4th of the 10th month (2014/2015)
Shabbat Shalom all,
Timotiyos Bět/2 Timothy 2:19-22 “However, the solid foundation of Elohim stands firm, having this seal, “יהוה knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the Name of Messiah turn away from unrighteous-ness.” 20 But in a large house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some unto value and some unto no value. 21 If, then, anyone cleanses himself from these matters, he shall be a vessel unto value, having been set apart, of good use to the Master, having been prepared for every good work. 22 And flee from the lusts of youth, but pursue righteousness, belief, love, peace with those calling on the Master out of a clean heart.”
יהוה knows those who are His! And in a time when unrighteousness is on the rise, the need for the true worshippers of Elohim to stand up and proclaim His Kingdom Truth is of critical importance. Becoming a vessel unto value is the clear call for us who desire to live completely set-apart lives unto our Master. In order for us to be a true vessel of value in the Master’s House we need to recognise the urgency in the command to flee the fleshly lusts and pursue righteousness as we diligently guard to do all that יהוה has commanded us to. This call to walk set-apart lives is not for the faint-hearted, and requires a devoted action of cleansing ourselves from all unrighteousness as we allow the Torah of Elohim, which is to be upon our hearts, to shine through as faithful ambassadors of His coming reign! As I said, this walk is not for the faint-hearted, and it is not for the lazy! More and more we can clearly see how יהוה is sifting and refining His pure Bride, making it more and more clear to those who can see and have had the veil lifted from their eyes, that His faithful Bride is a remnant indeed. A remnant that need not fear the threats of the enemy, but are willing to stand, dressed and ready in the Armour of Light and raise a great shout of praise for our Coming King!
Tonight I want us to look at some key nuggets of truth that we can find from the incredible account of the victory that יהוה brought for Giḏ’on and his whittled down army of 300 men. A story, I am sure, that you are all aware of, yet I would like to run through this account and dig into some great nuggets of truth that can equip us in our courageous stand of faith in the Master, as we stand amidst a people who have been darkened by deceit, and are able to faithfully proclaim the Good News without compromise! In a message tonight called, “WILL THE TRUE REMNANT STAND, SHINE AND SHOUT!”, let us be armed with great encouraging faith that will enable us all to do just that, as we hear the Word of Elohim! Please turn with me to Shophetim/Judges 7 (Read).
In this account of Giḏ’on and the victory that יהוה brought him, and the 300 men that were with him, over the Miḏyanites is a great story of faith in action, with many important life lessons for us to learn from, and so tonight I want to highlight a few key words we find in this chapter and the clear picture of what being a set-apart vessel unto value clearly entails!
Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 5:3-4 “For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands, and His commands are not heavy, 4 because everyone having been born of Elohim overcomes the world. And this is the overcoming that has overcome the world: our belief.”
If we are to be overcomers and not be overcome, we need to be diligent doers of the Word and not lazy hearers only, and when we guard the commands of Elohim we will find that there are some key things that are a certainty; and that is that יהוה will test our faith/belief, He will encourage our faith/belief and He will reward our faith/belief!
Giḏ’on had already undergone some severe testing, which would now bring him to the place where he could lead a faithful army! גִּדְעוֹן Giḏ’on – Strong’s H1439 means, ‘hewer, one who chops down’, and comes from the root word גָּדַע gaḏa – Strong’s H1438 meaning, ‘cut down, chop, break down, cast down’. He certainly was a very courageous man who chopped down and destroyed the abominable Ashĕrah pole and altar of Ba’al that his father had. This root word גָּדַע gaḏa – Strong’s H1438 is frequently used in referring to the hewing down or chopping and cutting down of idols, and the objects that were to be ‘cut down’ in Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 7:5 and Diḇre haYamim Bět/2 Chronicles 14:3 & 31:1 were the Ashĕrim, which were poles that were set up near pagan slaughter-places in worship rites to Ashĕrah who was the Baḇelonian and Kenaʽanite fertility goddess of fortune and happiness, who was also known in Greek as Astarte, or Ishtar and later known as ‘Easter’. Asherah is the demonic name of the female counterpart for Ba’al, and was predominantly represented by a carved wooden image implanted into the ground, usually adjacent to an altar dedicated to the Ba’al. The concept of Christmas trees being placed near the fire place in homes is derived from this ancient pagan worship practice, and the decoration of the tree was done in worship that was given to the ‘Queen of heaven’. Giḏ’on broke down the slaughter-place of Ba’al and cut down the Ashĕrah that was beside it. The people then called Giḏ’on, יְרֻבַּעַל Yerubbaʽal – Strong’s H3378 which means, ‘let Ba’al contend’. Then the Spirit of יהוה came upon Giḏ’on and he blew the shofar and then gathered an army to stand against Miḏyan who had come and camped in the valley of Yizreʽĕl. In a plea for assurance that יהוה would save Yisra’ĕl by the hand of Giḏ’on, as He had said, Giḏ’on sought confirmation from יהוה by putting out a fleece twice. We then come to the chapter we have just read where we find Giḏ’on, and all who were with him, encamped at the ‘fountain of Ḥaroḏ’, which in Hebrew is עֵין חֲרֹד en Ḥaroḏ – Strong’s H5878 which means, ‘spring, fountain of Ḥaroḏ’.
This comes from the two words: 1) – עין ayin – Strong’s H5869 which means ‘eye, sight, fountain’, and is often used to depict the spiritual faculties, as when Aḏam and Ḥawwah sinned their ‘eyes’ were opened and they lost their innocence and were aware of their nakedness, both physical and spiritual. Eyes can be blinded to the Truth of the Torah of Elohim through compromise and sin, and eyes can be opened by Elohim, and we are told in Tehillah/Psalm 19:8 that the commands of Elohim enlightens the eyes! 2) – Ḥaroḏ comes from the root word חָרַד ḥaraḏ – Strong’s H2729 which means, ‘trembling, to be terrified, frightened, afraid’. Giḏ’on and his gathered army were at the fountain of Ḥaroḏ, the place where the first testing or sifting would take place – the place that would reveal those who are afraid of the task that was at hand! Miḏyan was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh! מוֹרֶה Moreh – Strong’s H4176 means, ‘teacher’, and this in itself carries a great encouragement for us, especially when we understand the full story of Giḏ’on, who overcame huge terrifying obstacles and frightening enemies, as he trusted in and fixed his eyes upon יהוה. Here we recognise that in the face of danger and terrifying circumstances, which in Scripture is often represented as coming from the north, we are able to face battles and struggles as long as we have the hill of Moreh in our sights – meaning that we have our eyes on our Mighty Teacher and His clear instructions that gives us confidence and faith to stand and fight the good fight of faith! In Hebrew the word for ‘north’ is צְפוֹן Tsephon – Strong’s H6828, which is from the primitive root – צָפַן tsaphan – Strong’s H6845 meaning, ‘to hide, treasure up, ambush, concealed’.
We have a Teacher of Righteousness – and as good, faithful students we must take careful heed to hear, guard and do all He teaches us through His Word – then we will be equipped to face the tough battles in life – even those battles and struggles that may be hidden from our sights, causing us to not be in fear of what lies ahead, but be equipped to press on in fervent faith as good soldiers of Messiah!!!
Giḏ’on was ready to face the enemy, and the first test now came to see who was with him. As the army gathered, and in essence had their eyes opened to the terror of battle that lay ahead, יהוה made it very clear that there were too many. יהוה doesn’t need or want the crowds, He wants the faithful! He does not want the masses who follow for the occasion, He wants the upright and zealous faithful who will give their all. He told Giḏ’on to proclaim in the hearing of all that anyone who was afraid and trembling could not go up and fight, but were to turn back and leave Mount Gil’aḏ. The Hebrew word for ‘trembling’ is חֲרֹד ḥaroḏ – Strong’s H2730. In the eyes of terror/trembling circumstances those who are in fear and are trembling must turn back and leave the rocky place! גִּלְעָד Gilʽaḏ – Strong’s H1568 means, ‘rocky region’. This was a great sifting that took place and I see a clear picture of many who face this test today and clearly reveal that they are not worthy to go on and fight the good fight of belief! While many may have recognised that the inherited worship taught by our father’s was wrong and full of twisted lies, and they even stop keeping the falsely taught Feasts of Christianity, they find it too hard to stand firm in the Truth and face the battles and persecution that comes with living set-apart lives in our Master, Elohim and Beloved King, יהושע Messiah. It is one thing to come out of false traditions, after having cut down and destroyed all false worship, yet it’s another thing to then walk the path of complete set-apartness – and this is where the biggest sifting takes place. Many will acknowledge that the falsehood that was taught to us was based on inherited lies, and will claim no allegiance to such falsehood, yet lack the courage to actually walk in the Truth!
Those who are afraid and tremble at the call to live completely set-apart lives and refuse to give their all in fear of what others may say or do to them, or in fear of losing a job or relationship, can and will affect others and therefore need to be sifted out and are unable to lead others in the Truth, and we see in the Torah that those who are afraid cannot face the battles lest others become afraid too, as seen in:
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 20:8-9 “And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Who is the man who is afraid and tender of heart? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brothers faint like his heart.’ 9 “And it shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, that they shall appoint commanders of the divisions to lead the people.”
22 000 men left at this clear proclamation of Giḏ’on, and only 10 000 men were left at this first sifting. The Hebrew word translated as ‘remained’ in verse 3 is שָׁאַר sha’ar- Strong’s H7604 which means, ‘to remain, left over and to swell up, remnant, survivors, left alive’. This word is translated as ‘leave’ in reference to the remnant that is delivered in the following verse:
Ezra/9:8 “But now, for a short while, favour has been shown from יהוה our Elohim, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His set-apart place, that our Elohim might enlighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage.”
Once again this word is used twice in reference to the remnant that are left in:
Neḥemyah/Nehemiah 1:3 “And they said to me, “The remnant who are left of the captivity in the province are there in great evil and reproach. And the wall of Yerushalayim is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
So here in this first sifting of Giḏ’on’s army we see a remnant being left! And what is a very important lesson for us here is that even among the remnant there is still further testing and sifting that will occur, leaving us a true remnant of the remnant, so to speak! In verse 4 יהוה tells Giḏ’on that there were still too many people, and instructs Giḏ’on to bring them down to the water for further testing, where יהוה would prove the 10 000.
The Hebrew word for ‘prove’ is צָרַף tsaraph – Strong’s H6884 which means, ‘to smelt, refine, test, tried’, and is often used in Scripture as a metaphor for judgement on, and the purification of, sin:
Yeshayahu/Isaiah 1:25 “And I shall turn My hand against you, and shall refine your dross as with lye, and shall remove all your alloy.”
This remnant was going to be refined even further, and this would be done at the water! Coming to the water is often a clear picture in Scripture of coming to drink of the Word and be refreshed, nourished and cleansed, and while the army had gone from 32 000 to 10 000 there was still further refining needed, a refining that can only be done through the pure and unadulterated Word of Elohim. Water is a picture of יהוה’s Word that cleanses the Bride through the Blood of Messiah, as we are told in:
Eph’siyim/Ephesians 5:25-26 “Husbands, love your wives, as Messiah also did love the assembly and gave Himself for it, 26 in order to set it apart and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word”
The cleansing of the remnant, in order to bring about a true remnant Bride, is what is being pictured for us here in this account of Giḏ’on, and we recognise that only some will actually be led to the Truth while the majority who claim to walk in the Word turn away from the narrow way due to fear and trembling. Giḏ’on received strict instructions in how to sift out the true remnant faithful that could be used as pure vessels unto value. Those who ‘lapped’ the water – that is those who put their hands to their mouths – would be the true remnant that would be equipped to stand and fight the good fight! The ones who lapped were only 300 men, and they were separated from the 9 700 who bowed down and put their faces in the water! Those who bowed down on their knees and put their faces in the water would not be as alert to the threat of the enemies approach as those who lapped up the water with their hands to their mouths! Those who bowed down and put their faces in the water is a picture of those who are lazy, as we are told in:
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19:24 “A lazy one buries his hand in a dish, and does not bring it back to his mouth.”
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 26:15 “The lazy one buries his hand in a dish; it tires him to bring it back to his mouth.”
Ěsaw was also too lazy to eat the food that Ya’aqoḇ had prepared and ask Ya’aqob to feed him because he was too tired (Berěshith/Genesis 25:30).
The ‘lazy’ who bowed down on their knees is a picture of those who are simply seeking a religious experience and do so out of a duty, while they are not willing to actually do the necessary and proper seeking, studying and meditating upon the Word. By that I mean we are able to recognise from this 10 000 that came to the water and only 300 were chosen, how there are many who claim to be on the Torah walk and have left all false worship, and will gather on the Sabbaths and Feasts of יהוה, to some degree, yet they are not actively engaging in a true relationship with יהוה, by diligently studying His Word! They will keep the Sabbath as best as they can in their own eyes and may even gather as commanded, yet through a severe sifting process will be revealed as just doing so to religiously follow a required duty while they lack the intensity of pure set-apartness that is expected to be brought forth in the fruit of their daily lives. While the masses will not come to the water to drink, and by that I mean the pure fountain of living water as given forth from proper Sabbath keeping, it is still only a remnant that will actually come drink of the Truth and be immersed in the presence of Elohim! Of those that do this there is still a further sifting that reveals that not all who are gathering as commanded are actually worthy or fit to stand and fight as they ought to! Some may come to the water and get their fill, yet quickly forget what they look like! Some come to hear the Torah on a Sabbath and get so tired that they lose focus and the ability to give proper attention to what they are drinking, causing them to falter in defending the Truth as they forget what they are supposed to look like as the world draws them to compromise when the battles get tough!
Ya’aqoḇ/James 1:22-25 “And become doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 Because if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror, 24 for he looks at himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what he was like. 25 But he that looked into the perfect Torah, that of freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer that forgets, but a doer of work, this one shall be blessed in his doing of the Torah.”
The remnant of the remnant that lap up with their hands to their mouths are the true worshippers – True worshippers that are being sifted out from the rest who claim to be a remnant! The True remnant is a remnant of the remnant!!!
300 men from 10 000! After the proper sifting of who would drink as they should, the enemy could now be faced by faith and complete trust in יהוה. On a fleshly level there was absolutely no way 300 men could take on a giant army, yet when walking in compete trust and faith in יהוה of Hosts, those who are ardent in their diligent guarding of His Word can face any battle as they stand firm in the Master! The enemy could now be faced by a faithful remnant who were not fearful of the enemies threats! What is interesting to take note of here is that in verse 8 we are told that Miḏyan was now ‘below’ them in the valley! They were no longer to the ‘north’ (or hidden) as seen in verse 1. Those who fix their eyes on the Master and Elohim, our Good Teacher, יהושע Messiah, and have had the ‘veil removed’ are able to clearly discern, recognise and identify the enemy and distinguish between the set-apart and profane and between the clean and the unclean, as that which was hidden becomes clearer, enabling us to stand and face the battles in life knowing that we ‘hidden in Yah!’! It is those who do their utmost to present themselves approved to Elohim, as workers who does not need to be ashamed, and can rightly handle the Word of Truth that are able to take their rightful stand in the Master and proclaim His Kingdom Reign.
Giḏ’on had kept the shofars from those who had been sifted out in order that all 300 of his men would be properly equipped to do what they would be commanded to do, and blow the shofar! Herein lies another picture of the true remnant being equipped with all they need to stand and do as commanded! We too have been given all we need:
Kěpha Bět/2 Peter 1:3 “as His Mighty-like power has given to us all we need for life and reverence, through the knowledge of Him who called us to esteem and uprightness.”
With the army now in place, we see that יהוה told Giḏ’on for the 4th time, in verse 9, that He had given Miḏyan into his hand. Although the battle would still need to be faced, Yisra’ĕl had already won, with the full assurance of the Word of Elohim.
This is the confidence we need to embrace as we face the tests and battles of this life, knowing that as we remain steadfast and firm in our Master and Elohim, we need not fear and have the fullest assurance that no storms or crashing waves will cause us to be moved from our steadfast position upon our Rock and Refuge:
Tehillah/Psalm 62:5-8 “My being, find rest in Elohim alone, because my expectation is from Him. 6 He alone is my rock and my deliverance, my strong tower; I am not shaken. 7 My deliverance and my esteem depend on Elohim; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in Elohim. 8 Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; Elohim is a refuge for us. Selah.”
Pause and think about these words for a moment…! Our expectation and dependency must be in Elohim alone! In where or in whom do you put your expectation and who do you depend on? Elohim is our strength and refuge and we must find rest in Him alone!
יהוה gave Giḏ’on further assurance of His Word as he told Giḏ’on that if he was in any way still afraid that he was to go down to the Miḏyan camp and listen to what they say. He went with his servant ‘Purah’ and came back greatly encouraged and full of confidence in יהוה. פֻּרָה Purah – Strong’s H6513 means, ‘bough, branch’, which comes from the root verb פָּרָה parah – Strong’s H6509 which means, ‘to bear fruit, be fruitful, flourish’.
I find this a great lesson as we see יהוה telling Giḏ’on to go with his servant פֻּרָה Purah – Strong’s H6513, as this too gives us another picture of how we are to be encouraged by each other, as we are bearing the fruit of righteousness.
Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 10:23-25 “Let us hold fast the confession of our expectation without yielding, for He who promised is trustworthy. 24 And let us be concerned for one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging, and so much more as you see the Day coming near.”
Giḏ’on then gave his 300 faithful men clear instructions – they were split into 3 groups of 100 each and each man was given a shofar as well as an empty vessel with a torch inside of it. At the command and leading of Giḏ’on they were to blow the shofars that were in their right hands and break the jars that were in their left hands exposing the torches that were inside and shout ‘for יהוה and for Giḏ’on’. When considering this picture of these men being told to have the shofars in their right hands and the jars with the torches in their left hands I pondered upon the significance of this and was reminded on the verses we find in Mishlĕ/Proverbs in describing wisdom, which say in:
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 3:16 “Length of days is in her right hand, riches and esteem in her left hand.”
Giḏ’on’s men were clearly instructed to have the shofars in their right hands, and when understanding wisdom being depicted as having length of days in her right hand I am able to see how powerful this picture of raising the shout of a shofar is. We are told in Scripture to blow the shofar on the new moon, and on the appointed times (Feasts) and in the days of our rejoicing, and in time of battle to warn and gather. The sounding of the shofar reminds us of the clear promise of deliverance we have in our Master and king who has given us the promise of eternal life in Him, the Right Hand of Elohim!
With the jars being in the left hand, and had to be broken in order to shine the light of the torches we can see a picture of complete surrender to the Master’s ways and recognise that we need not chase riches or let the deceitfulness of wealth and the worries of this life choke out the Word, but rather by becoming a daily living offering unto Elohim, we can find rest in knowing that as we shine the light of His Truth and guard His Torah by doing all that He has commanded us to with great zeal and joy we have the assurance of His blessed provision for our lives!
The pictures of the shofars, the jars and the torches can give us a great lesson of how we are to be overcomers in יהושע Messiah, as we read at the beginning of this message from Timotiyos Bět/2 Timothy 2:19-22 that we who have cleansed ourselves from all unrighteousness shall be a vessel unto value, having been set-apart and of good use to our Master! They were commanded to do as Giḏ’on does, which is a shadow picture of us walking as Messiah walked! In his example they could follow his lead and when he broke his jar the rest would follow and break their jars too! Messiah came in the flesh and defeated sin, and He calls us to walk as He walked, and this will take the clear responsibility of a true remnant to break off the things of the flesh, and surrender totally into the hands of our King.
Sha’ul echoed a similar plea when he wrote to the Corinthians and said:
Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 11:1 “Become imitators of me, as I also am of Messiah.”
The word ‘imitators’ in the Greek is μιμητής ‘mimētēs’ – G3402 and simply means ‘to imitate or to follow’, and we get our English word mimic from this. Now a mimic is one who impersonates and copies or is a replica of someone else.
The word ‘imitate’ simply means to follow as a pattern, a model or an example; to be or appear like – in other words resemble and to produce a copy of or reproduce. Giḏ’on was following the clear instructions of יהוה, and he could therefore confidently tell the rest to follow his example and do as he does! How about you? Are you able to confidently tell others to ‘do as you do’ and become an imitator of you as you are of Messiah?
Once you’ve broken off the fleshly lusts and reliance upon self, let your light shine brightly in the darkness around you, and make a great sound of rejoicing praise as you proclaim His coming Reign! These 300 men who had been sifted out from the rest as being worthy to stand and fight could follow the instructions of Giḏ’on, their appointed leader! This is another picture of the obedience and submission of the True Remnant! Many who claim to be on the Torah walk today may often refuse to submit to any leadership appointed by יהוה.
Eph’siyim/Ephesians 4 clearly tells us that our Master יהושע Messiah has appointed some to equip and train the body to perfection:
Eph’siyim/Ephesians 4:11-16 “And He Himself gave some as emissaries, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as shepherds and teachers 12 for the perfecting of the set-apart ones, to the work of service to a building up of the body of the Messiah, 13 until we all come to the unity of the belief and of the knowledge of the Son of Elohim, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the completeness of Messiah, 14 so that we should no longer be children, tossed and borne about by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of men, in cleverness, unto the craftiness of leading astray, 15 but, maintaining the truth in love, we grow up in all respects into Him who is the head, Messiah, 16 from whom the entire body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the working by which each part does its share, causes growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”
Sadly we find that there are many who claim to be walking in the Torah who refuse to be a part of and submit to walking in fellowship with others, and are doing what is right in their own eyes and refuse to follow the teachings and leadings of those appointed by the Master Himself, and we are told in:
Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 13:7 “Remember those leading you, who spoke the Word of Elohim to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their belief.”
Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 13:17 “Obey those leading you, and be subject to them, for they watch for your lives, as having to give account. Let them do so with joy and not groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
These 300 men could imitate and obey Giḏ’on, the appointed leader of יהוה, and could do so with boldness, as they had passed the two siftings, being not afraid nor lazy to the task at hand!
The torches would not burn without oil, and so we see the need for us to be like the wise maidens/virgins who had trimmed their lamps and had them filled with oil, representing our need to be walking according to the Spirit at all times, shining the light of His Truth, as true branches of the True Vine, as pictured by the Menorah/Lampstand!
Verse 21 gives us a great lesson on steadfastness and complete faith and trust in יהוה. We are told that the men stood in their place! While the enemy was in a panic at the great sound of the 300 shofars and the bright lights being shone in the darkest of night, the remnant 300 could stand in their place and not be moved, while יהוה would fight for them!
The Hebrew word for ‘stand’ is עָמַד amaḏ – Strong’s H5975 which carries the meaning, ‘to take one’s stand, present oneself, abide, appoint, arise, stay, be steadfast, remain, be or become a servant’. In Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 7:2 we see how Yirmeyahu was to ‘Stand in the gate of the House of יהוה, and proclaim the Word of יהוה to all who were entering the gates to bow down to יהוה’. Yirmeyahu was not just told to stand up but rather, more firmly, he was told to take a stand and be steadfast in standing up to speak the Word of Elohim, as he was to confidently take a stand against the hypocrisy of false worship, and ‘proclaim’ the Word of יהוה. Stand up and speak up – this was what Yirmeyahu was told to do – and as we look at his life we can see that while he was repeatedly told to do this, he was not well received; and in fact was more often than not hated for the words he had to stand up and speak to a wicked generation. The same was true for Yeḥezqěl – he too was told to stand up and speak! Be a steadfast servant of the Word and stand up and speak the Truth!
The Hebrew root word translated as ‘in his place’ is תַּחַת taḥath – Strong’s H8478 meaning, ‘underneath, below, instead of, allegiance’ and can be understood as ‘under the authority of’. What we can see from this here is the clear submission of true servants who ascribed and submitted under the hand of יהוה, and their allegiance to their appointed leader Giḏ’on would be clearly seen in the work of their hands as they would not do their own works, but submit and walk in his commands and instructions, which shadow pictures our need to walk in and follow our Master and Elohim יהושע Messiah!
Doing what is commanded, while the enemy runs around in a frenzy, is what we are called to do! Do not be alarmed or shaken from your steadfastness at the drunkenness and depravity of the lawless, but rather stand! Stand, stand and stand in the complete armour of Elohim and see the great victories that our Master will bring!!!
After Miḏyan were in a great panic at the sound of the shofars and the light of the lamps of the 300 men, they began killing each other as יהוה set the sword of each one against the other throughout the Miḏyanite camp. The army of Miḏyan then began to flee and Giḏ’on called out Ephrayim to capture them. They did so and killed the two princes of Miḏyan and cut off their heads! עֹרֵב Oreḇ – Strong’s H6159 means, ‘raven’ and זְאֵב Ze’eḇ – Strong’s H2062 means, ‘wolf’.
The names of these two princes of Miḏyan reveal their uncleanness and teach us to be on guard against the schemes of the enemy, as the wickedness of false traditions leads many astray through the teachings of false prophets and false teachers:
Mattithyahu/Matthew 7:15 “But beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are savage wolves.”
These unclean animals are predators – wolves will seek to kill sheep, while ravens feast on dead animals! Ravens feed off of the dead, which in many ways can picture for us the corrupted Roman-Catholic system that is the mother whore of Christianity, and builds it churches over tombs and much of their focus is on death, as their traditional iconic image of their saviour’s death means everything, while resurrection is an afterthought. It is Ephrayim who must behead these two princes of falsehood. With Ephrayim – אֶפְרַיִם – Strong’s H669 meaning, ‘doubly fruitful’, and recognising that in Scripture Ephrayim is often used in reference to a returning House of Yisra’ĕl, we are able to see how we are to ‘cut off the head’ of all falsehood – and that is done by bearing much fruit that lasts – the fruit of righteousness and pure set-apart living! By cutting off the heads of the raven and the wolf we see a clear picture of making sure that wickedness and darkness has no more rule over us, as we submit to our True Head – יהושע Messiah!
In the last two verses of Hoshěa /Hosea we see the clear truth that Ephrayim must be done with idols and idol worship and therefore cut off the head/leading of compromised truths and walk in the clear straight Torah of Elohim:
Hoshěa/Hosea 14:8-9 “What more has Ephrayim to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after him. I am like a green cypress tree, your fruit comes from Me.” 9 Who is wise and understands these words, discerning and knows them? For the ways of יהוה are straight, and the righteous walk in them, but the transgressors stumble in them.”
The remnant faithful and fruitful will be the ones who put to death the works of darkness and shine the light of the Truth, while the fearful and lazy will stumble and fall!
Romiyim/Romans 13:12 “The night is far advanced, the day has come near. So let us put off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.”
As we consider this chapter in Shophetim/Judges 7, let us make sure that we are steadfast in lifting up the banner of praise and raising the shofar sound of victory by shining the Light of the Truth in all we do, having broken off and cast away all misdeeds of the flesh so that we can be vessels of value as we proclaim the reign of the heavens that draws near! This is the time for true worshippers to worship the Father in Spirit and Truth and the clear call resounds, as the sifting process continues:
WILL THE TRUE REMNANT STAND, SHINE AND SHOUT!
As we consider these events let me ask you, have you ever found yourself forgetting what you look like, after having looked intently into the mirror of the Word? Have you found at times that you have been too afraid to face what lies ahead and are like the first 22 000 that were disarmed by fear? Have you overcome many fears yet have lacked the proper intensity that is expected for a true set-apart believer and have found yourself going through the motions of a ‘religious duty’ while you have been clearly lazy in digging in, studying and meditating upon the Torah DAY and NIGHT! If you have, in any way, been in danger of being sifted out from the presence of יהוה due to either fear or compromise then hear this word tonight and be willing to break down all falsehood and compromise, and stand in your place in our Master and King, and guard to do all He has commanded us to! Have you been silent in your confession and proclamation of the Kingdom Reign of our coming King and found that your hands have been filled with other things that have no bearing or witness of set-apartness? Then hear the call – be cleansed through the washing of the Word and take up the responsibility to shine and proclaim in the strength of our Master!
This is a call for the remnant of the remnant to hear and fear our Mighty Elohim!
WILL THE TRUE REMNANT STAND, SHINE AND SHOUT!
יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show you favour; יהוה lift up His face to you and give you Shalom!