Transcription

Connor:
You’re listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun and practical ways.

Chris:
Hey everybody, welcome to The Bible Guys. I’m Chris.

Jeff:
And I’m Jeff.

Chris:
And so you are you, whatever your name is.

Jeff:
Oh, that was terrible. That was rough.

Chris:
Okay. Let’s go on to better things because Desiree has encouraged us to kick off this segment with a thing called Guess the Word. It’s kind of like Taboo.

Jeff:
Oh, and our listeners have an opportunity to make some huge points. So those of you that are longtime listeners and you’ve been collecting points, here’s an opportunity to take a big jump forward.

Chris:
Yes. And so here’s what’s going to happen. Hopefully if you’re watching, we will put the words that I cannot say on the bottom of the screen. And it’s my goal to get Jeff to say the words. We have five words and I’m not allowed to say any of the, uh, but what keywords, right?

Jeff:
And if you accidentally say one of those words, our listeners get a thousand points.

Chris:
Yeah. Yeah.

Jeff:
Which is great. Huge, incredibly generous. Yes. Although I’m on record as saying, why are we giving away a thousand points at a time? It should be like 10,000.

Chris:
Good things are worth fighting for. That’s true. A thousand is generous. You got to teach the value of points, Jeff. Okay. All right. So here we go. Ready? Uh, what being set fire to Gideon’s, uh, offering? An angel. Boom. Wow. Wow. That was easy, right? Cause yesterday, yesterday’s story, I wasn’t allowed to say wings, devil, heaven, halo, or white. Oh, wow. So, so isn’t that, isn’t that easy? That was great. Good job. Good job. I don’t know the rules. I don’t know the rules of this, but I’m, but I’m going to do what I think. And you can tell me whether I violated the rules. Ready? Okay. Okay. Uh, What makes this sound? Wah!

Jeff:
A baby.

Chris:
But done. Yeah. Okay, I wasn’t allowed to say infant, cry, child, boy or diaper.

Jeff:
Yeah, I don’t know if you’re allowed to do sound effects. Huh? I don’t know. She didn’t say. It doesn’t say it in the rules. That’s right. The rules just say if you accidentally say, if you say any of the italicized words, our listeners get a thousand points.

Chris:
Well, Jeff, that’s what I’m about. I’m about… The rules. I’m about going as far as I can go with the rules. Okay. Very good. All right. Here we go. Ready? Christmas is about Jesus’s… Birth. There it is. I wasn’t allowed to say death, woman, baby, day, or date. Wow. So I just used an example. Okay. Right. Right. So, uh, so how about that? Um, uh, these generally start with the words, hear ye, hear ye. That’s called a proclamation. Oh, that’s a good one. What’s another one?

Jeff:
Uh, an announcement.

Chris:
Yes. An announcement. Very good. Yeah. Proclamation was a much better word for hear ye, hear ye. But I wasn’t allowed to say wedding or the word announcement, of course, birth, broadcast, or engagement. Okay. I wasn’t allowed to say any of those things.

Jeff:
Very good, Chris.

Chris:
All right. But hey, we got it pretty quickly. You’re gifted.

Jeff:
You are gifted at this. All right. So if the ministry doesn’t work out for you, that could be another job for you. It’s like game show host. Or perennial game show contestant.

Chris:
Hey, so this next one, I have a way to quickly get you to say the word. Yes. But instead of that, I’m going to do a longer version to see if you know it. Okay. Just for fun. Okay. If not, I’ll bail to the quick way. Okay. Just for fun.

Jeff:
Okay. Just for fun. Because I’ve already nailed four. This is going to be deliriously fun.

Chris:
Okay. Let me see if any of our listeners who grew up in church know what I’m about to do. Ready? Oh, where is my? Hairbrush. Yes. Yes. I just had to get you to say hair. Hair. Yeah. Yeah.

Jeff:
Isn’t that great? Okay. Very good.

Chris:
By the way, I- That’s from VeggieTales, by the way. Yes. I thought I was going to have to- The early 2000s right there. I thought I was going to have to get to the- I thought I was going to do that. No, but as soon as I said, Oh, where are you?

Jeff:
I’m a VeggieTales aficionado.

Chris:
So I wasn’t allowed to say brush, of course, comb, blonde face or head. So I was just going to say, uh, when you call somebody a brunette, it refers to their hair. Yeah. That’s what I was going to say, which is, you know, obviously a quick way to do it.

Jeff:
That yours was more fun. Oh yeah. Way, way more fun.

Chris:
And I wonder how many of our listeners know VeggieTales.

Jeff:
So I don’t think our listeners got any points today.

Chris:
No, they didn’t. That’s right. They did not.

Jeff:
Should we give them points if they beat me on an answer? No.

Chris:
No, because Desiree said. Everybody has to know the value of losing, Jeff.

Jeff:
Okay. There can only be no participation trophies.

Chris:
You all lose. That’s right. Good day, sir. A bunch of losers. What movie? What’s that? Good day, sir. You lose. I don’t remember. You get nothing. Good day, sir. I don’t remember. It’s Willy Wonka. Oh, yes. You stole Fizzy Lifting Drinks, right?

Jeff:
Yes, that’s right.

Chris:
Yeah, all that stuff.

Jeff:
Wow. All right. Willy Wonka. Yeah. Boy, you’re pulling him out today.

Chris:
Well, you know.

Jeff:
Okay. So yesterday we talked about, if you didn’t have an opportunity to hear the previous episode, Gideon was hiding, probably feeling like he wasn’t a very courageous person from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord shows up and says, Hey, mighty warrior, God’s going to use you in a great way. And then he kept doubting God, lays out a fleece, all these kinds of things. Finally, we get to chapter seven. So that’s in Judges chapter six. In chapter seven, Jerobel, right? Which is Gideon and his army got up early and went as far as the spring of Herod or Harad, whatever. The armies of Midian were camped north of them in the valley near the hill of Mora. The Lord said to Gideon, you have too many warriors with you. if I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they’ve saved themselves by their own strength. Therefore, tell the people, whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight. Hey, if you’re feeling a little nervous, you can go home if you wanted to, and 22,000 leave. There’s 10,000 left. But the Lord told Gideon, there are still too many. Bring them down to the spring and I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not.” When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the Lord told him, divide the men into two groups. In one group, put all those who cup water into their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group, put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream. Only 300 of the men drank from their hands. All the others got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream. Lord told Gideon, with these 300 men, I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home. So Gideon collected the provisions and rams horns of the other warriors and sent them home, but he kept the 300 men with him. The Midianite camp was in the valley just below Gideon. And that night the Lord said, get up, go down into the Midianite camp for I have given you victory over them. But if you’re afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant, Pura. Listen to what the Midianites are saying and you will be greatly encouraged. And then you’ll be eager to attack. So Gideon took Purah and went down to the edge of the enemy camp. The armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts. Their camels were like grains of sand on the seashore, too many to count. Gideon crept up just as a man was telling his companion about a dream. The man said, I had this dream and in my dream a loaf of barley bread came tumbling down into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent, turned it over, knocked it flat. His companion answered, your dream can mean only one thing. God has given Gideon, son of Joash the Israelite, victory over Midian and all its allies. When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship before the Lord. Then he returned to the Israelite camp and shouted, Get up, for the Lord has given you victory over the Midianite hordes. He divided the 300 men into three groups and gave each man a ram’s horn and a clay jar with a torch lit in it. And then he said to them, Keep your eyes on me. When I come to the edge of the camp, just do as I do. Blow your horns, too, all around the entire camp and shout for the Lord and for Gideon. It was just after midnight, after the changing of the guard, when Gideon and the 100 men with him reached the edge of the Midianite camp. Suddenly they blew the ram’s horns and broke their clay jars, and then all three groups blew their horns and broke their jars. They held the blazing torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands, and they all shouted, a sword for the Lord and for Gideon. Each man stood at his position around the camp and watched as all the Midianites rushed around in a panic, shouting as they ran to escape. When the 300 Israelites blew their ram’s horns, the Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight each other. with their own swords. Those who were not killed fled to places as far away as Bethshida near Zerah and to the border of Abel Mahola near Tabath. I don’t know. Then Gideon sent for the warriors of Naphtaliah, Asher, and Manasseh who joined in chasing the army of Midian. Gideon also sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim saying, go down to attack the Midianites, cut them off at the shallow crossings of the Jordan River at Beth Bera. So all the men of Ephraim did as they were told, they captured Oreb and Zeb, the two Midianite commanders, killing Oreb at the Rock of Oreb and Zeb at the Winepress of Zeb. And they continued to chase the Midianites. Afterward, the Israelites brought the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan River.

Chris:
Wow. Ending with cut off heads. There you go. Yikes.

Jeff:
But what an unbelievable… There’s a lot of cut off heads in the Bible, by the way, just in case you’re wondering. For sure.

Chris:
For sure. Well, I mean, to your point, you know, you made sort of this statement a long time ago and said, you know, this was all about war. Right. And so war was God using the children of Israel to wipe out all the people that, you know, blasphemed God and worshiped other gods. And, and, you know, God was just taking them out.

Jeff:
Yeah, it really was. And so, you know, the Bible looks at these things in unblinkingly. And God had told Gideon, I’m going to give you this victory. And then just doesn’t blink as it happens. Right. It’s just really, really blunt. So.

Chris:
So what’s amazing about this is how it starts. I mean, the reason why this story is just so unbelievable is because he he he doesn’t exactly lay out his plan to Gideon as he’s decimating his army. Right. Right. So he says, I know you’re against unbelievable odds, right? But you still have 32,000 troops and that’s too many because that’s just enough to say, oh my goodness, the odds are so great. Look at us. We’re so great. He says, I want to make it to where absolutely you will have absolutely no Way, right? I mean, it’s just an incredible thing to say Hey, go home if you want to in 22,000 went home leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight Right, and then you’re thinking only 10,000 and then it goes down to 300, right? Are you kidding me?

Jeff:
And they’re going up against how big was the the army they were going against did the Bible say do you remember seeing that?

Chris:
Yeah, I think it’s I think it was like a hundred thousand. Like a gajillion? Yeah, it was like a hundred thousand, wasn’t it?

Jeff:
I don’t know. I don’t remember seeing it.

Chris:
Yeah. I remember doing a study when I, oh, Gideon’s army of 300 men chasing. Oh no, it says 15,000. They were chasing 15,000. You know what? We should have probably looked that up before we jumped into this story.

Jeff:
So the, I don’t, I don’t see it anywhere.

Chris:
You know what I’m going to do? Go ahead and keep talking. I’m going to Google it.

Jeff:
Okay. So my, the reason why I was asking about that is 32,000 probably felt small. is what I was getting at. Right. And sometimes God asks us, he says, he tells us to, you know, go make a difference, whether that’s speaking up at your kid’s school or sharing the gospel with your neighbor or, you know, having courage at Thanksgiving dinner with your family, whatever. And it feels like we are outnumbered or like we don’t have any chance. And then God for Gideon goes, Nope, that’s still too many. That’s still too many. So,

Chris:
So, so I was, I was, my instincts were correct. It was 135,000 men. Yeah.

Jeff:
It was the Midianite army. So only having 32,000. Right. Was already 103,000 short.

Chris:
Right. Right. And yet God says, no, we’re going to, we’re going to take it down. He takes it down to 10,000. Right. And then, then you’re thinking to yourself, what’s God going to do? And see, that’s the big thing about this story for me is God doesn’t say, don’t worry. I got a plan. He doesn’t say, calm down. He just says, let me tell you what’s going to happen. You know, I want to get the glory. So therefore do this. And so Gideon does it. And all of a sudden 22,000 leaves. And then they’re left, at least we’re not told that God comforts them in any way. So can you imagine like all the, all the leaders getting together, the ones who didn’t hear the voice of God, and they get together with Gideon and they go, what are you doing? Like what is happening? And how is this possibly a good idea?

Jeff:
Have you lost?

Chris:
Have you lost your ever loving mind? And then with, with the, with the, with the, with the drinking thing, you know, God, isn’t it interesting how God chose the ones who, who reached down and grabbed the water and brought them up to their hand, because, you know, there’s a, there’s a practical part to that, right? When you, when you just throw your face in the river, you leave yourself, you know, available to, to be attacked from behind. Right. Right. Because you’re not being alert. You’re not being alert. But if you cup the water with your hand and you bring it up to your mouth, that means that you’re a person who is constantly looking around. Right. You ever see like a, like an antelope or a deer drink from the water and how, how skittish it is. Right. Like it waits like 10 minutes before it even takes a drink, you know, because it doesn’t want to leave itself vulnerable. Right. It’s like, that’s, that’s what these warriors were doing. And so he sends home another 9,700 people. By the way, those are the 10,000 that were willing to stay the first time. Right. And then he tells them, oh, you put your face down to the water, go home. And they’re like, what? And then they all go home. And then God, and by the way, do you know why the 135,000 were fearful just from the lanterns?

Jeff:
Well, they would have thought that they had 300,000 coming in to attack them. Because it was 300 warriors with lights and blowing horns. And they would have assumed that that was the leader of a thousand men.

Chris:
Yes. Yes. Yes. So the leader of a, of a legion, traditionally held a lantern, blew a horn, you know, when they were saying charge, right. And they did it at nighttime. Right? And so they did it at nighttime for several reasons. Number one, so that this, so that everybody who is encamped in the Midianite army can see the lanterns, obviously. And then also when they got up and it says that they were in such a panic, I would imagine that it would have been so dark. They would have just started killing themselves.

Jeff:
Yeah. Well, that’s what the Bible says. They start fighting each other.

Chris:
Yeah. And the reason probably is if you’re assuming that 300,000 people are among you, you’re assuming everybody’s an enemy. Any sort among you is an enemy. You’re just screaming and panic, just trying to fight for your life.

Jeff:
It’s such a cool story.

Chris:
It’s brilliant. It’s really brilliant. So there’s a practicality to it that is just unbelievable. Like who would have ever thought that God would have been so clever to have had that plan, you know? And by the way, what a bluff.

Jeff:
No lie. No lie. Well, even before that happened though, we kind of, we passed over this. Again, God is confirming for Gideon over and over. God doesn’t do this for everybody. Gideon is, I think the only person in the Bible I can remember where God regularly keeps reaffirming for him, Hey, I’m on your side. So he says to Gideon, hey, I want you to sneak down in the camp and just listen to what they’re talking about. Because, you know, the camp, if you’ve got 130,000 people, it’s like a city. Right? So one guy, if he’s dressed right, he could be able to sneak into town and nobody, it’s not like he’s sneaking into a fortress or onto a military base. Right? It’s just tents. That’s where they’re at. They’re set up in an area where they feel like nobody’s going to sneak up to them and they’re getting ready to go to war, but they’re out. And so Gideon sneaks into the camp and God says, Hey, you’re going to hear some conversations. These conversations are going to encourage you. But then he says, But if you’re still scared, even though I’m telling you to do this, just take your servant Pura with you. And so the next verse says, and so Gideon and Pura go down to the… It’s such a funny thing, right? So this is the same voice. Remember, I talked about it yesterday. So the angel tells him, he makes food for the angel. The angel burns it on a rock and then disappears. And then God’s voice says, Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to do something great with you. And then God’s voice says, okay, now I want you to go and defeat the Midianites, put together an army. And he goes, well, I’m not really sure. How about this fleece thing? You know, make it wet, dry ground. Okay. Thanks God. Same voice comes back to him, speaks again. And he goes, thanks God. And this time make the fleece dry and the ground wet. And God does it again. Then God says, okay, now assemble this army. Okay, I do. So now he’s trusting God after three, four, four encounters with God’s voice. Then God says, okay, do these things. I want you to whittle down the army, whittle down the army, whittle down the army. And, and, and I think maybe now he’s full of a little doubt. I only had 32,000. I wasn’t sure how we were going to beat 130. And now we’re down to 300. God goes, okay, I know you’re nervous, but I’m doing this because If I sent him in with a big army, the Israelites are going to claim they won the battle. And it’s not their battle. It’s my battle. So just go down in the camp, sneak in, which is dangerous. And you’re going to hear somebody, some people talking. It’s going to encourage your heart. But if you’re afraid, take Pura. So next verse, he takes Pura with him because he’s afraid and they go down in the camp. And then these guys are talking to one guy goes, dude, I had a dream. And I feel like our camp got wiped out. And the other guy goes, oh, that can only mean that Gideon wins. And Gideon goes, we win. And then he runs back again. So it’s just amazing to me how many incredible encounters with God Gideon has. And yet every step, he doubts that the next step’s the right step until God confirms it.

Chris:
Right. And, you know, even though we’re not privileged enough, perhaps, to have such a direct, personalized, you know, confirmation from God, where God, you know, speaks to us audibly and then, you know, grants our requests when we say, show us a sign, you know, that kind of thing. Even though that we may not be on the receiving end of that, it is true that God gives us promises and he confirms, you know, his presence in our lives. And I think that almost every person that I’ve encountered as a pastor, I think you’re, you would probably say the same, right? When somebody faces something, you know, really difficult and really hard, and they’re wondering about the future and they’re wondering what’s going to happen. Isn’t it true that like, as a pastor, you can look at them, if they’ve been a Christian a long time, you can say, hasn’t God been faithful in the past? You can look at them and ask them, like, hasn’t there been evidence in your life where you didn’t know what was going to happen and yet God showed up? I’m not sure there’s ever been an example where I’ve looked, where I’ve asked that question, where a Christian who’s been a Christian a long time says, no. There’s never been that time. There’s never been that time. It’s always been, God’s been faithful. Now he may not necessarily answer the prayers and we may go through hard times that we don’t understand. That’s true. But in terms of like God’s faithfulness and the evidence of God showing up and, you know, and confirming his presence and his promises, I think every Christian is on the receiving end of, of God demonstrating himself in a miraculous way.

Jeff:
I really do. Yes. Me too. Yeah. Me too. And then what you have here is the 300 fighters just stand around and watch God bring a victory. Right. Now, once, so they’re all fighting, the Midianites are fighting each other and then they take off running. The ones who don’t kill each other, they take off running. From that point on now, they have to engage and fight. And he has to call in the armies from Ephraim and Naphtali and all these other, so those thousands of people that were dismissed now are engaging in the fight, by the way, which I love. and they’re running back. And if you read on in the chapter eight, Ephraim is the army behind, they’re kind of the rear guard. And the generals are a little frustrated with this and they come and go, Hey, how can we give this? But they’re the ones who killed those other generals and, you know, Zeb and whatever. Oreb. Yeah, Oreb. And Gideon is like, Hey, every role matters. which I love. So on one end, the beginning of the victory was clearly and only God doing it. But then the end of the victory, God chooses to enlist all of his people to come in, clean up the mess, right? Is what happens there. And so God, As you read all of these wars, all these battles, all these things, God wins victories for his people in so many different ways. One time the walls just fall down. People come in and wipe out the enemies. Another time, lots of times, it’s just literally hand-to-hand combat, right? When Caleb says, hey, I want that mountain. And there’s a bunch of giants up there. He knew that was going to be hand-to-hand combat. They’re just going to, right? Other times God does miracles like this. And so what we have to do is not expect that God would do the same miracle he did yesterday, but that God’s going to do a new miracle today. Whatever’s necessary for now, he’s going to do. And that ultimately God’s plan is that everybody always remembers the battle belongs to the Lord. Right? It’s not your strength. It’s not your might. It’s not your numbers. It’s not your power. It’s not your clever leadership. It’s my victory. And I’m going to do it in a different way, but then I’m going to have to use you. God doesn’t just dismiss the people. Now I’ll go home. they all chase down the enemy and they, they, they wipe them out. So, uh, there’s, there’s work on the, on the Israelite side, but it always starts with God doing an extraordinary victory. And that’s been my experience in a lot of ways in life. I see God do an outrageously amazing thing. And then you realize, boy, there’s a lot of work on the back end of that amazing thing God just did in order to, you know, be a good steward of it, to clean it all up, to, to get ready to move on to the next thing, because they’re going to have new enemies they’re going to have to face in the future. So they have to clean this one up first.

Chris:
Well, hey, that looks like our time. So that was a great story. I’m really glad we took the time to do it. So hopefully you’ll join us next time on The Bible Guys.