BRAGADAYJAH 749

BRAGADAYJAH 749

The Question of Right of Ownership

Jephthah on behalf of Israel demanded that the Ammonites should peacefully vacate the land they now possess, because they had dispossessed Israel who was immediately in possession before them. But the Kings of Ammon and of Moab responded by saying, “O No!” We were first in possession and you dispossessed us by fighting against us and seizing our lands by force.  So how did Jephthah reply?  That we asked you to let us pass and you refused; so the LORD our God delivered the land to us.  Now is this a good enough reason to declare to whom the land belonged?  There may be some legal issues to determine first. It is said that possession is nine tenths of the law; and the person in possession on the face of it may have a better title than he one seeking to dispossess. However it is also a principle of land law that the possession had to be nec vi nec clam nec precario, that is to say not taken by force, not by paying a fee, example a tenant, and not by stealth; and finally if we say each had an equitable title to the land, a maxim of Equity holds that where the equities are equal the first in time is the stronger. So if we go back to the first part of Jephthah’s response, it would seem that, a) the Ammonites and Moabites were first in time and b), the Israelites took the land by force in the first place; so based on the law of equity their claim to the lands would fail.  But the second part of Jephthah’s answer puts the whole set of issues in a different light.  According to him it was God Who gave Israel the land, and to whom did the land belong in the first place?  The answer is clearly God. God was the Landlord, and as such He had the right to dispossess the unruly tenants, the nations, and give title to His people, the Israelites.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 748

BRAGADAYJAH 748

Jephthah Sent Messengers to the King of Ammon

Now Jephthah sent messengers to the King of the children of Ammon, advising him to depart from the land of the children of Israel. But the king replied saying that the land belonged to them and was theirs until they the children of Israel came up from Egypt and fought against them and seized their land; so now said the king of Ammon we are here to take back what was originally ours. And further the king demanded, Jephthah must restore the land peacefully. But Jephthah sent messengers again to the Median king, reminding him that Israel did not take away the land of neither the Moabites nor the Ammonites. For when Israel came up out of Egypt, we walked through the wilderness unto the red sea and came to Kadesh. Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom saying, let us I pray thee pass through your land. But the king of Edom would not listen; and in like manner we sent messengers to the king of Moab but neither would he listen, or consent to let Israel pass; and Israel dwelt in Kadesh.   

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BRAGADAYJAH 747

BRAGADAYJAH 747

In response to the elders of Gilead asking Jephthah to be their leader, he replied and said to them, “Did you not hate me and expelled me out of my father’s house, so why are you coming to me now you are in distress?” So the elders confessed that they were indeed turning to him because they wanted him to fight with them against the Ammonites, and be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. However, Jephthah asked for assurance of the elders that if he would in fact return home, and fight against the Ammonites and defeat them, they would indeed make him their head. And the elders swore an oath and said, “The LORD be witness between us if we do not so keep our word with you. So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them and Jephthah swore an oath before the LORD in Mizpeh.  

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The Wright Stuff?

he Wright Stuff?

Any person living in today’s world, would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to know that this entire world is on its way to hell in a basket. Throughout every society we see the same moral depredation, like a runaway bus rapidly accelerating down a slippery slope, just before it collapses.

If we can learn one lesson from history, it is that the last cycle in its total collapse is the utter breakdown of morality. In the pre-diluvial world, the sons of God intermingling in marriage with the sons of men; in Sodom and Gomorrah, even the old men breaking down Lot’s door; King Belshazzar in his drunken revelry with his princes and wives and concubines blaspheming the sacred vessels of the Lord’s temple; and in more times the moral collapse of Rome.

Today we see a repeat of those immoral practices in every facet of societies around the world, more particularly in America and Briton as the leading nations of the world. This morning I witnessed a debate, The Wright Stuff, concerning the question not whether it was morally appropriate for “virgin men and women”, to have in-vitro insemination, but whether the State should pay for such processes.”

As the arguments were advanced, there were no questions whatsoever about the moral rectitude of such procedures, but only who should pay for them. But in reality, this is but the latest trend, a mere signpost passed, a bump along the way, to a cataclysmic crash, as we catapult further and further away from the norm.

And what is that norm? Jesus restated it when he said, “Have ye not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female? That a man shall cleave to his wife and that the two shall be one flesh?”  But look where we are today! If you do not agree to homosexuality and sexual infamy, there is something wrong with you; for they are normal and you are abnormal.

In the Book of Leviticus, Chapter 18, God mandated some two dozen prohibitions having to do with the prohibited degrees of sanguinity and morality. Today we say God was wrong, or at least has made a mistake, and we make bold to correct the situation. Well the real question is where will we arrive at tomorrow? If we follow the line of regression where will it logically lead us? That a man may marry his mother, his daughter his sister, and a woman her son her brother?  And what about a man wanting to marry his horse, his dog or his cat? Did I hear someone say ludicrous? Well the idea of men marring men or women marrying women and, of virgin women and men, having babies would have sounded both ludicrous and ridiculous not too long ago.  And so logically nothing can prevent this runaway bus of moral depredation from crashing short of the personal intervention or appearance on the scene of Christ himself. For things hardly ever remain the same; and if they are not getting better, they are getting worse.     

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BRAGADAYJAH 746

BRAGADAYJAH 746

After that, the children of Ammon gathered themselves together and assembled themselves at Gilead, and the children of Israel assembled themselves and encamped at Mizpeh. And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, “What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? Any such shall be head over the all the inhabitants of Gilead. Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor and he was the son of a harlot, and Gilead begat Jephthah. And Gilead’s wife bore him a son, and his wife’s son grew up and they thrust out Jephthah and told him that he would not be allowed to inherit as an heir to his father because he was the son of a harlot. So Jephthah fled from his brethren and dwelt in the land of Tob, and there he gathered unto him men of ill repute. And in the course of time, the children of Ammon made war against Israel; and the elders of Gilead went and fetched Jephthah out of the land of Tob, and invited him to be their captain to lead them in the fight against the Ammonites.

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BRAGADAYJAH 745

BRAGADAYJAH 745

So then the Nations whose gods they served vexed Israel for eighteen years while they lived in the land of the Amorites which is in Gilead. In addition, the children of Ammon crossed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed. And so the children of Israel cried unto the LORD saying, “We have sinned against you, both because we have forsaken the LORD our God, and also served Baalim.” And the LORD answered and said unto the children of Israel, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon and from the Philistines, the Zidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites which did oppress you, and you cried to me and I delivered you out of their hands?  Yet you have forsaken me and served there their gods.  Therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which you have chosen; let them help you out of your tribulation.”  And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, “We have sinned; do unto us as thou deem appropriate; but please deliver us this day.” And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD; and His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 744

BRAGADAYJAH 744

To’la and Ja’ir raised Up

After the death of Abimelech, the Lord raised up To’la to defend Israel. He was the son of Pu’ah the son of Do’do a man of Issachar and he dwelt in Sha’mir in Mount Ephraim.  And To’la judged Israel twenty years and he died and was buried in Sha’mir.  And after To’la was dead, God raised up Ja’ir a Giliadite, and he judged Israel twenty two years. And Ja’ir had thirty sons which rode on thirty ass colts and they ruled over thirty cities called Ha’voth-Jair, located in the land of Gil’ead. And Ja’ir died and was buried in the land of Ca’mon. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baalim and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon  and the gods of the children of the Philistines and forsook the LORD and served him not. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the children of Ammon.

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BRAGADAYJAH 743

BRAGADAYJAH 743

After Shechem Abimelech set his sights against Thebez and having laid siege against it, he took it. But there was a strong tower within the city and within fled all the men and women and all who were in the city took refuge at the top of the tower. And Abimelech attacked the tower and set fire against it to burn it, but a woman threw down a piece of millstone and struck Abimelech in his head and broke his skull. Then Abimelech called his armourbearer and instruct him to slay him with his sword so that he may conceal the shame of being killed by a woman; and his armourbearer ran him through and he died.  And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, the men returned to his own place. And so it was that God dealt with Abimelech for the wickedness he had done to his father’s house in slaying his seventy brethren. And as for the men of Shechem God did bring upon their heads the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 742

BRAGADAYJAH 742

And the following morning the people told Abimelech that Gaal and his brethren had been cast out of Shechem and Abimelech divided them up into three companies and he laid wait in the field. And he later saw people coming out of the city and he rose up and slew them. And next Abimelech and his company rushed toward the city gate and the other two companies rushed into the field and slew the people that were there, and Abimelech fought against the city all that day. And he took the city and slew the people that were in it, and beat down the city and sowed it with salt. And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard, that entered into the hold at the house of the god Berith. And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. And Abimelech got him up to mount Zalmon, he and all his people that were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bow from the trees, and laid it on his shoulder and told the people that were with him to do likewise; and they all hastened to do so. And all the people like wise cut a bow and laid it in his shoulder and placed them against the tower of Shechem and set fire to them so that all the men and women inside, a thousand or so, died.

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BRAGADAYJAH 741

BRAGADAYJAH 741

Abimelech acted on Zebul’s advice and he rose up early he and all his people with him by night and having formed themselves into four companies and surrounded Shechem.  And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the gate to the city and thereupon, Abimelech and his company rose up and when

Gaal saw them he said to Zebul, he told Zebul that he saw people coming down from the top of the mountain. And Zebul told him he was mistaken as what he saw was the shadow of the mountain which he mistook for men. And Gaal said again and said he was seeing people come down from the middle of the land and at that time another company came from another direction. And at that point Zebul asked him, “Where is your boasting mouth which said, Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?” Are these not the people that you said you despised, go out now and fight them. And so Gaal went out and fought with the men of Abimelech. And Abimelech chased him and he fled. And many of Gaal’s men fell in battle that day and Abimelech dwelt at Arumah and Gaal and his brethren were thrust out of Shechem.

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BRAGADAYJAH 740

BRAGADAYJAH 740

And then Gaal, the son of Ebed came with his brethren and went over to Shechem, and the men of Shechem confided in him. And they went out into the fields and gathered their vineyards, and crushed the grapes and made merry, and went into the house of their god and did eat and drink and cursed Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed said “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal and Zebul his officer? Who serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; so why should we serve him?  And I wish to God this people were under my hand; then would I remove Abimelech.” And he dared Abimelech to increase the size of his army and come out.  And when Zebul ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal, the son of Ebed, he was very angered, and he secretly sent messengers to Abimelech informing him of the words of Gaal and his friends, and telling him they had come to Shechem and had fortified the city against him. Therefore, Zebul advised Abimelech, “rise up in the night and together with your men, lie in wait in the field. And in the early morning at sun rise, attack the city and do unto Gaal and his company as they purposed to do to you.”    

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BRAGADAYJAH 739

BRAGADAJAH 739

Now as soon as Jotham had delivered his denouncement of Abimelech and the men of Shechem, and knowing his life would be in danger as soon as Abimelech heard his words, he ran away to Beer and dwelt there.  And it came to pass that after Abimelech had reigned over Israel for three years, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with him, that the cruelty dealt with the seventy men of his brethren whom he had slain be laid upon Abimelech their brother which slew them; and also the men who aided him. And the men of Shechem set men to lay in wait for him in the top of the mountain and they robbed all that came along that way by them and it was told to Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren and went over to Shechem and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.  And they came out unto the fields and gathered their vineyards and trod the grapes and made merry and went into the house of their gods and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 738

BRAGADAYJAH 738

So according to Jotham’s figurative song, none of the trees, neither the olive tree, the fig tree, nor the vine would have anything to do with being appointed king. Theirs was to remain in their station to be what they were meant to be and to do what it was their calling to do.  So they turned to the thorn-bush whose response was; “if you have acted in good faith in appointing Abimelech king, then come and make your bed among my thorns, (under my shadow), or if not let fire come down and consume you and Abimelech both.” The reference to the cedars of Lebanon. Speaking more plainly, Jotham now proclaimed, “Now then if you have acted in good faith and integrity in appointing Abimelech your king, if you acted with good will towards Jerubbaal and his house, and if you have treated him as he deserved, remembering that my father fought for you at the risk of his life, and delivered you from the power of the Median king, seeing now you have risen up and killed his seventy sons, and made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant king over the lords of Shechem, if you can truly say you acted in good faith and integrity towards the house of Jerubbaal and his house today, then rejoice in Abimelech and let him in return rejoice for you. But if not, let fire come forth from Abimelech and consume all the lords of Beth-millo and let fire come forth from the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo and consume Abimelech.”

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BRAGADAYJAH 737

BRAGADAYJAH 737

Then Abimelech, no doubt companied by the louts he had hired, went into his father’s house at Ophrah and slew all seventy of his brethren, the sons of Jerubbaal his father, sparing only the youngest son who had managed to conceal himself.  And all the men of Shechem gathered together with the house of Milo and made Abimelech King by the plain of the pillar which was by Shechem. And when Jotham heard of it he went and stood at the top of mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice and cried unto them and said hearken unto me ye men of Shechem that God may hearken unto you, the trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them and they said to the olive trees, reign over us. But the olive tree said unto them “Should I leave my fatness wherein by me they honour God and man and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree you come and reign over us; but the fig tree said unto them should I forsake my sweetness and my good fruit to go and to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine come now and reign over us, and the vine said unto them, should I leave my vine which cheers God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?  

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BRAGADAYJAH 736

BRAGADAYJAH 736

At the height of Israel’s apostasy, Abimelech, son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren and reasoned with them together with all the family of the house of his mother and challenged them to decide whether it would be better for them if all the sons of Jerubbaal, all seventy of them to reign over them, or that one person should reign, not forgetting the he Abimelech was their flesh and blood. And his mother’s brethren repeated Abimelech’s words in the ears of all the men of Shechem, and their hearts were inclined to following Abimelech; for they acknowledged that he was their brother. And they gave him three scores and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith and Abimelech took the money and hired vain and flighty persons to follow after him.

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BRAGADAYJAH 735

BRAGADAYJAH 735

The Folly of Gideon

And Gideon made an ephod of the gold that was surrendered to him by the men of Israel, and placed it in the city, Ophrah and all Israel went there worshiping it which brought Gideon and his house to shame. Even so the Midianites were subdued in the sight of the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more; and for the next forty years, throughout the reign of Gideon, the country was at peace. Then Jerubbaal, the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house; and Gideon had seventy sons; for he had many wives. And one of Gideon’s concubines bore him a son whose name was Abimelech. And Gideon died in a ripe old age and was buried in his father’s sepulcher in the city Ophrah. And it happened that as soon as Gideon was dead the children of Israel again turned to Baal to worship him as god remembering not the Lord of their God who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies, and showed no regard for the house of Gideon who had delivered them out of their trouble with the Midianites.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 734

BRAGADAYJAH 734

Gideon’s first son Jether being yet in his teens, was reluctant to draw sword against the two older men so they told Gideon to slay them himself; so Gideon slew them both and stripped their camels of the ornaments that were about their necks. Then the men of Israel told Gideon to rule over them, both he and his sons for he had delivered them from the hand of Midian.  And Gideon told them, that he would not rule over them, neither would his sons, but that the Lord would rule over them. But said Gideon, I have a request for you, that every one of you would give me the earrings of his prey; for indeed they all had golden earrings as they were Ishmaelites.  And they replied and said, “We will willingly give them.” So they spread a garment on the ground and everyone threw his earring taken from his prey on it. And the weight of the earrings so collected was a thousand seven hundred shekels of gold beside ornaments and other jewelry and fine garments worn by the kings of Median and beside the chains that were about the camels’ necks.

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BRAGADAYJAH 732

BRAGADAYJAH 732

 Having dealt with the men of Succoth, Gideon turned next to Penuel and spoke to them and told them as he had said to the men of Succoth and they responded as did the men of Succoth. And Gideon told them that when he returned unto them the next time, he would break down their high tower.  And Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their hosts, of about fifteen thousand men, the remnant of the children of the east; for one hundred and twenty thousands of them that drew sword had fallen; and Gideon went on their borders and dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah and smote the host for they were fortified. And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, Gideon pursued after them and took the two kings of Midian Zebah and Zalmunna and discomforted all of the host.

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BRAGADAYJAH 731

BRAGADAYJAH 731

Now the men of Ephraim questioned Gideon and said they were upset with him, because he had not called on them in the fight against Midian. And so Gideon asked them why were they complaining when God had in fact delivered unto them the princes of Median, Oreb and Zeeb without them having to toil for it or at no cost to them, and thereby their anger against Gideon was abated. And Gideon came to Jordan and passed over it together with the three hundred men and continued pursuing the rest of the Midianite army. And he told the men of Succoth to give him loaves of bread for his men who were hungry and faint in the chase after the two princes of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.  But the princes of Succoth questioned why they should give bread to Gideon’s men since they had not yet captured the two Midianite kings. So Gideon told them that when the Lord would have delivered the two kings into his hand he would tear their flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 730

BRAGADAYJAH 730             

So the hosts were in shambles and Gideon and his three hundred were plunged into unto confusion and they turned their swords upon themselves and they fled to Bethshittah in Zererath and to the border of Abelmeholah and unto Tabbath.  And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali and out of Asher and out of all Manasseh and pursued after the Medianites. And Gideon sent messengers throughout all Mount Ephraim saying, “come down among the Medianites and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.”  And they took two princes of the Medianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of Jordan.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 729

BRAGADAYJAH 729

God’s Patience is Infinite

So God abided Gideon’s doubting and or timorous spirit and gave him the victory. For after Gideon heard the words of the men within the enemy’s camp, he divided his 300 men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand with empty pitchers and lamps within the pitchers. And he told them to follow his lead, and when they come to the outside of the camp to do exactly as he did. So when you see me blow my trumpet let every man blow his on all sides of the camp and shout, the sword of the Lord and of Gideon.  So Gideon and the hundred men that were with him came on the outside of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch which had been newly set; and they blew their trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands; and the other two companies blew their trumpet and broke the pitchers that were in their hands and shouted, “the sword of the Lord and of Gideon.” And each man stood his ground as they shouted; and at the sound of the trumpets and the shout of the men of Gideon, the host of the enemy ran, and cried and fled.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 728

BRAGADAYJAH 728

Is not God wonderful?  Any wonder that God says in His word only a fool can say in his heart, “there is no God?”  There was Gideon, putting God to the test two times, God assuring him that the battle would be won, but he was still hesitant.  Go down quietly God told him, and hear what the enemy is saying and thinking; that should encourage you!  So Gideon went down and listened and what did he hear?  Great news!  The enemy, notwithstanding their great superiority in numbers were afraid.  They already conceded that the battle would be lost.  So we may conclude God, the omniscient God, knows everything, even the beginning and end of all things. But also we should see that while Gideon was worrying about the enemy, the enemy was worrying about him.  And so it is today that we can draw a lesson from this account as follows: We, God’s people, should not be worried and afraid of the world; the world should be worried and afraid of us.

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BRAGADAYJAH 727

BRAGADAYJAH 727

And the Medianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along the valley like grasshoppers for multitudes; and their camels were without number, at the side of the sea for multitude. And when Gideon was come, behold there was a man that told his fellows that he had a dream and in it a cake of barley bread stumbled into the host of Median, and came unto a tent and smote it and overturned it and it fell. And his fellow answered and said, this is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; for into his hand hath God delivered Median and all the host.  And it was so when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and the interpretation that he worshiped and returned unto the host of Israel and said Arise: for the Lord hath delivered into your hands the host of Median.

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BRAGADAYJAH 726

BRAGADAYJAH  726

So Gideon led the people to the river as God directed him and the Lord told him to let the people drink and everyone that laps the water with his tongue like a dog those set aside, and everyone that bows down on his knees to drink, set them aside also.  And it came to pass that all those who lapped the water from their hands were only three hundred, but all of the others knelt down to drink.  So the Lord told Gideon to send all of this number away. So God told Gideon the three hundred are the ones Hew had chosen to fight for him; for he had delivered the Medianites into their hand.   So the multitude of the people, some twenty one thousand seven hundred, departed leaving only the three hundred to take on the host of the Medianites in battle. And it happened that same night that the Lord told Gideon to rise go down among the host of Median for He had delivered them into his hand. But, the Lord told Gideon that if he was still afraid to go down, then he should take Phurah his servant with him, and he shall hear what they speak about and as a result his hand shall be strengthened to fight against them.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 725

BRAGADAYJAH 725

And Jerubbaal who was Gideon, and all the people that were with him rose up early, and pitched their tents beside the brook Harod, so that the host of the Medianites were on the North side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with thee, are too many for me to give the Medianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, and say mine own hand has saved me.  Therefore say to the people whoever is fearful or afraid, let him turn around and depart from the battle now, and so out of a host of twenty thousand two thousand, twelve thousand went away and only ten thousand remained.  But the Lord told Gideon the ten thousand people are yet too many, Bring them down to the water and I will sort them out for you there. And the ones I want to go with you I will show them to you, and the ones I do not want to go with you  I will show to you.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 724

BRAGADAYJAH 724

Then the Medianites and the Amalekites and the children of the East were gathered together and went and pitched their tent in the valley of Jezreel. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and he blew a trumpet and Abiezer was gathered to him. And Gideon sent messengers to Manasseh, who was gathered unto him, and also to Asher and to Zebulun and Naphtali, and they came to him.  And Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor, and if the fleece on the floor be wet, while the floor around it be dry, then will I know that thou art with me and will save Israel.” And so it was that when Gideon rose up in the morning, he squeezed the wool and found a bowl full of water in it.  But Gideon still wanted further assurance from God.  So he said, “Lord God. Don’t be angry with me; but this time, let the earth all around the fleece be wet while the fleece only be dry.” And God allowed himself to be tested a second time by Gideon. So as He was urged, he caused the ground all around the fleece to be wet with dew while the fleece upon it remained dry.   

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BRAGADAYJAH 723

BRAGADAYJAH 723

And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, they found the altar of Baal cast down, along with the grove which was lying by it, and the second bullock was offered on the altar that was built. And they enquired among themselves asking who had done it, and when they enquired and were told that Gideon the son of Joash had done it. They went and confronted Gideon’s father, Joash and demanded that he surrender his son to them that they may kill him for braking down the altar of Baal and for cutting down the grove.  And Joash confronted those that stood against him and asked them if they would plead for Baal, or would they try to save him.  Joash challenged them to allow Baal to plead for himself if he is a god, and let him put to death the one responsible for casting down his altar before morning.

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BRAGADAYJAH 722

BRAGADAYJAH 722

And when Gideon saw that he had seen an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, “Alas O Lord, God, because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face;” but the Lord said to him, “fear not, for you will not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-Shalom, which name remains unto this day. And it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, “Take thy father’s young bullock even the bullock of seven years old and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the grove that was by it. And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place; and take the second bullock and offer a sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you cut down. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had said unto him and so it was, because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city that he could not do it by day that he did it by night.

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BRAGADAYJAH 721

BRAGADAYJAH 721

Gideon is Hesitant

God told Gideon that He would surely be with him and allow him to smite the Medianites; but Gideon is still hesitant; so he asked God to show him a sign; do not depart from me until I bring you a present and set it before you, said Gideon to the Lord.  And the Lord promised him that He would tarry. And Gideon went away and prepared a kid and unleavened cakes of an ephod of flour. Gideon put the flesh in a basket, and put the broth in a pot and brought it out unto the Lord under the oak tree and presented it.  And the angel of the Lord said unto him, “Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth;” and Gideon did so. Then the angel of the Lord stretched forth his staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up out of the rock, fire which consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and then the angel of the Lord departed out of the sight of Gideon.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 720

BRAGADAYJAH 720

The Lord Raised up Gideon to Fight for Israel.

And there came an Angel of the Lord and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Medianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him and said unto him, “the Lord is with thee thou mighty man of valor” And Gideon said unto him, “Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this fallen upon us, and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of saying did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?  But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of the Medianites.” And the Lord looked upon him and said, “go in your might and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Medianites.”  And he asked him, “How shall I save Israel? For my family is poor in Manasseh and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the Lord said unto him, “I will be with thee and thou shall smite the Medianites as one man.”

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