So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Judges 6:6.
Alas, that in the history of God’s chosen people the sorrowful story of apostasy and its punishment must be so oft repeated! …
Because of their sins, the protecting hand of God was withdrawn from Israel, and they were left to the mercies of their enemies. The wild, fierce inhabitants of the desert [the Midianites and Amalekites], “as grasshoppers for multitude,” came swarming into the land with their flocks and herds and pitched their tents in plain and valley. They came as soon as the harvests began to ripen and remained until the last fruits of the earth had been gathered. They stripped the fields of their increase and robbed and maltreated the inhabitants, and then returned to the deserts….
or seven years this oppression continued, and then in their distress the people remembered Him who had so often delivered them; and they cried unto the Lord for help….
Their prayers were heard, and again the Lord sent forth the man of His choice to act as deliverer for Israel. The one thus selected was Gideon, of the tribe of Manasseh…. It was only with the greatest difficulty that the Hebrews could secrete sufficient food to save them from actual starvation. Gideon had, however, retained possession of a small quantity of wheat, and fearing to beat it out in the threshing floor, he had taken it to the vineyard, near the winepress. The time of ripe grapes being far off, the attention of the Midianites would not be directed to that place…. Gideon almost despaired of inspiring the people with faith or courage, but he knew that the Lord would work mightily for Israel as He had done in the past….
While Gideon’s mind was absorbed in meditations like these, suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to him and addressed him with the words, “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.”
The melancholy nature of Gideon’s thoughts is revealed by his answer, “Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?” … With a sense of his own unfitness for so important a work, Gideon exclaimed, “Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” … Then the angel gave him the gracious assurance, “Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.”—Signs of the Times, June 23, 1881.
From the Heart p. 267
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Gean who is having serious surgery the 14th and Ronnie Jay who is having a heart ablation on the 16th. Please pray that God will guide the doctors’ hands. Rose
—-I’m asking for prayers for my husband please.
He is having lower abdominal pain for several weeks now and has had scans which showed nothing. So now his gastro doctor will do a colonoscopy. I’m very concerned about him. Edie
—-Please pray for a broken-hearted man that I accidently met online. He is very suicidal because his wife and a son have left him and he has no way to contact them. He has no idea where they are. He is devastated and he is drinking and doing drugs to help ease his emotional pain. Thank you for your prayers for him. Connie
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Dear Friends,
Last month my granddaughter had her fifteenth birthday. We had a little party for her. She was dressed in a lovely white dress and looked so grown up. As I was looking at the pictures that we took, I began to think about my eleventh birthday party so many years ago. My mother had invited several of my classmates over for cake and ice cream and games. She had even made me a pretty blue dress for the party. It was fun and I was so happy.
After a while, my mother was beginning to tire of the party and us kids and sent us outside for a walk around the neighborhood. We walked for a while, but that became boring for us all. We looked around for something more interesting to do. As we passed Craig’s yard, he suggested that we climb his trees. They had branches very close to the ground, so even I thought it was a good idea. We were having a great time, but each of the children had been told what time to be home, and one by one they said good-bye.
After they left Craig’s yard, I walked back up the hill to my apartment and opened the door. My mother’s welcoming smile turned to a frown. My dress, which was not made for climbing trees, was torn and dirty. I was in BIG TROUBLE!
As we go through life, our lives become soiled and torn just as surely as was my dress in those long ago days. We look at ourselves and realize that we are in big trouble. We have spent our life climbing worthless “trees” in the enemy’s “yard” that has soiled us through and though. We look back and see that we have wasted so much of our life on the non-essential. How true the words of Isaiah, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isa 64:6 We want to change, but even though we try, soon we fall back into old patterns and habits. We become even more soiled, even more torn.
Thank God there is a way out of our situation! Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6 Just as in Zachariah’s vision of Joshua the high priest, so He has promised to take away our filthy garments and clothe us with His robe of righteousness. “Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.” Zech 3:4 How much we need that change of raiment! Jesus says, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” Rev 3:18
Praise God! He does not leave us forsaken. He has provided a way of escape! Therefore we can say, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” Isa 61:10
May we come to our Dear Saviour now and receive His spotless garment and from henceforth walk in with Him all the way to the Heavenly Kingdom is my prayer.
Rose