The Friday after Septuagesima Sunday
Posted on February 6, 2026 by under
Scripture: Judges 7:1-8 (NKJV)
7:1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.
2 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.
4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. 7 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.” 8 So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
Devotion
The Lord said, “I will save you.” And He would do this by a relatively small number of men who were chosen according to His instructions. This is a point that needs to be remembered. Throughout history man says, “I will save us by my power and wisdom,” and they forget God.
The faithful people of God might only be a relatively small number, but we are His. Our salvation and our righteousness are never a matter of how many, or how few; never a matter of our strength or our shrewdness. It is always about the Word and will of the Lord! He created us and all things. He sustains all things according to His will. And He alone saves us from sin and death by Christ crucified and His Spirit at work in us.
Even the simplest earthly work that we do comes from the gifts that He provides. So, it is important that we remember this lesson from the story of Gideon. It is the same lesson that we should remember when we pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; and give us this day our daily bread…” Luther’s Small Catechism reminds us that we are asking the Lord to strengthen and preserve us steadfast in His Word and faith unto our end, and that He would lead us to know that He alone provides all the good things in our life!
Collect: O Lord, we beseech Thee favorably to hear the prayers of Thy people: that we, who are justly punished for our offenses, may be mercifully delivered by Thy goodness, for the glory of Thy Name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
