Greetings on this Monday! It’s good to start the week and the fall together in the Pastor’s Workshop.
This week we’re concluding our series, “Ready to Reopen?” We’ve been considering a question on the hearts and minds of many across our county, in our community and at our church. What do we need to do to ready ourselves to reopen wisely and well? As we saw there are no definitive answers, but differing answers depending on who you talk with. At the same time there are some “common denominators” underlying all considerations. We have sought to bring these forward in this series.
This set of messages has been based on the story of Gideon, from the Book of Judges, chapters 6 and 7. This Biblical account narrates the “reopening of Israel” from the oppression of the Midianites.
Our first two messages were, “Recover Your Confidence” and “Reassure Your Doubts”. “Recover Your Confidence” focused on the importance of having confidence as we begin to face into the question, “Are we ready to reopen?” The sermon noted how fear can cloud thinking as we consider this important step. We saw how faith calls us to remember the covenant we share with God and the commission God gives us to serve, as we work through our thought process.
In our second message, “Reassure Your Doubts”, we owned that when we consider taking major steps as individuals or as a church in following God we often have hesitations and reservations. These are common, normal and OK. God accepts us in our fears and reassures us in our doubts so we can move forward in faith into the future God has for us.
This week we’ll be looking at a highpoint in the story of Gideon. After recovering his confidence and reassuring his doubts, Gideon gave his troops a rally cry, “For the Lord and for Gideon!” When they made their surprise attack they cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”
Our text this week will be Judges 7:15-23. This is the account of the battle with the Midianities. As you read it you see the “hand of God” at work in a mighty way. As it says in Zechariah, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.” That is the truth on display. Here is our text:
15 When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped; and he returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Get up; for the Lord has given the army of Midian into your hand.” 16 After he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put trumpets into the hands of all of them, and empty jars, with torches inside the jars, 17 he said to them, “Look at me, and do the same; when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”
19 So Gideon and the hundred who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 So the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars, holding in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow; and they cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place all around the camp, and all the men in camp ran; they cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the three hundred trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow and against all the army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,[a] as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after the Midianites.
As God works triumphantly in this account what roll does the “rally cry” play in the victory? What roll might a “rally cry” serve in our current circumstances? What might it be?
On Monday we immerse ourselves in the Scripture. As we read and re-read, write and re-write from multiple translations and paraphrases. We seek to hear how the Spirit would speak to us through this word of the Scripture as a Word of God today.
There’s lots to do, so I’ll let you get to it! May God bless you in your study.
I’ll see you tomorrow In the Pastor’s Workshop.
Prayer: Gracious God, thank You for the beginning of a new week and a new message. We pray Your Spirit guide us as we read, listen and discern. Help us to hear Your holy Word so that we might follow in Your life giving ways. These we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen