"And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian." -Judges 7:15 (KJV)

 

There are many phrases, passages, and scriptures in the bible that we read and depending on where we are, depending on our own personal journeys, God opens our eyes to certain things. He gives us revelations about the significance and meaning of things that may not be apparent, that may not initially and plainly pop out at us. As I was led to read the 7th chapter of Judges, while I had read this story on numerous occasions, for some reason something stuck out to me this time in a way that it hadn't before. And it is profound in that it was one word that gravitated toward me, and that was the word, ARISE!

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I had an a-ha moment which caused me to start to really dig into this story. For some reason, I knew the word ARISE had deep roots as it pertained to this story. I knew there was power in this word, I just wasn't sure exactly how it connected beneath the surface of it all. In case you are not familiar with this story, let's quickly recap:

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Gideon was the son of Joash, an Abiezrite. The Abiezrites were seen as the weakest amongst their tribe. They were part of the tribe of Israel. In man's eyes, Gideon would have been considered as common and ordinary as they come. If we review Judges 6-8, we find that due to the Israelites consistent disobedience, God allowed the Midianites to oppress them for seven years. They became so distressed that they began to cry out to God for help. God heard them and reacted to their prayers. God used Gideon to defeat the Midianites and save Israel out of their hands.

 

In reading this account we find that Gideon at first struggles to believe that God could use him because he considered himself less than worthy. He considered himself the least of his family. In spite of what he felt about himself, God chose him to carry out this very mighty task. God knew the heart of Gideon and was patient with him. God encouraged him and spoke purpose into him that would help to boost his confidence to take on this grand assignment that God had commissioned him to take on. God, knowing that Gideon was fearful because the enemy army was far greater than that of Gideon's, gave Gideon numerous instructions throughout this narrative. The first one that we will discuss as it pertains to our discussion is located in Judges 7:9-11. It states,​ "And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host" (KJV).

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God spoke to Gideon telling him to go down to attack the Midianites and that He was going to give them into his hands. God, knowing Gideon's thoughts, knowing Gideon's fear, then tells Gideon that if he was afraid to attack to go down alone, with just him and his servant Purah and listen in to what the Midianites were saying because through hearing this conversation, Gideon would find the encouragement and strength, to do what God had called him to do.

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Gideon is obedient and goes down with Purah to the camp of the Midianites. As soon as Gideon arrives, he hears a conversation between a man and his friend. The man tells his friend that he had a dream that a loaf of barley bread tumbled into their camp and hit the tent so hard and with such force that it caused the tent to overturn and fall down. The friend interprets the dream saying, that this loaf of bread represented Gideon (during this time barley bread was a food that was known to be eaten by the poor, barley meal was also used for dogs and cattle) and the tent overturning symbolized God giving the Midianites into their hands.

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Hearing this encouraged Gideon's heart so much so that he immediately bowed down and worshipped God. And this is when our scripture highlight comes to life. It was with this conversation that Gideon goes back to the army and tells them to ARISE! because God had given the Midianites into their hands.

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There are so many revelations in this passage alone. First, understand that although God told Gideon from the very beginning that He was going to deliver the Midianites unto them, Gideon still had moments of fear, moments of worry, moments of doubt. However, he was still obedient to God and did not turn away from the battle. He did not turn away from what God instructed him to do. Therefore, in spite of having already given Gideon confirmation, God again gives Gideon assurance by having Gideon to hear the conversation of these two individuals in the Midianites' camp. Regardless of how vast this army was, no matter how powerful they had been in previously attacking the children of Israel, taking all that they owned, even they now understood that God had called forth Gideon to defeat them.

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As mighty and agonizing that the Midianites had been toward Israel, they knew that Israel now had a new force. If we reflect on it, we can say that God had already began to put the fear of Gideon upon them. They even acknowledged that God was going to bring victory to Gideon and Israel. The scripture states, "This is nothing else [except] the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host".

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Their enemies acknowledged four things, (1) they acknowledged who Gideon was, (2) they acknowledged the fact that he was an Israelite, (3) they acknowledged that God was the one who would give Gideon the victory, and (4) they acknowledged that all of the Midianites and their entire camp would be destroyed by Gideon. Even Gideon's enemies fully recognized what was at work even if Gideon struggled to fully believe it. It was significant that they acknowledged these four things because Gideon was always a part of the Abiezrite tribe. He was not someone "new" who came along and made himself known. The difference was that God had now "called" him into purpose which meant that even if he wanted to hide and remain unknown, he couldn't. Plain ole' Gideon was now being promoted by an ALL POWERFUL GOD!

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Secondly, ARISE is important because by definition arise means:

• to come into existence,

• begin to be noticed,

• to happen,

• to get up, to stand.

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To come into existence is significant because at the beginning of Judges 7, prior to this point Gideon already had an army. However, God does what may have seemed like the strangest thing to do before going into a battle against a large forceful army. He tells Gideon that he has too many men to fight with him and that he needed to decrease the size of his army.

 

God knew the sinful nature of the Israelites, so He was fully aware that if He allowed Gideon to keep a massive amount of men in the army when they defeated the Midianites, the Israelites would boast saying that they did it by their own might. God wanted to give them the victory in a way that they could not claim that it was their strength that did it. God gave instructions to Gideon to guide him in eliminating those who would not go to battle with him. Gideon goes from 32,000 men to 300. If you read the text, it states that the Midianites' army was so vast that their camels could be counted no more than one could count the sand on the shore.

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Here it is an army vast as can be and God eliminates men until Gideon is only left with 300. Once God condensed Gideon's army, God told him that with the 300, He was going to give the Midianites into his hands. God was now ready to bring that army into position (into their existence). God was now ready to use them (bring them into notice), and it was now time (to happen) for Gideon to lead this army to victory which is when Gideon tells his fellow army men to ARISE!, Yes, ARISE because their time had finally come. They had to undergo some conditioning, but it was now time for them to go forward in what God had called them to do. Everything that God did, every instruction that God gave Gideon, and everything that Gideon acted upon, his actions were directly aligned with the definition of what it means to ARISE!: come into existence, bring into notice, to happen.

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Third, understand that in order for Gideon to tell the army to ARISE! he had to be the first partaker in this. It is no coincidence in how God orchestrated this. When God first told Gideon to attack, Gideon did not go to the army and say, "ARISE, when I come back from spying the camp of the Midianites, then we will attack". No, if we go a few verses up, verse 9 to be exact we read the following," And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand."

 

Before Gideon could direct his army to arise, God first needed Gideon to ARISE! Gideon was still fearful and although it was God's hand, God's power, and God's authority that was going to give them this battle, God was not going to allow Gideon to walk into this battle with fear. There was a certain confidence, a certain strength that God needed Gideon to have. God knew that Gideon did not see the strength that he himself had. He felt like he was too low in class and stature to be used. God wanted Gideon to trust Him and rely on who He was. You can be the weakest of the bunch and fully aware of it but if you trust God, He will make you the most victorious. Let's not forget David. In the same sense, those that may be the strongest, if they fight apart from God, proclaiming their own strength, they in actuality become the weakest of the bunch and always have potential for complete destruction. Let's not forget Goliath. Going into any battle without trusting God is leaving behind one of the most important armors that you can take with you. God sending Gideon to the enemies' camp to hear that conversation which God orchestrated was His way of making Gideon ARISE! Gideon could now go back and command his army to do the same because he was the first partaker. He could not ready his army for war and still be fearful of the battle that lay ahead. What good would it have been for Gideon to prepare his army for battle and when it was time to fight while they all ran toward their enemies to attack, Gideon runs in the opposite direction and doesn't go with them because he's afraid? How could he lead them if he was not willing to face the battle? How could they depend on him if his fear was guiding his actions?

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Fourth, when God calls you to lead, you must abandon fear. You cannot lead with fear. In Judges 7:17 one of the things that Gideon tells his army is, "look on me, and do likewise". In other words, "do what I do."  When God calls you to lead, if you are fearful, it hinders your ability to step fully and boldly into what it is God has called you to do. It hinders your ability to move in the way that God has instructed you to move. You at some point become stagnant. You're not accomplishing as much as you could be accomplishing or progressing like you should be progressing because fear is binding you. Therefore, if you are fearful and you are allowing this fear to determine how you move and if those who you are called to lead, do what you do, it becomes cause for concern. Having fear is one thing, but allowing fear to control you is another. The 23rd Psalm reminds us "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."  

​We are all fearful of something. Fear is a natural reaction. God knew that we would have fear. As we read the Word of God, we discover many instances where He reminds us not to fear. In Isaiah 41, He constantly tells the children of Israel not to be afraid. We see this same command in Isaiah 43. The only thing that we are to fear is God and God alone (Matthew 10:28). When fear comes upon us, we have to remember who guides us, we have to remember that God is with us.

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Having fear does not make you a bad person or a bad Christian. It does not mean that you are weak. It just highlights the fact that you are human. Even those who wholly trust God may have moments of fear. In Psalm 34:4 David expresses, "I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears".  We know David to be one of God's most faithful servants, most faithful warriors but even he acknowledged his fears. However, what makes the difference is that David did not dwell in his fear but sought God to help him to overcome them. He did not allow his fear to turn him away from God. He did not allow his fear to cause him to lose his faith and his trust in God. If anything, his fear is what drew him closer to God. He understood that rooting himself in God was the only way to overcome his fear. He did not allow fear to pull him away from his call. He continued to do God's will and follow God's instructions until his fear was consumed by his faith. When we are faced with fear, we have to keep moving just as God instructs us and trust Him until our fear is consumed by faith. 

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When we are called to lead, if we throw in the towel, if we buckle under pressure, if we run from the battle, we will most definitely lose the war if those who we are leading "do what we do". When God tells us that He's got us and that the battle is ours, we must believe it. There are times when God will give us signs and confirmation like He did for Gideon and sometimes He will require us to have "blind faith". We will have to act without sign or confirmation and simply trust God at His word. We will have to ARISE! not based on what we see, what we hear, but based on what God has told us. God helped Gideon to find the courage he needed to STAND STRONG and CONQUER what stood before him.

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Another thing of significance that stood out about this particular passage may seem small, but I don't believe it to be mere coincidence. Compared to where Gideon and his army were encamped, the Midianites' army were encamped below them in the valley (Judges 7:8). God had already placed their enemies under their feet, The Midianites were already positioned below Gideon and Gideon's army. They were in the valley that would become their "valley". Gideon stood strong and in obedience to God. Even when faced with fear, he followed God's commands. And God has promised us that when we follow His commands, when we hearken to His commands, " thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath" (Deuteronomy 28:13). God through Gideon's obedience literally and figuratively positioned Gideon above his enemies.

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As Gideon and his army descended upon the Midianites, the Midianites began to flee in fear. The Midianites were so confused and conflicted that they began to attack one another. If we continue the story, with just 300 men Gideon and the army defeats the Midianites.

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If you currently find yourself feeling surrounded by your enemies, targeted by a particular group of haters, simply give it to God because it is only a matter of time before they turn on each other. People who don't like each other, who low-key can't stand one another, will create an alliance for nothing more than the sole purpose of trying to destroy you. Realize how anointed you are and how purposed you must be that people who don't care to commune with one another will come together on one accord just to plot your downfall.

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Don't worry about the size of your hater's armies. They only appear loyal to one another until one of them becomes threatened. Sometimes all it takes is for one of them to start to become affected by their own foolishness and they will all start to flee, stampeding on one another, going against one another, trying to bring each other down. Some people love the idea of being "messy" until they start to find themselves being covered in their own dirt. Don't be afraid of man's plots against you when you have a MIGHTY GOD who goes before you. God has a way of humbling all your haters. When you allow God to fight for you, even if it seems that God is allowing them to take advantage of you, to do things that may harm you, at some point and almost always just when they think they've won, when they think they have all the control, God will come along and show them who really runs it. God runs it! All things are UNDER HIS CONTROL and all power rests in His hands.

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Gideon's story has so many discoveries that I am quite sure that we'll be revisiting this narrative as there are so many more things that this story reveals about the nature of man, the power of God, and our ability to overcome. But for now, these are our reflections for this week. Our focus was on our ability to ARISE! We Arise when we place our trust in God and overcome our fears, our worries, our doubts and simply do what God has called us to do knowing that He leads, guides, and fights for us. Most importantly, He gives us victory amidst our unfortunate circumstances. 

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No matter what you are facing, how uncapable you think you are, how much you think you don't belong, know that God sees you in a different light. God sees the fighter in you and if you choose to follow His will and His plan for you, if you choose to accept the call that He has placed upon you, then He will give you the victory. So if this week has you feeling faint, feeling like God has forgotten about you, feeling like you won't overcome the poverty, the lack, the storm, the unfortunate circumstance, or whatever you find yourself in that feels like a setback, a misfortune, God has one job for you and it is deeply rooted in one word, ARISE! Simply ARISE! because God has given your enemies and your obstacles into your hands. VICTORY is yours!