Latest / Lamp and Light Bible Reading Plan / September 11, 2026 - Judges 7 & Proverbs 14:25-28

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September 11, 2026 - Judges 7 & Proverbs 14:25-28 · Lamp and Light Bible Reading Plan

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Lamp and Light Bible Plan, where we are seeking to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, with God's word lighting the way.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Josiah Smith, joined by Tyler Sanborn.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Today is Friday, September 11th, 2026.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: Listen intently to God's written word.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Judges 7.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Then Jerubal, that is, Gideon, and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Herod, and the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Morah, in the valley.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: The Lord said to Gideon, The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, My own hand has saved me.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Then twenty two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: And the Lord said to Gideon, The people are still too many.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: And any one of whom I say to you, This one shall go with you, shall go with you, and any one of whom I say to you, this one shall not go with you, shall not go.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: So he brought the people down to the water, and the Lord said to Gineon, Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: Likewise, everyone who kneels down to drink.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was three hundred men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: And the Lord said to Gideon, With the three hundred men who lapped, I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go, every man to his home.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: So the people took provisions in their hands and their trumpets, and he sent all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men, and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: That same night the Lord said to him, Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Perra, your servant, and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hand shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: Then he went down with Perra, his servant, to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the east lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: When Gideon came back, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade, and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: And his comrade answered, This is no other than the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshipped.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put trumpets into the hands of all of them, and empty jars with torches inside the jars.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: And he said to them, Look at me and do likewise.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, For the Lord and for Gideon.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch, and they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: They held in their left hand the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow, and they cried out, A sword for the Lord and for Gideon.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: They cried out and fled.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: When they blew the three hundred trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his comrade and against all the army.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: And the army fled as far as Bethshata, towards Zarerah, as far as the border of Abel Mahallah by Tabeth.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali, and from Asher, and from Al Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth Barah and also the Jordan.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth Barah and also the Jordan.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zaib.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zaeb they killed at the wine press of Zaeb.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zaeb to Gideon across the Jordan.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 14, verses twenty-five through twenty eight.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: A truthful witness saves lives, but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: In a multitude of people is the glory of a king, but without people a prince is ruined.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: Judges seven perhaps is one of the more famous stories in all of the Bible.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: We have the story of Gideon and Gideon's three hundred men.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: No, I don't know about you, Tyler, but if I'm Gideon to start this whole thing and I've got 32,000 men, I'm feeling pretty good.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: And then the Lord says, Hey, that's too many.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's too many for me and for my purposes.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I love that he just spells out, hey, if there's too many men and there's a great victory, they're going to think to themselves, it was because of my hand.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: It was because of my skills, because of my fighting prowess.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: And God said, No, no, no, none of that.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: I want it to be so clear that victory belongs to the Lord.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, ask if anyone's afraid and send them home.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: And 20,000 troops automatically right to their houses.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: And we're left with 10,000.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, we have that test of kneeling versus lapping to drink the water down by the river.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: And we are left with 300 men to face the gargantuan army of the Midianites.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I don't how would you be feeling in this moment, Tyler?
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'd be having second thoughts, uh a lot like Gideon.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh show me a sign, Lord, fleece, fleece.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I I don't know.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Are you sure?
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Are you sure?
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: Let's let's put some food on a rock and and see what happens.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: And the confidence that he has that that that seems to be wavering back and forth from the previous chapter is shown here as God is is leading and will secure the victory for them.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the Lord was certainly kind to Gideon, because when he came back from spying uh with Parah, it says, A man was telling a dream to his comrade, and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled in the k into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: And they had this understanding that this is no other than the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, the man of Israel.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: God has given into his hand Midian in all the camp.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so, with just this sense of reassurance from the Lord, he gives his instructions to his soldiers.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: And we see in verse 19, so Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch, and they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: So armed with trumpets, jars, and a fraction of the army that they started with, uh, they went into battle.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: And what do we see happen?
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: The Midianites literally decisive victory for the Lord, are running for the hills, and the victory belongs to Israel, and ultimately, because the victory belongs to the Lord.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so they end up at the end of the chapter, they capture the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zaeb, and they killed them and they brought them back across the Jordan as proof for the rest of Israel that God gave them the victory, just as He said.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: So just an incredible story.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: Now remember the context of Judges.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: This is not, these are not good days for Israel because we've seen them hoarding after other gods.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: We've seen them uh even, you know, what what happened in the chapter previous to this?
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: Gideon had to destroy uh a uh what's it called, an altar.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: There we go.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: Altar to a false god.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: And so this is not, you know, Israel is not, you know, squeaky clean, so to speak, in judges.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: And yet what we see is God's mercy on display.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: He raises up a deliverer, Gideon, who leads them to victory, of course, through the Lord's instructions and through the Lord's protection.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just a great story showcasing the kindness of the Lord, even in the midst of oftentimes Israel's unfaithfulness.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: God continues to be faithful, and he continues to show his mercy and his grace.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: And what encouragement to to know the Lord is like getting, if you're scared, if you're afraid, here's some here's some assurance.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Go, go down.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: And uh God is uh very much aware of our our our fragile frames and our weaknesses, and um, he loves he loves his people and encourages us along the way and builds us up.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: And as we look to our our proverbs today, uh we we see that the truthful words of a witness save lives in verse 25.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: So we testify, we give, we give the the real and full and true account uh of what we see and what we experience in this life.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um and the those who would be breathing out lies, those are deceitful.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm thinking of well, who's the father of lies?
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's Satan himself following after following after him would be to follow in his footsteps of of deceit um and and wickedness and lacking in in truth.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: So we we want to be a people that are that are bringing the full the full truth.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um we might think of even a court uh courtroom where uh we would have someone stating the facts of what they have seen, what they witnessed, and that that brings my mind to the the witness that that the spirit is on our behalf.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: We we look to the spirit that dwells within us that says we we belong to Christ, and the the spirit cannot lie, cannot give a false witness of who is who is the Lord's and and who is not the Lord's.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: So that is uh an encouragement to me today.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: And we do have a strong confidence in the Lord as we think to Gideon and uh in the the timidity that he displays in in the book of Judges, and uh we look to uh the refuge that that he dwells within.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's the Lord.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I love how he uh after he gets back from hearing um hearing this account of a dream, the the crumb, um he worships.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Gideon worships and praises the Lord and and gives him the glory.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: And if we have uh a fear of the Lord, we have a reverence and a respect for his name, a love and a longing for him.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: We have a strong confidence in him and and we praise God that that he is our hope and our refuge, he is our strength, he is our our strong tower, because we are we're weak and we're in need uh of a God that is uh that is mighty and in full control.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, verses 26 and 27 both focus on the fear of the Lord.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: So, verse 26, in the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Verse 27, the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life that one may turn away from the snares of death.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like I've quoted this several times, but it really I think encapsulates this well.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: There's a way that seems right to a man, but its end is destruction.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: But on the other hand, the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life that one may turn away from the snares of death.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: The fear of the Lord, knowing who God is, knowing his character, responding rightly in worship and service of him, is a fountain of life.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: We can think of so many different passages that talk about this reality, that the Lord is our life, he is our light.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what we see here reiterated in Proverbs 14.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: And then in verse 28, and a multitude of people is the glory of a king.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that makes me think of Judges 7, uh, where God tells Gideon, Hey, there's too many soldiers, and if you receive this victory, if you secure this victory, they're gonna think to themselves, how great they are.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: And so they need to know no, this is not because of them or their skill, it's because of the Lord and his faithfulness.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: So, in a multitude of people is the glory of a king.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: Kind of think of even just the size of a kingdom, and that's even sometimes the ways that we often will think today.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: More equals better, more people, more land, whatever the case may be, and in the context of rulers or those who are leaders, more oftentimes is seen as better.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: But without people, a prince is uh ruined.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: And so, again, this just reminds me of Judges and Gideon, where uh they were not allowed to think that it was on them and their ability.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: It was just a reminder of the reality of the power of God, the faithfulness of God, of course, to preserve them and protect them, exactly like he said.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so just such an encouraging uh story from Judges 7.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: Again, amidst their unbelief, their adultery, uh, their uh worship of Baal and other false gods, and just their disobedience, God continues to graciously provide these judges, these warriors that lead them to victory, that give them some sense of reprieve, even in the midst of their sinfulness.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you so much for joining us today on the Lamp and Light Bible reading podcast.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit Compass Bible SV.org.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: Keep reading, keep growing.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: God's word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.