Day 091- The Bible Recap

Today's reading is Judges 6-7. Here's what stood out to me:

The cycle continued of the Israelites doing evil in the sight of the LORD, then falling into oppression, then crying out to the LORD, and God sending a judge to deliver them. Then the cycle would repeat every time a judge died.

The people were hiding in caves from the Midianite and Amalekite raiders. They stole their livestock and ravaged their crops.

Then God called Gideon. In 6:12 the angel of the LORD called Gideon a mighty man of valor most likely to encourage him because by his own account his clan was the weakest and he was least in his father's house. 6:15 But God has also used the weak to shame the strong. I Cor 1:27 J Vernon McGee said it like this, "When God gets ready to do anything, He chooses the weakest thing He can in order to make it clear that He is doing it, not the weak arm of the flesh."

Albeit by night instead of by day, Gideon obeyed the LORD's command to destroy the altar of Baal and the Asheran beside it. The LORD was gracious with Gideon when he asked for dew and then no dew to appear on the fleece as a sign God was with him.

The LORD went a step further by telling Gideon the amount of men he wanted to take in to the battle was too many. 

Not only that, but the Israelites didn't have swords because the Midianites didn't allow them to have weapons. The LORD equipped them with lamps hidden in pitchers and trumpets...seems like strange weapons but God had a mighty plan. They invaded at night as a sneak attack and to cause confusion. When they blew their trumpets and broke the pitchers so the light shone through, the Midianites were so confused they killed themselves with their own swords!

This account reminded me that God uses the weak to defeat the proud and strong. When the LORD is on your side it doesn't matter what very little you have to defend yourself, because He is the mightiest weapon of all!