The Midnight concept YOSHINOBU NAMIHIRA MD,FACG 3000 HALLS FERRY ROAD VICKSBURG, MS PH ,FAX E MAIL:

Gideon-a mighty warrior,a judge, YOSHINOBU NAMIHIRA MD,FACG 3000 HALLS FERRY ROAD VICKSBURG, MS PH ,FAX E MAIL:

Gideon (1) ;Judges 6:1-8:35 The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the God Consequence of disobedience= delivered to the hand of the Midian for 7 years The Midianites= stronger position;prevailed against israelites, destroyed the produce of the field at the time of harvest, The Israelites= weaker position ;hiding in the caves, dens, the stronghold in the mountains

Gideon (2) The Israelites= greatly impoverished, persecuted, oppressed, depressed, not doing too well, : cried out to the Lord for help ! The Lord’s words of complaints or self reflection on the part of the Israelites

1.The lord brought you out of Egypt 2.Brought you out of the house of bondage 3.Delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians 4.Delivered you out of the hand of all who oppressed you 5.Drove them (the enemies) out before you 6.Gave you their land to you.

1.I am the Lord, your God 2.Do not fear the gods of Amorites, in whose land you dwell 3.You have not obeyed My voice

The Angel of the Lord= sat under the terebinth tree,which was in Ophrah which belonged to Joash Ophrah= Joash = Gideon =threshing wheat in the winepress working hard, be busy at work,doing something, not lazy, not idle ! Reason=hide the wheat from the eyes of the midianites

The word from the angel of the lord= “the lord is with you You, mighty man of valor” Gideon =really mighty man of valor, military strength, war experiences, good past record of military success at that time ? Answer= no !

Gideon’s comments 1.If the lord is with us, why has all this (poor and wretched, sad condition ) happened to us ? 2.Where are all the miracles which our fathers told us about ? 3.Miracles= (1) Exodus from Egypt; (2) the red sea parting and crossing ;(3) manna in the desert ; (4) the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud ;(5) water out of the rock in the desert

The lord has forsaken us and delivered us to the hands of the Midianites Gideon’s comments= complaint, questioning, murmuring,

The lord’s comments= “go in this might of yours You shall save Israel from the hands of Midianites Have I not sent you ? “

Gideon go in this might of yours You shall save Israel from the hands of Midianites Have I not sent you ? “ Moses God sent Moses to king Pharaoh The ten plagues in the Egypt Miracles= the red sea parting and crossing Main agenda= save Israelites and take to the promised land ( Canaan )

Gideon go in this might of yours You shall save Israel from the hands of Midianites Have I not sent you ? “ Isaiah God sent Isaiah as a prophet Main agenda= save Israelites from destruction God’s agenda= saving business (+), not destruction business (-)

Gideon go in this might of yours You shall save Israel from the hands of Midianites Have I not sent you ?“ I will be with you You shall defeat the Midianites as one man Jesus God sent his only son from heaven to the earth The main mission =save people on the earth from the Satan’s deception, lying about God’s integrity, character One man’s rescue mission for the whole mankind !

Gideon’s qualification: 1.Manasseh 2.The Weakest clan 3.The least in the father’s house

Gideon’s qualification: 1.Manasseh 2.The Weakest clan 3.The least in the father’s house King David Working hard Busy at work for routine job Taking care of sheep Not the strongest, not the biggest, not the smartest Not on the front page of the newspaper

Gideon’s qualification: 1.Manasseh 2.The Weakest clan 3.The least in the father’s house King Saul The least and the weakest, not the tallest, not the first candidate at the first glance. The humble in the beginning—God’s employment,hiring criteria The proud, the stubborn, unusable at the end No signs of repentance, no recognition of wrong doing, incorrect course of action

Gideon Prepared a young gout Unleavened bread on the rock Meat in the basket on the rock The broth in the pot— poured out the ground Fire=God’s approval, Ok’s sign, Jesus Bread Wine Jesus' blood poured out to the ground

Gideon’s two requests Fleece experiment Dew ( water ) inside Dew (water ) outside Confirmation and conviction of the God’s presence, God’s doing in this project

Gideon’s response I have seen the angels of the God face to face Peace be with you; do not fear, you will not die ! Gideon thought that he would die, no body is allowed to see God and live in the past. Absolute reverence and respect to God !

Gideon built an altar for the Lord Place=the Lord-shalom Location=Ophrah of the Abiezrites Cut down the wooden images of Baal Tear down the altar of Baal by night,not by day to avoid public outcry and revolt Bulls for burn offering

The Midianites vs. the Israelites Gideon and his men = camp at the well of Harod The Midianiates=camp at the hill of Moreh in the valley

The final conflict,Amageddon The midianites Gideon The battle at the Moreh The hill of maggido Satan and his company God’s people Jesus The final conflict at Amaggedon

Selection criteria Gideon’s army 20,000 10, (final selection ) ! 300/20,000= 1.5 %,only a small number! 20, =19,700 (98.5%) sent home, disqualified

Main theme: God sends fire from heaven God sends fire from heaven as supernatural manifestation of His presence and clear cut demonstration or visible sign of His approval for the event

The concept of true courage or honest bravery People become extremely brave and courageous when they sense the presence of God or the sense of “ God with us “ or God never forsakes us, God will sustain us, God will see us through the trial, afflictions and problems and difficulties.

On the other hand, people become weak and powerless, incapacitated, lose backbone, lose stamina, lose internal strength, when God is not with us, people lose the sense of God’s presence, when God forsake us, God left us, when God is not sustaining us, support us.

main theme: God sends prophet God sends prophet for warning before great event happens