The Irrelevance of Strength

Scripture:
Judges 7:7 (KJV)
And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

 Judges 7:7 (NIV)
The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”

Inspiration:

Last night, I fell asleep before finishing dinner. This morning, not wanting to waste or forgo a good meal any longer, I grabbed my chopsticks and pursued my brown rice and veggies. I admit, I ate the veggies first because they were easier to grab with the chopsticks. The rice was a little trickier. Usually, if the rice is somewhat sticky, it's easier to shovel respectable portions onto the two elusive sticks. As I ate, I meditated on the Lord and how He has been blessing me tremendously with this T.O.D. venture. Hopefully you have allowed Him to bless you as well. Realizing that today marks the 7th day, a full week of consecutive TODding, I was praying that God would provide a special blessing through today's task. As I continued eating the rice, I had to pick up fewer grains at a time. In that last tablespoon, I had to pick up each rice grain individually. I knew that I could get up and grab a fork or spoon and finish the rice with one scoop. But since I was in meditation (about God, not the rice), I continued to sit there, pensively picking up each grain... one by one...

I was eating alone so I considered that I would not offend anyone/ no one would have been there to judge me if I just put my mouth in the bowl and vacuumed up the remaining rice grains... Hahaha. However, I was shockingly at peace in this tedious action and I remembered Gideon of the bible in this moment. Handling that rice Hoover style just didn't feel right.

 I remembered how God determined to give the fickle Israelites victory in a battle against the Midianites and Amalekites, condemning their worship of idols, but He charged Gideon with a task to complete first. Before God would give them victory in the battle to rescue Israel, they must decrease the numbers in their army. After Gideon's recruitment of men of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, their numbers were at about 30k and thus began the task of reducing the numbers. First, any man that wanted to leave, was permitted to leave. About 20k left. To determine how to reduce the final crew of 10k men, God told Gideon to observe how the men drank water from the river. The men that cupped the water and brought it to their mouths, lapping the water like dogs would be the men who would go to battle. The men that knelt down to drink the water (as a deer pants after water...)  would get to go home to their wives and children. The number that cupped the water, lapping like dogs were 300 (Judges 7). Since the scriptures compares these  men to dogs, they were most likely NOT men of God even though they came with men of God. Of the aforementioned tribes of Israel recruited for battle, according to the Torah, at least two possessed men who were not of Israelite origins due to different marriages to Canaanites; however, God could/would still use them to complete a work for Him.

This past Sunday, one of my sisters in Christ mentioned in a shared testimony that "seven is the number of completion". God did some amazing things  in 7 days, right? This comment came to my remembrance as I asked God for confirmation about today's T.O.D., the 7th post on this 7th day of 2014. I started counting and lo and behold, today's scripture comes from the 7th book of the Bible, the 7th book in the Old Testament, the 7th chapter, and the 7th verse.

TASK OF THE DAY 7:

In your current situation, there are mighty men/women who have physical strength or some kind of assumed power... That person may even be YOU. However, according to the Word of God, might and power doesn't win battles. Through faith, Gideon, the lowest of his family, joined forces with and led a weak clan of dogs to conquer a massive army of enemies who were hating on God's people.

Be prayerful and ask God to guide you through today's task. Identify someone that society/the world may consider to be weak or of low stature/status. (This person may not be of the faith but may travel with the flock.) Gear up and allow God to turn your weaknesses into strengths. Through the Spirit of God, lead that weak Canaanite soldier into a glorious victory! No need for weaponry, trumpets will do just fine.

(Focus on this task for the next 24 hours from the time you are reading this.) #T.O.D.forGod

*****

Optional: Extended reading/studying/ exegesis ...

Of the 30k man army, the first 20k chose to leave when given the choice. God selected the next 9.7k to go home to their wives and children because they knelt to their knees to drink of the water while the other 300 lapped as dogs.

The bible mentions dogs a number of times and they are never referred to in a positive light. When mentioned, they are considered unclean, Sodomites, slaves, dead, as one who returns to one's vomit. The first time they are mentioned is here:

Exodus 11:7

But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

 

In this passage, the Pharaoh is obstinately refusing to free the Israelites and the last plague is about to go down. The Lord says that death will visit every first born son of every Egyptian person and even the first born of their animals. However, regarding the Israelites, not even a dog will bark against them. As God says, there is a distinction between Egypt and Israel. In the spiritual realm, there is a distinction between God's people and the world/world system.

 

In the book of Judges, we know Gideon as a mighty man of valor and we assume the word "mighty" to be the focus of his victory. However, let us consider the popular Zechariah 4:6 scripture that reveals to us that "Not by power, nor by might but by my Spirit, thus saith the LORD of hosts." In Judges 6, Gideon acknowledges his own weakness as well as the weakness of his crew. Yet, in Hebrews 11, Gideon is known as a man of great faith "who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised who...quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies"

 [If you really want to get your mind blown, check out Zechariah 4 where God shares more insight around seven as the number of completion and also the distinction between 2s. If you really really want a deep dive, check out Zechariah 7.]

 

Basically, we don't win battles through human power or might. In fact, the bible mentions mighty men multiple times, one integral moment leading us to Ezekiel 39. If you are at all aware of current events and the state of Israel, this entire chapter is currently relevant and prophetic. Let's focus on Ezekiel 39: 18-20. : "You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan. ¹⁹ At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. ²⁰ At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.

Sooooo...

Essentially, it isn't the might of men that ensures success; it is the Spirit of the LORD.
 
The LORD will use the weakest and least impressive people to win a victory for His namesake.
 
The LORD will even use Egyptians, Sodomites, mighty men and enemies of the LORD to usher His people into victory.

Don't let the circumstances or résumés  fool you!