Gideon's Help Narrowed Down

Judges 7:1-8 (KJV)

Gideon, known as Jerubbaal from the time he threw down the altar of Baal (Judges 6:32), took thirty-two thousand people with him to pitch camp "...beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh in the valley" (v. 1). The Lord felt that thirty-two thousand was too many people for Him to deliver the Midianites into their hands lest the Children of Israel would take the glory for saving themselves instead of giving God the glory. Steps were taken to illiminate the number of people to whom the Midianites were to be delivered.

God told Gideon to "...proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosover is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand" (v. 3). With ten thousand remaining, the Lord still felt that there were too many people. "And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go" (v. 4).

"So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley" (vs. 5-8).