Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Judges Chapter 713
Metaphysically Interpreting Judges 7:1-25
7:1Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and encamped beside the spring of Harod: and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
7:2And Jehovah said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. 7:3Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
7:4And Jehovah said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. 7:5So he brought down the people unto the water: and Jehovah said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. 7:6And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. 7:7And Jehovah said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thy hand; and let all the people go every man unto his place. 7:8So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets; and he sent all the men of Israel every man unto his tent, but retained the three hundred men: and the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
7:9And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said unto him, Arise, get thee down into the camp; for I have delivered it into thy hand. 7:10But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Purah thy servant down to the camp: 7:11and thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thy hands be strengthened to go down into the camp. Then went he down with Purah his servant unto the outermost part of the armed men that were in the camp. 7:12And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is upon the sea-shore for multitude. 7:13And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man telling a dream unto his fellow; and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream; and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came unto the tent, and smote it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat. 7:14And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: into his hand God hath delivered Midian, and all the host.
7:15And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped; and he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, Arise; for Jehovah hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. 7:16And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers. 7:17And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. 7:18When I blow the trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, For Jehovah and for Gideon.
7:19So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands. 7:20And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands wherewith to blow; and they cried, The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon. 7:21And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight. 7:22And they blew the three hundred trumpets, and Jehovah set every man's sword against his fellow, and against all the host; and the host fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 7:23And the men of Israel were gathered together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after Midian.
7:24And Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill-country of Ephraim, saying, Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters, as far as Beth-barah, even the Jordan. So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and took the waters as far as Beth-barah, even the Jordan. 7:25And they took the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian: and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.
April 18, 1920: Judges 7:1-8
What do the children of Israel represent? The children of Israel represent spiritual consciousness; they typify that in us which is always endeavoring to follow the inner leadings of the Divine Law.
Does this state of consciousness ever meet with oppression? Why? Yes. In this lesson the oppressors are represented by the Midianites, meaning strife. The cause is, the children of Israel have not been able to fully follow the command: “Thou shaft not make unto thee a graven image.” They were not strong enough to hold steady and let the Divine Imaging Power do its perfect work. They bounded ahead of their Lord, and false images, false standards, were established. This resulted in strife in both soul and environment, or within and without.
In the soul consciousness, what is the meaning of “Gideon”? The meaning of Gideon is “leader” a “destroyer” of false images.
What is the first act of Gideon in redeeming the soul from false gods? Through the aid of Jehovah he is able to select just the help he needs. First, all fear thoughts are eliminated; and second, a band is selected who are careful as to just what they accept and the manner in which they accept it, as shown here by not carelessly leaning down and drinking from the stream, but by dipping the water up with their hands and lapping it with the tongue.
April 18, 1920: Judges 7:16-21
What do the trumpets in the hands of Gideon’s band represent? The trumpet represent that through which the triumph of Truth is expressed, the power of the Word.
What do the pitchers and the torches in the pitchers represent? The pitchers represent the formed images; the lights (torches) signify the Light of Truth, which flares forth, when the outer images are broken in pieces.
What is the treat lesson to be gleaned from this Scripture? The great Truth set forth in this Scripture is that only that which has come forth in accordance with the Law can endure, can stand up straight before the Lord.
February 24, 1924: Judges 7:2-8
What do the Midianites represent? The Midianites represent discrimination or judgment in sense consciousness.
What does Gideon represent? Gideon means “destroyer.” He represents denial.
From 22,000 men Gideon selected only 300 with which to overcome the Midianites. Why? Gideon was working under the inspiration of divine judgment. Therefore it was revealed to him that the forces which he was to use must have the power of discrimination and judgment.
The lapping of the water from the brook and the drinking of it from the hands, what have these acts to do with the choice of the man? The act of kneeling down on the hands and knees and drinking from the brook indicates a lack of discrimination. People who are thus lacking mentally drink in everything that comes their way, and thereby load their minds with all sorts of thoughts, good, bad, and indifferent. Those who are represented as dipping the water up in their hands and drinking it use discrimination and selection. They think about what they are doing and are safe executives.
In subsequent verses of this chapter it is related that Gideon divided the three hundred into thee groups and put into their hands trumpets, and pitchers with torches in them and said to them: “When I blow the trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, For Jehovah and for Gideon.” Explain. Dividing the three hundred into three companies represents the sending forth of the word in Spirit, mind, and body. The trumpets represent the power of the word, and the concealed torches in the pitchers represent spiritual intelligence.
How do metaphysicians apply the law of denial? A trained metaphysician first meditates upon a central thought of spiritual judgment; then he realizes that spiritual judgment is throwing its spiritual light into his mind and dissipating all darkness and ignorance. He then speaks the word of victory. Truth destroys error and Jehovah God reigns.
November 28, 1926: Judges 7:4-8
What do the children of Israel represent? The children of Israel represent spiritual consciousness; they typify that in us which is always endeavoring to follow the inner leadings of the divine law, but which does not always do so.
Why does this state of consciousness sometimes meet with oppression? In this lesson the oppressors are represented by the Midianites, who symbolize strife. The children of Israel had not fully followed the command, “Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image.” They were not strong enough to hold steady and let the divine imaging power do its perfect work. They bounded ahead of their Lord and established false images, false standards. This resulted in strife between the Israelites and the Midianites (the soul and the environment, the inner and the outer).
What is the meaning of “Gideon”? “Gideon” means “leader,” “destroyer of false images.”
What is the first act of Gideon in redeeming the children of Israel from the Midianites (redeeming the soul from false gods)? With Jehovah's aid, Gideon is able to select just the help that he needs, a band of persons who are careful as to what they accept and how they accept it, as shown by their carefully dipping the water up with their hands and lapping it, instead of carelessly drinking from the stream. These careful persons symbolize careful thoughts.
November 28, 1926: Judges 7:19-21
What do the trumpets in the hands of Gideon’s band represent? The trumpets represent that through which the triumph of Truth is expressed, the power of the word.
What do the pitchers and the torches in the pitchers represent? The pitchers represent the formed images; the lights (torches) signify the light of Truth, which flares forth when the outer images are broken into pieces.
What is the great lesson to be gleaned from this Scripture lesson? The great truth set forth in this Scripture lesson is that only the things which come forth in accordance with divine law can endure.
July 30, 1933: Judges 7:4-7
What does Gideon represent? Gideon was a judge of Israel, and the name means “destroyer.” He represents the state of mind in man which under divine law destroys all contentious, quarrelsome, jealous, and faultfinding thoughts.
How is this work accomplished by Gideon? Gideon (“judgment”, “destroyer of error”) selects and trains his disciplined thoughts (soldiers) and through them throws the light of spiritual understanding into the army of opposing thought forces, thereby dissolving them, like mist before the sun.
What is the symbology of the three hundred men's being selected, from the 22,000 according to their manner of drinking from the brook? This account represents great discriminating ability. The Lord told Gideon to select those who lapped the water from their hands and to reject those who got down on their hands and knees to drink. Indiscriminate minds take in all kinds of thoughts and are thus unsafe representatives. The keen, discerning mind pays close attention to just what it accepts, and how it accepts it.
July 30, 1933: Judges 7:16-21
What is represented by the trumpets, the torches concealed in the pitchers, and the shouts for Jehovah and for Gideon? The trumpets represent the power of the Word; the torches concealed in the pitchers represent the inner light of Spirit; and the shouts represent the unifying radiation of the light, or the conviction that the power of the Spirit breaks down and destroys all mortal limitations.
How shall we know that Gideon, the destroyer of error, is working for us? Innate faith in God, the good, reveals this to us. Through faith we can feel the working power of the Word refining the forces of the mind, And through wisdom we select, discriminate, and temper our undisciplined thoughts with love, until they become trained helpers in the work of destroying all false conceptions in consciousness.
July 24, 1938: Judges 7:4-7
What is symbolized by the division of Gideon's men into two bands at the water's edge? Water represents negativeness; men symbolize an aggregation of thoughts. Those who dipped the water up in their hands to drink yielded less to negative thinking than those who bowed down upon the knee to drink more deeply.
What does the name Gideon mean, and what is its metaphysical interpretation? Gideon means “impetuous warrior” and signifies denial.
What did Gideon deny? By his actions he denied the power of material conditions to create strife and contention and to maintain them in man's life. The name Midian means “strife, contention.”
What is the significance of the number three hundred, selected to save the Children of Israel? The number three symbolizes mind, body, and soul. Multiplying it by one hundred shows the power of increase that enthusiasm and faith give.
July 24, 1938: Judges 7:15-23
What example is found in this lesson of the power of the word to convince? When Gideon overheard one Midianite telling another his dream, and the second interpreting it to mean the sword of Gideon and his victory over the Midianites, he was inspired to carry out his plan immediately.
Gideon gave his three hundred men trumpets and torches in empty pitchers. What is the meaning of this equipment? Trumpets represent heralds of Truth, and the torches in the pitchers are symbols of latent intelligence.
What was the Sword of Gideon that the Midianite had seen as conquering their host? The sword of Gideon was the sword of Jehovah; that is, the creative word with the fervor of faith back of it. This was Gideon's sole offensive weapon.
Why did the sounding of the trumpets and the flashing of the torches throw the host of Midian into a panic of fear? Reckoning the customary number of trumpeters to a company, the Midian host interpreted the three hundred trumpeters to mean a vast army surrounding them by night. Gideon's strategy was calculated to play upon their fears, and fear conquered them.
What do we learn of practical benefit from this lesson? We learn that we may banish strife and contention from consciousness, when we stand firm and unmoved in our convictions, equipped with the advancing light of understanding (the torch) and the voice of Truth (the trumpet). The power of Spirit delivers us.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 12-31-2013
