Gideon Obeyed with Ten Men - Judges 6:27

In the book of Judges we learned how, “Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take your father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the grove that is by it. And build an altar unto the LORD your God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down”, and in chapter six and verse twenty-seven of Judges, we learn how, “Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said” where we read,

Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him:

 and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

The verse reads, “Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him:” The writer began with the word, “then Gideon” which means “at that time Gideon whose name means ‘hewer’ and was the youngest son of Joash of the Abiezrites, fifth judge of Israel who led the Israelites against the Midianites” “took men of his servants” or “gathered and assembled male human being belonging to his, Gideon’s, men of servile condition, bondmen or slaves”, “and did as the LORD had said unto him” which means “and performed and produced similar and in likeness that Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God uttered, declared and proclaimed”. The writer shared how “Gideon” gathered “ten” of his men of servile condition and performed and produced in keeping with what Jehovah God told him to do. 

The verse goes on to say, “…  and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.” The writer continued with the words, “and so it was” which means “and it came to pass, happened and fell out”, “because he feared his father’s household” or “since and on account that he, Gideon, was afraid of his, Gideon’s, male progenitor’s dwelling place, abode, habitation and family”, “and the men of the city”  which means “and the male human beings belonging to the dwelling place, habitation and abode”, “that he could not do it by day” or “that he, Gideon, was unable to perform and produce it, the tasks given by God, during the daytime hours”, “that he did it by night” which means “that he, Gideon, performed and produced it, the tasks, during the nighttime”. The writer shared how the following happened on account that “Gideon” was afraid of his male progenitor’s relatives as well as the male human beings belonging to the dwelling place which caused “Gideon” not to be able to perform his task during the daytime, so he performed it during the nighttime. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how “Gideon” used wisdom to follow the instructions of Jehovah God. Because his father’s family and the men in the place where he lived would be aware of what he was doing during the daytime, he waited until dark. God has His timing for Him and us to carry out our tasks, and because He knew we all needed a Savior from our sins, He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead at the necessary time. (See Galatians 4:4) When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and give us the wisdom to carry out His tasks at just the right time.

Next time we learn, “when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".