Good morning. My father was reluctant to share stories from his experiences in WWII. At last, near the end of his life, he spoke of it, at least a little. I was amazed to hear that he, like most of the Marines on Guadalcanal, was more afraid of the saltwater crocodiles that had a habit of waiting for him at night in his fox hole than he was of the enemy. Weird.
These days, we hear about lazer weapons, rail guns that take a ship to hold them, and electronic weapons that hit their target from a thousand miles away. Incredible.
But today I would like to have us think back to a truly crazy way to fight a war. We read about it in Judges 6-7. It is the story of Gideon and of God’s great victory over the Midianites.
As usual, when things had become calm and blessed, the people of Israel became lax in their faith and rebelled against God. When this happened, God withdrew His hand of protection and they began to fall prey to the abuse of the Midianites, a country near them. Our hero, Gideon, was found by God hiding in the bottom of a wine press. God convinced him to raise an army and attack the Midianites. He raised the army, about 32,000 men, but God had him pare that number down to 10,000. That was still too many, so God had Gideon reduce the number to a few hundred. God had that small number of men “surround” the enemy whose numbers were uncountable. To say they surrounded the enemy would be quite an overstatement. There would have been huge gaps between the Israelites who were separated into three companies, but it was enough. God armed them by having each man carry a torch, a horn, and a clay jar. When they were spread around the Midianite camp this is what happened: The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
The enemy fled into the night, terrified of what the Lord would do next. We are told to engage the enemy in battle with similar expectations. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7
Like Gideon we are told to submit to the will of God. Do you suppose that Gideon wondered about the Lord’s plan? It must have seemed like a crazy way to fight a war. But Gideon didn’t argue, he obeyed. When he obeyed, he found that the enemy was terrified of God. The enemy was terrified then, and he hasn’t gained any courage since that time.
The system is pretty easy: 1. Submit your will to the will of God (obey Him). 2. Resist the offers of the enemy no matter how much more reasonable they may sound. 3. Watch the devil run in fear. God’s way to fight a war may seem a bit crazy but it sure is effective!
Vern