In the final analysis, we end up worse than when we started.  Through the mercies of God, we are dragged to start the process of possessing the land (our bodies) as we start seeing and hearing the word of God. In these battles to possess our bodies, sometimes we are defeated and that brings us to a period of oppression by the enemies within. Our lows or oppression are all written in our books so that we may realize we are the greatest sinners to whom God is showing mercy.

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

What we are going to review today has to deal with a severe kind of oppression we go through and how by this experience we get to meet the Lord face to face (we get to know Him).

Our review today is therefore under two captions – the period of oppression and an encounter with the Lord.

THE PERIOD OF OPPRESSION

We will therefore begin with a situation in our lives where we are subjected to the dictates of the enemy within in the form of the Midianites as follows:

Jdg 6:1  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. 

The Midianites were descendants of Abraham just like the Jews but were not children of promise as they came from Abraham’s wife Keturah’s son named Midian. We can therefore say that they were distant relatives of the Israelites. This is insightful in the sense that it shows us the enemy we are dealing with here is part of our flesh. In other words, the enemy we are fighting is within. It is also significant to note that it was the Midianite traders who sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Again, it was the elders of the Midianites who conspired with the Moabites to hire a wicked prophet, Balaam. 

Gen 37:28  Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. 

Num 22:7  And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak. 

Jud 1:11  Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

Rev 2:14  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

So the Midianites represent the spirit that if we are under its oppression or influence will lead us to seek our reward right here on earth. This was the spirit that possessed Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver and as treasurer to the disciples, was always stealing from the money purse.

Let’s look at the details of this kind of oppression:

Jdg 6:2  And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. 

The consequence of this oppression is that instead of seeking refuge in Christ, we seek refuge in dens in the mountains, caves and strongholds. The mountains, caves and strongholds here stand for all the false doctrines which we have come to believe. We therefore hide in these false doctrines thinking they can save us.  The Midianites therefore represent the false doctrines which make us focus on receiving our full reward while living here on earth.

Jdg 6:3  And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; 

As a result of focusing on receiving full reward here on earth, we end up fixing our attention on the cares of this life, and so when the word of God is sown in our lives, it is choked and does not bear any fruit. That was what Jesus was referring to in the parable of the sower. The seed that fell among thorns signifies those who hear the word of God, but the false doctrines they have imbibed, which is symbolized by thorns, choke the word. Here in verse 3, when God, through the elect, sows the word of God in our lives, it becomes ineffective because of the false doctrines of focusing on the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. The Midianites, the Amalekites and the children of the East represent the false doctrines which are the stumbling block of our iniquity.

Mat 13:22  He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

Jdg 6:4  And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

These false doctrines (the Midianites) that we have imbibed destroy the increase of the earth leaving us with no sustenance to live on. According to Isaiah 30:23, the increase of the earth represents the word of God. So verse 4 means that these false doctrines decimate all the true word of God in our lives and therefore blots out the light of the Truth and defiles God’s dwelling place within us. As a result, there is no meat of the word of God, represented by the sheep, ox and ass. 

Isa 30:23  Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.

Jdg 6:5  For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.

The Midianites are described here as grasshoppers for multitude because they are without number, and they enter into the land to destroy it. According to Strong, grasshoppers and locusts are the same. From Revelation 9:3, these locusts come out of the smoke from the bottomless pit (our sea of flesh). The smoke that darkens the sun and the air are the false doctrines which keep us from seeing the light of Christ. The locusts therefore are the product of our darkness which further deepens our darkness as they cover the earth bringing the land in darkness. That is, this oppression of the Midianites in our lives sends us into more darkness, blocking us from seeing the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. We all at a certain period of our lives have encountered their effects in our lives. 

Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 
Rev 9:3  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

Exo 10:13  And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 
Exo 10:14  And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. 
Exo 10:15  For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Jdg 6:6  And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD. 
Jdg 6:7  And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites, 

When we find ourselves in this spiritual darkness, that is when we begin to cry to the Lord to save us. If indeed we are marked out as part of God’s elect, then God will send us His prophet (messenger) as He did with the Israelites as follows:

Jdg 6:8  That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; 
Jdg 6:9  And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land; 
Jdg 6:10  And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice. 

The purpose of God sending the Israelites the prophet was to show them their sins. The fiery words of the elect must bring us to the point where we recognize our sins which is the beginning of God’s deliverance from the thick darkness in which we find ourselves as a result of these false doctrines (Midianites) occupying our heavens. So one of the key roles of the elect is to show God’s people their sins.

Isa 58:1  Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Isa 58:2  Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE LORD

Jdg 6:11  And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. 

As part of God’s package of deliverance, He sends an angel of the Lord to intervene in our circumstance, speaking the fiery words of the Lord. The angel of the Lord here is Christ, and as He is sending us, we now represent the angel of the Lord. The name Gideon means a feller or a warrior. This is to suggest that even from birth, he has been penciled in to be a warrior for the people of Israel. That is what happened to Jeremiah.  Before he was born, God has marked him to be a warrior to root out, pull down, destroy and throw down the enemy within. In a similar vein, God has called us before the foundation of the world to be warriors to overthrow the beast within.

Jer 1:4  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 1:5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. 

Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. 

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 

In this encounter with the Lord, it was the Lord who took the initiative to come to Gideon to drag him to himself.  It wasn’t Gideon who was praying for God to come to him. That was what happened to us. In our darkest hour, He came to us to drag us all to himself.

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw (drag) him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 

When God came on the scene in the life of Gideon, he was threshing wheat by the winepress. Threshing wheat means separating the chaff from the wheat, which signifies separating false doctrines from the true word of God. In other words, He is separating what is of the world (false doctrines) from what is of the spirit. As we go through the furnace of affliction, due to the wrath of God on our lives symbolized by the winepress, we learn that there is chaff (false doctrines) in our food (the true word of God), and therefore there is the need to remove the chaff from our food. However, since we are not adept in trying the spirit, we do not confront the false doctrines in our heavens which represents the Midianites. That is what it means by Gideon hiding from the Midianites. If we are destined to overcome, then God will come to us to help us start this war (try the spirit) in our heavens as He did to Gideon.

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 

1Jn 4:5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 
1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Jdg 6:12  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. 

It is reassuring to know that in spite of our darkened spiritual state, God is with us and will not leave us alone just as He was with Gideon during the oppression by the Midianites. This is the same as saying that although our earth was without form and void and darkness was upon us, the spirit of God was moving upon the face of the waters or sea of our flesh.

Gen 1:1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 
Gen 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The Lord calling Gideon a mighty man of valour when in reality, Gideon was not even ready to start a war and was under the dominion of the Midianites, shows us that God calls those things which be not as though they were. This is for our admonition that God who has started this work of defeating the enemy within us will see to its competition. He sees the end from the beginning!!

Rom 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Jdg 6:13  And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. 

One of the questions that we ask often when we start this journey with the Lord is, “Why am I going through all this if God is with me?”  We are no different from Gideon as he was wondering why God would address him that way when around him everything looked gloomy. Usually, we come to the conclusion that perhaps God has deserted us as we do not see why things happen the way they do. Habakkuk the prophet was also wondering why God will allow His own Jerusalem to be trodden down by the Babylonians. His complaint was as follows:

Hab 1:13  Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

David also had a similar complaint. It was not until David came to the house of God that he realized how the end will play out. It is when we enter the New Jerusalem, the Assembly of God’s people that we come to know that all things are working together for our good.

Psa 73:16  When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;
Psa 73:17  Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. 

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Jdg 6:14  And the LORD looked upon him, and said, “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?”

God is encouraging us to engage the enemy within with the might that he has provided for us. We are strengthened by the Lord and in the power of His might. We are not fighting this war on our strength. Our Lord fights our battles for us. If God has started with us, then we will surely win this war. The question is, “What is being strong and in the power of His might?” Paul in Ephesians 6:10-18 tell us of this might of the Lord that makes us victorious:

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 
Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 
Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 
Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 
Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 
Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

Jdg 6:15  And he said unto him, 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. 

When we come into the presence of the Lord, that is when our eyes begin to see and our ears start hearing, we come to see who we really are – we see our inadequacies. This was what happened to Gideon and others such as Moses, Jeremiah and Paul. 

Exo 3:11  And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 

Exo 4:10  And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

Jer 1:4  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Jer 1:5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. 
Jer 1:6  Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. 

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

This is to confirm to us that God is in the business of electing the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. He is doing all this so that no flesh shall glory in His presence.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Jdg 6:16  And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. 

God is assuring us of His presence with us in all our battles. The question is, “How do we know that God is with us?” We know that God is with us as long as our eyes are seeing and our ears are hearing what God is saying to us. Smiting the Midianites as one man is another way of saying that God will do a quick work on our behalf concerning our enemies within.

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

Jdg 6:17  And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. 
Jdg 6:18  Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.

We need to be assured that we have found grace in God’s sight. Whenever we have an encounter with Christ, it should result in us offering a sacrifice to Him. In the Old Testament, when the Lord appeared to them, they usually built an altar to offer sacrifice to the Lord. In our case, we have to offer our bodies as living sacrifice, which is holy and acceptable to the Lord. Here in verse 18, the Lord told Gideon that He will wait for him to bring the offering. The Lord knows that we are incapable of offering our bodies as a living sacrifice to Him when we have just started the process of coming out of darkness. So He is prepared to wait for us as the process of ridding our bodies of all that offend in order to offer sacrifice which is acceptable to Him is a long process.

Gen 12:7  And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Jdg 6:19  And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
Jdg 6:20  And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. 

In offering a present to the Lord, Gideon prepared meat, which is a symbol of the word of God, and unleavened bread, which also symbolizes the word of God. The broth is a savory liquid made of water in which bones, meat, or vegetables have been simmered. That, too, represents the word of God. Thus, in order to offer a living sacrifice to the Lord, we need to know the fiery word of God which is able to grant us access to the divine nature and as a result escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. That is the living sacrifice which pleases the Lord. 

2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

The angel of God’s instruction to Gideon to take out the meat, unleavened bread or cakes and lay them on a rock and pour the broth on it is another way of saying that our Lord was teaching us (Gideon) how to compare spiritual things with spiritual as the rock on which the food was laid is Christ who is also the word of God. In being able to compare spiritual things with spiritual, we will be able to test the spirits to see whether they are of God as many false prophets have gone out into the world. Remember that the kind of oppression we are dealing with here in this story is false doctrines symbolized by the Midianites. Thus, it is imperative to learn how to wage war against these false doctrines in our heavens. That was what our Lord was teaching Gideon who is a symbol of the elect.

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Jdg 6:21  Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight. 

The staff in verse 21 is the same as a rod and is used in the scriptures as either instrument for measurement or judgment. In this context, it is used as an instrument of judgment as fire came out of the rock when it was touched by the staff. As indicated earlier, the rock is Christ, and Christ is the word. So what this verse means is that as we get to know the fiery word of God, the fire or judgment as a result of the word burning all the works of the flesh which includes our false doctrines, the works of our hands and our fleshy desires, symbolized by the consummation of the flesh and the unleavened cakes (a negative application). The judgment we face as a result of the word is explained by Jesus as the tribulation and persecution we encounter in our lives.

Mat 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

Jdg 6:22  And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.
Jdg 6:23  And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.

As our eyes are being opened and our ears are hearing the word of God and as we are being judged by the fiery words of the Lord, we gradually get to know Him better. It is at this point that we exclaim just like Gideon, “Alas, O Lord God!!” That is because we have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. In other words, we are encountering Christ intimately.

Gen 32:30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

It is when we have this encounter with Christ through His words that we know our lives have been spared.  In other words, we shall not be hurt by the second death!! That is what the Lord was telling Gideon in verse 23 when he said that he should fear not for he would not die. In a similar vein, we should not fear as the devil is good at making us feel that our lives do not measure up to the standard of those who will escape the second death. However, let me assure you that He who has started with us by opening our eyes to see and ears to hear will not leave us alone!! Our Lord is a finisher indeed!! What he has started, he is able to bring to completion!!!

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

One of the benefits of knowing Christ is that we come to know peace in the midst of this world that is raging like a storm. The result of Gideon’s encounter with Christ is that he would start to know what the peace of God is. So what does the peace of God entail? Peace is the embodiment of many attributes:

One aspect of peace is that is the Lord will fight our battles for us.

Exo 14:14  The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

Another aspect of peace is that of protection from harm and that nothing but good will be our portion. What this means is that though evil may befall us, it will be turned for our good.

Gen 26:29  That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.

All our lives, the Lord is guiding our steps to this way of peace. It is indeed a blessing to have the peace of God and not as the world gives.

Luk 1:79  To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Jdg 6:24  Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

We built an altar to offer sacrifice to God. The altar therefore is our body. As we get to know Him or see Him face to face and through the fire of the word of God, our heavens are cleansed of all that offend, then we can offer our bodies as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him which is our spiritual form of worship. Offering our bodies as living sacrifice entails not conforming to the standards of this world but being transformed by the renewing of the mind through the word of God.

Rom 12:1  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Rom 12:2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The altar built was called Jehovah shalom. It means He himself is our peace!! When we have him, then we have peace!! Amen!