Am I concerned about the lost souls that the enemy is trying to steal? He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him'. I'll leave that one with you, but let me say: humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's actually thinking what God thinks of you - please get that. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. Ecclesiastes 11:4 says, He who observes the wind [and waits for all condition to be favourable] will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap (The Amplified Bible). Look at verse 12, this is how God saw Gideon: 'The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour! . Large Map of Israel in the First Century - Click around on the Cities. King James Bible 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. Those who experience your transformed character will marvel saying he has saved the best for last. Israel had sinned, and offended the LORD, and in a recurring theme in the book of Judges, were delivered into the hands of their enemies. Let's pray. The first thing I want you to see is the prevailing conditions, the prevailing conditions of the day - and that relating to God's people, Israel, but also the land. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. God appeared to Gideon as an angel and said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." (Judges 6:12, NIV) Don't miss the hint of humor in the angel's greeting. Yahwehs angel came and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. June 02, 2021 Gideon is a man of the Old Testament that is often underestimated. People say you should worship God just for who He is, not for what He gives you; and I understand that, and there is an element of truth that I agree with, but here's what I find in Scripture: that we only tend to know God, because He has created us as finite beings, in the midst of our need when He comes and supplies it, and reveals Himself to be our Saviour. Winepresses were usually dug in vineyards (Isaiah 5:2; Matthew 21:33; Mark 12:1). Garki, Abuja, Nigeria. Our friend Gideon was hiding out in a winepress, threshing grain, when an angel of the Lord told him to save Israel. Required fields are marked *. And he did so. God can give signs when you're seeking Him, and when you're hungry after Him. I told you as well that Charles Seymour wrote a book in 1964 about Michelangelo's David, and the subtitle was 'The Search for Identity'. You see it in Jacob, didn't we learn this? You've got it now!'. Let me repeat that: the extraordinary may appear first as very ordinary. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. What is it that you need in order to do what you believe God wants people to do on the earth? His actions give us an example to follow and lessons to learn. However, the circumstances of Jesus birth didnt stop Him from fulfilling His destiny. Lord, You give the gift of faith, so would You give faith to people who are filled with fear here tonight? But I believe I see it differently now. The number of winepresses increased considerably during the Roman/Byzantine period, and its production and export was one of the leading incomes. Subscribe to our email updates to receive bi-monthly notifications of new content. Archaeological evidence shows that winepresses were widespread in ancient Israel, and they varied in size and complexity depending on the region and the time period. No, he didn't. But we have also this perception of spirituality as wallowing in the dirt, carpet time, with our mouths in the gravel - now, I'm not saying there is not a place for humility and brokenness, but we've got to understand what true biblical humility is. hypolenion) into which the juice ran from the trough above, the gath ( Nehemiah 13:15 ; Job 24:11 ; Is. Here is the backdrop, the prevailing conditions, in chapter 6 at the time of Gideon - it's really pathetic, it's a pitiful picture of where God's people are at. So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace. Keep up-to-date with David Legge's ministry and new materials added to Preach The Word by following him on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Job 24:11: Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst. That's why Jesus taught in parables. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Though the circumstances were not perfect, he knew he must use what he had to achieve something. Even before the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, He had a Divine encounter. - 'Show me something, that it is You that I'm talking with'. What that basically means is that because there was no ruling authority everybody did what they saw fit, so there was general rebellion in the nation. When the time came for the battle to occur, Gideon gave each of his 300 men their torches and their trumpets and their clay pots, and he gave them this instruction in Judges 7:17: "Watch me," he said to them, "and do what I do.". He's wonderful! He's claiming to be God speaking to me, is this God? That was where he considered hidden and safe for him at the time. So I admonished them on the day they sold food. Eventually, a second mid-week evening Bible class was added. The Incredible Bible - First in the BKA Series. In future, you can always improve on whatever you do today. The Angel of God said to him, 'Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth'. What was that? Here's a lesson that we need to learn: the extraordinary may first appear as very ordinary. You know that's a question that people ask, and it's debated about: 'Is it right to put out a fleece?'. Do you know what Gideon says? Ruins of a Byzantine monastery, located in an archaeological park in the west side of Karmiel. (Psalm 104:15) The disciples on the day of Pentecost were so joyful after being filled by the Spirit and in miraculously worshipping in known foreign languages that they were accused by some of being drunk on new wine. Joash was the father of Gideon. Later, some of the villages evolved around the winepresses, and even became cities bearing the name of the winepress. On a hill above highway #38, 1km north west of Beit Jamal, are remains of a unique Byzantine period industrial winepress. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. It looks ordinary, I've seen this a thousand times, but there is something different about this, I want to look into this' - and when he started looking into it, God spoke. As the threshed wheat was winnowed, i.e. So, there is my answer to you - it's not really an answer. . It says in Genesis 1 that God created man in His image, in the likeness of God created He them, man and woman. This is a 'You are but you shall be' moment! It's not always obvious when God comes to us, you know that, don't you? It was the enemy came in and said: 'Has God really said this, and that, and the other? Their steps sounded like the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses and the sounds of a great army invading their camp. I don't think He was, He was quite ordinary, I believe, and I think it's borne out in this story because Gideon wasn't aware that He was an Angel initially. But we need to realize that our victory will come at just the same place where it started. This looks like an ordinary fellow, and he doesn't know much about me, he's got this one wrong! They were testing the Lord Jesus in unbelief, but that is not what Gideon was doing here. I might have told you this before: whatever you focus on will become the reality. Amen. Start cupping your ear to heaven and listen to what Heavenly Father says about you, what He thinks about you, what He feels about you. First of all there is a declension, and people fall into sin. The rods of Moses became the rod of God! Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house'. Wine in scripture is seen as a gift of God which produces joy. God has appeared to me, and I am a mighty man of valour!'? So we need to train ourselves to look for God's intervention in the darkest of times, and when we are prepared to even see the supernatural in the natural, to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, and have eyes that are tuned to even look beyond what seems to be bog-standard everyday stuff, you will find at times you will entertain angels unawares. July 7th, 2020 The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. Gideon discovers in his fear and his doubt 'I AM Peace', Jehovah-Shalom - do you see it? Start fulfilling the purpose of God for your life in your winepress that is available now while youre trusting God to give you a threshing floor. Use your present platform well until God calls you up to a higher ground. 'Preach The Word' is a not-for-profit Christian ministry which exists to provide sound Bible teaching to all. A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. Contents: With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah. Mighty, swashbuckling faith? So what is He talking about? Gideon was found threshing wheat in the winepress (Judges 6:11). New King James Version Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon . What Gideon in the Bible Can Teach You about Overcoming Fear - Trending 11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash () the Abiezrite, while his son () Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. The oak tree belonged to Joash, who was one of the Abiezrite people. Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? Rev 14:19: And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. A winepress is a pit or large vat where grapes were collected and the juice is pressed or squeezed from them and channelled into a large container. Judges 6 tells us the story of when the LORD put the Israelites under the captivity of the Midianites because they did evil in His sight. It was so overwhelming that it resulted in self-doubt when the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and spoke to him. I know what some of you are thinking, I'm reading your mind now: 'Is it right to put out a fleece?'. The angel of the Lord came and sat down under an oak tree at Ophrah. - Matthew 21:33-34, "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. After finding Gideon threshing in a winepress, an act of fear, it is extremely ironic that the angel calls Gideon "mighty warrior" (NIV, NRSV) or "mighty man of valor" (KJV). Who else is there? And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained to Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. For less than $5/mo. A swarm of locusts could come and completely, as it were, hoover up all the fruit of the land. ', because they knew him as 'Abram', which means 'honoured father', God changed it to 'Abraham', which means 'a father of multitudes' - and this guy can't have the one child God has promised him. History It could be translated 'the Spirit of the LORD clothed Himself with Gideon'. What is it that you need tonight? After the wheat stalks had been threshed, the grain was separated from the chaff with the aid of winds. "Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it." They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the LORD; they did not do so. . Hosea the prophet, verse 1 says, listen: 'Hear the word of the LORD, you children of Israel, for the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: 'There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. His son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. After all, he is the author and the finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). A large treading floor and collecting pool was excavated near the church. October 24, 2021 0 88 Why Was Gideon Allowed To Test God God's Story: Gideon God saw a mighty man of valor when He looked at Gideons heart. One of the largest wine presses in Israel. Just south to the road to new Avdon is a large rock-hewn winepress. New American Standard Version Now, if this is your first night you're very welcome, but we've been having each month, as I have been with the folk here in Loughbrickland, a series entitled 'Divine Encounters', what can happen in a moment with God. He condescends to our weaknesses, that's one of the things I think of when I think about Gideon - Psalm 103:14: 'He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust'. Because of what man is doing on the land, the land becomes affected so that the land itself mourns, cries out for deliverance. The Bible Story of Gideon - Verses and Meaning. And the place where the mighty man of valor is born is just the same place where the enemy will die!! The location of a winepress was also important, as it needed to be close to the vineyards to minimize the time and effort required to transport the grapes. Divine Encounters Part 3: Gideon At The Winepress - David Legge That only wil happen when we encounter God. Since Gideon was the youngest in his family and his tribe was considered the smallest of Israel, he was surely overlooked by everyone in the village. You see, God sees things from His perspective, and whatever our reality is, His perspective is an alternative reality to ours, and His real is the real real. Once again the Holy Land is returning to a world class wine status. A winepress was part of the Byzantine monastery on Mt Gerizim. Jdg). I love Gideon, I love the whole story of Gideon, which we can't look at tonight, but I can identify with Gideon because - I think I've shared with you many times before - fear has been a problem right throughout my whole life. The condition in which he obeyed the LORD was not a perfect one; he had only one Isaac, one child of promise, which he got after twenty-five years of waiting, from the time the LORD called him at Haran; yet, he was ready to sacrifice him. The overcomer became overcome by the Lord, and here Gideon is overcome by fear, fear of the enemy, but he becomes eventually an overcomer of the enemy - because his identity is found in the Lord. The supernatural interventions of God often begin seemingly in a very ordinary matter-of-fact way, and it's not until your inquisitiveness, intrigue is stimulated, and you just start to pursue, that God then meets you. gain access to 50+ premium resources to enhance your study of Scripture. The Call of Gideon. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites (New Living Translation). 'I know who it is now, it is God! New Testament Overview - General survey of the New Testament. The farmer would burn the unwanted things the straw and chaff. So what happened with Gideon was: he had got his eyes onto the prevailing conditions of the day, and that became his reality, everything going on around him in God's people, on the land, how the enemy was advancing. But, as he obeyed the LORD, He substituted Isaac with a ram whose horn was tied to the thicket (Genesis 22:12-19). If the winepress is the place where Gideon met the LORD and received his commission, the rock is the place where Gideon saw God do the miraculous and started a worshiping relationship with him. Etymology A burning bush. Time is short, we haven't got time for all that nonsense, God has so much He wants to show you, God has so much He wants to reveal Himself to you in - His nature, He's got an adventure for you, He's got excitement, He's got a rollercoaster for you - and you're sitting in your pity corner filled with fear and doubt. They would leave the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking away all their livestock. The angel came and sat under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. Judges 6:11 Parallel: And there came an angel of the LORD - Bible Hub ', we should be asking those questions - but essentially Gideon was asking these from the vantage point of fear and, you know, fear is the fruit of unbelief. Gideon gets the signs in verse 21 and verse 22, look at it: 'Then the Angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Links. Stop giving excuses about why youre doing nothing. Look at the end of verse 18: 'And the Lord said, 'I will wait until you come back''. Some prophet he is, he missed the bull's-eye tonight, 'Mighty man of valour''. Old Testament Overview - General survey of the Old Testament. Fear is the fruit of unbelief. Who is this who comes from Edom,With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah,This One who is majestic in His apparel,Marching in the greatness of His strength?It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why is Your apparel red,And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? But because he feared his father's household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night" - and we end our reading there. The angel came as Joashs son Gideon was beating out grain where grapes are crushed, to save it from the Midianites. It includes a large treading floor paved with mosaics, and a very large fermentation pit. The threshing floor was usually located at the edge of a village, frequently on a large flat rock outcropping. cedarministryng@gmail.com, +234 815 574 4752 It wasnt a perfect time; it was also a strange request. What are you doing here? In the recent 10 years, wine making is booming again in Israel.
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