WEBVTT

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Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're

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taking this journey together to read the Bible

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in a year. Today's reading is from Judges chapters

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5 through 7. Chapter 5 Then Deborah and Barak

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the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,

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When leaders lead in Israel, when the people

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willingly offer themselves, bless the Lord. Hear,

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O kings, give ear, O princes. I, even I, will

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sing to the Lord. I will sing praises to the

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Lord God of Israel. Lord, when you went out from

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Seir, when you marched from the field of Edom,

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the earth trembled and the heavens poured. The

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clouds also poured water. The mountains gushed

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before the Lord. This Sinai before the Lord God

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of Israel. In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,

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in the days of Jael, the highways were deserted

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and the travelers walked along the byways. Village

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life ceased. It ceased in Israel. Until I, Deborah,

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arose, arose a mother in Israel. They chose new

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gods. Then there was war in the gates. Not a

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shield or spear was seen among forty thousand

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in Israel. My heart is with the rulers of Israel,

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who offered themselves willingly with the people.

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Bless the Lord. Speak, you who ride on white

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donkeys, who sit in judges' attire, and who walk

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along the road, far from the noise of the archers

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among the watering places. There they shall recount

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the righteous acts of the Lord. the righteous

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acts for his villagers in Israel. Then the people

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of the Lord shall go down to the gates. Awake,

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awake, Deborah. Awake, awake, sing a song. Arise,

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Barak, and lead your captives away, O son of

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Abinoam. Then the survivors came down, the people

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against the nobles. The Lord came down for me

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against the mighty. From Ephraim were those whose

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roots were in Amalek. After you, Benjamin, with

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your peoples, from Machir rulers came down. and

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from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter's staff.

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And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah.

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As Issachar, so was Barak, sent into the valley

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under his command. Among the divisions of Reuben

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there were great resolves of heart. Why did you

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sit among the sheepfolds? To hear the pipings

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for the flocks? The divisions of Reuben have

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great searchings of heart. Gilead stayed beyond

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the Jordan. And why did Dan remain on ships?

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Asher continued at the seashore, and stayed by

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his inlets. Zebulun is a people who jeopardized

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their lives to the point of death. Naphtali also

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on the heights of the battlefield. The kings

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came and fought. Then the kings of Canaan fought

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in Tanak by the waters of Megiddo. They took

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no spoils of silver. They fought from the heavens.

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The stars from their courses fought against Sisera.

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The torrent of Kishon swept them away. That ancient

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torrent, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, march

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on in strength. Then the horse's hooves pounded,

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the galloping and galloping of his steeds. Curse

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Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse its

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inhabitants bitterly, because they did not come

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to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord

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against the mighty. Most blessed among women

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is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. Blessed

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is she among women in tents. He asked for water,

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she gave milk. She brought out cream in a lordly

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bowl. She stretched her hand to the tent peg,

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her right hand to the workman's hammer. She pounded

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Cicera, she pierced his head. She split and struck

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through his temple. At her feet he sank, he fell,

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he lay still. At her feet he sank, he fell. Where

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he sank, there he fell dead. The mother of Cicera

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looked through the window and cried out through

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the lattice. Why is his chariot so long in coming?

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Why tarry the clatter of his chariots? Her wisest

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ladies answered her. Yes, she answered herself.

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Are they not finding and dividing the spoil?

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to every man a girl or two. For Caesarea plunder

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of dyed garments, plunder of garments embroidered

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and dyed, two pieces of dyed embroidery for the

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neck of the looter. Thus let all your enemies

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perish, O Lord, but let those who love him be

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like the sun when it comes out in full strength.

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So the land had rest for forty years. Chapter

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6 Then the children of Israel did evil in the

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sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them

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into the hand of Midian for seven years. And

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the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel.

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Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel

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made for themselves the dens, the caves, and

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the strongholds which are in the mountains. So

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it was whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would

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come up. Also Amalekites and the people of the

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east would come up against them. Then they would

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encamp against them and destroy the produce of

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the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance

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for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey.

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for they would come up with their livestock and

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their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts.

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Both they and their camels were without number,

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and they would enter the land to destroy it.

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So Israel was greatly impoverished because of

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the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried

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out to the Lord. And it came to pass, when the

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children of Israel cried out to the Lord because

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of the Midianites, that the Lord sent a prophet

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to the children of Israel, who said to them,

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Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I brought you

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up from Egypt and brought you out of the house

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of bondage, and I delivered you out of the hand

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of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who

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oppressed you, and drove them out before you

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and gave you their land. Also I said to you,

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I am the Lord your God. Do not fear the gods

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of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell, but

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you have not obeyed my voice. Now the angel of

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the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree.

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which was an ophrah which belonged to Joash the

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Abizrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat

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in the winepress in order to hide it from the

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Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared

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to him and said to him, The Lord is with you,

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you mighty man of valor. Gideon said to him,

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O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has

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all this happened to us? And where are all his

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miracles, which our fathers told us about, saying,

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Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But

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now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us

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into the hands of the Midianites. Then the Lord

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turned to him and said, Go in this might of yours,

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and you shall save Israel from the hand of the

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Midianites. Have I not sent you? So he said to

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him, O my lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed,

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my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am

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the least in my father's house. And the Lord

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said to him, Surely I will be with you, and you

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shall defeat the Midianites as one man. Then

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he said to him, If now I have found favor in

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your sight, then show me a sign that it is you

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who talk with me. Do not depart from here, I

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pray, until I come to you and bring out my offering

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and set it before you. And he said, I will wait

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until you come back. So Gideon went in and prepared

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a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah

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of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he

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put the broth in a pot, and brought them out

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to him under the terebinth tree, and presented

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them. The angel of God said to him, Take the

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meat and the unleavened bread, and lay them on

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this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did

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so. Then the angel of the Lord put out the end

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of the staff that was in his hand, and touched

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the meat and the unleavened bread. And fire rose

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out of the rock, and consumed the meat and the

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unleavened bread. And the angel of the Lord departed

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out of his sight. Now Gideon perceived that he

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was the angel of the Lord. So Gideon said, Alas,

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O Lord God, for I have seen the angel of the

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Lord face to face. Then the Lord said to him,

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Peace be with you. Do not fear. You shall not

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die. So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord

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and called it the Lord is peace. To this day,

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it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. Now

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it came to pass the same night that the Lord

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said to him, Take your father's young bull, the

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second bull of seven years old, and tear down

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the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut

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down the wooden image that is beside it, and

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build an altar to the Lord your God on top of

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this rock in the proper arrangement, and take

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the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with

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the wood of the image which you shall cut down.

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So Gideon took ten men from among his servants

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and did as the Lord had said to him. But because

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he feared his father's household and the men

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of the city too much to do it by day, he did

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it by night. And when the men of the city arose

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early in the morning, there was the altar of

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Baal torn down, and the wooden image that was

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beside it was cut down, and the second bull was

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being offered on the altar which had been built.

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So they said to one another, Who has done this

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thing? And when they had inquired and asked,

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they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this

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thing. Then the men of the city said to Joash,

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Bring out your son that he may die, because he

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has torn down the altar of Baal, and because

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he has cut down the wooden image that was beside

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it. But Joash said to all who stood against him,

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Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him?

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Let the one who would plead for him be put to

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death by morning. If he is a god, let him plead

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for himself, because his altar has been torn

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down. Therefore on that day he called him Jerob

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Baal, saying, Let Baal plead against him. because

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he has torn down his altar. Then all the Midianites

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and Amalekites, the people of the east, gathered

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together, and they crossed over and encamped

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in the valley of Jezreel. But the Spirit of the

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Lord came upon Gideon, then he blew the trumpet,

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and the Abiezrites gathered behind him, and he

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sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who

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also gathered behind him. He also sent messengers

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to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came

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up to meet them. So Gideon said to God, If you

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will save Israel by my hand, as you have said,

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look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing

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floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and

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it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know

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that you will save Israel by my hand, as you

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have said. And it was so. When he rose early

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the next morning and squeezed the fleece together,

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he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full

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of water. Then Gideon said to God, Do not be

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angry with me, but let me speak just once more.

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Let me test, I pray, just once more with the

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fleece. Let it now be dry only on the fleece,

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but on all the ground let there be dew. And God

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did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only,

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but there was dew on all the ground. Then Jeroboam,

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that is Gideon, and all the people who were with

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him, rose early and encamped outside the well

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of Herod, so that the camp of the Midianites

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was on the north side of them by the hill of

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Moreh in the valley. And the Lord said to Gideon,

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The people who are with you are too many for

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me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest

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Israel claim glory for itself against me, saying,

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My own hand has saved me. Now therefore proclaim

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in the hearing of the people, saying, Whoever

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is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart

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at once from Mount Gilead. And twenty -two thousand

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of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.

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But the Lord said to Gideon, The people are still

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too many. Bring them down to the water, and I

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will test them for you there. Then it will be

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that of whom I say to you, this one shall go

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with you, the same shall go with you. And of

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whomever I say to you, this one shall not go

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with you, the same shall not go. So he brought

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the people down to the water. And the Lord said

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to Gideon, Everyone who laps from the water with

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his tongue as a dog laps, you shall set apart

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by himself. Likewise, everyone who gets down

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on his knees to drink. And the number of those

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who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth,

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was three hundred men. But all the rest of the

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people got down on their knees to drink water.

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Then the Lord said to Gideon, By the three hundred

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men who lapped, I will save you, and deliver

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the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other

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people go, every man to his place. So the people

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took provisions and their trumpets in their hands.

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And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every

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man to his tent, and retained those three hundred

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men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in

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the valley. It happened on the same night that

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the Lord said to him, Arise, go down against

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the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.

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But if you are afraid to go down, go down to

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the camp with Purah your servant, and you shall

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hear what they say. And afterward your hands

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shall be strengthened to go down against the

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camp. Then he went down with Purah his servant

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to the outpost of the armed men who were in the

00:11:56.830 --> 00:11:59.590
camp. Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all

00:11:59.590 --> 00:12:01.570
the people of the east, were lying in the valley

00:12:01.570 --> 00:12:04.529
as numerous as locusts, and their camels were

00:12:04.529 --> 00:12:07.110
without number, as the sand by the seashore in

00:12:07.110 --> 00:12:10.269
multitude. And when Gideon had come, there was

00:12:10.269 --> 00:12:12.690
a man telling a dream to his companion. He said,

00:12:12.769 --> 00:12:15.730
I've had a dream. To my surprise, a loaf of barley

00:12:15.730 --> 00:12:18.789
bread tumbled into the camp of Midian. It came

00:12:18.789 --> 00:12:21.110
to a tent and struck it, so that it fell and

00:12:21.110 --> 00:12:24.129
overturned, and the tent collapsed. Then his

00:12:24.129 --> 00:12:26.690
companion answered and said, This is nothing

00:12:26.690 --> 00:12:29.289
else but the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash,

00:12:29.330 --> 00:12:32.049
a man of Israel. Into his hand God has delivered

00:12:32.049 --> 00:12:34.730
Midian and the whole camp. And so it was, when

00:12:34.730 --> 00:12:37.049
Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its

00:12:37.049 --> 00:12:39.649
interpretation, that he worshipped. He returned

00:12:39.649 --> 00:12:41.990
to the camp of Israel and said, Arise, for the

00:12:41.990 --> 00:12:44.070
Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your

00:12:44.070 --> 00:12:46.549
hand. Then he divided the three hundred men into

00:12:46.549 --> 00:12:49.070
three companies, and he put a trumpet into every

00:12:49.070 --> 00:12:52.210
man's hand, with empty pitchers and torches inside

00:12:52.210 --> 00:12:54.750
the pitchers. And he said to them, Look at me

00:12:54.750 --> 00:12:57.629
and do likewise. Watch, and when I come to the

00:12:57.629 --> 00:13:00.440
edge of the camp, you shall do as I do. When

00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:03.419
I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me,

00:13:03.500 --> 00:13:06.320
then you also blow the trumpets on every side

00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:08.639
of the whole camp and say, The sword of the Lord

00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:11.600
and of Gideon. So Gideon and a hundred men who

00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:13.960
were with him came to the outpost of the camp

00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:16.360
at the beginning of the middle watch, just as

00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:18.379
they had posted the watch, and they blew the

00:13:18.379 --> 00:13:20.620
trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in

00:13:20.620 --> 00:13:23.360
their hands. Then the three companies blew the

00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.740
trumpets and broke the pitchers. They held the

00:13:25.740 --> 00:13:28.139
torches in their left hands and the trumpets

00:13:28.139 --> 00:13:30.240
in their right hands for blowing, and they cried,

00:13:30.460 --> 00:13:32.940
The sword of the Lord and of Gideon. And every

00:13:32.940 --> 00:13:35.379
man stood in his place all around the camp, and

00:13:35.379 --> 00:13:38.139
the whole army ran and cried out and fled. When

00:13:38.139 --> 00:13:40.220
the three hundred blew the trumpets, the Lord

00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:43.019
set every man's sword against his companion throughout

00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:46.039
the whole camp, and the army fled to Beth Acacia,

00:13:46.220 --> 00:13:49.320
towards Zerera, as far as the border of Abel

00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:52.360
Meholah, by Tabath. And the men of Israel gathered

00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:55.039
together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh,

00:13:55.230 --> 00:13:57.509
and pursued the Midianites. Then Gideon sent

00:13:57.509 --> 00:13:59.750
messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim,

00:13:59.769 --> 00:14:02.250
saying, Come down against the Midianites, and

00:14:02.250 --> 00:14:04.649
seize from them the watering places as far as

00:14:04.649 --> 00:14:07.289
Beth Barah and the Jordan. Then all the men of

00:14:07.289 --> 00:14:09.409
Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering

00:14:09.409 --> 00:14:12.210
places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan. And

00:14:12.210 --> 00:14:13.990
they captured two princes of the Midianites,

00:14:14.049 --> 00:14:17.320
Oreb and Zeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of

00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:19.500
Oreb, and Zeb they killed at the winepress of

00:14:19.500 --> 00:14:22.080
Zeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads

00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:24.620
of Oreb and Zeb to Gideon on the other side of

00:14:24.620 --> 00:14:31.620
the Jordan. I hope you enjoyed today's reading

00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:33.940
as much as I did, and I look forward to seeing

00:14:33.940 --> 00:14:35.980
you again tomorrow to continue on our journey.

00:14:36.139 --> 00:14:37.779
God bless you and have a great day.