Judges 6:1-12 Again the Israelites did
evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands
of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so
oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts,
caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their
crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the
country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all
the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor
cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and
their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and
their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so
impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help. 11 The angel of the LORD came and sat
down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his
son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12
When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with
you, mighty warrior.”
The Lord woke me up in the middle of the night
recently with the verses, Judges 6:1-12, emblazoned on my mind. The
premise of this section of the Old Testament is how the Lord reminded Israel
how He brought them out of slavery and gave them a promised land, yet they
still turned to other gods. The 12th verse is especially poignant...the
Lord appeared to Gideon saying, “The Lord is with you mighty warrior,” which
Gideon found it difficult to accept.
This message to Gideon is a clear statement of consecration for today’s
Christians:
1. Remember from whence you've come! (He
has brought us out of darkness.) (Verse 8)
2. Remember all the things He’s
done! (He cleansed us by His blood.) (Verse 9)
3. Remember the Lord your God is
one! (God is calling us to separate ourselves apart for Him.) (Verse 10)
The call is for consecration, to “put aside” the
things that hold us back from lifestyle worship. We need to “put aside” endless
pursuit of pleasures, along with unhealthy relationships, television, videos,
music and books that do not glorify Jesus Christ. I believe God’s heart is that
we separate ourselves from the gods of this world. Until we make a
concerted effort to remember these 3 things, we cannot know the fullness of His
presence.
As it was with Gideon, may the Lord approach
each of us as “Mighty Warriors” and declare, “The Lord is with you!” AMEN!
