Psalms 8:1 and 3:1-7a, added 31:1-3

My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Judges 7. The Mind of the Spirit (Romans 8:27) engaged the spirit of my mind (Ephesians 4:23) in verse 2:

Judges 7:2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

“The people that are with thee are too many.” Why? Because if GOD gave the Midianites into the hands of the people, they would imagine their deliverance came from themselves (Judges 7:2).

Read Judges 6 for the backstory: Gideon had been called by God to deliver his people, the Israelites, from the oppression of the Midianites. The Midianites were descended from Abraham through Keturah (Genesis 25:1-2).

God directed Gideon to cast down the altar of Baal, the gods of the Midianites, and the tribes of Canaan. Israel had left worshipping the one True God of Israel and embraced Baalism. Joash was Gideon’s father; he had an altar and image dedicated to Baal.

The people cried out to the God of their fathers for relief from the oppression of the Midianites, and God required Gideon to tear down the altar to the false gods of the land and restore worship to the only true GOD.

Along the still waters, as I reflected on this in the context of our upcoming celebration of the 250th year of our nation under the GOD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Who is the God of Israel, Who is also identified as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, I considered several parallels in this story to our own.

We are a nation founded upon the declaration that God is our Creator, and our natural rights come from Him. The GOD of our fathers is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God of Israel!)

Our nation has forsaken the God of our founding fathers and replaced Him with the gods of Baal: Baalism (the belief that God has a plurality of faces and forms), with love of Mammon being the chief expression of Baal-zebub (1 Timothy 6:10; 2 Kings 1:2-6—the god of Ekron).*

Jesus referred to Satan as Beelzebub (Matthew 10:25). He uses the term again when the Pharisees accuse Him of casting out devils by Beelzebub, “the prince of the devils,” that is, Satan (Matthew 12:24-27).

Those who sacrifice to idols are, often unknowingly, sacrificing to devils (1 Corinthians 10:20; see Leviticus 17:7).

America has adopted the view that everyone’s notion of God is equivalent, that so long as you acknowledge a “higher power,” what you call it, what name you ascribe to it, does not matter.

Americans do this for the same reason the Israelites did it: it eases tensions with their heathen neighbors. It’s ancient ecumenism, a system intended to unite everyone under Baal — zebub. This is the spirit that animated Nimrod and inspires the globalists of our day (Ephesians 2:1-2; 1 John 4:3).

But GOD, Who gave the kingdom to the Gentiles impressed the first Gentile world ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, of His requirement to acknowledge the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Who is the God of Daniel, as distinct from all the gods worshipped throughout his kingdom, that is, the world, and to reverence Him as GOD over all gods and over all kingdoms of the earth (Daniel 2:46-47, 3:28-29, and 4:37). This was continued in the reign of Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian (Daruis the Mede: Daniel 6:26 (see Daniel 5:31-6:6). Cyrus the Persian: Ezra 1:1-4). See also Darius the Persian (Ezra 6:1-12). Nothing of this kind appears in the record of Alexander.

We need a “Gideon” who will tear down the altars to Baal that have been set up by our late fathers and return to the altars of our founding fathers. We need to obey the exhortation of Jeremiah: “Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16).

Judah said, “We will not walk therein” (Jeremiah 6:16c). Judah lost the kingdom. It was transferred to the Gentiles. Let the Gentiles beware! Let us beware! Judah had forgotten God “days without number” (Jeremiah 2:32). She lost the kingdom to a people that did not know God.

The kingdom was settled on America in c1776.**

America’s pastors have not sought the LORD (Jeremiah 10:19-21) and His people have forgotten God, and we are vulnerable to the seduction of the Great Whore identified by the mark on her forehead: “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Revelation 17:1-6), identifiable by the City where she resides: the religious system of Rome (Revelation 17:18).

O, that GOD would open the eyes and ears of His remnant and grant repentance. O that He would pour out upon His people today (1 Peter 2:9-10) the spirit of grace and supplications promised to David’s house (Zechariah 2:10).

In the valley, kneeling in the shadow of the Cross, I rejoiced when I realized that I was looking upon Him Whom they pierced, and mourned for Abraham’s children, and me, and my own, and my nation’s (Zechariah 12:10). The Spirit whispered, You know the answer; the do that must be done: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

I also rejoiced when I realized that God can save by few or by many (1 Samuel 14:6). But I had not considered that there can be “too many.” Sometimes when things get bleak and we think we are too small in number to resist the darkness, let’s remember the faith of Jonathan and the lesson of Gideon. God can save with many or with few, so the number is not the most important criterion. Sometimes, there are too many. The “too many” can include those who are unworthy of joining God in the battle. That’s what it was for Gideon: those faint-hearted, those not focused on the battle, were invited to leave. But consider the leaven that sneaks into “the lump,” that must be purged (1 Corinthians 5:4-8).

At the table, my Shepherd anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup mingled with His grace. Goodness and mercy took their places behind me as we walked, together into His harvest.

Praying for revival! 🙏

Going live asap:

https://rumble.com/v7c458u-shepherds-pasture.html

[*Baalzebub is likely a pun derived from Baalzebul. Baal means head or lord. The ending Zebub gives it the meaning of “Lord of the Flies.” Whereas the ending Zebul gives the meaning “Lord prince” or “Exalted Lord.” The Lord Jesus used Βεελζεβοὺβ (Baal-zeboub). It is transliterated from the Greek form of this word into our English Bible as Beelzebub. (Warning: Beware when using the Strong’s Concordance. It’s a very useful tool, but if it is not used correctly, serious mistakes can be made. The Strong’s Concordance returns G0954, Βεελζεβούλ (Beelzeboul). However, this is the proper noun used by Heathens to identify the god they worship, which is Satan, the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Using this word, Jesus would be affirming Satan as the Lord of the Baalim—zebul. But what Jesus actually did was refer to the “prince of this world” by the derogatory designation used by the Spirit and His prophets in the Old Testament: Baalzebub, or Lord of flies.) Imagine Satan listening to Christ call him Beelzebub instead of Beelebul.]

[**Some would argue America did not become a world-dominating power until the conclusion of WWII (1945—April 28, 1952), sealed by the subsequent recognition of Israel as a nation (May 14, 1948). But the error is in assuming that having this status with heaven would necessarily have been recognized by the world at the time God made the transfer. Canaan never recognized Israel as having exclusive dominion over Canaan until David, and it was not until Solomon that the world was impressed with that fact.]