Shine the Light, Blow the Trumpet
19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands.
20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!”
21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled.
22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man’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-meholah, by Tabbath.
23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian.
The fighting tactic is unconventional, to put it mildly. Sneak out around this army of thousands and then we basically jump out in the middle of the night and say BOO!
It’s bound to work!
The Lord said in the very beginning of this episode that Israel would strike Midian like one man. He knew that for this generation to remember Mt. Sinai they needed a Red Sea level event. Uniting them behind Gideon was a major miracle. The wet and dry fleece were miracles. Now it was time for the deliverance miracle to free them from their enemies.
Gideon’s tactics were not unlike ours today. We walk around in a world fully inhabited by well-trained Midianites. It might seem like the people that serve strange gods far outnumber us. When the time comes, we proclaim the Lord’s name and bring the Light. We don’t need to beat people up. We don’t need to swing swords. The Light is enough.
John 3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. (ESV)
When Israel brought the light, the Midianites were thrown into confusion. They didn’t want to follow Yahweh and all they knew was how to be a killing, oppressive army. When Israel brought Light, they did the only thing they knew to do.
Also consider, when armies fought, you’d have one man with a trumpet and a torch for several dozen to a hundred men. 300 trumpets would represent an army of 30,000, so if you heard 300 trumpets and 300 torches all around you, it meant you were doomed.
As we sneak around today, look for great ways to shine the Light of Christ into situations. You may or may not see it fitting to shout “For the Lord and for Gideon!”
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