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The Israelites were greatly impoverished because the Midianites came into their land, stole their sustenance, and destroyed the increase of their land. They did not kill the Israelites, but they took their crops and animals, and oppressed them (Judges 6:6).

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The reason they were being attack was because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord (Judges 6:1). So the Lord removed His arm of protection from them for seven years. They would be so miserable that they would turn back to the Lord, which they did and he heard them— He always does. The Lord never leaves us we instead leave Him. The enemy is still using the same tactics today. He try’s to oppress and impoverished God’s people so that they would feel helpless and hopeless. The enemy wants God’s people to believe the lie that God doesn’t care about them or their situation.

 

When they cried unto the Lord, He heard them. The Lord sent them a deliverer, Gideon, to deliver Israel from the Midianites. Gideon rallies over 32,000 men to defeat the enemy. However the Lord tells Gideon, that the people are too many for the Lord to give the Midianites into their hands. Israel just might believe it was because of them and not the Lord that got them the victory (Judges 7:2).

 

The Lord tells Gideon that those who are too fearful and afraid, should leave and twenty two thousand do just that, leaving poor Gideon with only ten thousand men. The Lord then tells Gideon that there is still too many and to go down unto the water, and the Lord will try them there (Judges 7:4).

 

When it is all said and done poor Gideon’s army is reduced to a remnant of 300 men. These three hundred men were to fight a vast army that covered the valley like grasshoppers. These men had to be the bravest men on the planet. They definitely were trusting in the Lord to deliver them against all odds.

 

“And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.” (Judges 7:12)

 

Gideon divided the men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. (Judges 7:16)

If you notice they did not have any natural weapon to defeat the enemy.

 

They did as they were instructed, fearful maybe, but obedient. The three companies blew the trumpets, and break the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow with and they cried, “The Sword of the Lord, and of Gideon (Judges 7:20).“

 

Let’s take a closer look at what they had. They had a trumpet that was used to proclaim a clarion sound throughout the enemies’ camp, a proclamation of the Word of the Lord, “The Sword of The Lord and Gideon.” God’s word is a two-edge sword. They had empty earthen pitchers. 2Corinthians 4:7 says, “ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”  This scripture in the New Testament is revealed in the Old Testament through Gideon’s three hundred men.

 

Once the earthen vessel (us) is broken, the light (Christ) can emanate out of us. The light that shined from those broken earthen vessel blinded and confused the Israelites enemies. The Israelites had weapons, but it was spiritual weapons that confused the enemy, causing their enemies to destroy and kill their own.

 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds (2 Corinthians 10:4”)

 

The Midianites and Amalakites were obviously physical enemies, but they were influence or used by the same spirit that comes against Israel and Christians today. Another words we are in a spiritual battle and our weapons must be spiritual if we are to defeat the works of the devil in our lives.

 

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12).”

              

   I remembered a dream that the Lord had given me years ago. In this dream there was a huge room, similar to a gymnasium. The room was filled with all kinds of people, of various ages and races. Each person was lying on the floor in his or her own sleeping bag. Everyone fell asleep accept me. Soon the entrance door opened and a hideous creature emerged. The creature surveyed the room, as if he was checking to see if everyone was asleep, then he quietly entered. He looked right at me as he approached the center of the room. I knew he knew I was awake and watching his every move, but he wasn’t detoured by one unsure witness.

   He walked over to each person and took something of value from each sleeping bag. I knew the valuables’ he was stealing from each person was not natural but spiritual. He took their peace, joy, health, blessings, love ones, etc. He was grinning from ear to ear as he quickly went from one sleeping bag to another. Finally he took one last look at me, before he left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. 

   Immediately every person arose from his or her slumber. They were very upset that something of value was missing. In the midst of the commotion I yelled, I saw who did it. One agitated person after another asked me,” If you saw who did it, why didn’t you warn us or do something?”I calmly told them to follow me. I led them to the entrance door that the creature had entered and left by.Look, I said as I counted each lock on the door, one, two, three, four, five locks. Each lock was different from one another. One was a slide bolt, there was a change lock. Another one was a dead bolt, and one was a padlock. Not one lock was the same. I counted out loud, one, two, three, four, and five. Five locks at your disposal, the number five for grace, and yet not one lock on this door had been used to secure the entrance. “Why didn’t you use what you had at your disposal to protect yourselves and your valuables, I asked?”

   As I was waking up, the Lord spoke to me and said, “Tell my people that the enemy has stolen from them.” Unfortunately, we blame others, ourselves, and even God for our misfortunes. We never seem to blame the devil. It is as if he doesn’t exist or has little if any interference in our lives. Worse yet, we failed to use all that our Heaven Father has given every child of God to defeat the works of the enemy, and to be more than conquers. 

   Ephesians 6:12 tell us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places. Whether we believe it or not, we are in a spiritual battle of good and evil. 

   What do we have at our disposal? We have the word of God or a two edged sword, perfect for battle. We have a shield of faith to stop the fiery darts of the enemy. We have an armor or breastplate of righteousness to protect our heart, soul and spirit. This armor of God enables us to stand against the wiles of the devil. We have everything we need to defeat the works of darkness in our lives and in the lives of others (Ephesians 6:13-18).  

   The gymnasium in the dream, I believe represents staying spiritually alert and exercising what our Heavenly Father has given us. The Lord’s grace is sufficient. His people have all they need to be victorious, but they must utilize the provisions and authority God has given them.