“Sword Bilong Jehovah and Gideon!”
FROM olketa enemy barava staka tumas olsem grashopa, olketa spoelem gudfala graon for growim kaikai. Diswan hem kamap long taem wea olketa judge rulim Israel, and olketa Israelite lus hope nao. For sevenfala year, taem seed start nomoa for grow, nogud grup bilong olketa Midianite, Amalekite, and olketa long East wea raedem camel, olketa spoelem datfala land. Olketa animal bilong olketa enemy hia luk aotem kaikai and kaikaim evri plant. Bat pipol long Israel no garem eni donkey, buluka, or sheep. From olketa Midianite duim disfala nogud samting evritaem, olketa Israelite keepim kaikai long olketa maunten, cave, and ples wea man hard for kasem.
Why nao olketa Israelite kasem hard taem olsem? Olketa servem olketa giaman god. From olketa duim datwan, Jehovah letem pipol hia for spoelem olketa. Taem diswan hem tumas nao, olketa Israelite askem Jehovah for help. Waswe, bae hem herem olketa? Wanem nao iumi savve lanem from diswan?—Judges 6:1-6.
Farmer wea Careful or “Strongfala Man wea No Fraet”?
Olketa farmer long Israel savve iusim buluka for smasem wheat long open area mekem wind savve blowim rabis bilong wheat from seed. Bat sapos olketa duim datwan, bae olketa enemy isi for lukim olketa. Gideon duim diswan haed taem hem smasem wheat long ples for mekem wine—maet long wanfala hol wea stap long rok. (Judges 6:11) Long kaen ples olsem man savve iusim stik for smasem smol hip wheat nomoa. From laef bilong olketa hem olsem, Gideon mekius long samting wea stap.
Masbi Gideon seke fogud taem wanfala angel kam long hem and sei: “Jehovah hem stap witim iu, iu strongfala man wea no fraet.” (Judges 6:12) Maet Gideon ting hem man for fraet, bikos hem haed for smasem wheat long ples for wakem wine. Bat toktok hia showimaot God trustim hao Gideon fit for kamap leader long Israel wea no fraet. Nomata olsem, hemseleva no sure.
Taem Jehovah talem Gideon hao hem nao bae “sevem Israel from hand bilong olketa Midianite,” hem hambol for sei: “Excuse mi, Jehovah. Hao nao bae mi sevem Israel? Wan thousand man bilong mi long tribe bilong Manasseh hem nao barava smol, and mi nao barava smol wan long haos bilong dadi bilong mi.” Gideon wea careful, ask for saen wea bae showim sapos God bae sapotim hem for finisim olketa Midianite, and Jehovah willing for duim datwan for mekem Gideon feel sure. So Gideon givim kaikai olsem present long angel wea visitim hem, and fire kamaot from wanfala rok and bonem kaikai hia. Bihaen Jehovah talem toktok for strongim Gideon, Gideon wakem wanfala altar long datfala ples.—Judges 6:12-24.
“Letem Baal Defendim Hemseleva”
Bigfala problem bilong Israel hem from olketa strong for worshipim Baal, and hem no from olketa Midianite spoelem olketa. Jehovah hem “wanfala jealous God,” so hem no acceptim wei for man worshipim hem and olketa nara god tu. (Exodus 34:14) Dastawe, Jehovah komandim Gideon for distroem altar bilong dadi bilong hem for Baal and katem datfala holy post. From Gideon fraet long samting dadi bilong hem and nara pipol bae duim sapos hem duim diswan long daytaem, hem and tenfala servant bilong hem duim diswan long naet.
Gideon garem gudfala reason for careful, bikos taem olketa wea worshipim Baal faendaot hem nao duim datwan, olketa barava laek killim hem dae. Bat taem dadi bilong Gideon, Joash, story witim pipol hia hao sapos Baal hem God hem shud defendim hemseleva, olketa no savve tok nao. From diswan Joash kolem son bilong hem Jerubbaal, wea minim “Letem Baal Defendim Hemseleva.”—Judges 6:25-32, footnote.
God evritaem blessim olketa servant bilong hem taem olketa disaed strong for trufala worship. Taem olketa Midianite and sekson wea sapotim olketa kam for attakim Israel moa, ‘spirit bilong Jehovah fulap long Gideon.’ (Judges 6:34) From spirit bilong God muvim Gideon, hem hipimap olketa man for faet from olketa tribe bilong Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali.—Judges 6:35.
Reredi for Faet
Nomata Gideon garem 32,000 man for faet, hem askem God for wanfala saen. Sapos wool wea hem putim long floor for smasem wheat hem wet witim dew and graon hem drae, diswan showim hao thru long hem, Jehovah bae sevem Israel. Jehovah duim disfala mirakol, and taem Gideon ask for graon hem wet and wool hem drae, Jehovah duim datwan tu. Waswe, Gideon ova tumas for careful? Luk olsem nomoa, from Jehovah duim wanem hem laekem mekem Gideon sure hem stap witim hem. (Judges 6:36-40) Iumi no expectim kaen mirakol olsem for happen distaem. Bat Jehovah iusim Word bilong hem for directim iumi and for showim long iumi hem sapotim iumi.
God sei Gideon garem staka man tumas for faet. Sapos olketa win, maet olketa Israelite tok praod for sei olketa sevem olketa seleva. Bat Jehovah nao mas kasem praise for diswan. Hao nao bae hem kasem datwan? Gideon duim samting wea Law Bilong Moses talem, hem nao for askem olketa wea fraet for go bak. From diswan, 22,000 go bak and 10,000 nomoa stap.—Deuteronomy 20:8; Judges 7:2, 3.
Long tingting bilong God, diswan hem staka tumas yet. So God talem Gideon for tekem olketa go long wata. Josephus, man wea raetem history abaotem olketa Jew sei God talem Gideon for tekem olketa go long river long taem long day wea sun hot tumas. Nomata wanem, Gideon lukluk long hao olketa drink wata. Thri handred man nomoa iusim wanfala hand for tekem wata for drink and lukluk raon nogud enemy attak. So 300 man hia nomoa bae go witim Gideon. (Judges 7:4-8) Hao sapos iu tu long there? From enemy garem 135,000 man, bae iu sure paoa bilong Jehovah nao mekem iufala win and no paoa bilong iuseleva!
God talem Gideon for tekem servant bilong hem and go spae long camp bilong olketa Midianite. Taem olketa long there, Gideon herem wanfala man storyim wanfala dream long fren bilong hem. Datfala fren hem explainim mining bilong dream hia long wei for sei God bae mekem Gideon winim olketa Midianite. Hem nao samting Gideon laek for herem. Hem no daot hao Jehovah bae mekem hem and 300 man bilong hem winim olketa Midianite.—Judges 7:9-15.
Plan wea Olketa Followim Long Datfala Faet
Thri handred man divaed long thrifala grup bilong 100 man. Evri man garem wanfala horn and wanfala big emti jar. Wanfala lamp stap haed insaed jar hia. Fasfala samting Gideon talem for olketa duim nao diswan: ‘Luk followim mi, duim wanem mi duim. Taem mi blowim horn, iu blowim tu and singaot “sword bilong Jehovah and Gideon!” ’—Judges 7:16-18, 20.
Thri handred man for faet bilong Israel muv isisi go for camp bilong olketa Midianite. Hem ten klok long naet—lelebet taem bihaen olketa security change. Hem luk olsem hem gudfala taem nao for attak, bikos bae longtaem lelebet bifor eye bilong olketa niu security getius for lukluk long dark.
Olketa Midianite kasem nogud samting nao! Seknomoa, naet wea kwaet tumas mek-noise from 300 jar wea olketa Israelite brekem, 300 man blowim horn, and singaot bilong 300 man hia. From olketa Midianite seke tumas long datfala singaot, “sword bilong Jehovah and Gideon!,” olketa tu singaot. Long taem hia wea evri samting olobaot, hem hard for olketa savve hu nao enemy. Thri handred man standap wan ples nomoa taem God mekem olketa Midianite killim dae each other. Olketa Israelite ronem, kasholem, and killim dae eniwan wea laek for ranawe. Wei wea olketa spoelem olketa Israelite hem finis nao.—Judges 7:19-25; 8:10-12, 28.
Nomata bihaen olketa Israelite win, Gideon hem hambol. Taem olketa Ephraimite wea feel nogud bikos Gideon no askem olketa for go faet trae for startim raoa witim hem, hem story long kwaet wei. Kwaet ansa bilong hem katem daon kros bilong olketa and olketa no feel nogud.—Judges 8:1-3; Proverbs 15:1.
From Israel stap nao long peace, olketa askem Gideon for kamap king bilong olketa. Diswan hem samting wea isi for pullim hem! Bat Gideon no acceptim datwan. Hem luksavve long man wea mekem olketa winim olketa Midianite. Hem sei long olketa: “Mi bae no rulim iufala, and son bilong mi tu bae no rulim iufala. Jehovah nao hem datwan wea bae rulim iufala.”—Judges 8:23.
Bat from Gideon no perfect, hem no evritaem tingting gud. Nomata Bible no talem why, hem mekem ephod from olketa samting wea hem tekem from olketa Midianite and putim long pablik ples long taon bilong hem. Bible sei datfala ephod hem mekem evri Israelite duim “dirty fasin.” Olketa worshipim datfala ephod and hem kamap wanfala trap for Gideon and famili bilong hem. Bat hem no kamap man for worshipim idol evribit, from Bible kolem hem wanfala man wea garem faith long Jehovah.—Judges 8:27; Hebrews 11:32-34.
Olketa Leson for Iumi
Iumi kasem samfala warning and encouragement from disfala story abaotem Gideon. Hem warnim iumi hao sapos Jehovah no givim spirit and blessim iumi bikos iumi duim nogud samting, spiritual saed bilong iumi bae olsem poor pipol wea olketa grashopa spoelem land bilong olketa. Iumi stap long olketa hard taem and iumi mas evritaem rememberim hao blessing bilong Jehovah nao “mekem man rich, and hem no addim eni pain witim datwan.” (Proverbs 10:22) Iumi enjoyim blessing bilong God bikos iumi “servem hem witim full heart and witim hapi soul.” Sapos nomoa, hem bae rejectim iumi.—1 Chronicles 28:9.
Iumi savve kasem encouragement from story bilong Gideon, from diswan pruvim hao Jehovah savve sevem pipol bilong hem from eni danger, maet thru long wei for iusim olketa wea maet luk olsem olketa no strong. Wei wea Gideon and 300 man winim 135,000 Midianite showimaot bigfala paoa bilong God. Maet iumi tu kasem olketa hard taem and maet luk olsem olketa enemy strong winim iumi. Bat story long Bible abaotem Gideon encouragem iumi for trustim Jehovah wea bae blessim and sevem evriwan wea showimaot faith long Hem.