That none may claim His glory by Mike Bamiloye
Judges 7:2-4a
2. And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
3. Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.
4. But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there…”
Judges 7:7
7Then the Lord said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.”
Do you know that, at times, the Lord does not allow one to achieve the great things that one desires, so that none might claim the glory when He, the Lord, eventually achieves greater things through the person?
So He did not allow Gideon to go to wa against the Midianites with 32,000 soilders. He said they were too many. Gideon trimmed them down to 10,000. God said they were still too many for Him to do the fight , so that I srael might not give the glory of the victory to their many soldiers. God trimmed the army to a paltry 300 soldiers against the Medianites’ multitudes of army.
After that, He now told them the strategies to use for he battle. They would not have to use the sword or arrow for the battle. They would have to attack in the middle of the night. They would have to use just a trumpet and a touch in a pitcher to do the fight. Gideon would blow the trumpet and break his pitcher of light, the rest would do the same thing as they stand around the camp of the enemies. They would blow the trumpet and raise up the hand touch shouting: “the Sword of The Lord and of Gideon!” that was all they did and The Lord took up the fight from there.
The Lord made all he enemies to confront one another with their own sword. There was pandemonium within the camp and there was confusion and attacks within the camp. The Gideonites pursued them and slain more than 30,000 of them. The Lord won the battle and got the victory with just 300 soldiers who attacked with a trumpet and a burning touch in the pitcher.
So when the Lord begins to trim down your army against a multitude of the enemies, it is that you might not claim the glory when He gives you the victory. When He slows down your pace and reduces your speed, at times, so that when He eventually brings you to the destination, you not ascribe the victory to a arm of flesh.
Wonder why, The Lord decided to pick someone like Peter, James and John – uneducated fishermen as His lead disciples, instead of looking for highly educated personalities from the cities of Jerusalem or Samaria? Wondered why God decided to bring Jesus out of the house of a Carpenter instead from the palace of Herod? Wonder why the savior of the House of Jacob was not the first born of Jacob but one of the last sons. Wonder why the killer of Goliath was not the first born of Jesse but the last born. Wonder why, at times, God did not allow you to achieve some great things you so much dream of, despite all prayers and fasting? So that none might claim the glory when the victory is eventually achieved.
Hear this summation of Apostle Paul:
1 Corinthians 1:26-29
26. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.
27. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
28. and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
29. that no flesh should glory in His presence
That is why you must continually pray this major prayer and sing it in song also:
“Thy will be done, Oh Lord,
Thy will be done!
Oh teach me, Lord, to say,
Thy will be done”
– MIKE BAMILOYE
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