The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” – Judges 7:2, 7 ESV
Warrior;
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:4-6) IT IS THE LAW- Our God is a JEALOUS GOD, it is one of HIS NAMES! Exodus 34:14; You must worship no other gods, for the LORD, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you. It is important to understand how the word “jealous” is used. Its use in Exodus 20:5, is different from how it is used to describe the sin of jealousy in Galatians 5:20. When we use the word “jealous,” we use it in the sense of being envious of someone who has something we do not have. It is a FORM of COVETNOUS- the 10th commandment: Thou shalt NOT covet!
Leader, God is jealous when someone gives to another something that rightly belongs to Him. God is speaking of people worshiping idols instead of giving God the worship that belongs to Him alone. God is also talking about GLORY! Some of you would never think of TAKING GOD’s TITHE, but have no problem STEALING HIS GLORY! God is possessive of the worship, service, PRAISE and GLORY that belong to Him. Most acknowledge, it is a sin to worship or serve anything other than God. It is a sin when we desire, or we are envious, or we are jealous of someone because they have something that we do not have- that’s called covetnous. It is a different use of the word “jealous” when God says He is jealous. What He is jealous of BELONGS to Him; worship and service, PRAISE and GLORY belong to Him alone! No shared Glory! Remember in the CHRISTMAS story, the babe in the manger in Luke Chapter 2: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Conduit, God often creates situations where the odds are totally ridiculous because human beings are PRIDEFUL, and if God would deliver the Midianites into the hand of Gideon with thirty-two thousand they would go around bragging on their tremendous fighting ability. So God said, “Gideon you’ve got too many. If I deliver the Midianites into their hands, they’re going to vaunt themselves, they’re going to be puffed up and proud of what they have done.” And they’ll say, “We with our own power, our own hand has saved ourselves.” In his 2nd letter to the Corinthians Paul, struggled with a physical ailment and realized that God uses BROKEN PEOPLE- so that GOD gets the GLORY: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Remember, when things look dark and bleak, when things look HOPELESS and HELPLESS, when things don’t ADD UP- it is in these times that GOD is GLORIFIED, and Satan is horrified by how CHILDREN OF GOD, have FAITH and TRUST IN THE LORD and have NO SHARED GLORY! ALL Glory and honor to God the Father and His only begotten Son, Jesus! The Battle is the LORDS and the GLORY IS THE LORDS!
