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NASB | Judges 7:5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, "You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Judges 7:5 So he brought the people down to the water, and the LORD said to Gideon, "You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels down to drink." |
Subject: A certain way to drink-why? |
Bible Note: Dear Brian, The analogy of faith is an important rule for sound Biblical interpretation (please see post #156918). However, it has no value if we take passages out of context (see post #158836). You see, when we sacrifice context, we sacrifice the truth. Unfortunately, the passages you referenced directly (1 Peter 5:8; Matthew 17:20) and those you referenced indirectly (Matthew 19:26; John 16:33) do not address the events in the narrative of Judges 7 in particular. Nor do they have anything to say with regard to ancient Israelite soldiery in general. Whereas you asserted that the unchosen warriors were "complacent," we find no reference to their complacency -- nor their readiness -- in Judges 7. Indeed, we don't even have explicit statements telling us they participated in combat at all -- although we might speculate that they did so at a later time in the company of the rest of Israel (Judges 7:23). For instructional purposes, I jested about the soldiers' "horn tooting" ability. Nevertheless, we are told that that is the function they performed. Therefore, in response to your request for chapter and verse -- and notice that it IS fully in context -- we see the chosen men blowing horns in Judges 7:19-20. They struck not a single blow, simply standing there (verse 21). Consequently, though a jest, my proposal carries the greater weight! The narrative in Judges 7 isn't about how alert, courageous, or capable the soldiers were. It really isn't even about the soldiers at all! The hero of the story is our sovereign Lord God. Indeed, He wanted Israel to avoid the very error you would have us make; i.e., placing responsibility for the victory with Israel instead of the Lord Himself. God said to 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.'" (Judges 7:2b KJV) So let us take care not to do the "vaunting" for them! :-) Although we might find ourselves at odds with teachers who are unschooled in sound hermeneutics, with practice, we can perform good, solid exegesis (2 Timothy 2:15). Thus we can stand firmly on the solid rock of the Word of God, eschewing the shifting sand of competing interpretation (Ephesians 4:11-16). In Him, Doc |