In the above scriptures we have taken today for our text, there is a
strong parallel between Gideon's story and Paul's experiences and
teachings.
- Judges 7:2 is saying the same basic thought that 2 Cor 4:7
is saying.
Jdg 7:2 And the LORD
said unto Gideon, The people that are with
thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest
Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
2 Cor 4:7 But we have this
treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of
God, and not of us.
In both cases, God is indicated to be the One to whom all glory
must be given.
- God can do miracles any time He wishes, however if He is not
going to get the glory, He will not perform the miracle.
- If the miracle can be attributed to ourselves, when God
uses
us, and not a supernatural work of God, then God will not perform that
miracle.
When God told Gideon the people were too many for Him to use them
and
give Israel victory, it was because Israel would vaunt themselves up
and claim they won the victory for themselves.
- Israel must never have the chance to exalt themselves and
claim
responsibility for a mighty victory, so God informed Gideon that He
must whittle the army down to such a small number that the people
themselves would know God gave the victory, due to such impossible
natural odds.
Similarly, Paul said that God desires to be known as the One whose
power is the excellent source of power in our lives when He uses us.
- We can vaunt ourselves up as well and claim we are the
reason for such great ministries.
- So God committed His Spirit into our lives while we retained
"earthen vessels" that will ever remind us that we are weak, and if
anything glorious happens with us, we will clearly know it is God who
has done it.
- This reminds me of 2 Cor 12 where Paul prayed for the thorn
in his flesh to be removed.
- God did not respond until Paul asked the third time.
- God informed Paul that Paul would become vaunted in himself
due
to all the revelations God gave to him, so God would not remove the
thorn in order to maintain Paul's humility.
Paul also referred to his flesh as an earthen vessel for the
Light of knowledge in his life, in similar thought of Gideon's clay
jars being vessels that held torches.
So we have two aspects of Paul's teachings compared with Gideon's story
that tie the passages together.
(1) God's note that He will keep us humble through maintaining natural
means that cannot be attributed with any supernatural work He does with
us.
(2) We have earthen vessels through which light will shine and destroy
the works of the devil..
This shows us there are two aspects of Gideon's story that teach us a
lesson.
(1) What God requires before He will use us supernaturally -- that is,
humility.
(2) How to destroy the power of the devil through releasing light.
The breaking of the clay jars represents the brokenness of self.
(1) In order for God to get glory through our lives, self must be
broken.
(2) The enemy can only be defeated when self is denied.
Gideon represents Jesus Christ in this story.
Paul taught about the revelation God gave to him which was compared to
light shining out of darkness.
2Co 4:6 For God, who
commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
It is LIGHT in the form of the knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ.
One dark night, as the Midianites were below the mountain assembled to
conquer more of Israel, Gideon and 300 men had some lights that shone
out of darkness!
- This defeated the enemy.
- It ended their destructive conquering.
"But," Paul said, "this treasure is in earthen vessels that the
excellency of the power may be of God and not of us."
- This explains how the light that shines out of darkness,
which
Light is now in our hearts, will shine out of darkness once again since
Creation!
Gen 1:2-3 And the
earth was without form, and void; and
darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters. (3) And God said, Let there be
light: and there was light.
Paul said the Light was inside darkness, in order for it to SHINE OUT
OF darkness.
- This implies it is in a place where darkness rules.
- Evil.
- The work of the devil.
- It shines out because it was inside a vessel that was
surrounded by darkness, and the vessel breaks.
- This breaking allows the light to shine out.
This is exactly what Jesus Christ did.
Heb 2:14-15 Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers
of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;
that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death,
that is, the devil; (15) And deliver them who through fear
of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Jesus allowed the devil to cause His death and take Him into the
Headquarters of Hell -- which was DEATH.
- Once there, Jesus Christ would burst out like a time-bomb
that
was set to detonate at a strategic point in time in order to cause
maximum destruction to the devil's power.
- Jesus IS THE LIGHT!
- And He exploded in resurrection power in the bowels of DEATH.
Paul said God works like this because earthen vessels in and of
themselves can do nothing supernatural and glorious.
- This allows for all to see God's hand and glory in a thing
when He moves.
- It was naturally impossible for Jesus Christ to resurrect
from the dead.
- Only God can get the glory in such an instance.
- Life burst forth from death.
- Light burst out of darkness.
2Co 4:8-9 We are
troubled on every side, yet not
distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; (9)
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
Paul listed his experiences of Trouble, Being Perplexed,
Persecution and Casting down, but he said none of those things caused
distress, despair, forsakenness or destruction to him.
2Co 4:10-12 Always
bearing about in the body the dying of
the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in
our body. (11) For we which live are alway delivered unto
death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made
manifest in our mortal flesh. (12) So then death worketh in
us, but life in you.
He said these experiences were forms of the dying of Jesus Christ
repeated in his life.
- And just as Jesus died and resurrected with Life exploding
forth,
this breaking of the earthen vessel caused the life of Jesus in Paul to
come out and destroy the works of the devil in the lives of people
as he ministered to them.
2Co 4:6 For God, who
commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
This LIFE or LIGHT of knowledge is Truth!
- Revelation from God.
- And GLORY is LIGHT.
- Knowledge of the GLORY (Light) of God in the face of Jesus.
The manner in which this LIGHT of truth shone forth from Paul was
through his preaching of Truth and Revelation he received into His
heart from God.
But Paul said it only occurred with his life for the purpose of God
getting all the glory when he used Paul.
- Just as Jesus' resurrection gave glory to God.
2Co 4:15 For all
things are for your sakes, that the
abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the
glory of God.
Notice the idea that all the works of God through Paul were for the
Corinthians' sakes, so that that MANY people would give
thanksgiving to God, causing the abundant grace in Paul's life to
"redound".
- REDOUND means to EXCEL.
- To be abundant.
- It would redound to the glory of God.
- It would cause many people, not just Paul, to abundantly
give glory to God.
Such powerful use of Paul would not merely be appreciated by Paul
but
rather everyone who heard of the awesome work of God in destroying the
works of the devil in people's lives through Paul's ministry.
And God wants to work like this in all of us!
God put thisd light in earthen vessels to ensure He gets all the glory.
- When the only way in which this Life Of God inside us can
work is
through breaking out of an earthen vessel, then the breaking of the
vessel ensures nobody will glorify the vessel!
- How can one glorify the vessel if the vessel had to get out
of the way and break in order for the lilght to shine out of it?
- This is how the excellency of the power is made to be of God
and not ourselves -- not the clay vessel.
- Breaking ourselves causes any inkling of something
about ourselves as the cause for success to be removed.
- Self is in the way and must break in order to see any
success.
- So it is clearly made known to all that it is not ourselves
who are to receive gflory when God uses us.
- HOW INGENIOUS OF GOD!
That is what 4:7 means:
2Co 4:7 But we have
this treasure in earthen vessels, that
the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
This treasure is in earthen vessels that must break in order for the
Light to shien through them.
Paul actually said, "It cannot be the minister's self and natural
abilities that are cause for such glorious ministry, because self must
break in order to see this occur!"
If the vessel must break in order to see life work wonders, then it
cannot be the vessel, but rather the LIFE inside the vessel that ius
allowed to come out that deserves glory.
God does not choose to change the vessel INTO light when He
desires to use the vessel to give light to the world.
- He could just as easily have done that.
- But that would cause us and others to glorify us and not God.
- But He chose to put the light in the vessel and require the
vessel to break to let the light out and shine into the world.
That is what Judges 7:20 is showing us.
Jdg 7:20 And the
three companies blew the trumpets, and
brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the
trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword
of the LORD, and of Gideon.
The combination of Gideon and the Lord is what gives the victory,
but only when God gets the glory when Gideon's vessel is broken.
- The recipe to destroying the works of the devil includes the
ingredients of you and God.
- And you must break so that God's Light might shine out of
you, though.
And because this same principle occurred with Paul when he
particularly
ministered and PREACHED the Word, we see a foreshadow of this in
Gideon's story when the army BLEW TRUMPETS at the same time they broke
their picthers!
Isa 58:1 Cry aloud,
spare not, lift up thy voice like a
trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob
their sins.
Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was
opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a
trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew
thee things which must be hereafter.
God's Word of truth goes forth like the sound of a TRUMPET.
- Therefore, the blowing of trumpets represents the preaching
of
God's truth as the Light of revelation shines out of a broken minister
of God.
The armies of Midian were defeated!
- Paul preached to Corinthians whom he formerly noted were
envious people, full of strife and divisions.
1Co 3:3 For ye are
yet carnal: for whereas there is among
you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as
men?
Paul sought to destroy these elements of the devil in their lives
through ministry.
- This anointed revelatory preaching through a borken preacher
destroys the works of the devil in people's lives.
The Midianites work in darkness.
- They see the light and get confused.
- Devils dwell in the darkness of lies.
- They cannot stand the truth that shines to hearers and they
believe!
- This destroys the works of the devils in the hearers.
We must BELIEVE the truth when it is preached to us.
- It will cause the devil's destruction in your lives.
- When self is broken the Lilght can work.
- But before it is broken, people hear you tell them about
God, but they see no light shining from you.
- All they see is flesh.
- Flesh glories in all it can know of the Bible.
- No supernatural work occurs, though.
But SACRIFICE OF SELF is what borkeness is all about.
- God reacts only with sacrifice, and the reaction that
results is
the Life of Jesus coming out and ministering to people when we give
them the Word of God in order to destroy the devil's works!
Light breaks the darkness where the enemy dwells.
Gal 6:12-14 As many
as desire to make a fair shew in the
flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should
suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. (13) For
neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to
have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.
(14) But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto
the world.
Paul commented on his personal injuries due to sacrificing himself in
the form of preaching, knowing full well he woudl get persecuted for it.
- He spoke of others who were false prophets, and are proven
to be false by their lack pof sacrifice.
- Should these false prophets suffer persecution for their
"ministry", they would cease ministering.
- Since they desire to exalt FLESH and SELF through gaining
disciples from the church, there is no way they would suffer
persecution for ministry.
- Their desire to please self is contradictory to the
allowance of persecution against self .
Gal 6:17 From
henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of
the Lord Jesus.
Paul proved he was not out to exalt self through ministry, because he
physically bore the scars of whips and rods and beatings he received
due to his willingness to preach despite the breaking of self that was
occurring.
Paul said that Jesus' dying was repeated in his own physical body.
- Do not water this down to non-physical scars when you read
this.
Gideon told his men to watch him and repeat what he would do.
- Gideon represents Jesus.
- When Gideon broke the jar in his hand, the 300 broke their
jars.
- When Gideon blew the trumpet, the 300 blew their trumpets.
Jdg 7:17-18 And he
said unto them, Look on me, and do
likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall
be that, as I do, so shall ye do. (18) When I blow with a
trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on
every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of
Gideon.
You must see what Jesus experienced and repeat it in your life.
- His brokenness in dying is repeated in your experience of
tribulation.
Act 14:22 Confirming
the souls of the disciples, and
exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much
tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
The life of Jesus bursting in resurrection out of the tomb is repeated
in your actual ministry to other people who are in darkness.
BLOW THE TRUMPET!
The entire story of Gideon screams out with the message "Break
self".
- This will ensure God gets the glory, and God is able to work
through you and see the enemy in people's lives destroyed.
32,000 men originally came to help Gideon fight.
- Then 22,000 fearful men walked away.
- The remaining 10,000 men were told to drink at a riverside.
- 9,700 of them leaned down on their knees, lowered their
faces into the water and drank.
- They immersed themselves into the moment and pleasure of
drinking water.
- They drank in the fashion of forgetting about everything
else and fully enjoying a pleasure of the flesh.
- But 300 realized there was a bigger issue that could not
allow
them to fully immerse themselves into something the flesh enjoyed.
- Yes, they could feed the flesh to a certain extent, but not
fully since they were about God's work of defeating the enemy.
- These 300 manifested a willingness to break self and only
allow
the flesh to have so much attention, and this is what is needed in our
lives if God is able to use.
Similarly, Elijah doused his altar on Mount Carmel with 12 barrels
of water in the time of no rain and lack of water.
- This would ensure that when the fire of God came from heaven
and
burned the sacrifice, nobody could say it occurred through natural
means.
Abraham gave the King of Sodom all the spoils the king gave to
him, to
ensure that the wealth God would give to Abraham could not be
attributed to this human King of Sodom.
God can do it, but He refuses to allow us to be mistaken as the
source of the miracle, so precautions are taken so He gets full glory
when it happens.
AND THEN SATAN IS DESTROYED.