By Van Yandell
Judges 7: 5 “And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you.”
The story of Gideon and his army driving the Midianites and the Amalekites out of Israel is documented in Judges chapters six and seven. The story is intriguing in that it shows how God can and does call some of the most unlikely people into service.
When God first told Gideon of his intended position of leader of the people into a war, Gideon responded by making many excuses. He stated to God, “But I am the least of my brethren.” God, of course doesn’t make mistakes and Gideon would rise to the occasion and accomplish his given purpose.
Into the story in chapter seven, thirty-two thousand men had amassed and God said, “That’s too many. I want the world to know that I am God and I drove the oppressors from the land of my people.”
God told Gideon to tell the men if any were afraid, to go home. All but ten-thousand did go home. God said, “That’s still too many. Take the men to the water to drink. Those that fall down on their bellies and drink like a dog, send them home. Those that cup the water in their hands and drink are your army.”
Three-hundred of the men drank from their hands and thus, became the total number that drove the oppressors from Israel. Those that drank from their hands were able to watch the horizon and not fall prey to an advancing enemy.
Those men were able to watch and be prepared for any possibility. Those that drank by lapping the water were blinded to all eventualities.
Recently, I have talked to two men that were guilt ridden over their past. Gideon may have had similar feelings about himself. I understood as most earthlings would, because none of us are without some types of wrong-doings. Many times our pasts haunt us and for a Christian to forgive him or herself is probably one of the most difficult things we’ll ever have to do.
Sometimes we are so ashamed and disgusted with ourselves, we think Jesus is too. Not so! He knew we would have troubles and problems to deal with and at times react sinfully. Even though He knows us very well, He chose to suffer and die for our sins.
For the confessed and repentant Christian to accept the forgiveness of God is perhaps not so difficult but to forgive ourselves is a challenge. Possibly, our greatest punishment is the guilt we feel for some past action.
To the born-again Christian (John 3), the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within us (1 Corinthians 6: 19) gives us a new mind and outlook. We see things differently but we still reside in these bodies of flesh.
The scripture teaches that God forgives sin. Any sin is sin against God and none are classified as more or less serious. I’ve often thought I’d much rather someone would steal from me than kill me but either is sin against God and requires forgiveness. Coveting may seem minor to our human minds but it is still classified as sin as stated in the Ten Commandments.
For those young men to be so hard on themselves may be admirable in their thinking but it is entirely unnecessary. I know that to put the past totally behind us is much easier to say than to do but if we love our Creator, it is an action to which we must condition our hearts and minds.
The scripture teaches God will forgive our sins. 1 John 1: 9 “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Stop reading for a minute and consider how powerful that verse is. Go back and read it again.
1 John 1: 9 can be taken personally by every one of us. No matter who you are, right now, think of that verse as being spoken by God to you individually; because that is the way it is meant to be.
We’ve all been made promises. Many of those have been broken or in many cases, simply forgotten. It is so easy for any of us to promise to do something and then forget. God doesn’t forget. First John 1: 9 is a promise from God we can count on. All need forgiveness and God is faithful to His word.
The Bible tells us “God will remember our sins no more.” Hebrews 8: 12 “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
Being believers in an omnipotent and omniscient God, we have trouble grasping this verse. How can God not remember? Believer followers of God Jesus (John 10: 30), our minds think of Him as never forgetting anything. The scripture says what the scripture says. If God erases all our sins as promised in 1 John 1: 9, then He is capable of ridding His own mind of them.
Another prominent verse in 1 John is 1: 7. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” In our modern world of showers and bath tubs, most of us really prefer to be clean.
As much as I work in my shop with wood and metal projects, it is difficult to stay clean. My old greasy lawn mower requires I get dirty often. Margie is constantly telling me I need to bleach my hands. Sometimes just simple soap and water won’t do the trick. Sometimes I try to clean my hands with Goop or WD-40. These work fairly well but extensive brushing and bleaching is, at times, required.
Isaiah 64: 6 is one of my favorite verses (of course, I have hundreds of favorite verses). “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness is as filthy rags.” This applies to all of us. Our greatest enemy is the flesh. Satan (or forces of evil) prey on our vulnerabilities.
Just as Gideon underestimated his own abilities (and possibly God’s ability to prepare him), we are guilty of exactly the same. Can we not accept God’s forgiveness promise? It is scripture so in most of our minds, that makes it a certainty.
The men that were going through such turmoil because of past actions were not all that unusual. If we are believer followers of God Jesus, we must accept His forgiveness as absolute and stop self-destructive thoughts and actions.
As the story of Gideon illustrates, men have been going through these self-destructive thoughts for thousands of years. These thoughts are no more reasonable now than then.
Guilt may very well be the most worthless and wasted emotion. Stop it! God has erased our sins; don’t worry about the humans that keep bringing them up. That is their problem, not yours.
The Bible states unequivocally: salvation is by a faith based belief that Jesus was crucified for the remission of sin and resurrected. Give Him the benefit of forgiving and forgetting. God placed our eyes on the front of our heads for a reason. Always look to the future. The past is over!