Center for Biblical Theology and Eschatology
Gideon’s Spiritual Warfare
by Nico Engelbrecht
Introduction
Let us look at some background to Gideon’s warfare against the Medianites before we come to the real expose. I would like to illustrate by example in what state the Church finds itself in these wicked days of the great battle of men’s minds that want to destroy the truth of the gospel and how biblically we should defend ourselves and how to recognize false teachings that are prevalent is these last days. We must know what is going on, why it is happening and how to prevent being deceived if possible.
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.
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.
This captivity of Israel because of sin is the same captivity, darkness, that all men are delivered into by God, God sends delusion and captivity. Like the Israelites the unbelievers imprison themselves in dens and caves and love darkness more than light. It is the effect of a guilty conscience that they flee from the truth, the light of God.
What is this Darkness?
Satan, the wicked one rule and reigns in man’s heart and mind, we are under his covering lest the light shines in the darkness and save us.
2 Corinthians 4:3-12 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 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.
Satan’s strategies are innumerable and unrecognizable by sinners and sometimes even those in the Church are deceived that might love what they think is the truth but are deceived. The light that some think they have, is darkness, how deep is their darkness then. It is not only the wicked that perish that have darkness, but some have what to them seems’ to be light; is darkness in the last days of delusion send by God.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
In context Paul speaks about the Antichrist that will come with strong delusion before the day of the Lord. It seems to me at least that we live in those days, the days that Satan unleashed for a time unleashes his most unholy water in the form of the flood out of the Dragons mouth (Rev 12:15) that is poured upon the Church. The loosing of Satan is again prevalent. Remember God loose Him. The loosing brings that which is untruth, deception, signs and wonders, a spiritual onslaught on the Woman’s remnant, the Church, on those that still confess the testimony that Jesus Christ is Lord. “the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed”
2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
How shall we overcome such a Wicked power that was, will be and is already revealed? The verse, 2 Th 2:8 answers us: by the Word of God and finally with the brightness of His coming to Judge the Earth. As we shall see further in our expose of Gideons’ type of warfare that it is with the Sword, the Word of the Lord and the light of the gospel that we overcome false teachings of the wicked and not with physical offensive weapons, or spiritually offensive battle with the darkness. Then the final battle will be at Christ’s coming by His Word, the spirit out of His mouth as symbolized in Revelation 1:16 “..out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations:
The Wicked one, the Antichrist is spiritually in the Church and is not in a future physical temple during a so called tribulation seven years after a so called rapture.
2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. The Temple, the Church.
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2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
This captivity is often the strong delusion that God sends as punishment.
Let the Antichrist rule over man and keep him in spiritual captivity without the light.
I am not so certain that it only speaks of the unbeliever, yet as Christians that love the Truth we know that truly born again, blood washed Christians will be protected by God the Spirit under his wings and cannot and will not perished and be deceived. If possible, Christians could be deceived the Bible states, so we must agree biblically that it is not possible that Christians will be deceived at least not permanently. Yet some are deceived, will they be those as in:
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. I would not like to be those. Hopefully those in deception and those that teach deception will repent.
Let us get on with the real issue at hand and that is the True Spiritual Warfare of Saints. Taking Gideon as an example and spiritualizing his warfare in the context of the times we are living in if I may.
Clay Vessels
Before I come to the earthen pitchers that Gideon used in warfare let us look at the use and meaning that God uses when He speaks of clay vessels.
Man is often typified as an earthen vessel in the Bible. Adam from (red earth) was formed into an earthen living vessel. In Romans we see some clay pots are made to honor the living God with the message of salvation in the vessel, other are made for dishonor and will be broken and they will also bring glory the Lord.
2 Cor 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, The ‘power’ over the nations’ promised in this church to those who overcome, is the power of the preached word which is the scepter of Christ by which He, through His Word faithfully preached, dashes the nations in pieces as a potter’s vessel in:
Revelation 2:26-27 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Let us just be true to the Word, that the power over nations that Jesus has, and the ruling of them with a rod of iron does not give us a mandate to do either physical warfare or that we can do spiritual warfare to gain those nations for Christ. Neither do we break those nations and overcome them or Satan by such warfare. It simply Biblically means that as bearers of the gospel, and preaching the light of salvations we bring nations to Christ and as Christians we do rule with Christ and when proclaiming the gospel man is either saved or condemned and spiritually broken into shivers by our preaching.
The broken pitcher at the fountain in Ecclesiastics is used as a picture of our departure to eternity, the release of our spirit. I cannot continue further without a quote from Bunyan in Pilgrims Progress: The last words of Mr. Honest were, Grace reigns! So he left the world. After this it was noised abroad that Mr. Valiant-for-truth was taken with a summons by the same post as the other, and had this for a token that the summons was true, “That his pitcher was broken at the fountain.”
Ecc 12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it
Spurgeon said of earthen vessels:
Gideon ordered his men to do two things: covering up a torch in an earthen pitcher, he bade them, at an appointed signal, break the pitcher and let the light shine, and then sound with the trumpet, crying, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon! the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” This is precisely what all Christians must do. First, you must shine; break the pitcher which conceals your light; throw aside the bushel which has been hiding your candle, and shine. Let your light shine before men; let your good works be such, that when men look upon you, they shall know that you have been with Jesus. Then there must be the sound, the blowing of the trumpet. There must be active exertions for the ingathering of sinners by proclaiming Christ crucified.
Gideon’s Warfare
Judges 7:7-23 7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.
Three hundred watchful men that kept their eyes open lest the enemy comes, a remnant only so that God can get the glory for the victory.
8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets… They had provisions and their trumpets and no swords or instruments of warfare. Totally dependent and trust in the Lord that the Lord will give the victory. No bag just some provisions in their hand and a trumpet like going to a game.
9 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.
That is The Faith that the arch enemy is overcome and delivered in our hand. The enemy as the Apostles has seen was cast down as lightning, was binded by Jesus on the Cross so that we can take his spoils and do what Gideon in faith knew to do that God won the victory already in the Spirit. The enemy as described in Judges was a multitude like grasshoppers, like the sand of the sea, yet Gideon with his pitiful few stood in the finished work of God. The bread that the Medianite dreamed about that destroyed the head tent of their army was the Bread of Life, the vessel of Jesus Christ broken for us on the cross, which wrought the victory.
15 Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
Eat of that bread, could it be that those 300 men had eaten from the Bread of Heaven? That, that was their provisions in their hand? They surely are a representation of Saints proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they were given the Water of life and the Bread of Life. When the 300 drank the Water, they use their hands, carefully sifting out and getting the pure water without the pollution in it. Not like those that drink without looking if the water is pure, drinking maybe of the polluted water of Satan, the water that is mixed with a drop of poison, that is all you need to make the pure polluted. If I tend to be to allegorical forgive me and also just drink the clear and discard the impure.
19 So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
They blew the trumpets to proclaim the Gospel, they broke their vessels to reveal the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is in earthen vessels, not hidden but shining on the hill, as we are broken in persecution and suffering, as Jesus was, our vessel can bring light as people see the light and in the midst of that the enemy will flee because he has been overcome.
We only need to proclaim the Year of the Lord, the eternal gospel of Jesus Christ, He crushed Satan’s head, his rule over the chosen generation, he was casted down before the throne of God and cannot as the Accuser keep us in the Lie of Captivity like he could do with Job.
Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night
Judges 7:21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
Let us look what Gideon did, they STOOD, STOOD as we must in the defense of the gospel, offensively standing in the light of God, standing in faith with the full amour of God. What is the full amour that Gideon and his mighty 300 stood in? It was faith, the knowledge of the Word, the Bread of Life, the readiness to proclaim the Gospel the light in earthen vessel. No offensive wizards that wave magic wands, the likes of attacking so called Satanic stronghold over enemies, doing prayer walking and spiritual mapping, doing informed spiritual intercession to identify the type of Satanic strongholds.
Gideon did not do it, Paul did not do it, Spurgeon did not, neither Whitfield, Edwards and yet people were born again in the proclamation of the Truth. We are not saved, transformed as nations or South Africans by strategies not found in Scripture, and not by very cleaver strategies born out of the Charisma Lies of Satan but by the pure gospel once delivered unto the Saints.
The other false gospels that is prevalent in the great falling away. There was always some falling away, the greatest the Roman Church. But nothing the likes of what we experience today, the false gospels tend to be Roman in their mysticism and self-proclaimed priestly practices. Their rituals of binding a Satan already bound, of pleading the blood already once and for all pleaded. We can only say that we are in last days before Jesus comes. Not waiting a rapture but the living God to Judge at the White Throne.
22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled….
Conclusion
How did Gideon overcome the enemy? He stood defensively. His weapons of warfare was not carnal but mighty to tear down strongholds, no sword but the life they led dying to themselves in the broken pitchers, having in this container the message of salvation this treasure the message of the gospel, the Light that has come into the world. The preaching of this message is the power of the cross unto salvation. It is God who done the work on the cross 2000 years ago we have to stand like Gideon, let our light shine and preach the gospel using the trumpet. The enemy is scattered and the nations overcome and some will be judged because they heard. The 300 represents the remnant that has eyes to see and they all had the Trumpet to proclaim the message and the light to shine. They could see God in nature. A broken and contrite heart God does not despise. Satan cannot harm us as we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. We overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. Then God takes care of the enemy.
The flesh has to die to release the spirit the life.
Jesus had to suffer to be smitten and judged in his body his earthly vessel, his heel, his lower part of the Godhead.
We died on the cross with him the body of sin to be released from the chains of sin to be free
Earth red Adam was formed from the earth a clay vessel.
The enemy is scattered, the devil when the gospel is preached and our light shines flees the light
We judge the nations when we preach the gospel some for life everlasting some for eternal darkness.
We go out let our light shine and preach the gospel that is our strategy God took care of the enemy really 2000 years ago so he has no right to keep from light from those in darkness so the gospel can come to nations and be given to God. God confuses the enemy, God destroys their strongholds and let them flee so that the nations can be conquered, and we cannot take the strongholds down by prayer fasting or spiritual battle that has been done2000 years ago. All we have to do preach the gospel, the enemy has to let them go. We stand like Gideon, let our light shine and preach. Then we take the spoils because the strong man has been binded. Don’t think you can do something for God without Him initiating it, nobody will get the credit. It is the Sword of the Lord, they did not have swords but their weapons of warfare to take down strongholds are the light and the preaching.
Let God be true and every man a liar. Those that have ears to hear, hear.
All but grace only.
Nico Engelbrecht