Friday, October 22, 2004
The Seven Sleepers Martyred in Ephesos
Kellia: Judges 7:1-18 Epistle: Colossians 2:1-7 Gospel: St. Luke 9:12-18
Judges 7:1-18, especially vs. 2: "The Lord said to Gideon, 'The
people with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt
themselves against Me, saying, 'My own hand has delivered me.'" This reading from Judges
describes a process of selecting soldiers to take up the battle against the Midianites; it was a
process carefully managed by God. Viewed from another perspective, the passage portrays a de-selection process in which the majority who "were called out to follow" (Jdg. 6:34,35) Gideon
were not chosen. The majority of us in the Church have not been ordained Deacons and Priests.
Very few of us are Bishops. Most of us are not monastics, missionaries, or those engaged in
other special ministries of the Church. We have not been chosen because of age, gender, prior
choices, training, inclination, or aptitude. Are we less servants of the Lord for not being chosen?
Not at all! Each generation, occasion, and ministry has very specific needs and requirements.
When we place ourselves mentally in the shoes of those who have been "called out" to some
particular ministry within the Church, we may see no precise reason why those who were called
and passed through the selection processes of the Church were chosen while we were not. The
present passage reveals three causes why some are chosen for various ministries and some are
not: 1) the overarching factor in every call is the movement of the Spirit of God upon the entire
People of God, or as the Apostle Paul says, "there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were
called in one hope of your calling" (Eph. 4:4). 2) After the general call, there are many specific
reasons why one may or may not enter a ministry of the Church, and 3) finally, there is the
operation of God's hand, selecting and deselecting those whose hearts He knows.
At the time of the Midianite invasion, Scripture reports that "the Spirit of the Lord took
possession of Gideon; and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out" along
with others from nearby tribes in Israel (Jdg. 6:34,35). The movement of the Spirit was not only
upon Gideon, but on many of the men of Israel, thirty-two thousand all told. God's Spirit is
constantly moving His People to fulfill the ministries that accomplish the Church's mission in the
world. While the Spirit creates a sense of urgency about God's work throughout the Church,
still, being called to any specific task is not an inherent function of His general calling.
A major watershed in the de-selection process came because God knew that "the people with
[Gideon were] too many" (Jdg. 7:2). Having too many in the battle would tempt Israel to believe
"they" had won the battle and to lose their dependence on "Him" (vs. 2). God therefore had
Gideon issue a caution: "Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home" (vs. 3). Do not
think at this point that those who quit the field were cowards. From the Lord Jesus we learn
many types of "fear and trembling." Among these are concern for property management
(Lk.14:18,19), issues of marriage and family (Lk.14:20), attachment to one's possessions
(Mt.19:21,22), and finding the Lord's demands too hard to accept (Jn. 6:60-66). Perhaps two-thirds or more of us fall in these categories and are not suited for certain specific ministries.
Then there was "the drinking test" (Jdg. 7:4-7). Read it carefully. Those who lapped up the
water, hands to their mouths, did not kneel down on all fours to get a good drink (vs. 6). Those
who lapped from their hands stood, like soldiers, ready for combat, not on their knees and
defenseless. They were not distracted by slaking their thirst. God gave these three-hundred to
Gideon for the operation. Note: God remains the final arbiter in all choices to enter any ministry.
O Spirit of all power and knowledge, guide Thy Church in choosing suitable persons for the
several ministries of Thy Church that we may all devoutly and truly serve Thee.
