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“When I blow with a trumpet … ye also shall blow the trumpets … and shall say, For Jehovah and for Gideon” (Judges 7:18 JND).

“And the three companies blew the trumpets … and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands … and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon” (Judges 7:20).

By the time that the battle was to be fought, Gideon knew that only the Lord could give him the victory over the Midianites. Gideon had only three hundred men, while the Midianites were “like grasshoppers for multitude” (Judges 7:12). He knew very well that he could not win the battle in his own strength, and the Lord had arranged it this way so that Israel would know that only the Lord had delivered them.

But then Gideon gave his men further instruction. They were to hold lamps in their left hands, and trumpets in their right hands. The lamps were probably torches of fire, burning at the ends of thick sticks of wood. At first the torches were hidden inside pitchers made of clay, but when they blew the trumpets, they were to break the pitchers so that the torches could be seen. Then they were to cry, “For Jehovah and for Gideon.” The men did not use swords, for they already had their hands full. They did not have any hand with which to hold a sword, but they did not need them.

But when the men cried out, they did not say what Gideon told them to say. See our verse for today! Instead they said, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.” Gideon had more faith than his men, but the Lord gave them the victory, for all the Midianites fought with each other. Of course the men had swords, and eventually they used them later, but the Lord won the battle without any fighting at all by Gideon and his three hundred men.

In our lives we too are engaged in a spiritual warfare, and we do have a sword — “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). But sometimes we must simply let the Lord work on our behalf, and if we let our light shine, and witness for the Lord, He will win the battle for us. Then as He should He gets the praise and glory for it.

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“And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many … Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return … and there returned of the people twenty and two thousand” (Judges 7:2-3).

“And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many … by the three hundred men that lapped will I save you” (Judges 7:4, 7).

I am sure most of you have heard the story of Gideon and his three hundred men, and how they defeated a huge army of the Midianites. Perhaps you have sung the song about him in Sunday school — “Brave Gideon had three hundred men, the Midianites had a host,” etc. But at first Gideon had many more than three hundred men — he had 32,000 men. The Lord said that this was too many, and so He told Gideon to tell anyone who was afraid to go home. As a result, 22,000 of his men went home — more than two-thirds of his army.

This is a good lesson for us too. We should be dependent on the Lord, but if we are afraid to face the world and stand up for the Lord, it is better for us not to attempt to serve Him until we have walked with the Lord a little longer, and have learned to go out in His strength. If one person is afraid, he will tend to make others afraid. The Lord had already given these instructions to Israel in the law, telling them that anyone who was afraid should not go out to battle. See if you can find this verse; it is in the book of Deuteronomy.

However, even though Gideon had only 10,000 men now, the Lord said that they were still too many. The Lord told Gideon to test them in an unusual way; you can read about it in Judges 7. He was to take the men to the water to drink. Most of the men got down on their knees to drink directly from the water, while a few scooped up water in their hands and lapped it, like a dog. Then the Lord said that those who scooped up water with their hands should be the ones to go to war — only three hundred men. Why was this?

There was really nothing wrong with getting on their knees to drink, but it is a picture of taking it easy in this world, and enjoying the good things down here. Also, while they were drinking, they could not be on guard. But the ones who scooped up water knew they had work to do, and a battle to fight. They drank quickly, and in a way that allowed them still to be on guard.

This is the way we should treat the good things God gives us in this world. We need things like food, water, clothes, a house to live in, etc., but we should not be thinking so much about those things. We are here to live for the Lord’s glory, and to fight the Lord’s battles as Christians. It is important to be like Gideon’s three hundred men, who took the water quickly, and who then were ready to go out to battle.

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“Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer … So will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:15-16).

Esther is another very interesting book of the Bible, and shows how the Lord preserves and cares for His people, even when they are in a foreign land, and perhaps are not honoring Him as they should. The book of Esther takes place during the reign of king Ahasuerus, whose real name was Xerxes. He reigned from 485 B.C. to 474 B.C., so the book of Esther took place some years before we read about Ezra and Nehemiah.

Esther was a young girl whose parents had died, and a relative named Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter. They did not live in the land of Israel, but lived in the Persian empire, where their ancestors had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar. She was apparently a very attractive girl, and eventually the Persian king Ahasuerus chose her for his queen. This was of course quite a wrong thing for a Jewess to do, for they were not to marry outside of the people of Israel. This is probably the reason that the name of God is not mentioned in the whole book of Esther, but we certainly see God working on behalf of His people.

A man named Haman was a high official in the Persian government, and he did not like Mordecai, nor did he like the Jews as a people. He wanted to get rid of them all, and persuaded the king to kill all the Jews on a certain day. Mordecai appealed to Esther to go to the king, and to ask him to do something about this. However, it was against the law for anyone, even the queen, to go into the king’s presence without being invited. The king might welcome someone who came in, but he also might execute them, if he decided he did not like their coming in to disturb him. But Esther decided to go in, and to trust the Lord as to the king’s reaction.

I will not tell you the rest of the story, but read it for yourself in the book of Esther. It is all very interesting, and remarkable how the Lord used Esther to deliver the Jews from harm. Also, let us remember that the Lord can, and does, still work today on behalf of you and me, to protect us.

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“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” (Genesis 1:27).

Today a lot is being said out in the world concerning gender issues, and many young people are becoming confused by what they are hearing. Suddenly, within the last few years, the world has decided that people can choose their own gender, rather than being satisfied with the gender with which they were born. Boys can decide that they want to be girls, and girls can decide what they want to be boys. Same sex marriages have become legal in many countries, and homosexual behavior is not only permitted, but honored. So called “Pride parades” are often organized to promote this kind of behavior. Those who speak out against this kind of thing can be accused of “hate speech” and may be liable to punishment.

We do not want to go into all the reasons why these new attitudes have suddenly developed out in the world, but we would point out to all of you young people that the Word of God strongly condemns any such behavior, in both the Old and the New Testaments. It is a very sinful thing, and ultimately comes about because “they did not like to retain God in their knowledge” (Romans 1:28). As a result of their giving up God, we read that “God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to practice unseemly things” (Rom. 1:28 JND). We see this all around us in the world today, for as God is given up, and people try to live without Him, God is allowing this serious moral evil to overtake us.

Let us trust the Word of God, and recognize the sinfulness of all this. The Word of God is plain, and we need simply to follow the clear teaching of the Bible. Let us have nothing to do with this sinful behavior; it is not of God, but rather something Satan has devised.

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“And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we can incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 9:25).

Probably most of you have heard of Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. He was born in Scotland, then immigrated with his family to Canada, and eventually moved to the United States. However, his summer home was in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, and he spent much of his time there, even in winter.

He was a very dedicated man who worked long hours on things that interested him, and eventually, in 1876, he managed to make a working telephone. He became very famous for this, and very wealthy too. He was interested in a lot of other things as well, and was one of the founders of the National Geographic Society. He was also very interested in flying machines, and was involved in designing the first airplanes. While it was Wilbur and Orville Wright who actually invented the airplane, it was Alexander Graham Bell and his younger assistants who first publicly flew a plane over a kilometer, and won a prize offered by the Scientific American. He also designed and built a speedboat that set a world record.

He was a man who wanted to make his mark in this world, and he said once, “I want to be remembered for my WORK!” He certainly is remembered, as the telephone is now used all over the world. He received many honors, including honorary degrees from well known universities, and invitations to speak all over the world.

However, it seems that he had no time for, or interest in, eternal things, and although he knew the Bible and could quote from it, there is no evidence that he was ever saved. This is very sad, for although his name is well known on earth, it is not likely written in the book of life.

Let those that know not second birth, Labor to write their names on earth My joy is this, that grace divine, On heaven’s scroll has written mine.

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“Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east” (Nehemiah 3:26).

“From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house” (Nehemiah 3:28).

“After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate” (Nehemiah 3:29).

“After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith’s son … over against the gate Miphkad” (Nehemiah 3:31).

The water gate would also speak to us of refreshment, for water in the Bible is often a picture of the Word of God. The fountain speaks of refreshment, while water speaks of a constant steady source of peace and blessing. We all need water for our natural bodies, and we need the regular “washing of water by the Word” (Ephesians 5:26). That is, we need the Word of God every day to wash away the things that we contact every day in this world.

The horse gate is perhaps a picture of strength, for the horse in the Bible often speaks of strength. But it must not be our own strength; it must be the Lord’s strength. The Lord says in the Bible, “An horse is a vain thing for safety” (Psalm 33:17), yet if we rely on the Lord, He is able to protect us.

The east gate was special, for it was the gate through which only Lord could enter, or the Prince who represented Him. We read in Ezekiel, “The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east … the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate” (Ezekiel 46:1-2). This will happen in the millennium when the Lord Jesus reigns as the rightful King. The east is where the sun rises, and the Lord will enter in at that time like the rising Sun, to bring blessing to Israel.

Finally we have the gate Miphkad, which is difficult. It means “the gate of the appointed place.” We might take different meanings from this, but perhaps it means that while we are down here in this world, the Lord has an appointed place for us to come together and worship Him. We are not free to go just anywhere we like. If we really wish to be where the Lord is, He will lead us there.

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“The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah” (Nehemiah 3:13).

“But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab” (Nehemiah 3:14).

“But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Colhozeh” (Nehemiah 3:15).

The valley gate would perhaps be a picture of what we read about in Psalm 23:4 — the “valley of the shadow of death.” Sometimes in our Christian lives we feel as if we are on a mountaintop, while at other times we seem to be in a valley. You may remember a time when the Syrians were badly defeated by Israel. The Syrians said, “The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys” (1 Kings 20:28). But the Lord is looking after us just as much when we go through a valley as when we are on a mountain. The Syrians were again badly defeated, because the Lord was with Israel. Let us remember that the Lord is also with us, even if we seem to be in a valley in our life.

The dung gate was probably the gate out of which they carried the manure from the animals. It was necessary to do this, and sometimes in our lives there are things that need to be carried out. Manure has a smell to it, and it is not nice to have large amount of it around our homes. In the days of Nehemiah they had plenty of horses, and the manure needed to be taken away. So you and I need to deal with those things in our lives that are not pleasing to the Lord, and to get rid of them.

But what comes next? The fountain gate, which speaks of refreshment. The Lord Jesus could tell the woman at the well of Sychar that “the water which I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life” (John 4:14 JND). When we get rid of things in our life that are not pleasing to the Lord, then the Spirit of God can use the Word of God to bring real refreshment to us. I suggest that this is the meaning of the fountain gate.

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“Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate” (Nehemiah 3:1).

“But the fish gate did the sons of Hasenaah build” (Nehemiah 3:3).

“Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah” (Nehemiah 3:6).

Yesterday we mentioned the ten gates that were in the wall of Jerusalem, and the fact that they had meanings to their names. We might wonder why so many gates were needed, if the wall was mainly for protection. But there were people and things that needed to come into the city, and other things that needed to be taken out from time to time. Every city with a wall needs some gates in it.

You and I should be separate from this world, but this does not mean that we never have any contact with the world. No, we are to be separate from the world, but not isolated from it. We see this particularly with the first gate mentioned — the sheep gate. That would speak of the gospel going out, and people being saved. In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus often refers to us as His sheep. Also, we notice that the sheep gate had no locks or bars; it was always available for those who might want to come in. That is like the gospel today.

The fish gate also speaks of the gospel, for the Lord Jesus told Peter and Andrew, “I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). You and I have this privilege today, for we are to go out and bring people to the Lord Jesus. Peter and Andrew were used to catching fish, but the Lord said to Peter, “From henceforth [now on] thou shalt catch men” (Luke 5:10).

Thirdly, we have the old gate. I am not sure just what it was used for in Nehemiah’s time, but maybe it was simply an older gate than some of the others. But for us, perhaps it is a picture of our needing to stand firmly for what the Lord has given us, and not to be wanting something new. Since the Bible was completed, many people have come forward, saying that they were prophets of God, and pretending to have some special new teaching from the Lord. But this cannot be, for the Word of God is complete; it cannot have anything added to it.

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“They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded [those who helped to place loads on others], everyone with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon” (Nehemiah 4:17).

One of the things about which Nehemiah was very concerned was that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down, and everything there was in a mess. Also, some of the gates of the city had been burned. As we have already said, it had been that way for more than 130 years, and no one had had the energy to clean up the mess, and rebuild the wall. It was a disgrace, and Nehemiah wanted to do something about it.

In Nehemiah 3 we read about the building of the wall, and I would suggest that you read this chapter. See if you can find the names of the ten gates in the wall that are mentioned in the chapter. They all have a meaning, but there is not room in our outline today to go into all of those meanings. In addition to the names of the ten gates, there are a lot of details about those who built the wall, how much they did, and how they did it. But everyone worked hard, and each did something, until the wall was finished.

The wall is a picture of separation from this world, and protection. Nehemiah realized that even though they had already rebuilt the temple about 65-70 years before, the city was not safe unless they rebuilt the wall as well. This is a good lesson for us too, for we need to be separate from this world if we are going to worship the Lord properly, and serve Him. We do not build a literal wall of bricks and mortar, but we need to walk in separation from this world.

However, if you read some of the other chapters in Nehemiah, such as chapter four and chapter six, you will see that some of the people who lived in the land of Israel were not at all happy to see the wall rebuilt. Some men came and tried to hinder the work, and even threatened to attack those who were working. That is why it was necessary for Jews to work with a tool in one hand, and a weapon in the other.

This is a picture of how we ought to live as believers too. We do not carry actual weapons, but when we work for the Lord, we need to be on guard, as Satan has those who will try and hinder the work of the Lord, just as they did in Nehemiah’s day.

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“And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire … O Lord, I beseech Thee, let now Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant … and grant him mercy in the sight of this man [the king of Persia]. For I was the king’s cupbearer” (Nehemiah 1:3, 11).

We now come to Nehemiah, and he was quite a different man from Ezra. Nehemiah came back to the land of Israel a little later than Ezra, in 455 B.C. As we see from the first verse today, he was upset and felt sad because of the condition of the people back in Israel, and also because the wall of Jerusalem was broken down. It had been broken down for a long time, for the city of Jerusalem had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar away back in 588 B.C., more than 130 years before Nehemiah’s time. Nehemiah was so concerned that when he came into the presence of the king, the king noticed his sad face, and asked him about it.

Nehemiah was frightened, for the kings in those days had a rule, that no one was to come before them with a sad face. They wanted to see only happy faces. Also, Nehemiah had a very important place as the king’s cupbearer. That meant that he brought wine to the king on a regular basis. In modern times we do not have such a person in government, but in those days, it was a high position to be a cupbearer. His job was to taste all the wine that the king was to drink, and to make sure that no one had put poison into it. The king had to be able to trust this man completely, for poisoning was a favorite way of assassinating a king in those days. The king often confided in a man like this, and asked his advice.

When the king asked Nehemiah why he was sad, Nehemiah told him about the condition of things in Jerusalem, and the Lord gave him favor before the king. As a result, the king sent him back to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall, and to be the governor of that area.

Ezra was a humble, careful man who waited on the Lord before doing anything, and who faithfully taught the people from the law of Moses. Nehemiah was more of a man of action — a man who wanted to get things done. If you read the book of Nehemiah, you will find that the Lord used Nehemiah to get the wall of Jerusalem rebuilt, in spite of many difficulties. Yet as we read the book, we find that sometimes Nehemiah thought a little too much of himself, and what he was doing. He wanted the credit for being faithful to the Lord, which is not good. However, he was a very faithful man, and the Lord really used him.

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