The Army of Gideon

     Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (and many other religions) recognize that God works many miracles through the faith of His disciples.  The scriptures teach us that “…all things are possible to him that believeth.”  (Mark 9:23)  The scriptures also provide so many different examples of the miracles that can be worked by God for those who have faith in Him.

     One of those miracles has been on my mind lately.  It’s found in the story of Gideon, who led an Israelite army against the hosts of the Midianites.  Let me build some background around the story before I get into the miracle.

     After the Israelites had come into the Promised Land, they started worshipping the gods of the people who were in the land.  One of these gods was Baal.  God probably sent prophets among the people to cry repentance, but the prophets would have been rejected.  So God allowed the Midianites several victories over the Israelites because of their wickedness.

     After seven years of defeat at the hands of the Midianites, the people of Israel cried unto God for deliverance.  God sent a prophet to teach them the cause of their suffering.  Then He sent an angel to call Gideon to lead the children of Israel to victory over the Midianites.

     Following the Lord’s command, Gideon cast down the groves and altars of idolatry the people of Israel were using.  He then built an altar to the Lord in their place and offered a sacrifice upon the altar.  Then he sent forth a call for the armies of Israel to gather.  Approximately 32,000 Israelites responded, while the armies of the Midianites gathered against them.

     This is the point where we see the miracles of God manifested by the faith of the people.  Many among the children of Israel had been worshipping a false god.  So God would respond by showing His power and establishing that He was in fact the One True God.  He would do it with those who trusted and had faith in Him.  To do so, He needed the armies of Israel to be smaller in number than they were so they had no room for proclaiming they had done it.  They would have to recognize the hand of God in the victory.  God commanded Gideon to tell the people that all who were “fearful and afraid” should depart.  Most of the army departed, leaving only 10,000 to fight the armies of the Midianites. 

     This is one demonstration of the faith of those God would lead into battle.  It’s extremely unlikely that anybody among the children of Israel wasn’t afraid to march against an army that appeared as innumerable as the armies of the Midianites did.  Yet 10,000 people trusted God enough to conquer their fear and stand with Gideon.  They didn’t stay because they lacked fear.  They stayed because they were able to conquer their fear with trust in God.

     God did not intend to allow 10,000 people to fight against the enemy, however.  It was His will to deliver the armies of the Midianites into a much smaller number.  Gideon took the people to the river to drink.  All those who got on their knees to drink like a dog would be sent home.  After sending these people home, only 300 remained. 

     These 300 men yet again demonstrated great faith.  Imagine you were among the army preparing to go against a vast host of men.  Your commanding officer then gives two orders, cutting the number of your fellow soldiers down to 300 men.  Now you’re standing there with only 300 others preparing to take on a massive army.  Your only hope at this point is the promise that God stands with you and will deliver the enemy into your hands.  You would have to have great faith in God to stay and fight.

     These 300 men did stay to fight.  God gave Gideon direction that allowed him to devise a plan of attack.  Then an army of 300 men routed a massive army of Midianites.  Only then were the rest of the children of Israel called upon to pursue the fleeing army.

     In today’s world we have a hard time grasping the incredible miracle worked by God on this occasion.  We live in a world where a single missile fired by one person can kill thousands, if not millions.  It’s not very difficult to believe 300 men can route an enemy much larger than they are. 

     Yet the world Gideon lived in was very different from our world.  Your ability to conquer your enemy rested only in your strength and skill with a simple weapon like a sword.  Even the most skilled warriors had little hope for victory when attacking a significantly larger enemy.

     But God was with the children of Israel because those who remained were men of faith.  He helped Gideon devise a battle plan that delivered the Midianites into the hands of the children of Israel.  And the children of Israel prevailed.  That’s one of the many mighty miracles that can be wrought by the hand of God through the faith of His disciples.

A New Blessing

     My wife and I have been very blessed this week.  We have the privilege of welcoming a new baby to our family.  I’m very excited to have a wonderful little one to add to my family!  Because of this new addition to our family, my time has been limited this week.  So my blog entry is going to be brief. 

     I want to take this week to testify of my Savior, Jesus.  Over two thousand years ago, Jehovah, the Son of God, came to earth as the child Jesus born to Mary.  I have a testimony that He walked this earth as the only truly perfect being to be born in it.  I know He resisted many different temptations so He could rise above the sins of the world.  I know He is the only Pure Being capable of washing us clean of our sins.

     I want to tell you that I am so grateful that I have this knowledge.  I know this is a world filled with the deception and lies of Lucifer, the father of lies.  I know that a lot of this world is covered with those lies to the point of preventing many people from knowing Jesus Christ.  So I know I could have easily come into this world in different circumstances that prevented me from knowing my Heavenly Friend.  I’m so grateful that wasn’t the case.

     Because I had the privilege of coming into this world knowing Jehovah the King, I have the opportunity of raising my two children with knowledge of Him.  I hope and pray that I and my wife will be good and faithful in teaching our children of Jesus Christ.  I want them to know Him.  There have been so many times in my life when I have desperately needed Him, and He’s always been there.  There will be so many times in the lives of my children when they will need Him.  I want them to know He is there.

     The reason this is so important to me is that I know the Mediator Jehovah can do far more for my children than I will ever be able to in this world.  If they know Him, love Him, and trust Him, there will be nothing He can’t do for them.  I know this because I’ve seen Him working miracles for me many, many times. 

     Jesus Christ lives.  He is the Messiah, the King, the Great Friend.  Trust Him and you will have nothing to fear.

Lessons from Les Miserables

     This past week, my wife and I had the opportunity to go to the new production of “Les Miserables” starring Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean.  “Les Miserables” has long been my favorite musical production.  I love the characters of Jean Valjean and Javert.  I love the conflict between justice and mercy demonstrated by their lives.  And I love the symbolic lessons we can learn from their fictional lives if we take the time to notice these lessons.

     Javert is the perfect advocate for justice.  His song, “Stars”, demonstrates his concept of justice.  He believes every fault must be met with punishment for the crime and justice for those involved.  His job as an enforcer of the law grants him the ability to see to it justice is served.  He wouldn’t allow even himself to escape justice.  When he believed he had wrongfully accused the mayor of being Valjean, he presented himself to the mayor to answer for his apparent crime.

     Valjean also believed strongly that justice must be served in the beginning of the story.  His concept of justice was different than that held by Javert.  He believed he had been wronged by the world—a world that deprived him of freedom for simply wanting to eat.  He believed he owed nothing to this world, because it was only just that he gave nothing to a world that gave him only heartache and grief.  After suffering for several years under the hands of justice for the crime of stealing bread, Valjean found himself free in a world that continued to hand him hardship.  He was bitter and angry about the injustice of it.

     Yet mercy found Jean Valjean through the hands of the bishop.  From the mercy extended by this bishop, Valjean discovered Jesus Christ and determined he would learn how to love again.  From that moment on, Valjean could be found extending mercy to anybody he found in need of it.  He would demand mercy anytime it was necessary to save another.  He would become the advocate of mercy even to extent of granting it to his enemy, the inspector Javert.

     I like comparing the similarities in the two men.  In the start of the story, the two men are in conflict with each other because both believe in justice but have a different understanding of what it means.  Both men try to live in service of God, whom they love very much.  Both men come upon a time when their lives are in the hands of another person, and the other person had every reason to cause them pain, suffering, or death.  Both men receive mercy at the hands of that person and face a moment of crisis—a perfect opportunity to become better men—because of it.  But the two men handle that crisis very differently.

     Javert couldn’t grasp the concept of forgiveness required by the mercy he extended.  Jean Valjean had been a criminal.  Javert couldn’t reconcile the image of the criminal with the man of mercy he had met.  He could see that Valjean had become a better man than he, willing to forgive those who had hurt him.  But he couldn’t understand it, nor could he accept it.  And he couldn’t accept that he had given mercy to a man who had been a criminal.  This lack of understanding or acceptance led him to his death.

     For Jean Valjean the mercy he received caused him to reflect upon the grotesque hatred and furry in his life.  He would come out of it with the resolve to become the better man he ultimately became later.  He understood the need for justice and had paid a price for justice in his life.  But he also knew there was a place for mercy, and he constantly looked for these opportunities. 

     I love the part at the end just after he departs life.  The story closes by taking us with Jean Valjean as he enters a world where freedom has prevailed rather than the world were those fighting for freedom died at the barricade.  The point is that Jean Valjean had paid for his mistakes in life, and he had chosen to become a good man.  So he earned a place in a world of freedom and mercy.

     There are so many good lessons revolving around faith that we can take from this story.  At different times in my life, different lessons have stood at to me.  But the one that stands out to me right now at this moment is that justice and mercy can be reconciled.  Though the two concepts seem to be at odds with each other, they both must be served.  Otherwise a time will come when justice for all will create a conflict that can’t be resolved.

     Mercy requires a mediator who has no part in the fault.  Only Jesus Christ has walked on earth free of fault.  True reconciliation between justice and mercy can only come because of Jesus Christ, the great Mediator.  And only those who come to Him in faith will have access to that mercy.  Part of coming to Him in life involves learning to extend mercy.  So extend mercy when you see somebody fallen under a burden of cares that is crushing their body or their soul.  Extend mercy when you see somebody oppressed by life or people around them.  Extend mercy when somebody who has hurt you in anyway stands before you.  Forgive them.  And while you’re at it, don’t forget to extend mercy to yourself.  Forgive yourself.

Nourishing Faith

     The final part of Alma’s analogy comparing faith in God and His word to a seed (found in The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ) is nourishment and enjoyment of the fruit.  In Alma 32:37-43, Alma states, “And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us.  And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.

     “But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.  Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof. 

     “And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life.  But if ye will nourish the word, yea nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life. 

     “And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.  Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.”

     When I read these verses of scripture, I think of my musical career with instruments.  Several times in my life, I’ve attempted to learn how to play a musical instrument.  The first of these came in grade school.  My elementary school had violin classes.  I joined this class and learned how to songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” on the violin.  I really enjoyed playing the violin and thought I’d grow up learning how to do it.  I had every intention of taking orchestra classes through high school.

     In sixth grade, however, my family moved to a place where the schools didn’t teach violin classes.  There were people in the community that taught these classes.  Yet, for whatever reason, I decided to stop taking these classes.  Now, 18 years later, I can’t pick up the violin and play “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”.  It’s not that I don’t have the ability.  It’s that I stopped developing the ability and let myself forget the skills I had learned.

     The piano is another excellent example.  There have been three different times that I remember in my life when I’ve started taking piano lessons.  The first time was in high school.  I practiced enough to be able to play a very simple version of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”.  I wasn’t by any means good.  In fact, I failed miserably the time I tried to perform it in front of a group of people.  But I could do it.  Then I stopped practicing and forgot the little skill I had.

     During my first year in college, I started learning how to play the piano again.  I didn’t learn very much at all before I quit this time.  So I lost the skill again. 

     Then I started trying a short time later.  This time I put more thought and effort into it than I ever had before.  I developed the ability to play several hymns with my right hand.  I could even slowly pluck through the tune to a few hymns with my left hand.  Yet I never reached a point of combining the two hands before I quit devoting my time to developing the skill.  Now I’m again at a point where I can’t play any of the hymns.

     The point with this story is that I actually started developing the ability to play the piano and violin.  Yet I didn’t make either one of these skills a priority in my life.  So neither of them has developed into an actual talent I can use.  My lack of devotion has actually left me with an inability to perform even the little bit I once could.  I could learn either of these talents at any time, but I would have to devote time and effort to either one.  It would have to be a priority in my life.

     The same concept applies to faith in God and His word.  As long as you continue to study the word of God, pray for His guidance, and practice faith, your faith and knowledge in Him and His word will grow.  But if you choose to neglect the things of God, you will be losing the faith and knowledge you have.

     Think of it this way.  If a plant isn’t growing in some way, then it’s dying.  If you aren’t devoting time or energy into developing most of the skills or talents you currently have, then you are forgetting them.  If you aren’t practicing faith, than you are losing the faith you have.  So make faith in God a part of your life every day.  Only then can you have the peace and joy that comes as the fruit of faith in God.