Second Sunday Meditation: Our Mighty God

"The Lord will go forth like a mighty man,

He will rouse up His zealous indignation and vengeance

like a warrior; He will cry, yes, His will shout aloud,

He will do mightily against His enemies."

Isaiah 42:13

El Gibbor
"Our Mighty God"

THE SWORD OF GIDEON

(Judges Chapter Seven)

"Gideon's good words were as victorious as his sword."

-Bishop Joseph Hall

Then Jerubbaal, ("Contender with Baal") that is, 

Gideon, (whose name means, "Destroyer")

 and all the people who were with him

 rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod;

and the camp of Midian was north of them

 by the hill of  Moreh in the valley.

The Lord said to Gideon,  The people who are with you are

too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel

boast about themselves against Me, saying, My own hand has delivered me.

So now proclaim in the ears of the men, saying, Whoever is fearful and

trembling, let him turn back and depart from Mount Gilead. And 22,000

of the men returned, but 10,000 remained.

And the Lord said to Gideon, The men are still too many; bring them

down to the water, and I will test them for you there. And he of whom

I say to you, This man shall go with you, shall go with you; and he of

whom I say to you, This man shall not go with you, shall not go.

So he brought the men down to the water, and the Lord said to Gideon,

Everyone who laps up the water with his tongue as a dog laps it,

you shall set by himself, likewise everyone who bows down on

his knees to drink.

And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth,

was 300 men, but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their

knees to drink water.

And the Lord said to Gideon, With the 300 men who lapped I will

deliver you, and give the Midianites into your hand. Let all the

others return every man to his home.

So the people took their provisions and their trumpets in their hands,

and he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his home and retained

those 300 men. And the host of Midian was below him in the valley.

That same night the Lord said to Gideon, Arise, go down against

their camp, for I have given it into your hands.

But if you fear to go down, go with Purah

 your servant down to the camp.

And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands

shall be strengthened to go down against the camp. Then he

went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the

camp of armed men.

And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of

the east lay along the valley like locusts for multitude; and their

camels were without number, as the sand on the seashore for multitude.

When Gideon arrived, behold, a man was telling a dream to his

comrade. And he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake

of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent

and struck it so that it fell, and turned upside down so that the tent lay flat.

And his comrade replied, This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon,

son of Joash, a man of Israel.  Into his hand God has given Midian

and all the hosts.

When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation,

he worshiped and returned to the camp of Israel and said,

Arise, for the Lord has given into your hand the host of Midian.

And he divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put into

the hands of all of them trumpets and empty pitchers, with

torches inside the pitchers.

And he said to them, Look at me, then do likewise. When I come

to the edge of the camp, do as I do.

When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you

blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout,

For the Lord and for Gideon!

So Gideon and the 100 men who were with him came to the

outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch,

when the guards had just been changed, and they blew the

trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands.

And the three companies blew the trumpets and shattered the pitchers,

holding the torches in their left hands, and in their right hands the

trumpets to blow, leaving no chance to use swords, and they cried,

The sword for the Lord and Gideon!

They stood every man in his place round about the camp,

and all the Midianite army ran-they cried out and fled.

When Gideon's men blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every

Midianite's sword against his comrade and against all the army,

and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far

as the border of Abel-me-holah by Tabbath.

And the men of Israel were called together out of Naphtali

and Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian.

And Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country

of Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites and take

all the intervening fords as far as Beth-barah and also the Jordan.

So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together and took all

the fords as far as Beth-barah and also the Jordan.

And the men of Ephraim took the two princes of Midian,

Oreb and Zeeb, and they slew Oreb at the rock of Oreb,

and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued

Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb

to Gideon beyond the Jordan.

 OUR OBEDIENCE TO GOD BRINGS ULTIMATE VICTORY.

Let The Righteous Be Glad
Zemer Levav
(2011)