People of the World where are you going? Turn back to God! Back to your faithful principles!
THE BRAMBLE KING
The Bramble King. So the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
“THROUGH SLAUGHTER TO A THRONE”
“Through slaughter to a throne” Then he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and murdered his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, [in a public execution] on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left alive, because he had hidden himself.
THE SNARE OF SUCCESS
The snare of success. Gideon made [all the golden earrings into] an ephod [a sacred, high priest’s garment], and put it in his city of Ophrah, and all Israel worshiped it as an idol there, and it became a trap for Gideon and his household.
GIDEON DEFEATS ZEBAH AND ZALMUNNA
Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna. When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and terrified the entire army.
THE SWORD OF JEHOVAH AND OF GIDEON
The Sword Of Jehovah And Of Gideon. When three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow, and they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!”
GIDEON’S THREE HUNDRED MEN
Gideon’s Three Hundred Men. And the LORD told Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped I will rescue you, and will hand over the Midianites to you. Let all the other people go, each man to his home.”
GIDEON DESTROYS THE ALTAR OF BAAL
Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal. Early the next morning when the men of the city got up, they discovered that the altar of Baal was torn down, and the Asherah which was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar which had been built. So they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” When they searched about and inquired, they were told, “Gideon the son of Joash did it.”
FACE TO FACE WITH THE ANGEL OF JEHOVAH
Face to face with the angel of JEHOVAH. When Gideon realized [without any doubt] that He was the Angel of the LORD, he declared, “Oh no, Lord GOD! For now I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face [and I am doomed]!”
A FARMER CALLED TO BE DELIVERER
A farmer called to be deliverer. Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon was beating wheat in the wine press [instead of the threshing floor] to [hide it and] save it from the Midianites.
And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O brave man.”