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Judges: Scripture's Believe It Or Not! Message #4

Gideon Never Believe God The First Time? Scripture References

May 3-4, 2008 Dr Larry Osborne

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THE STORY:
The Reluctant Hero Who
Never Believed God the First Time

    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.
    [7] When the Israelites cried to the Lord because of Midian, [8] he sent them a prophet, who said, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. [9] I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. [10] I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me."
    [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."
    [13] "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
    [14] The Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"
    [15] "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
    [16] The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."
    [17] Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. [18] Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you."
    And the Lord said, "I will wait until you return."
    [19] Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.
    [20] The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so. [21] With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. [22] When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!"
    [23] But the Lord said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die."
    [24] So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
    [25] That same night the Lord said to him, "Take the second bull from your father's herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. [26] Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering."
    [27] So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.
    [28] In the morning when the men of the town got up, there was Baal's altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!
    [29] They asked each other, "Who did this?"
    When they carefully investigated, they were told, "Gideon son of Joash did it."
    [30] The men of the town demanded of Joash, "Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it."
    [31] But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, "Are you going to plead Baal's cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar." [32] So that day they called Gideon "Jerub-Baal," saying, "Let Baal contend with him," because he broke down Baal's altar.
    [33] Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. [34] Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. [35] He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.
    [36] Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised-- [37] look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." [38] And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew--a bowlful of water.
    [39] Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew." [40] That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.
    [7:1] Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. [2] The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, [3] announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
    [4] But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."
    [5] So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." [6] Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
    [7] The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." [8] So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
    Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. [9] During that night the Lord said to Gideon, "Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. [10] If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah [11] and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. [12] The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
    [13] Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."
    [14] His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."
    [15] When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands." [16] Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.
    [17] "Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. [18] When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the Lord and for Gideon.' "
    [19] Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. [20] The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" [21] While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
    [22] When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. [23] Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. [24] Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah."
    So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. [25] They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.
    [8:1] Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, "Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?" And they criticized him sharply.
    [2] But he answered them, "What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer? [3] God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?" At this, their resentment against him subsided.
    [4] Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. [5] He said to the men of Succoth, "Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."
    [6] But the officials of Succoth said, "Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?"
    [7] Then Gideon replied, "Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers."
    [8] From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Succoth had. [9] So he said to the men of Peniel, "When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower."
    [10] Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen. [11] Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and fell upon the unsuspecting army. [12] Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.
    [13] Gideon son of Joash then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres. [14] He caught a young man of Succoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Succoth, the elders of the town. [15] Then Gideon came and said to the men of Succoth, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, 'Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?' " [16] He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. [17] He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.
    [18] Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?"
    "Men like you," they answered, "each one with the bearing of a prince."
    [19] Gideon replied, "Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the Lord lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you." [20] Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, "Kill them!" But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.
    [21] Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Come, do it yourself. 'As is the man, so is his strength.' " So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels' necks.
    [22] The Israelites said to Gideon, "Rule over us--you, your son and your grandson--because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian."
    [23] But Gideon told them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you." [24] And he said, "I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder." (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)
    [25] They answered, "We'll be glad to give them." So they spread out a garment, and each man threw a ring from his plunder onto it. [26] The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels, not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels' necks. [27] Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.
    [28] Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon's lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years.
    [29] Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live. [30] He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives. [31] His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. [32] Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
    [33] No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god and [34] did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. [35] They also failed to show kindness to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for them. _^[NIV]

LIFE LESSONS:

   God always meets us where we are.

    Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. _^[NIV]

    So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime. _^[NIV]

    Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised-- [37] look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." [38] And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew--a bowlful of water.
    [39] Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew." [40] That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew. _^[NIV]

    During that night the Lord said to Gideon, "Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. [10] If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah [11] and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. _^[NIV]

    "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." _^[NIV]

    A bruised reed he will not break,
        and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
    till he leads justice to victory. _^[NIV]

    No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. _^[NIV]

   Ministry always starts at home.

    That same night the Lord said to him, "Take the second bull from your father's herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. [26] Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering." _^[NIV]

    "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? [4] How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? [5] You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. _^[NIV]

  It’s not a good thing to seek a sign when God has already spoken.

    Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised-- _^[NIV]

    Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."
    [39] He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. [40] For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. _^[NIV]

    Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. [25] So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
    But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
    [26] A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" [27] Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
    [28] Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
    [29] Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
    [30] Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. [31] But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. _^[NIV]

    The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, "This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field."
    So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, [5] sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the River, in his native land. Balak said:

  "A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. [6] Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed."
 
    [7] The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.
    [8] "Spend the night here," Balaam said to them, "and I will bring you back the answer the Lord gives me." So the Moabite princes stayed with him.
    [9] God came to Balaam and asked, "Who are these men with you?"
    [10] Balaam said to God, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: [11] 'A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.' "
    [12] But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed."
    [13] The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak's princes, "Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you."
    [14] So the Moabite princes returned to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."
    [15] Then Balak sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. [16] They came to Balaam and said:

  "This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, [17] because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me."
 
    [18] But Balaam answered them, "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God. [19] Now stay here tonight as the others did, and I will find out what else the Lord will tell me."
    [20] That night God came to Balaam and said, "Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you."
    [21] Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. [22] But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. [23] When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.
    [24] Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. [25] When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against it. So he beat her again.
    [26] Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. [27] When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. [28] Then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"
    [29] Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now."
    [30] The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?"
    "No," he said.
    [31] Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.
    [32] The angel of the Lord asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. [33] The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her."
    [34] Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, "I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back."
    [35] The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
    [36] When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. [37] Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn't you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?"
    [38] "Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied. "But can I say just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth."
    [39] Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. [40] Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the princes who were with him. [41] The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he saw part of the people.
    [23:1] Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." [2] Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
    [3] Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you." Then he went off to a barren height.
    [4] God met with him, and Balaam said, "I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram."
    [5] The Lord put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message."
    [6] So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the princes of Moab. [7] Then Balaam uttered his oracle:

    "Balak brought me from Aram,
        the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.
    'Come,' he said, 'curse Jacob for me;
        come, denounce Israel.'
    [8] How can I curse
        those whom God has not cursed?
    How can I denounce
        those whom the Lord has not denounced?
    [9] From the rocky peaks I see them,
        from the heights I view them.
    I see a people who live apart
        and do not consider themselves one of the nations.
    [10] Who can count the dust of Jacob
        or number the fourth part of Israel?
    Let me die the death of the righteous,
        and may my end be like theirs!"
 
    [11] Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!"
    [12] He answered, "Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?"
    [13] Then Balak said to him, "Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will see only a part but not all of them. And from there, curse them for me." [14] So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
    [15] Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there."
    [16] The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message."
    [17] So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the princes of Moab. Balak asked him, "What did the Lord say?"
    [18] Then he uttered his oracle:

    "Arise, Balak, and listen;
        hear me, son of Zippor.
    [19] God is not a man, that he should lie,
        nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
    Does he speak and then not act?
        Does he promise and not fulfill?
    [20] I have received a command to bless;
        he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
 
    [21] "No misfortune is seen in Jacob,
        no misery observed in Israel.
    The Lord their God is with them;
        the shout of the King is among them.
    [22] God brought them out of Egypt;
        they have the strength of a wild ox.
    [23] There is no sorcery against Jacob,
        no divination against Israel.
    It will now be said of Jacob
        and of Israel, 'See what God has done!'
    [24] The people rise like a lioness;
        they rouse themselves like a lion
    that does not rest till he devours his prey
        and drinks the blood of his victims."
 
    [25] Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!"
    [26] Balaam answered, "Did I not tell you I must do whatever the Lord says?"
    [27] Then Balak said to Balaam, "Come, let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there." [28] And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland.
    [29] Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." [30] Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
    [24:1] Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face toward the desert. [2] When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him [3] and he uttered his oracle:

    "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
        the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,
    [4] the oracle of one who hears the words of God,
        who sees a vision from the Almighty,
        who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:
 
    [5] "How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,
        your dwelling places, O Israel!
 
    [6] "Like valleys they spread out,
        like gardens beside a river,
    like aloes planted by the Lord,
        like cedars beside the waters.
    [7] Water will flow from their buckets;
        their seed will have abundant water.

    "Their king will be greater than Agag;
        their kingdom will be exalted.
 
    [8] "God brought them out of Egypt;
        they have the strength of a wild ox.
    They devour hostile nations
        and break their bones in pieces;
        with their arrows they pierce them.
    [9] Like a lion they crouch and lie down,
        like a lioness--who dares to rouse them?

    "May those who bless you be blessed
        and those who curse you be cursed!"
 
    [10] Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, "I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times. [11] Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded."
    [12] Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, [13] 'Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord--and I must say only what the Lord says'? [14] Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come."
    [15] Then he uttered his oracle:

    "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
        the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,
    [16] the oracle of one who hears the words of God,
        who has knowledge from the Most High,
    who sees a vision from the Almighty,
        who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:
 
    [17] "I see him, but not now;
        I behold him, but not near.
    A star will come out of Jacob;
        a scepter will rise out of Israel.
    He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
        the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.
    [18] Edom will be conquered;
        Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,
        but Israel will grow strong.
    [19] A ruler will come out of Jacob
        and destroy the survivors of the city."
 
    [20] Then Balaam saw Amalek and uttered his oracle:

    "Amalek was first among the nations,
        but he will come to ruin at last."
 
    [21] Then he saw the Kenites and uttered his oracle:

    "Your dwelling place is secure,
        your nest is set in a rock;
    [22] yet you Kenites will be destroyed
        when Asshur takes you captive."
 
    [23] Then he uttered his oracle:

    "Ah, who can live when God does this?
        [24] Ships will come from the shores of Kittim;
    they will subdue Asshur and Eber,
        but they too will come to ruin."
 
    [25] Then Balaam got up and returned home and Balak went his own way. _^[NIV]

    They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. _^[NIV]

   Never confuse a foolish risk with a step of faith.

    Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. [2] The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, [3] announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
    [4] But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."
    [5] So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." [6] Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
    [7] The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." [8] So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
    Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. _^[NIV]

    A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge,
        but the simple keep going and suffer for it. _^[NIV]

    It is not good to have zeal without knowledge,
        nor to be hasty and miss the way.
 
    [3] A man's own folly ruins his life,
        yet his heart rages against the Lord. _^[NIV]

   Never replace God with a religious system. 

    Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family. _^[NIV]

    Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, _^[NIV]