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Friday sermon from the book of Judges 9 [6] 1-13 & 7 [7] 1-7, on 10/25/2024, speaker Antonis Ansaldo --------------- ---------------------------- Excerpts from Scripture: Judges 9 [6] 1-13 & 7 [7] 1 -7 1) And the children of Israel did wickedly before the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2) And the hand of Midian prevailed over Israel; because of the Midianites the children of Israel made for themselves those nests, those on the mountains, and the caves and the fortifications. 3) And when Israel sowed, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the inhabitants of the east came up against him; 4) and encamping against them, they destroyed the crops of the land, as far as the entrance to Gaza, and they did not provide livestock for Israel, nor sheep neither go nor alone. 5) For they and their flocks went up and came after their tents, numerous as locusts; they and their camels were innumerable; and they entered the land to wear it down. 6) And Israel suffered greatly because of the Midianites; therefore the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. 7) And when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord because of the Midianites, 8) then the Lord sent a man a prophet to the children of Israel, and said to them, Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I brought you up out of Egypt and brought you out of house of slavery, 9) and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and I drove them out from before you and gave you their land; 10) and I said to you, I am the Lord your God; you want to respect the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell, and you did not obey my voice. 11) And an angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak tree in Ophrah, that of Joash the Avi-ezerite; and Gideon his son was threshing wheat in the flax, to hide him from the Midianites. 12) And an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is after you, strong in power. 13) And Gideon said to him, O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why have they found us all these things? and where are all his wonderful things, which our fathers told us, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt? but now the Lord has abandoned us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. ----------------------------- 1) Then Jeroboal, who is Gideon, arose in the morning, and all the people with him , and they encamped near the spring of Arod; and the camp of the Midianites was to the north of them, towards the hill of Moreh in the valley. 2) And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are many after thee, that I may deliver the Midianites into his hand, lest Israel should boast against me, saying, My hand hath saved me; 3) now therefore preach unto the people , saying, He who is timid and afraid, let him turn and hasten from Mount Gilead. And they turned away from the people twenty-two thousand: and ten thousand remained. 4) And the Lord said to Gideon, The people are too many; bring them down to the water, and there I will make them clear to you; and about whom I say to you, This one will come after you, he will come after you; and about whom I tell you, This one will not come after you, he will not come. 5) And he brought the people down to the water; and the Lord said to Gideon, Whoever drinks with his tongue from the water, as a dog drinks, you will set him apart; and whoever bends his knees to drink. 6) And the number of those who were drinking with their hand to their mouth was three hundred men; but the rest of the people bent their knees to drink water. 7) And the Lord said to Gideon, Through the three hundred men who fled, I will save you, and I will deliver the Midianites into your hand; but let the rest of the people submit each to his place. ----------------------------- Amen