Evening Service Following the Lectionary Judges 7: 2-22. John 15: 9-17
Gideon the descendant of Abraham through Jacob, his son Joseph, his son Manasseh. Joshua 17: 1,2
The Midianites were descendants of Abraham by his concubine Kerturah, Abraham was a descendant of Shem the son of Noah.
The Amalekites were mentioned in the war of the Kings Genesis 14: 7 their land being Hazazontamar. The location given in 2 Chronicles 20: 2 as being Engedi which is on the West side of the Dead Sea. In Genesis 36: 12 Amalek was the descendants of Esau who took his wives from the Canaanites. Esau the son of Isaac the son of Abraham. Esau’s twin brother Jacob received the blessing from Isaac so the promise of the inheriting the land of Canaan came down his line.
The land of Canaan was cursed by Canaan’s grandfather Noah for seeing him naked, “Canaan would be a slave to his brothers.” Genesis 9:25 (see blog Lord of the Dance)
Since that time there has been controversy over the land of Canaan.
After the Israelites 2nd revolt against the Romans in AD 135 the Romans renamed the land from the ‘Provincia of Judaea’ to the ‘Provincia of Syria Palaestinia.’ This name was in association with the Philistines the descendants of Casluhim the ancestor of Egypt the son of Noah. Unger’s Bible Dictionary page 821
When Jesus died on the cross he bore all the curses put on the land through the fall of Adam and for all generations since inheriting Adam’s sin. Jesus has redeemed the land, the crown of thorns signifies this.
Gideon
In Judges Chapter 6 we read that the Midianites had prevailed over the Israelites and as a result they made their lives unbearable by destroying the produce of the land and stealing their animals. The Israelites made shelters and lived in caves in the mountains. 
Gideon was afraid of being seen by the Midianites and the Amalekites so he hid and threshed his wheat in a wine press to keep it from them. Gideon was very insecure, he felt weak and oppressed by his circumstances that I feel had its effect on his faith in God.
A wine press below ground 
Whilst Gideon was threshing his wheat, God sent an angel to speak to him telling him how gallant he was and to go and deliver the Israelites from the Midianites and Amalekites. Gideon was very wary of the angel’s message he had assumed that God had abandoned Israel because of their idolatry and that was why the Midianites were persecuting them. Judges 6: 10 Some Israelites had built altars to worship Baal including Gideon’s father.
After further discussion with the angel Gideon wanted a sign from God. He prepared the offerings of a kid and some barley bread and placed them on a rock. The angel touched them with his staff and fire came from the rock and consumed the offering. Gideon now believed that the angel was from God.
Trumpet call on Gideon’s life.
Gideon’s first reaction to God’s call on his life was to resist open confrontation with his father and the Midianites saying that he was too weak and fearful also he had a fear of dying at the hands of the Midianites. After this encounter with the angel, God gave him assurance. The angel said to him, “Peace be to you. You will not die.”
The Lord gave Gideon a word to dismantle his father’s altar to the worship of Baal and saw up the Asherah pole. He then was to take the wood and build an altar and with his father’s bulls make offerings to God. He was afraid to do it by day so with the help of ten men they accomplished their task during the night. Next day when the people saw what had been done they accused Gideon. The Midianites and Amalekites joined forces and made camp in the valley of Jezreel.
The Holy Spirit took possession of Gideon. (verse 34)
Below Wood Carving by Dorothy Newton
Gideon sounded the trumpet, summoning his fellow Israelites to join him in battle, this action by took great courage. The rallying call of the trumpet brought several of the tribes together in support of Gideon.
God’s trumpet call on Gideon’s life broke down the walls of the wine press of the oppression of the Midianites.
In God’s eyes Gideon’s strength was in his weakness.
Gideon was still insecure, he put out a fleece to be assured of victory over the Midianites and Amalekites. If the fleece had dew on it in the morning and the ground around it was dry then they would have the victory and it was so. He then asked God to reverse the process and it was so. God gave him that assurance that he needed.
God broke through Gideon’s weakness of insecurity by reducing the numbers of men who would help him get the victory.
God suggested to Gideon that he should give the people who were afraid to go into battle to return to their homes. 22,000 went home, only 10,000 remained.
God again suggested that the men who lapped out of cupped hands should go into battle against the Midianites and Amalekites. The number of men was 300, these men were then equipped with trumpets and torches in jars.
Gideon was like the light and the fire encased in the jars that were carried by his men. He had the Lord upholding working alongside of him, yet he felt insecure.
The shattering of these jars was like Gideon being released from fear and of his insecurity.
The Lord was with him.
Gideon had a word from the Lord to go down to the Midian camp and listen. If he was afraid he should take with him Purah. They came to the camp were they overheard a conversation between two Midianites. One sharing with the other his dream, and no doubt to Gideon’s amazement the other interpreted the dream.
“Behold I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley bread tumbles down into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and lay flat. And the comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; into his hand God has given Midian and all the host.” Judges 7: 13, 14.
Hearing this, Gideon knew that the victory over the Midianites and the Amalekites was his. He divided his men into three groups of a hundred men and then he told them to surround the Midian camp. At his signal they were to blow their trumpets and break the jars and shout, “For the Lord and for Gideon.” As they carried this out the Midianite armies fled. We read how Joshua brought down the walls of Jericho with a blast on the trumpets and the shouts of the people.
Let your light shine before men so that they might see your good works.
Part of loving one another is in having respect for each other. The people who became Judges over Israel were respected for their wisdom, courage and love for God.
God’s trumpet call on our lives.
The Holy Spirit shows us Jesus and that all that is written about him is true, he died on a cross and God the Father raised him from the dead and through faith in him we receive forgiveness of sin and the causes of sin. When we come to faith in Christ the transformation is amazing: we know God as our Father and that we have overcome the fear of death and have entered into eternal life.
Within a short time we may find that all that we have received is some how encased within us, like the light and fire of the torch encased in the jar.
The fears that Gideon had we can relate to: fear of combating the unbelief of others in making Christ known.
Maybe we are fearful of not being able to express our faith.
Fear of being excluded from the company of our friends because we are Christians.
Fear of the unknown or change
The fear of commitment of losing control of our lives,
Fear of giving up what we enjoy.
These and other fears are the strength of our soul or ‘the me’ within. These strengths or fears dominate over the Spirit of the Lord, encasing and controlling our walk in Christ.
To break the strength of our soul like Gideon the Lord will take our weaknesses and call us to work in our weakness. We will say to the Lord,’ I can’t do it;’ I don’t want to do it.’ We will try and hide from the Lord our God.
I can testify to this when we moved to Haslingden my hobby was wood carving. I enjoyed working with wood. When the thoughts came to start a pottery business for my church I was very sceptical because I did not think that Churches had businesses and I was not interested in working with clay. But the thoughts persisted and I went to night school to learn to the skill, but I had no flare for it. Continue in ‘my Story.’
For you it might be to work alongside people with drug problems or to witness your faith to a friend or write poetry etc. The Lord will take us out of our comfort zone and that is a hard thing to do.
“I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4: 13. Romans 16: 25
“Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly then all we ask or think.” Ephesians 3: 20, 21.
“The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8: 10
The Lord using our weaknesses means that we turn to the Lord to be dependant upon him, Jesus will strengthen us and as a result the joy of the Lord fills our hearts as we are working out the Lord’s will and our salvation.
Update October 2012. Over the summer the Lord has sent several people from an ex-offenders centre to our morning services. We are all rejoicing as they are coming to know Jesus as their Saviour, redeemer and friend.
God is Love (Dorothy Newton January 1995 A Child-like love)
Love participates in unity bending the will to love another.
Love doesn’t hide itself or shy away.
Love takes hold of the prickly thorn and caresses it.
Love picks up the bruised heart and cherishes it and makes it, it’s own.
Love gives off radiance like the heat of a summers’ day.
Love its fragrance enriches unity, time stands still
Love has a strength all of its own.
Love gives in to love.
Love is a safe place without any walls, no barriers of fear and wars.
Love prepares to serve all human weaknesses.
Love bears the pain of love, rejection grieves the lover.
Love ceases not to love,
Love is God our Saviour.