 18:22 ). It prevailed also for a time in the kingdom of Judah ( 2 Kings 8:27 ; comp 11:18 ; 16:3 ; 2 Chr 28:2 ), till finally put an end to by the severe discipline of the Captivity ( Zephaniah 1:4-6 ). The priests of Baal were in great numbers ( 1 Kings 18:19 ), and of various classes ( 2 Kings 10:19 ). Their mode of offering sacrifices is described in 1 Kings 18:25-29 . The sun-god, under the general title of Baal, or "lord," was the chief object of worship of the Canaanites. Each locality had its special Baal, and the various local Baals were summed up under the name of Baalim, or "lords." Each Baal had a wife, who was a colourless reflection of himself.
33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him. {came...: Heb. clothed} {gathered: Heb. called}
35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. {gathered: Heb. called}
36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
Jg 7:1 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.
https://www.gotquestions.org/Gideon-Jerubbaal.html
Gideon earned the title Jerubbaal (or Jerub-Baal) after he destroyed his family’s altar of Baal. “Because Gideon broke down Baal’s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal that day, saying, ‘Let Baal contend with him’” (Judges 6:32). The name Jerubbaal means “Baal will contend” and is a combination of two Hebrew words: the first is riyb or rub, which means literally “to grapple” and holds the figurative meaning “to wrangle” or “to hold a controversy.” The second is the proper noun Baal, the name of the Phoenician god that Gideon picked a fight with.
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.
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.
4 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.
At this point I would have been feeling like a very foolish man if I was one of the 300 left to fight the hordes of Midianites. I mean, everybody else gets to go home and here I am just for drinking like a dog. I could have gotten down on my knees but, no...I had to stand up looking around to make sure the enemy wasn't attacking while I drank. What was I thinking?
Then again, I have to wonder what the church at Sardis was thinking:
Re 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
(KJV)
Like the Israel of Gideon's day. almost everyone in the Sardis church was lost in failure to worship God.
Sardis was the old capitol city of Lydia. (Not the woman Lydia we just talked about.)
http://www.ancient.eu/lydia/
Lydia was a region of western Asia Minor which prospered due to its natural resources and position on trading routes between the Mediterranean and Asia. The Kingdom of Lydia flourished in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE and expanded to its greatest extent during the reign of Croesus, famed for his great wealth. Lydia then became a Persian satrapy with its capital at Sardis. Conquered by Alexander the Great, Lydia was absorbed into the Seleucid Empire in the Hellenistic Period. Part of the Roman province of Asia, Lydia was made a separate province in the 3rd century CE. (Or A.D.)
(Side note: Again the intellectual atheism hinted at by declaring an entirely different division of the calendar. BCE Before Christian Era. CE Christian Era. Did whoever came up with this idea stop and think and realize that only Christ has divided the calendar? Did they ever stop and think no other religious figure does that? Did they ever think the term Christian has the name Christ in it? Was it merely their intent to annoy? Did they realize they made Him even important in their own minds by doing this and by taking the time to try and find some way to reduce the impact of Christ? They were working to get God out of the calendar and only pointed out how very important He is to them.)
The way Gideon's Era Israel worked to get God out by their worship of the idols, even as the tabernacle stood witness that He was still there.
Return to Judges 7:
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:
11 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. {armed men: or, ranks by five}
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.
15 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. {interpretation: Heb. breaking}
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. {a trumpet...: Heb. trumpets in the hand of all of them} {lamps: or, firebrands, or, torches}
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 Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath. {in: or, toward} {border: Heb. lip}
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 Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah 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.
Now comes another interesting part. Gideon has followed God and God has defeated the Midians' alliance, leading them to think a great army pursues them because of the clamor and lights of Gideon' forces in the night .
Some end times comparisons occur in the battle:
https://www.wake-up.org/newsletter-archive/day-star-newsletter/seven-cycles-of-apostasy-servitude-and-restoration-april-2002.html
Gideon and his army shattered the stillness of the night. Out of nowhere there came "a large army" with lights and trumpets. Generals in ancient times customarily directed their armies by the sound of "a" trumpet. The emphasis here on the word "a" is important. If there were many trumpets, no one would know which trumpet to follow. A soldier would hear multiple trumpets when various battalions converged on a battle. When the Midianites awoke to the sound of 300 trumpets, they had one thought. "We are out gunned and vastly out numbered!" Their resulting panic confirms this point.
When God’s judgments (the seven trumpets) begin, the world will be taken by complete surprise. The world will awaken to a new reality. The inhabitants of Earth will realize there is a living God and He is a deadly, formidable force. The ensuing panic will confirm this. To those people who have set their face and lives against God’s laws, this will come as a complete surprise – like a sneak attack. God is about to send panic through the camp of His enemies. Eventually, the wicked will be destroyed and the saints of God will at last, have peace on Earth! The occupation of His land will be over and the saints will live happily ever after.
In ancient times, wars were not typically fought in darkness. It was too risky. Warfare was often hand-to-hand and close proximity to the enemy was necessary. In total darkness, it is impossible to tell a friend from an enemy! When Gideon’s army startled the sleeping Midianites with shouting, 300 blazing lamps and 300 blaring trumpets, the Midianites instinctively knew they could not survive the battle. The Lord filled the hearts of Israel’s enemy with overwhelming panic so that they fled in fear.
This scenario also describes how the wicked will feel when the Great Tribulation begins. Fear will be everywhere. Anxiety will be out of control. Jesus said there will be distress that has no equal since the beginning of the world! (Matthew 24:21) Paul wrote, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." (Hebrews 10:26,27) During the Great Tribulation, wicked people will have no rest, day or night (Revelation 14:11) because the Lord will fill their hearts with fear and anxiety.
Now Gideon gets the "no respect" Rodney Dangerfield thing going on.
Jg 8:1 And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply. {Why...: Heb. What thing is this thou hast done unto us} {sharply: Heb. strongly}
"Now that you've won, WE want the glory we would have gotten if we'd come to help you."
Last post, we talked about the conflict of ego and Christ. It gets perfect display here. No complaint that they didn't get to serve God in the battle. No comment on how they wish to thank God they got to serve in the clean up action. Just their human desire for the personal glory of the victory.
2 And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
3 God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that. {anger: Heb. spirit}
And Gideon follows God's leading.
Later in time, Solomon will counsel:
Pr 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
(KJV)
Gideon doesn't argue or raise his voice in defense or chastise them for not taking up arms in the main battle. He merely tells them they are much better than him since their victory has killed off the kings. He wins them over and wins the confidence of is 300 in him as a leader.
4 And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.
5 And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
6 And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?
7 And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers. {tear: Heb. thresh}
8 And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
9 And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword. {men that...: or, every one drawing a sword}
11 And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was secure.
12 And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host. {discomfited: Heb. terrified}
13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,
14 And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men. {described: Heb. writ}
15 And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth. {taught: Heb. made to know}
17 And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
18 Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king. {resembled...: Heb. according to the form, etc}
19 And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
20 And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks. {ornaments: or, ornaments like the moon}
We see the failure of Gideon's son. He has shown he is not fit to rule. Gideon meanwhile has seized the day and become violent in every intent. It is his vengeance that gets the attention of the people. Not his honoring of God.
22 Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.
After his victory in the Revolution, "Washington rejected a movement among army officers to make him King of the United States, saying, 'I didn't fight George III to become George I.'"
So, Now You Know by Harry Bright and Harlan Briscoe
Gideon carries it farther and states God's will for Israel. What was always His will for Israel: to be their only king. God has refused to name any man king. Some assume it is because he wanted them to wait for David, but David could as easily have been a Gideon judge as the king. God actually seems to want them to wait for the arrival of Jesus.
24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks. {collars: or, sweet jewels}
27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
He defeated idol worshipers only t create an idol himself. The earrings were by Law sign of slavery in Israel and the melted earrings became a sign of the slavery Israel still had to idols.
28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.
30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives. {of his...: Heb. going out of his thigh}
31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech. {called: Heb. set}
32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
34 And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:
35 Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.
(KJV)
Meanwhile, back at this "date" in Church history,
Re 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
https://rcg.org/pillar/1206pp-lftse.html
Sardis was a city of legends.
It was the capital of the sixth-century empire of the Lydians, whose kings were thought to be the descendants of Hercules. Midas, the mythical ruler whose touch turned everything to gold, was thought to have bathed in the Pactolus River, near the metropolis, and filled its waters with gold. Nearby Mt. Tmolus was considered the birthplace of the Greek god of wine and revelry, Bacchus.
At its height, Sardis was a land of riches and military might. There were high concentrations of gold dust in the river, which translated into sumptuous wealth. Historians consider Lydians the first to mint gold and silver coins, as well as the first to build permanent retail shops. The city’s fortress, perched atop an imposing hill, was seemingly impregnable.
During the end of the first century AD, Sardis remained a booming cultural center. Due to its prime location on a trade route, its wool and carpet industry, and thriving economy, the city “lived the high life.” The area hosted the grand temple of Artemis, one of the seven largest Greek temples, and was the center of worship for the nature goddess Cybele.
A type of religious freedom flourished in Sardis. Despite the city’s worship of patron gods, non-believers did not live under fear of persecution. Archaeological digs have uncovered shops owned by Jews and Christians built side by side. This religious tolerance is perhaps best seen in the Jewish synagogue in Sardis, which was constructed as part of the city’s gymnasium-bath complex.
Although the city appeared magnificent, Sardis had been under the rule of other powers since Persia’s King Cyrus the Great took the city’s “impregnable” acropolis in about 547 BC. After this, control went to the Greeks, and then the Romans. Its once-great power was soon relegated to legend and myth.
Next a comment from Barclay:
Outsiders cast Sardis in a poor light, and for good reason. In the book Letters to the Seven Churches, University of Glasgow professor William Barclay stated that “even on the pagan lips, Sardis was a name of contempt.”
Barclay continued, “Its people were notoriously loose-living, notoriously pleasure- and luxury-loving. Sardis was a city of decadence. In the old days it had been a frontier town on the borders of Phrygia, but now it was a by-word for slack and effeminate living. Every day Sardis grew wealthier, but the more wealthy it grew, the more it lost all claim to greatness.”
Amid this “pleasure- and luxury-loving,” “loose-living” city of tolerance was a group of Christians. But the congregation had begun taking on the temperature of society around them.
The facts of history regarding the downfall of this city offer a cautionary tale for Christians today.
http://www.history.com/topics/reformation
The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice. They argued for a religious and political redistribution of power into the hands of Bible- and pamphlet-reading pastors and princes. The disruption triggered wars, persecutions and the so-called Counter-Reformation, the Catholic Church’s delayed but forceful response to the Protestants.
Historians usually date the start of the Protestant Reformation to the 1517 publication of Martin Luther’s “95 Theses.” Its ending can be placed anywhere from the 1555 Peace of Augsburg, which allowed for the coexistence of Catholicism and Lutheranism in Germany, to the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years’ War. The key ideas of the Reformation—a call to purify the church and a belief that the Bible, not tradition, should be the sole source of spiritual authority—were not themselves novel. However, Luther and the other reformers became the first to skillfully use the power of the printing press to give their ideas a wide audience.
THE REFORMATION: GERMANY AND LUTHERANISM
Martin Luther (1483-1546) was an Augustinian monk and university lecturer in Wittenberg when he composed his “95 Theses,” which protested the pope’s sale of reprieves from penance, or indulgences. Although he had hoped to spur renewal from within the church, in 1521 he was summoned before the Diet of Worms and excommunicated. Sheltered by Friedrich, elector of Saxony, Luther translated the Bible into German and continued his output of vernacular pamphlets.
When German peasants, inspired in part by Luther’s empowering “priesthood of all believers,” revolted in 1524, Luther sided with Germany’s princes. By the Reformation’s end, Lutheranism had become the state religion throughout much of Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltics.
THE REFORMATION: SWITZERLAND AND CALVINISM
The Swiss Reformation began in 1519 with the sermons of Ulrich Zwingli, whose teachings largely paralleled Luther’s. In 1541 John Calvin, a French Protestant who had spent the previous decade in exile writing his “Institutes of the Christian Religion,” was invited to settle in Geneva and put his Reformed doctrine—which stressed God’s power and humanity’s predestined fate—into practice. The result was a theocratic regime of enforced, austere morality.
Calvin’s Geneva became a hotbed for Protestant exiles, and his doctrines quickly spread to Scotland, France, Transylvania and the Low Countries, where Dutch Calvinism became a religious and economic force for the next 400 years.
THE REFORMATION: ENGLAND AND THE “MIDDLE WAY”
In England, the Reformation began with Henry VIII’s quest for a male heir. When Pope Clement VII refused to annul Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he could remarry, the English king declared in 1534 that he alone should be the final authority in matters relating to the English church. Henry dissolved England’s monasteries to confiscate their wealth and worked to place the Bible in the hands of the people. Beginning in 1536, every parish was required to have a copy.
After Henry’s death, England tilted toward Calvinist-infused Protestantism during Edward VI’s six-year reign and then endured five years of reactionary Catholicism under Mary I. In 1559 Elizabeth I took the throne and, during her 44-year reign, cast the Church of England as a “middle way” between Calvinism and Catholicism, with vernacular worship and a revised Book of Common Prayer.
THE COUNTER-REFORMATION
The Catholic Church was slow to respond systematically to the theological and publicity innovations of Luther and the other reformers. The Council of Trent, which met off and on from 1545 through 1563, articulated the Church’s answer to the problems that triggered the Reformation and to the reformers themselves.
The Catholic Church of the Counter-Reformation era grew more spiritual, more literate and more educated. New religious orders, notably the Jesuits, combined rigorous spirituality with a globally minded intellectualism, while mystics such as Teresa of Avila injected new passion into the older orders. Inquisitions, both in Spain and in Rome, were reorganized to fight the threat of Protestant heresy.
THE REFORMATION’S LEGACY
Along with the religious consequences of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation came deep and lasting political changes. Northern Europe’s new religious and political freedoms came at a great cost, with decades of rebellions, wars and bloody persecutions. The Thirty Years’ War alone may have cost Germany 40 percent of its population.
But the Reformation’s positive repercussions can be seen in the intellectual and cultural flourishing it inspired on all sides of the schism—in the strengthened universities of Europe, the Lutheran church music of J.S. Bach, the baroque altarpieces of Pieter Paul Rubens and even the capitalism of Dutch Calvinist merchants.
From Got Questions:
As a background to the history of Protestantism and the Reformation, it is important to understand the Catholic claim of apostolic succession. This doctrine says that the line of Roman Catholic popes extends through the centuries all the way from the apostle Peter to the current pope. This unbroken chain of authority makes the Roman Catholic Church the only true church and gives the pope preeminence over all churches everywhere.
Because of their belief in apostolic succession and the infallibility of the pope (when speaking ex cathedra), Catholics place church teaching and tradition on a level equal to Scripture itself. This is one of the major differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants and was one of the foundational issues leading to the Protestant Reformation.
Even prior to the Protestant Reformation, there were pockets of resistance to some of the unbiblical practices of the Roman Catholic Church, yet they were relatively small and isolated. The Lollards, the Waldensians, and the Petrobrusians all took a stand against certain Catholic doctrines. Before Luther ever picked up a hammer and headed to Chapel Church, there were men who had stood up for reform and the true gospel. Among them were John Wycliffe, an English theologian and Oxford professor who was condemned as a heretic in 1415; Jan Hus, a priest from Bohemia who was burned at the stake in 1415 for his opposition to the Church of Rome; and Girolamo Savonarola, an Italian friar who was hanged and burned in 1498.
The opposition to the false teaching of the Roman Catholic Church came to a head in the sixteenth century when Luther, a Roman Catholic monk, challenged the authority of the pope and, in particular, the selling of indulgences. Rather than heed the call to reform, the Roman Catholic Church dug in its heels and sought to silence the Reformers. Eventually, new churches emerged from the Reformation, forming four major divisions of Protestantism: Luther’s followers started the Lutheran Church, Calvin’s followers started the Reformed Church, John Knox’s followers started the Presbyterian Church in Scotland (using Calvinistic doctrine), and, later, Reformers in England started the Anglican Church.
At the heart of the Protestant Reformation lay four basic questions:
How is a person saved?
Where does religious authority lie?
What is the church?
What is the essence of Christian living?
In answering these questions, Protestant Reformers developed what would be known as the “Five Solas” (sola being the Latin word for “alone”). These five essential points of biblical doctrine clearly separate Protestantism from Roman Catholicism. The Reformers resisted the demands placed on them to recant these doctrines, even to the point of death. The five essential doctrines of the Protestant Reformation are as follows:
1 - Sola Scriptura, “Scripture Alone.” The Bible alone is the sole authority for all matters of faith and practice. Scripture and Scripture alone is the standard by which all teachings and traditions of the church must be measured. As Martin Luther so eloquently stated when told to recant his teachings, “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.”
2 - Sola Gratia, “Salvation by Grace Alone.” Salvation is proof of God’s undeserved favor; we are rescued from God’s wrath by His grace alone, not by any work we do. God’s blessing in Christ is the sole efficient cause of salvation. This grace is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit who brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.
3 - Sola Fide, “Salvation by Faith Alone.” We are justified by faith in Christ alone, not by the works of the Law. It is by faith in Christ that His righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God’s perfect standard.
4 - Solus Christus, “In Christ Alone.” Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone; no one and nothing else can save. Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross is sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to God the Father. The gospel has not been preached if Christ’s redemption is not declared and if faith in His resurrection is not solicited.
5 - Soli Deo Gloria, “For the Glory of God Alone.” Salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God for His glory alone. As Christians we must magnify Him always and live our lives in His presence, under His authority, and for His glory.
These five important doctrines are the reason for the Protestant Reformation. They are at the heart of the Reformers’ call for the church to return to biblical teaching. The Five Solas are just as important today in evaluating a church and its teachings as they were in the sixteenth century.
Because, I would add, Catholicism still exists and, if you listen to it's radio broadcasts, is as much opposed to true Gospel today as then. Because there are forces outside both churches that have infiltrated and are in the process of distorting the truths of both,
The Catholic church was almost dead in it's corruption. The Borgias were the epitome of what happened under the previous church age:
http://www.historytoday.com/alexander-lee/were-borgias-really-so-bad
"Renaissance Italy was dominated by rich and powerful families whose reputations have been shaped by the many dark and dastardly deeds they committed. In quattrocento Florence, the Medici bought, bribed, and blackmailed their way to the top; in Rimini, the Malatesta flitted continually between self-destructive megalomania and near psychopathic brutality; and in Milan, the Sforza were every by as infamous for their sexual proclivities as they were for their political ruthlessness. But in this devilish roll-call of nefarious names, none sends such a chill up the spine as that of ‘Borgia’.
"It is impossible to imagine a family more heavily tainted by the stains of sin and immorality, and – as even those who have not seen the eponymous television series will know – there is scarcely one of their number who does not seem to be cloaked in an aura of iniquity. The founder of the family’s fortunes, Alfons de Borja (1378-1458) – who reigned as Pope Callixtus III – was decried even by his closest allies as the “scandal of [his] age” for his monstrously corrupt ways. His nephew, Rodrigo (1431-1503) – who he himself elevated to the cardinalate, and who would be elected Pope Alexander VI in 1492 – was reputed to be even worse. Accused of buying the papacy, he would later be besmirched by rumours so severe that the Venetian diplomat Girolamo Priuli felt able to claim he had “given his soul and body to the great demon in Hell”. Indeed, as the papal master of ceremonies, Johann Burchard, was to contend in the middle of Alexander’s reign:
"There is no longer any crime or shameful act that does not take place in public in Rome and in the home of the Pontiff. Who could fail to be horrified by the…terrible, monstrous acts of lechery that are committed openly in his home, with no respect for God or man? Rapes and acts of incest are countless…[and]great throngs of courtesans frequent St. Peter’s Palace, pimps, brothels, and whorehouses are to be found everywhere!
"But worse still was the reputation of Alexander’s children, and Burchard’s blithe comment that they were “utterly depraved” barely begins to cover the crimes with which they were associated in the contemporary imagination. Lucrezia (1480-1519) – with whom the pope was reputed to have slept – was cast not only as a whore, but also as a poisoner, a murderer, and a witch. And Cesare (1475/6-1507) – the most handsome, dashing, and despicable Borgia of all – was widely believed to have killed his elder brother Juan in a fit of jealousy, bedded his sister, and embarked on a campaign of slaughter and conquest aimed at carving a kingdom out of the scattered states of Northern Italy."
Perhaps the worst comment on that comes from this same article which was written to say this:
On the other hand, even those crimes of which the Borgias were guilty weren’t anything out of the ordinary. Indeed, when the evidence is interrogated more carefully, it is apparent that the Borgias were entirely typical of the families who were continually vying for the papal throne during the Renaissance.
Simply put, the previous church age led to the "Sardis" age where the war with the Protestant movement became a losing battle. The state church had little life in itself but what was there was raised to new consciousness even as the divergent grew in strength. But look again at Gideon's failures:
25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks. {collars: or, sweet jewels}
27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.
30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives. {of his...: Heb. going out of his thigh}
31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech. {called: Heb. set}
32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Gideon created a new idolatry, had many wives and generally succumbed to the temptations of fame. Remember he did not have the Holy Spirit inside just as the Church at Sardis had no guidance because they chose not to seek it and because they were led by those who were so embroiled in the world that they drove off true believers. The idols of the world had invaded. So too the reformation churches. But the new revolutionaries began as an objection to the policies of oppression. They only later rose to the level of complete rejection of the old idols of money and power and developed fully the five truths.
Some closing thoughts from No King in Israel:
"In Sardis, the Lord presents Himself as the one who has “the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars.” (Revelation 3:1). He is the One who exercises sovereign control over His church and over those who, like the stars, bear responsibility to guide in the dark night of its experience. His desire is to have His people subject to His sovereign control and not dominated by men who fit the characteristic of having “a name that thou livest, and art dead,” (Revelation 3:1).
"Sardis seems to refer to the entire Protestant system that resulted from that great movement of God called the Reformation. We see that, like God’s work under Gideon, He raised up men who, though conscious of their own weakness, acted for God and in dependence on God to bring deliverance. However, this sadly only resulted in those and other men seeking to use political power to control what men believed and practiced, and this would be seen typically in the abominable conditions that resulted after Gideon’s death under Abimelech’s domination (Judges 9). The Lord says to the church in Revelation 3:2, that “I have not found thy works perfect before God.” Another translation indicates that the Lord is saying that in His sight, no works were perfect before God. This was the case in the Reformation, and it has resulted in men, as always, falling short of the Divine ideal and failing to respond perfectly to the desires of God’s heart. The fragmented state of Christendom today is only the result of men failing to return entirely to the basic principles of God’s Word with subjection to Divine authority.
"However, the Lord also identifies among them in Sardis, a few faithful ones who he describes as “a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments,” (Revelation 3:4). Jotham, in Judges 9, would correspond with those who are identified as overcomers and who refused to be dominated by man’s rule as seen in Abimelech. During and following the Reformation period, there were those who stood apart from the state church system and who sought to remain faithful to the truths of God’s Word and show loyalty to the Lord in belief and practice. These included those persecuted believers identified as “Anabaptists” and others who were also fiercely persecuted and martyred by those in the “Protestant” camp, even as they had been by the Roman Catholic system. This condition of persecution and offense connected with faithfulness to the Lord has not changed, and no doubt, it will always be true until the Lord comes.
"Again, directly referring this part of Israel’s history in Judges 6-9 to the time of the reformation, we think of the strife, wars and fighting that existed during that period. Time and space doesn’t allow a more complete consideration of the intrigues of the Roman Catholic system, fighting between the popes and the political powers, and the conflicts that also existed between the different parties of the reformation. It makes sad reading, considering what God intended to accomplish to bring deliverance to His people, but which fell so far short due to man’s failure. It was a period of conflict that robbed God’s people of their peace and prevented them from enjoying spiritual food and prosperity. We think of the Thirty Years Wars in Europe that had such a devastating effect on the populace, the wars in Bohemia, campaigns against the Albigenses, the Waldenses and other faithful believers, along with the inquisitions that resulted in many martyrs for the faith of Christ. Certainly it was a time of strife, conflict and confusion that arose from man’s greed for power and possessions derived from innocent men. The divisions among “Protestants” that exist today began, in part, at that early stage, and they continue to cause strife and division among God’s people."
Next time a discussion of the church everyone wants to be in. Then a discussion of the one every fears they are in today.
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