Saturday, October 23, 2004
The Holy Apostle James, Brother of the Lord
Kellia: Judges 7:19-8:12 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 Gospel: St. Luke 6:1-10
Judges 7:19-8:12, especially vs. 8:3: "God has given
into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; what have I been able to do in
comparison with you?" The Holy Prophet David, confronted by overwhelming enemies, cried
to the Lord: "They are multiplied more than the hairs of my head, and my heart hath failed me."
But to this he adds, "Let them rejoice and be glad in Thee all they that seek after Thee, O Lord;
and let them that love Thy salvation continually say: The Lord be magnified" (Ps. 39:12,16
LXX). Both parts of David's prayer were foreshadowed in the victories which God gave to all
Israel, but especially to Gideon and his three hundred soldiers. Let their victory prompt us to
have trust in the Lord's salvation on our behalf. In the face of overwhelming enemies that seek to
invade and camp within the heartland of our souls, may the Lord be magnified in our hearts!
When Gideon instructed his three hundred companions to shout, he told them to say, "For the
Lord and for Gideon" (Jdg. 7:18). However, in the moment of battle they enlarged that cry to "A
sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" (vs. 20) How right they were! For it was "the sword of the
Lord" that created mass confusion within the 135,000-man encampment of the Midianites and
Amalekites (see Jdg. 8:10). Read the text: while the Israelites "stood" around the camp (Jdg.
7:21), "the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow and against all the army" (Jdg. 7:12).
Although "the people of the East lay along the valley [in their camp] like locusts for multitude,"
yet they were put to flight by three hundred men who stood still, simply blowing trumpets in
obedience to Gideon. When the enemy invades in overwhelming numbers filling our every
thought and daunting our hope with insuperable odds, the most urgent need we have is to obey
God and those He has set over us in the Church. Let us rely on "the sword of the Lord."
Notice that it was the Lord Who enabled the men of Ephraim to intercept "the two princes of
Midian, Oreb and Zeeb" (vs. 7:25). Though the men of the tribe of Ephraim had not been called
to the initial muster for battle (see Jdgs. 6:34,35), yet when they were called upon to cut off the
enemy retreat, they responded immediately, and "seized the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also
the Jordan" (Jdg. 7:24). They held the fords of the river, there capturing the two princes.
The men of Ephraim captured and destroyed those very princes of Midian who had said, "Let us
take to ourselves for an inheritance the sanctuary of God" (Ps. 82:12 LXX), but in truth, these
enemy rulers were pursued by the Lord Himself Who made "them...as stubble before the face of
the wind" (Ps. 82:13 LXX). Notice also that God truly gave Gideon the humility to soothe the
anger of the Ephraimites for not being called to battle initially (see Jdg. 8:1-3). Let God be
magnified in our struggles to cleanse His sanctuary in our hearts and minds.
Finally, observe how the Lord used that exhausted band of three hundred men to continue
scattering the army from the East (vss. 8:10-12). The text plainly tells us that Gideon's band was
"faint yet pursuing" (vs. 8:4). God is greatly magnified when we continue the battle against our
enemies even when we are faint, for then it will be His strength that is manifested and not ours.
As the Psalmist David says, "Our God is refuge and strength, a helper in afflictions which
mightily befall us" (Ps. 45:1 LXX). Once more, a vastly outnumbered band of God's People did
not ease up in their God-given battle against those who would seize the heritage He had given
them, and, as a result, they were victorious. If we will accept our weakness and give no quarter to
the enemies who come to steal the riches of Christ from us, then the Lord shall be magnified.
O Lord, save Thy People and bless Thine inheritance, granting to Thy People victory over all
their enemies; and by the power of Thy Cross, preserving Thine Estate.