A Few (Hundred) Chosen

'Everyone who laps at the water with his tongue

as a dog laps, you are to set him apart.'

"And Adonai said to Gid'on, 

'Too many are the people who are with you 

for My giving Mid'yan into their hands,

lest Yis'rael glorify itself against Me, saying,

"By my own hand has salvation been

given to me..."

And Adonai said to Gid'on, 'Everyone

who laps the water with his tongue as a

dog laps, you are to set him apart'...

And the number of those lapping...

was three hundred...

And Adonai said to Gid'on, 

'By the three hundred men who

are lapping, I will save you and will

give Mid'yan into your hand."

Shof'tiym (Judges) 7:2, 5-7

Too often we give in to our doubts and fears,

believing that Adonai cannot or will not

continue to save us.

These fears are not only rooted in

lack of faith in Him, but, they also spring

from our own arrogance.

True faith requires zero self-reliance.

We need to understand that total

deliverance is birthed from complete

dependence on Adonai.

Indeed, our participation in

our own salvation is minimal-

all we have to do is

accept and submit.

When Gid'on set out to fight Mid'yan,

he had over 30,000 men...

but then Adonai began to send them home.

Of the ten thousand who were unafraid

to face Mid'yan, Adonai chose a mere 300

to complete the task-

just 1% of the original fighting force.

Why did God do this?

So that Yis'rael would not be able

to boast against Adonai saying,

"By my own hand has salvation

been given to me."

Adonai's process of elimination

speaks to His sovereign ability to save:

not only did He not need thousands,

but a few hundred that remained were

chosen because of their remarkable

dog-like qualities.

Our natural inclination is to enter a

difficult situation decked out for war.

We don our strongest armor and take

tens of thousands of our best warriors

with us.

We bring tons of artillery and great

weapons of destruction to pulverize

the enemy with sheer might.

We strategize and make provision

for all contingencies, and we psych

ourselves up for the battle.

Now imagine standing before 

an enemy horde, naked and alone,

holding only a box of rubber bands

and some paper clips.

This was Gid'on.

We will not win the battles before us

because we possess the strength to do it.

On the contrary, victory in Messiah

is at best 1% us-but in reality,

it's all Him.

The Lord will use us as we are,

dog-like and all.

He will work in our lives

in ways we don't expect or even

think are possible.

What we bring to the table in

our relationship with God is of

no consequence where our salvation is

concerned. He does not ask us to

take control of or manage 

our deliverance.

He wants us to let Him

complete us, save us...

and then deliver our enemies

into our hands.

Adonai, forgive my arrogance.

Teach me, God, to rely solely on You-

to put no stock in my ability to provide

for or protect myself.

Abba, only You can build a

winning army of three hundred

from thirty thousand.

Show me how to present myself

before You,

the dog that I am, and know

that I am clean and worthy

of being used by

Your mighty hand.

I bless Your Name, Adonai,

for only by Your strength

am I saved...

"1% You"

Taken from the

"Messianic Mo'adiym Devotional

Messianic Jewish Devotionals

For Israel's Annual Feasts, Fasts,

And Appointed Times"

By Kevin Geoffrey

Perfect Word Ministries