Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Do You Have the Right to Fight? | Historical Books | Judges 7:9-25

Episode Date: February 26, 2025

We live in a culture that glorifies fighting. But where does our desire to fight come from? Is there a different way to fight? In today's episode, Jensen shares how Judges 7:9-25 encourages us to fight for Jesus' kingdom in a counter-cultural way. Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we’re exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Judges 7:9-25

Welcome to 10-minute Bible talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. And the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. So my kids are just reaching the point where they have begun fighting. My youngest is only 18 months, so she doesn't really know what's going on. We're still in the, it's kind of cute when they fight stage. But there is something hardwired into these kids. The moment someone takes something that they believe is theirs, they fight back.

Florence loves to hit, Jude loves to scream, and chase down his property, in the end, they both choose violence. Now, that feeling that my toddlers get when someone takes something that is theirs, when someone hurts them or turns off their TV show or says no to what they want, the feeling to defend themselves to get back at the other person, to get what they want. That feeling lives on well-past childhood. You and I, we live in a world that tells us to fight for what we believe in, a world that celebrates sharp words and biting remarks, a world of reality TV shows dedicated to addicting us to the drama of people will never meet. Online forums pop up debating who's right, who went too far, who had the best

verbal thrashing of the night. We unfortunately live in a world where our politics and journalism is flooded with people seeking vengeance, insulting opponents, treating. human beings as verbal punching bags. The winners of these fights are praised. They stood up for themselves, defended themselves, came out on top. The means they used to get there seemed to be unimportant. The other person got what they deserved. We have a right to fight. Now, I'm going to make a hypothesis, partially based on my own life and experience, partially based on what I see happening around me. But our cultural obsession with fighting, with telling people to stand their ground, with praising the one who stands up for themselves, no matter the tactics, stems from a place of fear.

We're afraid of losing, afraid of being wrong, afraid of people finding out we might be a fraud. We might have made a mistake. Afraid that we might fail. That fear pushes us to fight, to defend our honor, to stand up for ourselves, no matter the cost, no matter the tactics, no matter the truth of the situation. The person who punches the hardest usually comes out on top. And it isn't just an out there problem. It's a me and a you problem too. Whether you're a comment section warrior or a gossiper or a spouse who's quick to point the finger and slow to apologize, we've all been infected with the desire to fight.

Christians in particular, feeling on the defense in the Western world for some time now, have recently been taking on the mantra to fight no matter the tactics, to fight for a world that resembles biblical ethics, to fight for what we believe is right to shape our world to look more like what we think is best. We're afraid. Afraid of being the cultural loser, afraid of being cast out, afraid of losing ground socially. So we fight. We fight to end up on top. We use the tactics and means that our culture tells us to. We've become compromised, yelling online, turning a blind eye to evil, calling image bears disgusting names, but we excuse our

behavior because it's for the good. Now before you get really mad at me, this critique doesn't mean that we cannot or should not fight for biblical values. I just think as we take a look at the second half of Judges 7 today, we will find ourselves challenged in the ways that we choose to fight. Now, if you remember, we're right in the middle of the story of Gideon, the judge who is taking on the Midianites. He's been preparing to fight, and already God has dwindled down his plan to bring 32,000 men into battle to a measly 300 men. So Gideon is scared. He's afraid of failure. He's feeling on the defense. He has to face a strong enemy. And so, God strengthens him. He tells him to sneak into the enemy's camp at night, and when Gideon does this, he overhears two soldiers talking about a dream

that one of them had. Verse 12. The Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the other Eastern people had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore. Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend of his dream. I had a dream, he was saying. A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed. His friend responded, this could be nothing other than the sword of Gideon's son of Joash the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.

So first, we realize that Gideon might have a point to be afraid, right? He has 300 men, and this camp he's entering is full of men and camels and warriors so numerous that he cannot count them. But with this knowledge, he learns that his victory will be sure. In the Old Testament, God often spoke to his people through dreams, so when Gideon hears the interpretation of this dream, he's encouraged. He worships God and returns to his camp ready to get his soldiers prepared for battle. Now, while God may not be speaking to you and me via dreams very often, it would be good for us to remember that his primary way of speaking to believers in a post-Jesus world,

is via the scriptures. It's the word of God written for us and it's full of promises, promises that God will be with us, that He has a plan for us, that He will return for us and that He has rescued us from our sin, that we can be strengthened by the Holy Spirit and our times of need. So rather than taking this passage and starting to really contemplate your dreams, instead maybe allow it to point you to Scripture when fear grips your heart. Look to the place that God has chosen to speak to you. where his promises are. When the first sign of fear enters your heart, when you first begin to feel the urge to fight your way out of failure into power,

return to Scripture, fall on your knees in prayer, talk to God. Now what comes next in our story is unexpected. You might expect Gideon to rally his troops and equip them for battle with all the latest technologies like the sword. But instead he does this. Get up. The Lord has given the Midianite camp. into your hands. Dividing the 300 men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars

in the hands of all of them with torches inside. So he arms his 300 men, not with swords, but trumpets, jars, and torches. This man, fighting on behalf of God, backed by his power, guided by his wisdom, is leading his 300 men into battle against an army so numerous he could not count their camels with no weapons. Gideon is wild for this. Like truly, this is so countercultural. This is not how you fight. It's not how you win. It's how you get slaughtered. But that is not how the story goes. They enter into battle with their 300 unarmed men so that Israel can know that it is God and not their power that wins the battle. And in the confusion of the night, when they blast their trumpets and cry out and smash their jars, something astonishing happens.

Verse 22. When the 300 trumpet sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled. Now, in the chaos and confusion, the Lord causes the enemy to turn its sword on its brothers. It is total defeat. Their enemies flee, their kings are caught and taken down. not by the power of the Israelites, not because they're amazing warriors, but because of God,

because they fought by His rules. Now, I'll be honest, there is no direct practical application for us. Like, we're not a nation in the ancient Near East with commands from God to protect and maintain our promised land. But in the New Testament, Jesus comes on the scene, and he extends the promises of God. beyond Israel to the whole world. He extends the idea of a promised land for the nation of Israel to the coming kingdom promised to all who faithfully follow Jesus. He calls us to partner with him in building that kingdom. And while the ways that we spread the boundaries of that kingdom

look different than the physical war that the Israelites had to wage to protect their promised land, it is not different in the sense that the way that God calls us to fight for His kingdom is countercultural. Now, it can be easy to want to depend on ourselves to win battles, to want to fight in the ways that our culture calls us to, to be the best debater, to have the wittiest comeback, to take down those who would oppose us, and yet, when Jesus says to spread his kingdom to the ends of the earth, he doesn't say with whatever means work the best for you or however you see fit. It calls you to turn the other cheek, to humble yourself, to care, to care for the needy to speak gently, to take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow him. Even to death,

follow him, become like him. Look to the person of Jesus, live like him, love like him. When Jesus was on trial, and he refused to participate in their questions, in their mockery, when Jesus hung on the cross, his enemies thought they had won. They thought they had finally silenced him. But it was through his humility, his willingness to lay down his life for you and for me, that he found true victory on the cross. The battle that we wage with the evils of this world are not going to be one playing by Satan's rulebook, by compromising our morality by furthering the hatred of our day. No, that only helps his Satan's cause. If you want to see Jesus' kingdom reign, His values to rule in the hearts of man, then live like him.

Lay down your life for others, sacrifice your pride, live humbly, serve, allow the insults of others to bounce off because you fight the evils of this world by following Jesus, by becoming like him, by depending on him, by remembering that you are secure and valuable because he has bought you. And ultimately, by knowing that he is the only one who can fully eradicate evil and it is only by his power and by his rules that we can push back the darkness and expand the boundaries of his kingdom. That's the goal. Jesus is calling you to fight for his kingdom in a way that is countercultural, in a way that may have the other side saying, oh, we got them now.

But you know that winning in Jesus' kingdom looks different. It isn't measured by the world standards. You're playing the long game and your hope isn't to humiliate your enemy, but to spread Jesus's kingdom of love, justice, and mercy so that one day it could include them as well. Your fight is against the powers of Satan, not image bears. So fight your battle differently. Lay down your life, surrender to the way of Jesus. It's the only path that leads to true victory in Christ.