Getting Credit

 DEVOTION

JUDGES

GETTING CREDIT

Judges 7:1-8

7:1 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. 2 The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, 3 announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'" So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. 4 But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go." 5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." 6 Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 7 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 other men go, each to his own place." 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.

NIV

We will get to the battle, if it can be called a battle, but first, we need to ponder this truth the LORD shows us. Gideon started out with thirty-two thousand fighting men, who were enough to completely destroy the Midianites, but that would be in their own strength, and the LORD would not have been given the credit, so He kept dwindling the number until they had only three hundred men. Here we are, only one person, but we are not alone in our war against the flesh, or the one who tempts our flesh to enslave our soul. This is a battle we cannot win by our own will, or any attribute or abilities we think give us some advantage. They may apply in the physical realm, by are useless in the spiritual realm. We can gain as much education, training, skills, or financial levels that would impress a certain amount of success in this world, but when we come to the battle against the dark forces of this world, or the principalities or the forces of evil in the heavenly or spiritual realm we will need God to fight that battle as he clothes us in his armor. When he does that, which we also must put on, then we can take our stand. But it is the armor of God that protects us and gives us the only weapon we need, the sword. We will see that all Gideon needed to do was have three hundred men on all sides of the camp of the Midianites blow their horns and smash their jars. The LORD had already done the rest, given the Midianites a dream of their being defeated by the Israelites. But that is to come later, as for now we understand our victory over the flesh and, for that matter, the death of the flesh, has nothing to do with any of our strength, whatever we think. The victory is the Lord’s and His alone. Sure, he has us dressed ready for battle, but it is His word that brings victory. We can simply take our stand, stand firm, stand our ground, and watch the Lord do what He does best, win, and get all the credit.