The story of Gideon is one of faith and courage. Hebrews 11:32-34 (NIV)  And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, ³³  who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴  quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

Background: The Period of the Judges. The generation contemporary with Joshua was courageous, faithful, and, for the most part, free from the obstinacy and doubt which had dishonored their fathers. (Jud. 2:7) But as each tribe received its portion of the land, though, they became engrossed in establishing and cultivating it thus becoming self-centered.

Living among idolaters, whom they had failed to drive out, the Israelites copied their example, intermarried with them, and became contaminated by their abominations and idolatry. (Jud. 2:10-13). The people abandoned God and became their own standard of conduct.

‘“In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes’ (Judg. 17:6; 18:1;19:25). Each tribe took thought for itself how best to serve and maintain an adequate territory, so that separate interests of all sorts soon became prevalent, and regard for general welfare was more and more forgotten. This separation of the parts of the nation was aided by the early disunion and jealousies of the several tribes, no one of which held the preeminence …Then, too, the ancient inhabitants still retained their hold on large tracts, or on important positions  throughout  the country. The neighboring powers still looked upon the newcomers as an easy prey to incursion  and devastation, if not to actual subjugation. Nor did Israel escape the pernicious influence of idolatry, both of Canaan and the surrounding countries.” (Unger’s Bible Dictionary, pp. 617-618)

“The book  of Judges is one of  the saddest parts  of  the Bible, humanly  speaking. Some have called it the ‘Book of Failure.’ The last chapter of the preceding book, Joshua, anticipates continued blessing upon God’s people in the rest land of their inheritance (Joshua 24:19-28). But one does not proceed far into the account of Judges before he senses that all is not well.” (Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament, p. 152).

Time span: Due to disobedience, Israel was in oppression. Out of the 350 years between the death of Joshua until Samuel the prophet, about 100 years were spent in disloyalty to God. The books of Judges and First Samuel present fifteen “deliverers who saved them from the hand of their enemies”. God raised up Gideon, a “mighty man of valor.”

Israel was in trouble because the people failed to: Complete the task they were given to do-drive out the other nations. Carry through with the lessons they learned in their reform. When God raised up judges to deliver them, the people only responded so far as it served their selfish ends of the moment.

They did not sincerely love God nor did they serve Him from the heart. When things got somewhat tolerable for them again they would swiftly abandon Him and go back to their old ways. Deal with a family, national, or community problem. They were so self­-centered that they did not seek solutions to their problems until they were desperate.

The judges were not judicial officials who presided over Israel’s courts. They were deliverers directed by the power of the Spirit of God, whom God raised up to lead Israel to freedom from opposing nations.

You have a garden, and you work hard all spring and summer to make that garden produce abundantly. But every year, just about the time you’re ready to gather in the harvest, your neighbors swoop down and take your produce away from you by force. This goes on year after year, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

If you can imagine that scenario, then you’ll have some idea of the suffering the Jews experienced every harvest when the Midianites made their annual raids. For seven years, God allowed the Midianites and their allies to ravage “the land of milk and honey,” leaving the people in the deepest poverty.

About the time of the eighth Midianite invasion, God called a farmer in Manasseh named Gideon to become the deliverer of His people. He was an idolater from the family of Abiezar. When he is first encountered, he’s a failure in unbelief…but when presented evidence he developed faith and yielded to the will of God.

Gideon started his career as somewhat of a coward (Judg. 6), then became a conqueror (7:1-8:21), and ended his career as a compromiser (8:22-35). But more space is devoted to Gideon in the Book of Judges (100 verses) than to any other judge; and Gideon is the only judge whose personal struggles with his faith are recorded. Gideon is a great encouragement to people who have a hard time accepting themselves and believing that God can make anything out of them or do anything with them.[1]

1. “Does God really care about us?” Judges 6:11-16 (NIV)
¹¹  The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. ¹²  When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” ¹³  “But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.” ¹⁴  The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” ¹⁵  “But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” ¹⁶  The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”

He displayed his loyalty to God and abhorrence of idols by throwing down the altars of Baal.

Gideon threw down the altars of Baal. (Judges 6:25-31 (NIV) ²⁵  That same night the LORD said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. ²⁶  Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.” ²⁷  So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime. ²⁸  In the morning when the men of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar! ²⁹  They asked each other, “Who did this?” When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.” ³⁰  The men of the town demanded of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.” ³¹  But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.”

Since idolatry was the prevailing sin in Israel, here is Gideon’s chance to display his loyalty to god and his abhorrence of idols. Idolatry is a constant sin in all ages.

The symbol of idolatry had to be removed if Israel were to have hope. How do you define idolatry? Something that comes between you and God. Something that takes precedence over God.

2. “Does God know what He’s doing?” (Judg. 6:14-24)

Gideon’s first response was to question God’s concern for His people, but then he questioned God’s wisdom in choosing him to be the nation’s deliverer. The Lord’s statements recorded in verses 12 and 14 should have given Gideon all the assurance he needed, but he wouldn’t believe God’s Word. In this he was like Moses (Ex. 3:7-12), whose story Gideon surely knew since he was acquainted with Hebrew history (Judg. 6:13).

It has often been said that “God’s commandments are God’s enablements.” Once God has called and commissioned us, all we have to do is obey Him by faith, and He will do the rest. God cannot lie and God never fails.

Faith means obeying God in spite of what we see, how we feel, or what the consequences might be. Our modern “practical” world laughs at faith without realizing that people live by faith all day long. “If there was no faith, there would be no living in this world,” wrote humorist John Billings nearly a century ago. “We couldn’t even eat hash with safety.”

A.W. Tozer wrote, “All God’s acts are done in perfect wisdom, first for His own glory, and then for the highest good of the greatest number for the longest time.” That being true, who are we to question Him?

Gideon asked for a sign to assure him that it was really the Lord who was speaking to him (1 Cor. 1:22), and the Lord was gracious to accommodate Himself to Gideon’s unbelief. Gideon prepared a sacrifice, which was a costly thing to do at a time when food was scarce. An ephah of flour was about a half a bushel, enough to make bread for a family for several days. It probably took him an hour to dress the meat and prepare the unleavened cakes, but God waited for him to return and then consumed the offering by bringing fire from the rock.

God had to give Gideon a message of peace to prepare him for fighting a war. Unless we’re at peace with God, we can’t face the enemy with confidence and fight the Lord’s battles. It was customary for the Jews to identify special events and places by putting up monuments, so Gideon built an altar and called it “The Lord is peace.” The Hebrew word for “peace” (shalom) means much more than a cessation of hostilities but carries with it the ideas of well-being, health, and prosperity. Gideon now believed the Lord was able to use him, not because of who he was, but because of who God was.

3. “Will God take care of me?” (Judg. 6:25-32)

What kind of a day did Gideon have after his dramatic meeting with the Lord? Remember, he belonged to a family that worshiped Baal; and if he challenged the Midianites in the name of the Lord, it meant defying his father, his family, his neighbors, and the multitudes of people in Israel who were worshiping Baal. My guess is that Gideon had his emotional ups and downs that day, rejoicing that God was planning to deliver Israel, but trembling at the thought of being named the leader of the army.

Knowing that Gideon was still afraid, God assigned him a task right at home to show him that He would see him through. After all, if we don’t practice our faith at home, how can we practice it sincerely anyplace else? Gideon had to take his stand in his own village before he dared to face the enemy on the battlefield.

The assignment wasn’t an easy one. God told him to destroy the altar dedicated to Baal, build an altar to the Lord, and sacrifice one of his father’s valuable bullocks, using the wood of the Asherah pole for fuel. Jewish altars were made of uncut stones and were simple, but Baal’s altars were elaborate and next to them was a wooden pillar (“grove,” Judg. 6:26; “Asherah pole,” niv) dedicated to the goddess Asherah, whose worship involved unspeakably vile practices. Since altars to Baal were built on high places, it would have been difficult to obey God’s orders without attracting attention.

Gideon had every right to destroy Baal worship because this is what God had commanded in His Law (Ex. 34:12-13; Deut. 7:5). For that matter, he had the right to stone everybody who was involved in Baal worship (Deut. 13), but God didn’t include that in His instructions.

Gideon decided to obey the Lord at night when the village was asleep. This showed his fear (Judg. 6:27); he wasn’t sure God could or would see him through. After all the encouragements God had given him, Gideon’s faith should have been strong; but before we judge him, we’d better look at ourselves and see how much we trust the Lord.

When ten other men are involved, it’s not easy to keep your plans a secret; so it wasn’t long before the whole town knew that Gideon was the one who had destroyed his father’s idols. The men of the city considered this a capital offense and wanted to kill Gideon. Gideon was no doubt wondering what would happen to him, but God proved Himself well able to handle the situation.

Joash, Gideon’s father, had every reason to be angry with his son. Gideon had smashed his father’s altar to Baal and replaced it with an altar to Jehovah. He had sacrificed his father’s prize bull to the Lord and had used the sacred Asherah pole for fuel. (See Isa. 44:13-20.)

But God so worked in Joash’s heart that he defended Gideon before the town mob and even insulted Baal! “What kind of a god is Baal that he can’t even defend himself?” asked Joash. “What kind of a god is Baal that he can’t even plead his own cause?” Joash asked.’ Because of this, the men of the town gave Gideon the nickname “Jerubbaal,” which means “let Baal contend” or “Baal’s antagonist.”

4. “Does God keep His promises?” (Judg. 6:33-40)

The Midianites and their allies made their annual invasion about that time as more than 135,000 men (8:10; 7:12) moved into the Valley of Jezreel. It was time for Gideon to act, and the Spirit of God gave him the wisdom and power that he needed. (See Judg. 3:10; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14.) As we seek to do God’s will, His Word to us is always, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit” (Zech. 4:6).

Gideon blew the trumpet first in his own hometown, and the men of Abiezer rallied behind him. Gideon’s reformation in the town had actually accomplished something! Then he sent messengers throughout his own tribe of Manasseh as well as the neighboring tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. These four tribes were near the Valley of Jezreel, and therefore the invading army affected them most. Thus at Gideon’s call, 32,000 men responded.

But what chance did 32,000 men have against an army of 135,000 men plus numberless camels? (Judg. 7:12) This is the first mention in the Bible of camels being used in warfare, and certainly they would have given their riders speed and mobility on the battlefield. The Jews were outnumbered and would certainly be out-maneuvered, except for one thing: Jehovah God was on their side, and He had promised them victory.

Nevertheless, Gideon doubted God’s promise. Did God really want him to lead the Jewish army? What did he know about warfare? After all, he was only an ordinary farmer; and there were others in the tribes who could do a much better job. So, before he led the attack, he asked God to give him two more signs.

The phrase “putting out the fleece” is a familiar one in religious circles. It means asking God to guide us in a decision by fulfilling some condition that we lay down. In my pastoral ministry, I’ve met all kinds of people who have gotten themselves into trouble by “putting out the fleece.” If they received a phone call at a certain hour from a certain person, God was telling them to do this; or if the weather changed at a certain time, God was telling them to do something else.

“Putting out the fleece” is not a biblical method for determining the will of God. Rather, it’s an approach used by people like Gideon who lack the faith to trust God to do what He said He would do. Twice Gideon reminded God of what He had said (6:36-37), and twice Gideon asked God to reaffirm His promises with a miracle. The fact that God stooped to Gideon’s weakness only proves that He’s a gracious God who understands how we’re made (Ps. 103:14). Who are we to tell God what conditions He must meet, especially when He has already spoken to us in His Word? “Putting out the fleece” is not only an evidence of our unbelief, but it’s also an evidence of our pride. God has to do what I tell Him to do before I’ll do what He tells me to do!

Gideon spent two days playing the fleece game with God at the threshing floor. The first night, he asked God to make the fleece wet but keep the ground dry (in this incident the Bible uses “floor” and “ground” interchangeably) and God did it. The second night, the test was much harder; for he wanted the threshing floor to be wet but the fleece dry. The ground of a threshing floor is ordinarily very hard and normally would not be greatly affected by the dew. But the next morning, Gideon found dry fleece but wet ground.

There was nothing for Gideon to do but to confront the enemy and trust God for the victory.

Sifting for service in Gideon’s army – his army began with 32,000 men: Judges 7:1-3 (NIV) Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. ²  The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, ³  announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'”

The first test (fearful and afraid): So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

The water test—only 300 qualified: ⁴  But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” ⁵  So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.” ⁶  Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

⁷  The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place.”

 ⁸  So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others. Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. ⁹  During that night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.

¹⁰  If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah ¹¹  and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. ¹²  The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.Gideon’s victory over the Midianites.

Judges 7:13-25 (NIV)
 ¹³  Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.” ¹⁴  His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.” ¹⁵  When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” ¹⁶  Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside. ¹⁷  “Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. ¹⁸  When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.'” ¹⁹  Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. ²⁰  The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” ²¹  While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. ²²  When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. ²³  Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. ²⁴  Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. ²⁵  They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.

“The battle is the Lord’s” today. There is a need for people of deep faith and courage who will go out against the “giants” of today. The “giants” of today include: Worldliness. Compromise. Indifference. Lack of growth.

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[1] Bible Exposition Commentary (BE Series) – Old Testament – The Bible Exposition Commentary – History.

We should begin with a working definition of worship: Worship is the humble response of ‘spiritually transformed’ men and women to the self-disclosure of the Most High God. It is based upon the work of God. It is achieved through the activity of God. It is directed to God. It is expressed by the lips in praise and by the life in service.

The study of any subject such as worship must consider more than just the words themselves, for the context in which these words are found can add much to our understanding of the subject also. In addition to the ideas of humility, reverence, and service, we can add four other essential facets of worship.

Response. The first facet of worship that we should consider is that of response. By this we mean that worship, from man’s perspective, is primarily a matter of response. Approached from any perspective other than that of the Scriptures, man would probably suggest that worship was something that man devised to give expression to inner desires and needs.

Although man has been created with what has been called a ‘God-shaped vacuum,’ we worship not so much because we feel the need of doing so, but because God has first revealed Himself to us. The case is similar to that of love, concerning which we are told, “We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Love does not find its origin in man, but in God. Our love is only a response, only a reflection of God’s love toward us. And so it is with worship. We worship God because He has made Himself known to us and has instructed us to worship Him.

There is a passage in the book of Romans which states, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).

This is surely the case with worship. Fallen man could never approach a righteous and Holy God, so God in the person of Jesus Christ made us just and righteous by His work on the cross for us (Romans 3:21-24). The Holy Spirit of God works within us to enable us to worship (Philippians 3:3). And worship is directed to the Father (John 4:23).

Worship is from God, through God, and unto God. Apart from God’s revelation of Himself and of how man can approach Him in worship, man could never worship God in a way pleasing to Him.

Adoration. If worship is fundamentally a response, what is the nature of this response? It is that of adoration and praise which God rightfully expects of His creatures.

Though worship is the primary calling of the one who has placed his trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ in the present age, it is also that which our Lord shall receive from those who reject Him, for in the book of Philippians we read, “Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 3:9-11).

Throughout the book of Psalms we find the continual expression, “Praise the Lord.” That is the spirit of worship. We are told in the Psalms, “Yet Thou are holy, O Thou who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3).

No book in all the Bible gives us a better pattern for praise and adoration in worship than the book of Psalms.

Sacrifice. A third facet of worship is that of sacrifice. Central in the worship of Israel in the Tabernacle and in the Temple was the practice of sacrifice. When Abraham worshiped God in Genesis chapter 22, the offering was termed worship. The presentation of the first-fruits was also regarded as an act of worship (Deuteronomy 26:10).

When the wise men came to worship the baby Who was the Savior of the world, they came with gifts to give. When David sinned by numbering the people of Israel and God stretched forth His hand with the plague, judgment was stayed when David built an altar on the threshing floor of Ornan. Ornan offered to give the land to David, but David responded,

No, but I will surely buy it for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, or offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing (1 Chronicles 21:24).

In the New Testament the idea of sacrifice is still prominent in worship, but rather than the sacrifice of offerings it is the sacrifice of self which is essential.

I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship (Romans 12:1).

The book of Hebrews adds to this the sacrifice of praise, of doing good and of sharing Hebrews 13:15-16 (NIV)
¹⁵  Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that confess his name. ¹⁶  And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Proclamation. The aspect of proclamation admittedly is perhaps most subject to debate, but it nevertheless seems to me to be a vital part of worship. The nation Israel was not to worship God in secret, but were to be a ‘light to the Gentiles.’ In this task Israel failed, but it was nevertheless a part of their responsibility to worship their Redeemer. When Abraham worshiped, he built an altar and ‘called upon the name of the Lord’ (Genesis 12:8; 21:33). In the New Testament, we are told that the church has been created by God,

“in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:10).

Whenever the saints partake of the Lord’s Table they ‘proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes’ (1 Corinthians 11:26). As has been repeatedly said, we cannot look at ourselves as spectators watching what God is doing, but rather we must view ourselves as actors upon the stage, who are being observed by both those in heaven as well as those on the earth.

Worship (Part 2) John 4:19-26 (NIV)
¹⁹  “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” ²¹  Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²  You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³  Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” ²⁵  The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” ²⁶  Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”

Principles of Worship for This Age

We should be able to discern that if worship is to be pleasing to God, it must be in keeping with principles set down for its observance in this age. Nowhere are these principles set down more clearly than in John’s account of our Lord’s conversation with the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4.

As a Samaritan, this woman believed that the central place where God was to be worshiped was on Mount Gerizim (John 4:20). Although she, as a Samaritan, looked for the coming Messiah, she worshiped in considerable ignorance for the Samaritans rejected all the Old Testament books save those books of Moses, called the Pentateuch. Even these Scriptures were altered to conform to the Samaritan preoccupation with Mount Gerizim. In the light of her Samaritan misconceptions, our Lord reveals to this woman the essential principles of worship in this Age.

All Worship Is Not Acceptable to God

The clear implication of our Lord’s conversation with this woman was that her worship was not acceptable before God. She worshiped in ignorance and not according to truth. Her worship was not essentially spiritual. The purpose of our Lord’s conversation with her was to lead her to true worship of Himself.

God Is the Initiatory of True Worship

The words of our Lord to the Samaritan woman indicate that it is the Father who actively seeks true worshipers (John 4:23). When we turn back to the first verses of this account, we learn that our Lord made it a point to pass through Samaria (4:4). Our Lord was seeking this woman and her fellow countrymen to be His worshipers.

God has initiated our worship of Himself in several ways. First, He has revealed Himself to us in human flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ. When men recognized Him as God’s Messiah, they worshiped Him (e.g. John 9:35-38). Secondly, He has accomplished redemption through the work of Jesus Christ. The sin which alienated us from God has been paid for by the death of Christ. Finally, He has given us the written word which instructs us in true worship.

God Is the Object of Acceptable Worship

To put it in a slightly different form, all acceptable worship is God-centered. Worship is rightly focused on the Father. God was worshiped through the Son while He was on the earth. In ancient times, God forbade the use of images or idols because they could not begin to adequately represent God to men. But Jesus Christ is the full representation of God to men.

Colossians 1:15 (NIV) ¹⁵  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

John 14:9 (NIV) ⁹  Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Worship is God-centered in another sense as well. Worship centers around God and His perfection, and His desire for praise and adoration. All too often we try to modernize worship, to update it and make it more meaningful and relevant to us. Now, of course, worship should be ‘relevant and meaningful’ to us, but we must see that worship is first and foremost for God’s sake rather than our own. We have placed far too much emphasis upon what God will do for us rather than upon our duty of devotion to God.

Acceptable Worship Is Worship in Spirit

When our Lord told the Samaritan woman, “ALL those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (vs. 24), He did not intend us to put a capital “s” in spirit. The Samaritan woman, as did many Jews, thought that worship was essentially a matter of externals. She was preoccupied with a central place of worship: “this mountain” (verse 20). The Jews thought of worship in terms of sacrifices, rituals, observances and holy days.

The essence of true worship is internal (in spirit) not external. This is necessitated by the nature of God Himself. God is a spirit being; thus, we must worship consistent with His nature.

Israel’s worship under the Law consisted of many ceremonies and rituals, but even then God was concerned with what went on in the spirit of those who worshiped. Over and over again the outward forms and motions of worship were condemned by the prophets.

Isaiah 1:10-17 (NIV) ¹⁰  Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah! ¹¹  “The multitude of your sacrifices– what are they to me?” says the LORD. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. ¹²  When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? ¹³  Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations– I cannot bear your evil assemblies. ¹⁴  Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. ¹⁵  When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; ¹⁶  wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, ¹⁷  learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

Isaiah 29:13 (NIV) ¹³  The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.

Matthew 15:8-9 (NIV) ⁸  “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. ⁹  They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'”

Mark 7:6-7 (NIV) ⁶  He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. ⁷  They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’

Acceptable Worship Is Worship in Truth

As countless others, the Samaritan woman worshiped in ignorance; she worshiped “what she knew not” (vs. 22). Acceptable worship can never be that which we deem best; it must be a response to the divine self-disclosure of God. Our Lord Jesus personified God’s truth (John 14:6) and so men could worship Him in truth. If our worship today is not firmly based on the truth of God revealed in the Scriptures, it is ignorant worship, unacceptable to God.

There Is Freedom in Worship in Our Age

One of the striking contrasts between the worship of our age and that under the Law is the freedom which we are given. When we seek to find the word ‘worship’ in the epistles, we rarely find it. This is not because it is nowhere to be found, but because worship was so integral a part of the life of the church it was almost assumed. We find worship in the epistles wherever we find the fundamental ingredients of worship. It is this freedom in worship which our Lord communicated to the woman at the well, but a freedom restricted to what was revealed as truth.

We do ourselves a great disservice when we think of worship only in stereotyped terms. But we also would be in error in assuming that spontaneity is spirituality.

Worship Is Our Highest Calling

By way of reminder, let me reiterate the principle that worship is our highest calling. Worship is the occupation of eternity.

In a time when we are encouraged to work for God, let us be reminded that our highest calling is to be worshipers of God and then to be workers. Never let your work for Him come before your worship of Him.

Some have said that men can be so heavenly minded they are of no earthly good. This can never be the case with worship, for we are of no earthly good until we have become pre-occupied with worshiping Him. That true worship will always bear the fruit of service.

Worship in the Church Meeting

Within the broad principles laid down in the New Testament there is a great freedom in the expression of worship at the church meeting. We do not see elaborate or detailed form or structure. We find no stained glass conceptions of what worship must be. There is no appointed place of worship and the only appointed time of worship is that of the weekly remembrance of the Lord commonly referred to as Communion or the Lord’s Table. Our Lord commanded us, “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).

From early church writers it is evident that the Lord’s Table was considered central in their worship. The Lord’s Table is a pretty accurate barometer of our own spirituality. If we are lackadaisical about attending and participating, it probably speaks more of our own spiritual deficit than of the celebration itself. If we have come prepared to praise and worship our Redeemer, we will find the meeting a great delight. May God help us to worship Him in spirit and truth.

The story of Gideon is one of faith and courage. Hebrews 11:32-34 (NIV)  And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, ³³  who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴  quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

Background: The Period of the Judges. The generation contemporary with Joshua was courageous, faithful, and, for the most part, free from the obstinacy and doubt which had dishonored their fathers. (Jud. 2:7) But as each tribe received its portion of the land, though, they became engrossed in establishing and cultivating it thus becoming self-centered.

Living among idolaters, whom they had failed to drive out, the Israelites copied their example, intermarried with them, and became contaminated by their abominations and idolatry. (Jud. 2:10-13). The people abandoned God and became their own standard of conduct.

‘“In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes’ (Judg. 17:6; 18:1;19:25). Each tribe took thought for itself how best to serve and maintain an adequate territory, so that separate interests of all sorts soon became prevalent, and regard for general welfare was more and more forgotten. This separation of the parts of the nation was aided by the early disunion and jealousies of the several tribes, no one of which held the preeminence …Then, too, the ancient inhabitants still retained their hold on large tracts, or on important positions  throughout  the country. The neighboring powers still looked upon the newcomers as an easy prey to incursion  and devastation, if not to actual subjugation. Nor did Israel escape the pernicious influence of idolatry, both of Canaan and the surrounding countries.” (Unger’s Bible Dictionary, pp. 617-618)

“The book  of Judges is one of  the saddest parts  of  the Bible, humanly  speaking. Some have called it the ‘Book of Failure.’ The last chapter of the preceding book, Joshua, anticipates continued blessing upon God’s people in the rest land of their inheritance (Joshua 24:19-28). But one does not proceed far into the account of Judges before he senses that all is not well.” (Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament, p. 152).

Time span: Due to disobedience, Israel was in oppression. Out of the 350 years between the death of Joshua until Samuel the prophet, about 100 years were spent in disloyalty to God. The books of Judges and First Samuel present fifteen “deliverers who saved them from the hand of their enemies”. God raised up Gideon, a “mighty man of valor.”

Israel was in trouble because the people failed to: Complete the task they were given to do-drive out the other nations. Carry through with the lessons they learned in their reform. When God raised up judges to deliver them, the people only responded so far as it served their selfish ends of the moment.

They did not sincerely love God nor did they serve Him from the heart. When things got somewhat tolerable for them again they would swiftly abandon Him and go back to their old ways. Deal with a family, national, or community problem. They were so self­-centered that they did not seek solutions to their problems until they were desperate.

The judges were not judicial officials who presided over Israel’s courts. They were deliverers directed by the power of the Spirit of God, whom God raised up to lead Israel to freedom from opposing nations.

You have a garden, and you work hard all spring and summer to make that garden produce abundantly. But every year, just about the time you’re ready to gather in the harvest, your neighbors swoop down and take your produce away from you by force. This goes on year after year, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

If you can imagine that scenario, then you’ll have some idea of the suffering the Jews experienced every harvest when the Midianites made their annual raids. For seven years, God allowed the Midianites and their allies to ravage “the land of milk and honey,” leaving the people in the deepest poverty.

About the time of the eighth Midianite invasion, God called a farmer in Manasseh named Gideon to become the deliverer of His people. He was an idolater from the family of Abiezar. When he is first encountered, he’s a failure in unbelief…but when presented evidence he developed faith and yielded to the will of God.

Gideon started his career as somewhat of a coward (Judg. 6), then became a conqueror (7:1-8:21), and ended his career as a compromiser (8:22-35). But more space is devoted to Gideon in the Book of Judges (100 verses) than to any other judge; and Gideon is the only judge whose personal struggles with his faith are recorded. Gideon is a great encouragement to people who have a hard time accepting themselves and believing that God can make anything out of them or do anything with them.[1]

1. “Does God really care about us?” Judges 6:11-16 (NIV)
¹¹  The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. ¹²  When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” ¹³  “But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.” ¹⁴  The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” ¹⁵  “But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” ¹⁶  The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”

He displayed his loyalty to God and abhorrence of idols by throwing down the altars of Baal.

Gideon threw down the altars of Baal. (Judges 6:25-31 (NIV) ²⁵  That same night the LORD said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. ²⁶  Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.” ²⁷  So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime. ²⁸  In the morning when the men of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar! ²⁹  They asked each other, “Who did this?” When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.” ³⁰  The men of the town demanded of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.” ³¹  But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.”

Since idolatry was the prevailing sin in Israel, here is Gideon’s chance to display his loyalty to god and his abhorrence of idols. Idolatry is a constant sin in all ages.

The symbol of idolatry had to be removed if Israel were to have hope. How do you define idolatry? Something that comes between you and God. Something that takes precedence over God.

2. “Does God know what He’s doing?” (Judg. 6:14-24)

Gideon’s first response was to question God’s concern for His people, but then he questioned God’s wisdom in choosing him to be the nation’s deliverer. The Lord’s statements recorded in verses 12 and 14 should have given Gideon all the assurance he needed, but he wouldn’t believe God’s Word. In this he was like Moses (Ex. 3:7-12), whose story Gideon surely knew since he was acquainted with Hebrew history (Judg. 6:13).

It has often been said that “God’s commandments are God’s enablements.” Once God has called and commissioned us, all we have to do is obey Him by faith, and He will do the rest. God cannot lie and God never fails.

Faith means obeying God in spite of what we see, how we feel, or what the consequences might be. Our modern “practical” world laughs at faith without realizing that people live by faith all day long. “If there was no faith, there would be no living in this world,” wrote humorist John Billings nearly a century ago. “We couldn’t even eat hash with safety.”

A.W. Tozer wrote, “All God’s acts are done in perfect wisdom, first for His own glory, and then for the highest good of the greatest number for the longest time.” That being true, who are we to question Him?

Gideon asked for a sign to assure him that it was really the Lord who was speaking to him (1 Cor. 1:22), and the Lord was gracious to accommodate Himself to Gideon’s unbelief. Gideon prepared a sacrifice, which was a costly thing to do at a time when food was scarce. An ephah of flour was about a half a bushel, enough to make bread for a family for several days. It probably took him an hour to dress the meat and prepare the unleavened cakes, but God waited for him to return and then consumed the offering by bringing fire from the rock.

God had to give Gideon a message of peace to prepare him for fighting a war. Unless we’re at peace with God, we can’t face the enemy with confidence and fight the Lord’s battles. It was customary for the Jews to identify special events and places by putting up monuments, so Gideon built an altar and called it “The Lord is peace.” The Hebrew word for “peace” (shalom) means much more than a cessation of hostilities but carries with it the ideas of well-being, health, and prosperity. Gideon now believed the Lord was able to use him, not because of who he was, but because of who God was.

3. “Will God take care of me?” (Judg. 6:25-32)

What kind of a day did Gideon have after his dramatic meeting with the Lord? Remember, he belonged to a family that worshiped Baal; and if he challenged the Midianites in the name of the Lord, it meant defying his father, his family, his neighbors, and the multitudes of people in Israel who were worshiping Baal. My guess is that Gideon had his emotional ups and downs that day, rejoicing that God was planning to deliver Israel, but trembling at the thought of being named the leader of the army.

Knowing that Gideon was still afraid, God assigned him a task right at home to show him that He would see him through. After all, if we don’t practice our faith at home, how can we practice it sincerely anyplace else? Gideon had to take his stand in his own village before he dared to face the enemy on the battlefield.

The assignment wasn’t an easy one. God told him to destroy the altar dedicated to Baal, build an altar to the Lord, and sacrifice one of his father’s valuable bullocks, using the wood of the Asherah pole for fuel. Jewish altars were made of uncut stones and were simple, but Baal’s altars were elaborate and next to them was a wooden pillar (“grove,” Judg. 6:26; “Asherah pole,” niv) dedicated to the goddess Asherah, whose worship involved unspeakably vile practices. Since altars to Baal were built on high places, it would have been difficult to obey God’s orders without attracting attention.

Gideon had every right to destroy Baal worship because this is what God had commanded in His Law (Ex. 34:12-13; Deut. 7:5). For that matter, he had the right to stone everybody who was involved in Baal worship (Deut. 13), but God didn’t include that in His instructions.

Gideon decided to obey the Lord at night when the village was asleep. This showed his fear (Judg. 6:27); he wasn’t sure God could or would see him through. After all the encouragements God had given him, Gideon’s faith should have been strong; but before we judge him, we’d better look at ourselves and see how much we trust the Lord.

When ten other men are involved, it’s not easy to keep your plans a secret; so it wasn’t long before the whole town knew that Gideon was the one who had destroyed his father’s idols. The men of the city considered this a capital offense and wanted to kill Gideon. Gideon was no doubt wondering what would happen to him, but God proved Himself well able to handle the situation.

Joash, Gideon’s father, had every reason to be angry with his son. Gideon had smashed his father’s altar to Baal and replaced it with an altar to Jehovah. He had sacrificed his father’s prize bull to the Lord and had used the sacred Asherah pole for fuel. (See Isa. 44:13-20.)

But God so worked in Joash’s heart that he defended Gideon before the town mob and even insulted Baal! “What kind of a god is Baal that he can’t even defend himself?” asked Joash. “What kind of a god is Baal that he can’t even plead his own cause?” Joash asked.’ Because of this, the men of the town gave Gideon the nickname “Jerubbaal,” which means “let Baal contend” or “Baal’s antagonist.”

4. “Does God keep His promises?” (Judg. 6:33-40)

The Midianites and their allies made their annual invasion about that time as more than 135,000 men (8:10; 7:12) moved into the Valley of Jezreel. It was time for Gideon to act, and the Spirit of God gave him the wisdom and power that he needed. (See Judg. 3:10; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14.) As we seek to do God’s will, His Word to us is always, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit” (Zech. 4:6).

Gideon blew the trumpet first in his own hometown, and the men of Abiezer rallied behind him. Gideon’s reformation in the town had actually accomplished something! Then he sent messengers throughout his own tribe of Manasseh as well as the neighboring tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. These four tribes were near the Valley of Jezreel, and therefore the invading army affected them most. Thus at Gideon’s call, 32,000 men responded.

But what chance did 32,000 men have against an army of 135,000 men plus numberless camels? (Judg. 7:12) This is the first mention in the Bible of camels being used in warfare, and certainly they would have given their riders speed and mobility on the battlefield. The Jews were outnumbered and would certainly be out-maneuvered, except for one thing: Jehovah God was on their side, and He had promised them victory.

Nevertheless, Gideon doubted God’s promise. Did God really want him to lead the Jewish army? What did he know about warfare? After all, he was only an ordinary farmer; and there were others in the tribes who could do a much better job. So, before he led the attack, he asked God to give him two more signs.

The phrase “putting out the fleece” is a familiar one in religious circles. It means asking God to guide us in a decision by fulfilling some condition that we lay down. In my pastoral ministry, I’ve met all kinds of people who have gotten themselves into trouble by “putting out the fleece.” If they received a phone call at a certain hour from a certain person, God was telling them to do this; or if the weather changed at a certain time, God was telling them to do something else.

“Putting out the fleece” is not a biblical method for determining the will of God. Rather, it’s an approach used by people like Gideon who lack the faith to trust God to do what He said He would do. Twice Gideon reminded God of what He had said (6:36-37), and twice Gideon asked God to reaffirm His promises with a miracle. The fact that God stooped to Gideon’s weakness only proves that He’s a gracious God who understands how we’re made (Ps. 103:14). Who are we to tell God what conditions He must meet, especially when He has already spoken to us in His Word? “Putting out the fleece” is not only an evidence of our unbelief, but it’s also an evidence of our pride. God has to do what I tell Him to do before I’ll do what He tells me to do!

Gideon spent two days playing the fleece game with God at the threshing floor. The first night, he asked God to make the fleece wet but keep the ground dry (in this incident the Bible uses “floor” and “ground” interchangeably) and God did it. The second night, the test was much harder; for he wanted the threshing floor to be wet but the fleece dry. The ground of a threshing floor is ordinarily very hard and normally would not be greatly affected by the dew. But the next morning, Gideon found dry fleece but wet ground.

There was nothing for Gideon to do but to confront the enemy and trust God for the victory.

Sifting for service in Gideon’s army – his army began with 32,000 men: Judges 7:1-3 (NIV) Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. ²  The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, ³  announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'”

The first test (fearful and afraid): So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

The water test—only 300 qualified: ⁴  But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” ⁵  So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.” ⁶  Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

⁷  The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place.”

 ⁸  So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others. Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. ⁹  During that night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.

¹⁰  If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah ¹¹  and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. ¹²  The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.Gideon’s victory over the Midianites.

Judges 7:13-25 (NIV)
 ¹³  Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.” ¹⁴  His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.” ¹⁵  When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” ¹⁶  Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside. ¹⁷  “Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. ¹⁸  When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.'” ¹⁹  Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. ²⁰  The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” ²¹  While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. ²²  When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. ²³  Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. ²⁴  Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. ²⁵  They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.

“The battle is the Lord’s” today. There is a need for people of deep faith and courage who will go out against the “giants” of today. The “giants” of today include: Worldliness. Compromise. Indifference. Lack of growth.

[1] Bible Exposition Commentary (BE Series) – Old Testament – The Bible Exposition Commentary – History.