A King called David - Part 3

A King called David - Part 3

Last blog post we looked at how David defeated the Philistine giant Goliath of Gath. As we will see this action is the beginning of King Saul's envy of David's popularity with the Israelites. This in turn leads to his growing dislike of David.

The aftermath of the battle starts out well. Let's look at 1 Samuel 18:1-5.

"(1) Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

(2) Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father's house anymore.

(3) Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
(4) And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armour, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.
(5) So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants."

How quickly events unfold and things turn sour. Let's read on in 1 Samuel chapter 18.

1 Samuel 18:6-12

"(6) Now it had happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments.
(7) So the women sang as they danced, and said:"Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands."
(8) Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?"

(9) So Saul eyed David from that day forward.
(10) And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; but there was a spear in Saul's hand.
(11) And Saul cast the spear, for he said, "I will pin David to the wall!" But David escaped his presence twice.
(12) Now Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, but had departed from Saul."

Saul then removes David from his presence by making him a Captain over a thousand men. David went in and out among the people of the tribes of Israel and Judah and they all loved him. Saul decides to give his older daughter Merab to David as his wife. He sends David out to battle. Saul is hoping that David will die in battle. Meanwhile Saul has been deceitful and given Merab's hand in marriage to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.

David is victorious. Saul learns that his younger daughter Michal is in love with David, so he decides to give her to David, hoping that she will be a snare to David and that the Philistines would make him a target as the king's son-in-law. David is pleased about Saul's decision to give Michal to him as his wife; however David is hesitant because as a poor man he did not have a rich dowry to give in exchange for the king's daughter. Saul brushes that aside by declaring that he only wants 100 foreskins of slain Philistines as a dowry. David takes up the challenge and he and his men are successful and bring back 200 foreskins of slain Philistines

1 Samuel 18:27-30

"(27) ...Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife.
(28) Thus Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him;

(29) and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David's enemy continually.
(30) Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed."

In 1 Samuel 19 we learn that Saul gives instructions to his men and to Jonathan that they are to kill David. Jonathan intervenes on behalf of David pointing out that David has only done good towards Saul. So David once more serves King Saul. Then there is war again with the Philistines and David strikes them a mighty blow.

Later the distressing spirit from the Lord afflicts Saul. David played his harp as usual to soothe Saul but Saul once again threw a spear at David seeking to kill him. David escapes to his house. Saul sends messengers to watch him and kill him in the morning. David's wife Michal told him, "If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed."  (1 Samuel 19:11).

Let's follow the unfolding saga in 1 Samuel 19:12-18.

"(12) So Michal let David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped.

(13) And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, put a cover of goats' hair for his head, and covered it with clothes.

(14) So when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick."
(15) Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him."

(16) And when the messengers had come in, there was the image in the bed, with a cover of goats' hair for his head.
(17) Then Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this, and sent my enemy away, so that he has escaped?" And Michal answered Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go! Why should I kill you?' "
(18) So David fled and escaped, and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth."

David ends up fleeing from Naioth and goes to Jonathan, Saul's son. They make a covenant together.

1 Samuel 20:13-16

"(13) May the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And the Lord be with you as He has been with my father.
(14) And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die;

(15) but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth."

(16) So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "Let the Lord require it at the hand of David's enemies."

As events turn out, Saul is very angry with Jonathan and is even more determined to kill David. Jonathan and David have coded messages to let David know if he is safe or if he has to flee.

1 Samuel 20:18-22

"(18) Then Jonathan said to David, "Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

(19) And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid on the day of the deed; and remain by the stone Ezel.

(20) Then I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target;

(21) and there I will send a lad, saying, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I expressly say to him, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them and come'--then, as the Lord lives, there is safety for you and no harm.

(22) But if I say thus to the young man, 'Look, the arrows are beyond you'--go your way, for the Lord has sent you away."

Saul did miss David's presence and blamed Jonathan. Saul was so angry that he even threw a spear at his own son. The upshot of all this was that Jonathan shot the arrow and told the young lad accompanying him that the arrow was beyond him. So David knew that he had to flee and that his life was now in constant danger.

It is good to trace the hand of the Lord in David's trials. Both Michal and Jonathan, Saul's own children were used by the Lord to effect David's escapes from Saul's murderous rages.

Next blog post we will continue to look at the life and times of David the son of Jesse.

Jon Peasey

Biblical Perspectives blog www.jon-peasey.blogspot.com

Ebooks author page https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JRPeasey

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted. Words enclosed in [ ] are inserted for clarity. Words in bold type emphasise a point. You may notice some verses are quoted with ... at the beginning, ending or elsewhere in a verse. Only the relevant part or parts of the verse, that relate directly to the current subject matter is quoted.]

[If you have any questions or comments you are invited to contact me via the comments section below.]

A King called David - Part 2

In my previous blog post 'A King called David - Part 1' we looked at the events leading up to the prophet Samuel anointing David as King of Israel. As was pointed out, David had a difficult pathway to the throne. Let's look at how David encountered problems along the way.

1 Samuel 16:13-18

"(13) Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
(14) But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him.
(15) And Saul's servants said to him, "Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you.

(16) Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skilful player on the harp; and it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well."
(17) So Saul said to his servants, "Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me."
(18) Then one of the servants answered and said, "Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skilful in playing, a mighty man of valour, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him."

This is surely interesting that the very person who could soothe King Saul was David the son of Jesse; God's newly anointed king for Israel. What a recommendation Saul's servant gives David! David was not aware of it but he was attracting attention by his manner of life.

1 Samuel 16:21-23

"(21) So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armour bearer.
(22)Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Please let David stand before me, for he has found favour in my sight."
(23) And so it was, whenever the [distressing] spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him."

Saul and David's relationship starts out well. David becomes Saul's armour bearer. It would appear that David occasionally went on furlough and returned home to look after his father's sheep. This seems to be the case when Israel went to war against the Philistines and we are introduced to the giant - Goliath of Gath.

1 Samuel 17:13-15

"(13) The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

(14) David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul.

(15) But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem."

 For 40 days Goliath challenges Israel to send a man to fight him. If the Israelite soldier defeated Goliath then the Philistines would serve the Israelites. On the other hand, if Goliath defeated Israel's champion then the Israelites would serve the Philistines.

David's father Jesse sends David with supplies for his brothers and to find out news of the battle.

1 Samuel 17:17-24

"(17)Then Jesse said to his son David, "Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp.

(18) And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them."

(19) Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
(20) So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle.

(21) For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army.

(22) And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.
(23)Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them.
(24) And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid."

David then makes inquiries as to what would be done for the man who killed the giant. David would have sensed and seen the anxiety and terror of the whole of the army of Israel. Mass fear and panic is catching! Yet David remained unafraid. His inquiries revealed this, "So the men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father's house exemption from taxes in Israel." (1 Samuel 17:25)

David is soon standing before King Saul and telling the king that he would go and fight the uncircumcised Philistine.

1 Samuel 17:32-33

"(32) Then David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."

(33) And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."

David convinces Saul that he is up to the task. Saul gives David armour to wear but David refuses it as he had not proven the armour in battle. David takes his sling and his staff, chooses five stones from the brook and goes out to meet Goliath. The Philistine is thoroughly disgusted that Israel has sent out a youth to fight him.

1 Samuel 17:43-47

"(43) So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

(44) And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"
(45) Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
(46) This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
(47) Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands."

David rushes towards the Philistine giant, puts a stone in his sling and hurls the stone directly into the Philistine's temple. Goliath crashes to the ground and David takes Goliath's huge sword and cuts off Goliath's head with it. Then there is panic amongst the Philistine army and they fled from the battleground; with the Israelite army pursuing them and slaying them. Thus the legend of David and Goliath began that day.

 Next blog post we will continue to look at 'A Man called David' and his pathway to the throne of Israel.

Jon Peasey

Biblical Perspectives blog www.jon-peasey.blogspot.com

Ebooks author page https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JRPeasey

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted. Words enclosed in [ ] are inserted for clarity. Words in bold type emphasise a point. You may notice some verses are quoted with ... at the beginning, ending or elsewhere in a verse. Only the relevant part or parts of the verse, that relate directly to the current subject matter is quoted.]

[If you have any questions or comments you are invited to contact me via the comments section below.]

"Give us this day our daily bread"

This is a well known prayer request found in the prayer Jesus of Nazareth taught to His disciples. Let's look at the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 6:9-13

"(9) In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
(10) Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

(11) Give us this day our daily bread.
(12) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

(13) And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

Verse 11 shows us a simple request. Have you ever stopped and considered what is involved in the granting of that request? Bread does not just evolve! Someone has to make it! It has to be planned and made in such a way as to produce bread that is edible and tasty. There is something immensely satisfying when you smell bread baking in the oven.

I recall reading about a large department store whose bakery was on the basement level. In winter they used to pipe the aroma of the baking bread outside at street level to draw customers into the store. Just imagine walking past that store on a cold winter's day and your nostrils are assailed by the delicious smell of baking bread. Would you have an urge to go in and by some delicious pastries from the Bakery Department?

Now let's go through the sequence of events necessary for us to have our daily bread. The main ingredient in bread is flour. Flour is of course milled from grain. The grain crops are harvested by the farmers who grow the crops. For the farmers to grow the grain they need certain elements to make this happen.

They need:

§  Seed

§  Good soil

§  Fertiliser

§  Sunlight

§  Rain

§  Favourable weather conditions.

It is the true and living God who provides these blessings. Without our Sun in our solar system there would be no sunlight upon the Earth. Our planet Earth is situated just the right amount of distance from the Sun so that we don't burn up in intense heat. Or on the other hand, we don't perish from it being too cold to live on our planet. It is sunlight that helps to make plant life grow.

Then our God has provided the seeds for the grain crops.

Genesis 1:11-12

"(11) Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.
(12) And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

Fertile soil is also a necessary requirement. If the soil does not have good nutrients in it the plants will not grow. The soil needs to be cultivated to provide a good home for the seeds to germinate and grow. Sometimes fertiliser is required to supplement the nutrients in the soil.

Rain and water is also necessary for the plants to grow. Not enough rain and the plants can die. Too much rain and the plants will rot and die. So the farmers are hoping for the right amount of water at the right times for the plants to reach maturity so they are ready for harvesting.

Favourable weather conditions during the growing season are needed for good crops. Events like droughts and floods and hail storms will ruin good crops. Sometimes there are other factors brought into play such as locust plagues and mice plagues. All these things are dependent on the sovereign will and the permissive will of our God.

On top of all this, favourable weather conditions are needed during the harvesting season. The harvested grain is put into silos and later transported to the Flour Mills for processing into flour. In days of old, people often baked their own bread. In our modern Western societies the trend is for bakeries to bake bread and offer it for sale to consumers. Regardless of whether a bakery bakes the bread, or we bake it ourselves, there are many factors brought into play before we can have bread to eat.

Then of course if we buy our bread or flour we need money to pay for these items. This means that we need some way of earning that money. Or if you are fortunate enough you may be one of those people who inherit wealth and prosperity. There are costs involved at every stage of the process in turning grain crops into flour, then into bread.

So when we pray "Give us this day our daily bread." it is not just a matter of being handed a loaf of bread. The true and living God controls many different operations to ensure that we get our daily bread. Next time you go to a shop and buy a loaf of bread, pause, and thank our God for the many things He has put in place to ensure that we are able to purchase that bread.

Jon Peasey

Biblical Perspectives blog www.jon-peasey.blogspot.com

Ebooks author page https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JRPeasey

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted. Words enclosed in [ ] are inserted for clarity. Words in bold type emphasise a point. You may notice some verses are quoted with ... at the beginning, ending or elsewhere in a verse. Only the relevant part or parts of the verse, that relate directly to the current subject matter is quoted.]

[If you have any questions or comments you are invited to contact me via the comments section below.]

A King called David - Part 1

David is probably best known in history as the person who slew Goliath the Philistine giant. However, that is only a part of his story.

God chose David to be King over Israel. David's journey to the throne was difficult and life threatening. King Saul, Israel's first king initially thought well of David but ended up repeatedly trying to kill David. Why was this?

Some background information will be helpful at this stage. The prophet Samuel was the last of the Judges to rule Israel. God used Samuel to bring about the transition from Israel being ruled by Judges to Israel being ruled by their own King. The first king was a man called Saul, the son of Kish, who was from the tribe of Benjamin. Samuel was chosen by God to anoint Saul as King of Israel. However, Samuel retained his office as prophet and priest before God.

King Saul started out well, but along the way chose not to fully comply with God's instructions to him.

1 Samuel 15:1-3

"(1) Samuel also said to Saul, "The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord.

(2) Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.

(3) Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.' "

Saul is given explicit instructions to completely destroy Amalek. Now let's see how Saul carries out the instructions.

1 Samuel 15:7-9

"(7) And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt.

(8) He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

(9) But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed."

Saul did what he thought was right in his own eyes and mistakenly thought he was carrying out God's will.

1 Samuel 15:18-23

"(18) Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.'

(19) Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?"

(20) And Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

(21) But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal."

(22) So Samuel said:"Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

(23) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king."

Samuel has no further dealings with King Saul.

1 Samuel 15:34-35

"(34) Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul.

(35) And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his [Samuel's] death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel."

God now sets about to make arrangements for Saul's successor.

1 Samuel 16:1

"Now the Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons."

Samuel goes to Bethlehem to do as God instructs him. The elders of the city are frightened when Samuel appears at their town. Samuel allays their fears and invites them to come to a sacrifice to the Lord.

1 Samuel 16:5-7

"(5) And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.
(6) So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him."

(7) But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

Samuel then looks at seven of Jesse's sons but refuses them all on the Lord's instructions to him.

1 Samuel 16:11-14

"(11) And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here."

(12) So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!"

(13) Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
(14) But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him."

As we noted earlier Saul is from the tribe of Benjamin whereas David is from the tribe of Judah. Bethlehem belongs to the tribe of Judah. David, however, is at this time not installed as King over Israel. He has a long difficult path ahead of him before he is acknowledged as King of all the tribes of Israel.

Now let's have a look at some relevant points in the above Scriptures. What lessons can we learn from King Saul?

1. Saul starts out well as King of Israel but finishes badly.

2. He does not completely obey God's instructions to utterly destroy Amalek's people and their livestock.

3. Saul considers in his own heart and mind that he has carried out God's instructions.

4. Samuel points out to Saul that "to obey is better than sacrifice". To obey God is better than animal sacrifices.

5. Saul's actions are clearly labelled as (a) the sin of rebellion and (b) his stubbornness as the iniquity of idolatry.

6. Saul rejected God's instructions and therefore God now rejects Saul from being king.

7. The Spirit of God departed from Saul and came upon David instead.

8. To obey God is better than any sacrifice we can bring to God.

Next blog post I will continue to look at 'A King called David - Part 2'.

Jon Peasey

Biblical Perspectives blog www.jon-peasey.blogspot.com

Ebooks author page https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JRPeasey

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted. Words enclosed in [ ] are inserted for clarity. Words in bold type emphasise a point. You may notice some verses are quoted with ... at the beginning, ending or elsewhere in a verse. Only the relevant part or parts of the verse, that relate directly to the current subject matter is quoted.]

[If you have any questions or comments you are invited to contact me via the comments section below.]

Gideon - A Mighty Man Of Valour

Who was Gideon? The Old Testament Book of Judges tells us about Gideon. His father's name was Joash an Abiezrite. We are introduced to Joash and Gideon in Judges chapter 6. Due to the children of Israel's sins against the Lord they were dominated by the Midianites for seven years.

Judges 6:1-2:

"(1) Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,
(2) and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains."

These were desperate times! The children of Israel were forced to retreat to the mountains and shelter there when the Midianites and their allies came into the land.

Judges 6:3-6:

"(3) So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them.
(4) Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey.

(5) For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it.
(6) So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord."

These are the circumstances that Gideon is in when we are introduced to him.

Judges 6:11-12:

"(11) Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites.

(12) And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour!"

What was Gideon doing in a wine press? Surely it shows us his wisdom in hiding the grain from the Midianites. In the wine press he was out of sight to the enemy and able to successfully thresh the wheat without being caught. Thus he was able to provide some sustenance to his family. The Angel of the LORD was sitting under Joash's terebinth tree in Ophrah and watches Gideon. Then the Angel of the LORD appears to Gideon and gives him a remarkable greeting. "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour!"

Here is Gideon being careful not to be seen by the enemy, working away in the wine press; and suddenly he is told by the Angel of the LORD that the LORD is with him. He is addressed as "you mighty man of valour!" How illogical this must have seemed to Gideon. What would a man of valour be doing in a wine press threshing wheat when he should be out fighting the enemy?

Judges 6:13-15:

"(13) Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."
(14) Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?"

(15) So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."

Gideon reminds the Angel of the LORD about all the great miracles the LORD did in the past; but now He had forsaken the children of Israel. The LORD's reply is to tell Gideon that He had chosen Gideon to save Israel from the Midianites. The man in the winepress is to be the one to save Israel!

As we continue in Chapter 6 we find that Gideon questions the Angel of the Lord.

Judges 6:13-14:

"(13) Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."
(14)Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?"

The Angel of the Lord answers Gideon and tells him to go in his might and Gideon would save Israel. The Lord tells him "Have I not sent you?" Gideon is not convinced. "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man."

Gideon then offers the Angel of the Lord a young goat and unleavened bread as an offering.

Judges 6:21-24:

"(21) Then the Angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.
 (22) Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face."

(23) Then the Lord said to him, "Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die."

(24) So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace..."  [Jehovah Shalom]

Then the Lord tells Gideon to tear down his father's altar of Baal and cut down the wooden image beside it. Then he was to build an altar to the Lord; take his father's second bull and using the wood from the image to build a fire upon the altar to sacrifice the bull to the Lord. Because he was afraid of his father and the men of the town, Gideon and his servants did this at night.

Imagine the outcry in the morning!

Judges 6:29-32:

"(29) So they said to one another, "Who has done this thing?" And when they had inquired and asked, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing."
(30) Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it."

(31) But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!"
(32) Therefore on that day he called him [Gideon] Jerubbaal, saying, "Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his altar."

Of course Baal was a false God and nothing happened to Gideon! Any stand for the true and living God will bring out the enemies of God.

Judges 6:33-35:

"(33) Then all the Midianites and Amalekites, the people of the East, gathered together; and they crossed over and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel.
(34) But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; then he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him.

(35) And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also gathered behind him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali; and they came up to meet them."

Gideon is still hesitant about leading Israel to victory against their enemies. He asks the Lord to perform two miracles to strengthen his faith. He put a woollen fleece on the ground and wanted it to be wet next morning and the rest of the ground to be dry. It occurred that way. The next night he reversed his request, this time for the fleece to be dry and the rest of the ground wet with dew. This also occurred.

The Lord now tells Gideon he had too many men in his army." Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, 'Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.' " And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained." This was still too many for the Lord to use!

Judges 7:5-7

"(5) So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, "Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink."
(6) And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water.
(7) Then the Lord said to Gideon, "By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place."

That night the Lord encourages Gideon, He tells Gideon to go down to the Midianite camp and listen to them talking. Gideon and His servant Purah go down to the Midianite camp and overhear a man telling his companion a dream. The other fellow says, "This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp."

Judges 7:15-18

"(15) And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, "Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand."
(16) Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers.
(17) And he said to them, "Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do:

(18) When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, 'The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!' "

Inspired by God, Gideon formulates a plan to surprise and confuse the enemy. Let's see the outcome.

Judges 7:16-18:

"(16) Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers.

(17) And he said to them, "Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do:

(18) When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, 'The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!' "

Judges 7:21-25:

"(21) And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole [Midianite] army ran and cried out and fled.
(22) When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.

(23) And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites.
(24) Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan." Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.

(25) And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb..."

So Gideon did indeed become a mighty man of valour and delivered the Israelites from their enemies the Midianites. Gideon became a Judge in Israel and ruled in Israel for forty years.

Judges 8:28

"Thus Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted their heads no more. And the country was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon."

Jon Peasey

Biblical Perspectives blog www.jon-peasey.blogspot.com

Ebooks author page https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JRPeasey

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted. Words enclosed in [ ] are inserted for clarity. Words in bold type emphasise a point. You may notice some verses are quoted with ... at the beginning, ending or elsewhere in a verse. Only the relevant part or parts of the verse, that relate directly to the current subject matter is quoted.]

[If you have any questions or comments you are invited to contact me via the comments section below.]

The eyes of your understanding

This is an interesting phrase. We sometimes use figurative language e.g. "I can see it in my mind's eye." In other words we can picture a concept or a proposal mentally; even though it may not exist physically. We then use our understanding to see if the concept or proposal is feasible. Will it work or won't it work? All our education, training, schooling and life skills should help us to arrive at either a positive or a negative answer.

Let's have a look at this phrase 'the eyes of your understanding', in its setting in the Book of Ephesians in the Holy Scriptures.

Ephesians 1:17-20:

"(17) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
(18) the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

(19) and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

(20) which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,"

Collins Concise Dictionary defines the word understanding as:

1. The ability to learn, judge, make decisions, etc.

2. Personal opinion or interpretation of a subject: my understanding of your predicament.

3. A mutual agreement or compact, esp. an informal or private one.

In verse 18 the apostle Paul in his prayers is praying for the Ephesian believers; that "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints," The Holy Spirit through the apostle is opening up to us the Triune God's desire that we should understand more and know more of the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.

His desire is that our understanding would be enlightened. In other words, that our understanding would be illuminated to such an extent, "that you may know what is the hope of His calling” what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. This is not our inheritance! It is God the Father's inheritance in the saints!

In Colossians 1:27 we read these words:

"To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

The English word enlightened is translated from the Greek word phōtizō: which means to shed rays, i.e. to shine or (transitive) to brighten up (literal or figurative) :- enlighten, illuminate, (bring to, give) light, make to see.—(Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary). The word enlighten conveys the sense of a subject, or a matter, being opened up in a clearer way; so that we understand it more fully.

Surely this is Paul's intention, that our understanding is so enlightened that we will have an enhanced appreciation of our God. How are we equipped for this? Verse 17 gives us the answer. "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" Wisdom to me is the sound, or wholesome, application of knowledge. Not all knowledgeable people are wise in the use of their knowledge. God the Father will give us the spiritual discernment to gain wisdom in the knowledge of Himself. Concurrent with that is the revealing of Himself to us, to increase our knowledge of Him.

Verse 19 and 20

"(19) and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

(20) which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,"

In these verses God the Father wants us to grasp the enormity of His power towards us. The proof of that power was shown when He raised Christ from the dead and then seated Christ at His right hand in the heavens!

In John chapter 4 when the Lord Jesus Christ was talking to the woman at Sychar's well; He revealed to her a tremendous truth.

 John 4:23-24:

"(23) But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
(24) God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

God the Father is seeking true worshippers to worship Him in spirit and in truth. The more we get to know Him the more we will want to worship Him. Jesus the Son of God came to reveal God the Father. On Jesus' resurrection morning He revealed a great truth to Mary Magdalene.

John 20:17:

"Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.' "

We can call Jesus' Father our Father. We can call Jesus' God our God. If we are truly saved this is our privilege as a child of God.

John 1:11-13:

"(11) He [Christ] came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

(12) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

(13) who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

These are the true worshippers!

The apostle Paul in verses 16-23 has a great desire that we should really get to know God the Father and increase our knowledge of Him. May it be that the eyes of our understanding will be enlightened in the knowledge of God the Father.

Jon Peasey

Biblical Perspectives blog www.jon-peasey.blogspot.com

Ebooks author page https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JRPeasey

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted. Words enclosed in [ ] are inserted for clarity. Words in bold type emphasise a point. You may notice some verses are quoted with ... at the beginning, ending or elsewhere in a verse. Only the relevant part or parts of the verse, that relate directly to the current subject matter is quoted.]

[If you have any questions or comments you are invited to contact me via the comments section below.]