The Midnight concept,#5 Gideon-a mighty warrior, a judge, YOSHINOBU NAMIHIRA MD,FACG 3000 HALLS FERRY ROAD VICKSBURG, MS 39180 PH 601-638-9800,FAX 601-638-9808.

The Midnight concept ,#5 Gideon-a mighty warrior,

a judge,

YOSHINOBU NAMIHIRA MD ,FACG3000 HALLS FERRY ROAD

VICKSBURG , MS 39180PH 601-638-9800,FAX 601-638-9808

E MAIL: NAMIHIRA @VICKSBURG.COM

Gideon (1) ;Judges 6:1-8:35• The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the

God

• Consequence of disobedience=

delivered to the hand of the Midian for 7 years• The Midianites= stronger position;prevailed

against israelites, destroyed the produce of the field at the time of harvest,

• The Israelites= weaker position ;hiding in the caves, dens, the stronghold in the mountains

Gideon (2)

• The Israelites= greatly impoverished , persecuted, oppressed , depressed, not doing too well, : cried out to the Lord for help !

• The Lord’s words of complaints or self reflection on the part of the Israelites

The past history-review of Israel

1. The lord brought you out of Egypt (+)2. Brought you out of the house of

bondage(+)3. Delivered you out of the hand of the

Egyptians(+)4. Delivered you out of the hand of all who

oppressed you(+)5. Drove them (the enemies) out before you(+)

6. Gave you their land to you. (+)

God’s speaking to you

1.I am the Lord , your God

2. Do not fear the gods of Amorites, in whose land you dwell

3. You have not obeyed My voice

• The Angel of the Lord= sat under the

terebinth tree ,which was in Ophrah which belonged to Joash

• Ophrah=• Joash =• Gideon =threshing wheat in the winepress

• working hard , be busy at work,doing something , not lazy, not idle !

• Reason=hide the wheat from the eyes of the midianites

• The word from the angel of the lord=

• “the lord is with you “

• You , mighty man of valor”• Gideon =really mighty man of valor, military

strength , war experiences , good past record of military success at that time ?

• Answer= no !

Gideon’s comments1. If the lord is with us, why has all

this (poor and wretched, sad condition )

happened to us ?

2. Where are all the miracles which our fathers told us about ?

3. Miracles= (1) Exodus from Egypt; (2) the red sea parting and crossing ;(3) manna in the desert ; (4) the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud ;(5) water out of the rock in the desert

• The lord has forsaken us and delivered us to the hands of the Midianites

• Gideon’s comments= complaint, questioning, murmuring,

The lord speaking to Gideon

• The lord’s comments=

• “go in this might of yours• You shall save Israel from the hands of Midianites

• Have I not sent you ? “

• Gideon • go in this might of yours• You shall save Israel from

the hands of Midianites • Have I not sent you ? “• Judges6:12-14

• Moses• God sent Moses to king

Pharaoh • The ten plagues in the

Egypt• Miracles= the red sea

parting and crossing • Main agenda= save

Israelites and take to the promised land ( Canaan )

• Exodus 9---18

• Gideon • go in this might of

yours• You shall save Israel

from the hands of Midianites

• Have I not sent you ? “

• Isaiah • God sent Isaiah as a

prophet • Main agenda= save

Israelites from destruction

• God’s agenda= saving business (+) , not destruction business (-)

• Isaiah 1:16-18

• Gideon • go in this might of yours• You shall save Israel from

the hands of Midianites • Have I not sent you ?“• I will be with you• You shall defeat the

Midianites as one man• Judges 6:16

• Jesus • God sent his only son

from heaven to the earth • The main mission =save

people on the earth from the Satan’s deception , lying about God’s integrity , character

• One man’s rescue mission for the whole mankind !

• John 1:29; 3:16

• Gideon’s qualification:

1. Manasseh

2. The Weakest clan

3. The least in the father’s house

• Gideon’s qualification:1.Manasseh2.The Weakest clan3.The least in the

father’s house

• King David• Working hard • Busy at work for routine

job• Taking care of sheep• Not the strongest, not the

biggest, not the smartest• Not on the front page of

the newspaper • 1Samuel 16:7-13

• Gideon’s qualification:1. Manasseh2. The Weakest clan3. The least in the father’s

house

• King Saul• The least and the weakest ,

not the tallest , not the first candidate at the first glance.

• The humble being in the beginning—God’s employment ,hiring criteria

• The proud, the stubborn, unusable at the end

• No signs of repentance, no recognition of wrong doing, incorrect course of action

• 1 Samuel 11:24

• Gideon• Prepared a young gout• Unleavened bread on the

rock• Meat in the basket on the

rock • The broth in the pot—

poured out the ground• Fire=God’s approval,

Ok’s sign,

• Jesus• Bread• Wine• Jesus' blood poured out

to the ground

•Gideon is type of Jesus Christ .

Judges 6:36-40

• Gideon’s two requests

• Fleece experiment• Dew ( water ) inside• Dew (water ) outside • Confirmation and

conviction of the God’s presence , God’s doing in this project

Gideon’s response

• I have seen the angels of the God face to face

• Peace be with you; do not fear, you will not die !

• Gideon thought that he would die, no body is allowed to see God and live in the past. Absolute reverence and respect to God !

• Gideon built an altar for the Lord

• Place=the Lord-shalom

• Location=Ophrah of the Abiezrites• Cut down the wooden images of Baal

• Tear down the altar of Baal by night ,not by day to avoid public outcry and revolt

• Bulls for burn offering

The Midianites vs. the Israelites

• Gideon and his men = camp at the

well of Harod

• The Midianiates=camp at the hill of Moreh in the valley

The final conflict,Amageddon

• The midianites• Gideon• The battle at the

Moreh• The hill of maggido

• Satan and his company

• God’s people • Jesus• The final conflict at

Amaggedon

Selection criteria

• Gideon’s army• 32,000=the beginning number• 22,000= returned• 10,000=remaining • 300 (final selection ) !• 300/32,000= 0.9% ,only a small number!• 32,000-300=31,700 (99.06%) sent home,

disqualified

God’s reason for reducing the numbers

• “the people who are with you ( Gideon ) are too many for me ( God ) to give the Midianites into their hands “

• Reason #1=“my own hand has saved me”=dependence on self ,no dependence on God

• Reason #2=Israel will claim glory for itself against Me ( God)= exultation of self = pride

Important question

• What is the driving force underneath you ?

• What is the deep seated motivating force?

•Pride = very dangerous,

extremely destructive ,ultimately suicidal death

• We made it != recognition of more self and less God’s power and exultation of self .

• vs.

• God had helped us through this ordeal, crisis or trials, tribulations = recognition of less self and more God’s power and appreciation for what God had done for them.

God’s selection criteria

1. Whoever is fearful and afraid ,let him turn and depart at once from the mount

Gilead= fear

2. Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue as a dog laps , vs. everyone who gets down on his knees to drink=readiness, emergency take off or landing, alertness, vigilance ,watchfulness,

The number game

• Gideon’s army• 32,000=the beginning number, showed up • 22,000= returned ( test #1=fear)• 10,000=remaining • 9,700=sent home (test #2= readiness,

vigilance)• 300 (final selection ) !=the final figure• 300/32,000= 0.9% ,only a small number!

• 32,000-300=31,700 (99.06%) sent home, disqualified

Take home point

• Many are called and many showed up for the battle (32,000)

• The great majority are fearful and not ready = sent home (31,700),99.01 %

• only small fraction is selected and chosen for the battle. (less than 1% of the whole ,300)

Important thing to ponder

• At the end time of the earth’s history, very same scenario can happen to us.

•Be vigilant and be ready at any time for the battle !

Gideon ‘s war tactics

• 300 divided into 3 of 100

• Everyone= 1) trumpet,2) pitcher, 3) torch (torch inside the pitcher )

• Instruction of Gideon to his men

• “ look at me and do likewise and watch “

• You shall come to the edge of the camp , you shall do just as I do.”=you set a good example, good model , good spirit

• At midnight• 3 of 100 men came to the outpost of the

Midianite camp• They blew the trumpet=sound effect • Broke the pitchers in their hands• Held the torches in their hands=visual

effect • Shout ”the sword of the Lord and of

Gideon “=sound effect

• Every man stood in his place all around the camp .

• The end result = 1) the whole army ran and cried out and fled, 2) when 300 men blew the trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp = sudden surprise, confusion, chaos, loss of order, massive killing against each other,

• The army fled to Beth acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath

• The men of Israel gathered together from Naphthali,Asher, Mannasseh, and pursued the Midianites.

• Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim,

• The men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as

Beth Barah and Jordan.

• They captured and killed two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb.

• when he sounded the trumpet of war, the men of Ophrah were among the first to gather to his standard. Heralds were

dispatched to his own tribe of Manasseh, and also to Asher, Zebulum, and Naphthali, and all answered to the call. {PP 548.1}

• War geography, tactical plan

• The Midianites by the hill of Moreh

• Gideon and children of Israel beside the well of Harod

main theme: God sends prophet

God sends prophet for warning before great event happens

event prophet Flood Noah Exodus from Egypt Moses Philistines Samuel Babylon captivity Daniel, Ezekiel Jesus birth, arrival, deliverance from sin John the baptist

Main theme: God sends fire from heaven

• God sends fire from heaven as supernatural manifestation of His presence and clear cut demonstration or visible sign of His approval for the event

Person Fire from heaven, God’s approval

Reference

Abel Fire, his sacrifice, approved

Moses Pharaoh. Hail, fire from heaven

Exodus 9:24

Solomon Solomon’s temple, dedication, prayer,

Gideon Sacrifice, fire Elijah Mt . Carmel , Baal

prophets, face to face confrontation, Elijah vs. Baal. (king Ahab)

Genesis4:4

2chronicle7:1

Judges 6:21

1 kings18:38

The concept of true courage or honest bravery

• People become extremely brave and courageous when they sense the presence of God or the sense of “ God with us “ or God never forsakes us , God will sustain us, God will see us through the trial, afflictions and problems and difficulties.

• On the other hand, people become weak and powerless, incapacitated, lose backbone , lose stamina, lose internal strength, when God is not with us , people lose the sense of God’s presence, when God forsake us, God left us, when God is not sustaining us , support us.

Bravey, courage, strength ,power,joy, +, stamina, more energy, more inertia, more motivation, more driving force,

Presence of God, God with us, God never forsake us, God sustains us, God helps us, support us,

Coward, less power, less energy, less motivation, sadness, -, less courage, less brave,

No sense of God’s presence, God forsake us, no longer with us, God not sustaining us, not supporting us,

• Bravey, courage, strength ,power,joy, +, stamina, more energy, more inertia, more motivation, more driving force, Coward, less power, less energy, less motivation, sadness, -, less courage, less brave,

• Presence of God, God with us, God never forsake us, God sustains us, God helps us, support us, No sense of God’s presence, God forsake us, no longer with us, God not sustaining us, not supporting us,

• when he sounded the trumpet of war, the men of Ophrah were among the first to gather to his standard. Heralds were dispatched to

his own tribe of Manasseh, and also

to Asher, Zebulum, and Naphthali, and all answered to the call. {PP 548.1}

• Those who were unwilling to face danger and hardships, or whose

worldly interests would draw their hearts from the work of God, would add no strength to the armies of Israel. Their presence would prove only a cause of weakness. {PP 548.3}

• the Lord saw the pride and unbelief existing in the hearts of His people. Aroused by the stirring appeals of Gideon, they had readily enlisted; but many were

filled with fear when they saw the multitudes of the Midianites. Yet, had Israel triumphed, those very ones would have taken the glory to themselves instead of ascribing the victory to God. {PP 549.1}

• By the simplest means character is often tested. Those who in time of peril were intent upon supplying their own wants

were not the men to be trusted in an emergency.

Take home point

• The men who can be trusted in an emergency are

1. Do not care for selfish need or personal need

2. Care for others

3. Care for master’s business .

• The men of His choice were the few who would not permit their own wants to delay

them in the discharge of duty. The three hundred chosen men not only

possessed courage and

self-control, but they were men of faith.{pp 550}

•Success does not depend upon

numbers. God can deliver by few as well as by many. He is honored not so much by the great numbers as by the

character of those who serve

Him. {PP 549.3}

•Number ?

•Character ?

Number ?

Character!

Character is often tested by the simplest means

3 characteristics of Gideon’s chosen men

1.Courage

2.Self control

3.faith

•Success does not depend upon numbers

Total number of enemy’s death

• In this signal defeat not less than one hundred and twenty thousand of the invaders perished pp 553.1

• The leader whom God chose to overthrow the Midianites occupied no prominent position in Israel. He was not a ruler, a priest, or a Levite. He thought himself the least in his father's

house. But God saw in him a man of courage

and integrity. He was distrustful of himself and willing to follow the guidance of the Lord. God does not always choose for His work men of the greatest talents, but He selects those whom He can best use.

• "Before honor is humility." Proverbs 15:33. The Lord can work most effectually through those who are most sensible of their own insufficiency, and who will rely upon Him as their leader and source of strength. He will make them strong by uniting their weakness to His might, and wise by connecting their ignorance with His wisdom. {PP 553.2}

• If they would cherish true humility, the Lord could do much more for His people; but there are few who can be trusted with any large measure of responsibility or success without becoming

• self-confident and forgetful of their dependence upon God. PP 554

• This is why, in choosing the instruments for His work, the Lord passes by those whom the world honors as great, talented, and brilliant. They are too often proud and self-sufficient. They feel competent to act without counsel from God. {PP 553.3}

• The simple act of blowing a blast upon the

trumpet by the army of Joshua around

Jericho, and by Gideon's little band

about the hosts of Midian, was made effectual, through the power of God, to overthrow the might of His enemies. {PP 554.1}

• The most complete system that men have ever devised, apart from the power and wisdom of God, will prove a failure, while the most unpromising methods will succeed when divinely appointed and entered upon

with humility and faith. {PP 554.1}

• Trust in God and obedience to His will are as essential to the Christian in the

spiritual warfare as to Gideon and Joshua in their battles with the Canaanites. By the repeated manifestations of His power in behalf of Israel, God would lead them to have faith in Him--with confidence to seek His help in every emergency. {PP 554.1}

• He is just as willing to work with the efforts of His people now and to accomplish great things through weak instrumentalities. All heaven awaits our demand upon its wisdom and strength. God is "able to do exceeding abundantly

above all that we ask or think." Ephesians 3:20. {PP 554.1}

Conclusions (1)

1. Consequence of disobedience=captivity, hardship, difficulty, tribulation

2. Hardship, difficulty= the time of self examination, self –reflection, the moment of quiet prayer

3. Review of ,meditation on , reflection on the past history, events=good for soul

4. God’s promise=“I will be with you, Do not fear”

Conclusions (2)

5. The angels of the lord in different forms= treat everyone with respect

6. Parallelism between Gideon and Moses, Isaiah, Jesus

7. Job qualifications= not by might, height, appearance, education, degrees, but by humble spirit

8. The natural response in the face of the Almighty God=Ultimate reverence, respect leading to building the altar of sacrifice

Conclusions (3)

9. Parallelism between the conflict at the hill of Maggido and final conflict at Amageddon

10. Selection criteria=the character is tested by the simple method.

11. God’s reason for reducing the number=prevention of pride, self –exultation,

12. The importance of setting a good example= “watch and do just I do “

13. At midnight, Gideon’s army defeated the enemy !

Conclusions (4)

14.God sends prophet for warning before significant event happens.

15.God send fire from heaven as a sign of approval.

16.The concept of true courage and honest bravery.

17.Success does not depend on numbers!

18.Before honor is humility.

19.Every man stood in his place= you do your duty

•Success does not depend on numbers

•The End

•Thank you for coming !

Sermon details

• Opening hymnal:532;day by day

• Scripture reading :Judges 8:19-21

• Special music :the namihira’s

• Sermon: the Midnight concept #5,Gideon- a mighty warrior and a Judge

• Closing hymnal:206;face to face

Place of visit

10-13-2007,vicksburg SDA church, Vicksburg MS