Day 127- Judges 7-8

I guess that the age old rhyme, "sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me," is not so true after all, Henry indicates,

Three ways Gideon contrived to strike a terror upon this army, and so put them into confusion. [1.] With a great noise. Every man must blow his trumpet in the most terrible manner he could and clatter an earthen pitcher to pieces at the same time; probably each dashed his pitcher to his next man’s, and so they were broken both together, which would not only make a great crash, but was a figure of what would be the effects of the fright, even the Midianites’ killing one another. [2.] With a great blaze. The lighted torches were hid in the pitchers, like a candle under a bushel, until they came to the camp, and then, being taken out all together of a sudden, would make a glaring show, and run through the camp like a flash of lightning. Perhaps with these they set some of the tents on the outside of the camp on fire, which would very much increase the confusion. [3.] With a great shout. Every man must cry, For the Lord, and for Gideon, so some think it should be read in v. 18, for there the sword is not in the original, but it is in v. 20, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. It should seem, he borrowed the word from the Midianite’s dream (v. 14): it is the sword of Gideon. Finding his name was a terror to them, he thus improves it against them, but prefixes the name of Jehovah, as the figure without which his own was but an insignificant cypher. This would put life into his own men, who might well take courage when they had such a God as Jehovah, and such a man as Gideon, both to fight for, and to fight for them; well might those follow who had such leaders. It would likewise put their enemies into a fright, who had of old heard of Jehovah’s great name, and of late of Gideon’s. The sword of the Lord is all in all to the success of the sword of Gideon, yet the sword of Gideon must be employed. Men the instruments, and God the principal agent, must both be considered in their places, but men, the greatest and best, always in subserviency and subordination to God. This army was to be defeated purely by terrors, and these are especially the sword of the Lord. These soldiers, if they had swords by their sides, that was all, they had none in their hands, but they gained the victory by shouting "The sword.’’ So the church’s enemies are routed by a sword out of the mouth, Rev. 19:21 .

Rare is it to find someone that truly acts in the best interests of the people, and not for his own benefit,

I. Gideon’s laudable modesty, after his great victory, in refusing the government which the people offered him. 1. It was honest in them to offer it: Rule thou over us, for thou hast delivered us, v. 22. They thought it very reasonable that he who had gone through the toils and perils of their deliverance should enjoy the honour and power of commanding them ever afterwards, and very desirable that he who in this great and critical juncture had had such manifest tokens of God’s presence with him should ever afterwards preside in their affairs. Let us apply it to the Lord Jesus: he hath delivered us out of the hands of our enemies, our spiritual enemies, the worst and most dangerous, and therefore it is fit he should rule over us; for how can we be better ruled than by one that appears to have so great an interest in heaven and so great a kindness for this earth? We are delivered that we may serve him without fear, Lu. 1:74, Lu. 1:75 . It was honourable in him to refuse it: I will not rule over you, v. 23. What he did was with a design to serve them, not to rule them—to make them safe, easy, and happy, not to make himself great or honourable. And, as he was not ambitious of grandeur himself, so he did not covet to entail it upon his family: "My son shall not rule over you, either while I live or when I am gone, but the Lord shall still rule over you, and constitute your judges by the special designation of his own Spirit, as he has done.’’ 

I went to hear a really great speaker the other day, speaking on Joshua and it was nice to know the story in detail before hearing her speak.  Except that, once she started speaking, I realized, one read of the Bible will NEVER be enough.  Inspired for next year, it will be time to "chew the cud."   I'll explain that gross detail in next year's introduction; however,  I am curious, what chapter would you begin your very focused study on and why?