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TO 300 SOLDIERS
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New International Version, emphases added
Abrdgd – the complete text is in your Bible, OR:
TO READ JUDGES 7-8 IN FULL, Click Here
TO HEAR MAX McLEAN READING IT, Click Here
TO HEAR A DRAMATIZATION OF IT, Click Here
TO WATCH AN OVERVIEW OF JUDGES, Click Here
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2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ 3 Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there.”
5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” 6 Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. 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 others go home.”
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by GUSTAVE DORÉ
“Gideon Choosing His Soldiers”
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“Gideon Choosing His Soldiers”
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DESTROY MIDIAN
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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.
15 Gideon 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. 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. 23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites.
JUDGES 8
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen. 11 Gideon went up and attacked the unsuspecting army. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.
28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace forty years.
29 Gideon went back home to live. 30 He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives. 32 Gideon died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash.
33 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god 34 and did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.
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by NICOLAS POUSSIN
“Battle of Gideon Against the Midianites”
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by JAMES J. TISSOT
“The Valient of Gideon”
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“Gideon and His Three Hundred”
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by GUSTAV DORÉ
“The Midianites Put to Flight”
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MODERN LEGACIES
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WHEN THEY CATCH UP TO YOU,
YOU’LL BE SO VERY, VERY GLAD OF
GIDEON v. WAINWRIGHT!
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SAMSON’S BIRTH
that you read ahead, please see JUDGES 13
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which yielded most of the works above, here are the links:
the artist's name is unknown
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241 wood engravings for
La Grande Bible de Tours
180 watercolors depicting Bible scenes
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so here is a fascinating and enjoyable link to assist in following along:
BIBLE TIMELINE
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PREVIOUS 69 POSTS IN THIS SERIES
with descriptive titles, to assist you in finding those which interest you
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to FReeper left that other site,
who allowed God to make her His conduit
for incomparable enthusiasm, encouragement,
education, advice and technical assistance!
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Quality
The Bible is my focus, not the art: this is The Bible in Paintings, not “Great Paintings” nor even “Good Paintings.” So, works need not be masterpieces to qualify for inclusion here—they don’t need to be housed at the Louvre nor auctioned by Sotheby’s. They only need to illustrate successfully some aspect of the Biblical text or, frankly, just tickle my fancy, which I'm asking the Holy Spirit to guide. So, with such forgiving filters, it means that you're seeing practically everything I'm finding.
Pacing
The pace may seem glacial to those eager to see their favorite events. My commission is to search for art on each Bible passage in sequence; if I find enough, then it becomes the next installment, even if undramatic. But where there is no art, that Bible passage goes untold here. The Bible is a thick book, as you know; but we'll get there eventually, Lord willing. Always remember:
love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control is a fruit of the Spirit!
Thank you for your understanding.
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