20 February 2022
[God Never Rebukes Our Weak Belief/ 하나님은 약한 믿음을 결코 꾸짖지 않으신다]
#강해설교 #사사기 #Judges7: 2-7, 15 #Hymn찬송가488

사사기 7:
2 여호와께서 기드온에게 이르시되 너를 따르는 백성이 너무 많은 즉 내가 그들의 손에 미디안 사람을 넘겨 주지 아니하리니 이는 이스라엘이 나를 거슬러 스스로 자랑하기를 내 손이 나를 구원하였다 할까 함이니라
3 이제 너는 백성의 귀에 외쳐 이르기를 누구든지 두려워 떠는 자는 길르앗 산을 떠나 돌아가라 하라 하시니 이에 돌아간 백성이 이만 이천 명이요 남은 자가 만 명이었더라
4 여호와께서 또 기드온에게 이르시되 백성이 아직도 많으니 그들을 인도하여 물 가로 내려가라 거기서 내가 너를 위하여 그들을 시험하리라 내가 누구를 가리켜 네게 이르기를 이 사람이 너와 함께가리라 하면 그는 너와 함께 갈 것이요 내가 누구를 가리켜 네게 이르기를 이 사람은 너와 함께 가지 말 것이니라 하면 그는 가지말 것이니라 하신지라
5 이에 백성을 인도하여 물 가에 내려가매 여호와께서 기드온에게 이르시되 누구든지 개가 핥는 것 같이 혀로 물을 핥는 자들을 너는 따로 세우고 또 누구든지 무릎을 꿇고 마시는 자들도 그와 같이 하라 히시더니
6 손으로 움켜 입에 대고 핥는 자의 수는 삼백 명이요 그 외의 백성은 다 무릎을 꿇고 물을 마신지라
7 여호와께서 기드온에게 이르시되 내가 이 물을 핥아 먹은 삼백 명으로 너희를 구원하며 미디안을 네 손에 넘겨 주리니 남은 백성은 각각 자기의 처소로 돌아갈 것이니라 하시니
15 기드온이 그 꿈과 해몽하는 말을 듣고 경배하며 이스라엘 진영으로 돌아와 이르되 일어나라 여호와께서 미디안과 그 모든 진영을 너희 손에 넘겨 주셨느니라 하고

Judges 7:
2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, “My own hand has saved me.’
3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.
4 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 not go with you,’ shall not go.”
5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.”
6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.
7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”

15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” (ESV)

[God Never Rebukes Our Weak Belief 하나님은 약한 믿음을 결코 꾸짖지 않으신다]

Paul said that when he was weak, he was strong because of Christ’s power resting on him. (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10)
In the case of Gideon it is a very good example of this saying.

First of all I would like us to think of the holy war in the Old Testament, especially here between the Israelites and the Midianites as the struggling of our life.

We tend to think that the more we have of earthly things the more we win in the struggling life.
Gideon who had many warriors wasn’t guaranteed winning the war. Even if he won the war he would have denied God’s power and boasted of himself. (2) That would be hated by God.

22, 000 Israelite warriors were so fearful that God allowed them to return home. (3) Because there were so many more Midianites than Gideon’s armies. (12) God never had a harsh word on them and spoke to them nicely.

The unfearful 9,700 knelt down to drink water like normal men. Because the word of kneeling down of Hebrew, kara, applies when drinking water like human beings. But God made Gideon choose only the 300 that drank water by lapping like a dog. (5, 6, 7, 8) They presumably had some weaker physical conditions.
Now Gideon was very weak and it was time to reveal God’s power for him.

Whenever Gideon failed to believe God’s power God continually said to him.
He would make him win, (2, 4, 7, 9) and God’s word was said to him through his enemies of two Midianites who talked about their dream. At last Gideon worshiped God and restated God’s word, ‘I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand.’ (2, 7, 9, 14, 15) God never mocks us because we are fragile. 1) And God continually encourages us with His word.

Guhyun Woo

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1) Dale Ralph Davis, Judges, Such a Great Salvation (Ross-shire: Christian
Focus Publications, 1990), p. 106.

#강해설교사사기