Adverse effect of Associations

Judges 7:1-7

Judges 7:1-7, Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. 2 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 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. 4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” 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.”

Background. God choses Israel and brings them out Egypt to the promised Land. In the Promised land God rules them through Judges. Book of Judges has only one big theme repeated again and again.

• God blesses people.
• People prosper.
• People lean on the things/prosperity
• God sends the enemy to judge them.
• People repent of their sin.
• God forgives them.
• God prospers them again.

By the time we come to chapter 7 the cycle has been completed 4 times.

This time again God sends the Midianites to oppress them. People plant their seeds and look after the crop. When the crop is ready for harvest the enemy come and take over the produce. Now Gideon is also one among the guy who was doing the same but this time he is doing the harvest in the winepress.

Judges 6:11-12, 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!” Gideon put out couple of tests before accepting the role of a deliverer of Israel.

We will look at this chapter with this background.

1. Deceptive look

2. Fear Contaminates

3. People without Vision

4. Few good people

5. Praising God

1. Deceptive look

Gideon assembled 32,000 Soldiers to fight against Midianites. Midianites strength was 135,000.

Psalms 20:7, Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

God says that you are too much because you would not give glory to Me. God looks at the people in your life and He decides whether to fight for you or not! V 2, And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

Your association is very vital for God to be on your side. There are some people who are not supposed to be on your side. No problem in the capabilities of God. God can bring deliverance any time and in any circumstances.

But God choses when to act on your behalf. Please check who you are associated with. 32,000 came to fight. They must have had the look and dressed like a soldier otherwise Gideon wouldn’t have recruited them. There may be people in your life who look like holy, righteous, genuine but check are they real?

Have you been deceived like Gideon?

2. Fear Contaminates

V 3, 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.

When God said ask the people who are fearful to leave 22,000 left.

Deuteronomy 20:8, “The officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.’

Not just that the people are fearful they will infest the whole camp with fear. Remember the story of 12 spies went into spy the Promised Land and 10 of them gave negative report because of that the whole congregation refused to enter.

Numbers 13:31-33, But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Numbers 14:1, So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.

There are people associate with you may not be the one who has the courage to stand by you. People desert you when the times of need.

The person who must make a commitment to marry ran miles away. Person who must be taking responsibility when the crucial time comes you will find all along, they were lying to you. When they get an opportunity, they just leave you too high and dry.

Not only they walk away but they also make others to not to lend a helping hand. 3. People without vision. V 4-6, But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’

the same shall not go.” 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.

People look for comfort not preparedness.

These soldiers came for a war, not for picnic. They should have been alert all the time. The enemy will attack you the least expected time of your life. Focus on the vision. Focus on the purposes of God. People who come with you may not have focus on the plans and purposes of God.

There are people who take you away from God even though they pretend that they are with you, but they are not with you spiritually. People look for comfort. People look what can I get from this relationship. People look what can I get from the church.

4. Few Good people

V 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.” To fight against 135,000 people God asks Gideon to go with just mere 300 people.

Zechariah 4:6, So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts. Few good people are more than enough for you to take a mighty task. People who encourage you People who equip you People who teach you the ways of the Lord

5. Praising God

Will you be parsing God for the victory He had given? Why God has to remove the people down to 300 so that they know that the victory came because of God alone! Not on any of their strength but by God.

Deuteronomy 8:11-18, “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your

heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— 17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’

18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. The greatness of God is the cure to our fears regarding our inadequacies and weaknesses.

The greatness of God that should be the preventative for any pride or arrogance on our part, for when victories are won, it is He who has done it, not us. Thus, the greatness of our God should keep us from fear and from pride.