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Well, we’re probably all glad
that this talk is called
“Four Lessons From 9,700 Men”
and not “9,700 Lessons From Four Men.”
That would be a little tricky.
But who were these 9,700 men,
and what can we learn from them?
Well, let’s open our Bibles to the account,
to Judges chapter 7.
And if you open your Bibles
to Judges chapter 7,
let’s read verse 7 together.
Who were these men?
Well, here’s the account we’re taking it from
—Judges 7:7:
“Jehovah now said to Gideon:
“‘I will save you
with the 300 men who lapped the water,
“‘and I will give Midian into your hand.
But let all the other people go back home.’”
So the account is of Gideon and his 300 men.
But we won’t be focusing on Gideon;
we won’t be focusing on the 300 men.
We’ll be taking a close look
at these “other people”
—the 9,700 men who received
a huge change in their assignment
when they were told to go home.
Now, what can we learn from them?
Well, you’re going to an assignment
to stabilize and to strengthen
the field of the branch
during a time when many
are going through big changes.
And you yourself may be going
through some huge changes right now
or maybe in the future:
new work, new branch,
new country, new language,
or maybe personal circumstances change.
Now, some of these changes
you may get excited about
and others not so much.
What can help us to adapt
and to strengthen others
through times of change?
That’s what we’ll learn from these men.
How do you think they felt
when this change came?
Let’s put ourselves in their situation.
And all the context that we need
is in chapter 6.
Chapter 6:1-6 tells us
it has been seven long years
that they’ve been living in fear
with constant Midianite raids.
They’re hiding in caves.
They’re losing their crops.
They’re physically, emotionally,
and economically exhausted.
But in verse 14,
Gideon gets the call to stand up.
In verse 34 and verse 35,
he sounds the horn,
sends out messengers to the Abi-ezrites,
to Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali.
And these men are part of a group of 32,000
that rally behind Gideon to support him.
They leave everything behind
just to be there.
It’s a huge moment
—no more hiding in caves.
Then in chapter 7, verse 3,
they’re offered an honorable discharge.
If they’re feeling worried or scared,
they can go home.
Twenty-two thousand men go home.
But not these men.
They’re not afraid.
They’ve heard of Jehovah’s acts of salvation.
This is going to be their Red Sea,
their Jericho, moment.
They want to be there.
That’s why they left everything behind,
just to be there.
It’s a huge moment.
Then comes what we read in verse 7.
As excited as they are to be there,
they’re told: ‘Now you can go home.’
Why?
Well, as verse 6 tells us,
because they “bent down on their knees”
to drink water.
How would they feel?
‘Give me one more chance.
I will never drink from my knees again.’
‘It’s not fair.
‘I’m stronger than him, faster than him,
more experienced than anybody here.
I need to be here.’
And then can you imagine in verse 8,
as they’re going home
and they’re maybe just called back:
‘Hey, those horns,
all of your provisions,
‘everything you have
—we’re going to need those—
please leave them here for us,
and then you can go home’?
How do you think they were feeling
—disappointed?
Could you imagine them perhaps being sad?
It would only be natural.
They made sacrifices;
they wanted to be there.
And there’s our first lesson:
It’s normal for somebody to feel sad
when they lose an assignment
that they cherish.
It’s not a lack of faith.
It’s not a bad attitude.
It’s just a reflection of their dedication.
They valued the work.
They put their heart into it.
They sacrificed.
They cared.
So how can we strengthen them?
Well, they may not need somebody
to quickly point out all the positives
in their new change.
They’ll get to that.
But can we listen to them empathetically,
tell them that we value
—that we appreciate—
the work that they’ve done,
reassure them of their value
and of our love for them
and especially of Jehovah’s love for them?
Now, although it’s normal to be sad
during a difficult change,
if ever that type of change comes our way,
we don’t want to stay sad forever.
So, what can help us?
Well, let’s talk about lesson two.
Why were these men going home?
Was it really about the way
that they drank water?
Well, let’s have a look at Judges 7:2.
Why were they going home?
“Jehovah now said to Gideon:
“‘There are too many people with you
for me to give Midian into their hand.
“‘Otherwise, Israel might brag
about itself against me
and say, “My own hand saved me.”’”
What was the main reason
they were going home?
To make the army so small
that the victory
could only be attributed to Jehovah.
See, the drinking test
was a selection process;
the end goal, to glorify Jehovah.
Now, imagine if that’s why
these men were there,
if that’s why
they wanted to be part of the battle,
to glorify Jehovah.
Although they may feel some disappointment,
ultimately they would not be disappointed
because going home
would bring way more glory to Jehovah
than anything that they could have done
on that battlefield.
So that’s our second lesson:
View glorifying Jehovah
as your main assignment
because it is;
it always will be.
No circumstance will ever change that.
No one will ever take that away from us.
We will never age out of that assignment.
If giving Jehovah glory
is our anchor point, our pivot,
if it’s where we find
our greatest joy in life,
then even though we may experience
disappointment sometimes,
ultimately we will be able to find joy
wherever we serve.
Here’s lesson three:
We all experience change, all of us.
It wasn’t just the 9,700 men.
What about the 300 who stayed?
You know that big, exciting moment
with the torches, the jars,
chasing after the Midianites
only lasted one night.
Judges 8:28 tells us that
after they subdued the Midianites,
“the land had rest for 40 years.”
Verse 29 tells us that even Gideon
‘returned home and stayed there.’
We all experience change.
So, what should we keep in mind, then,
when things change within our assignment?
Well, friends who were sad
to leave their missionary assignment
after spending 30 years in Burkina Faso
once told us:
“Whether you love your assignment
or find it challenging,
“look for the positive.
Enjoy it while you have it.”
Just to illustrate that thought,
let me tell you about Kenneth.
Kenneth was a young brother
who had always dreamed of coming to Bethel.
Eventually, he got invited to Wallkill.
He was thrilled
—loved every day of it—
until he suffered an injury
and had to go back home.
Devastated—it is not where he wanted to be.
He says that every day
he thought of going back to Bethel.
He wanted to be back in Bethel.
He prayed every day to return.
And do you know what?
Five years later,
he got called back to Bethel.
But notice what he says.
He says that looking back, he has one regret:
that he didn’t take the time
to truly appreciate
and enjoy what he realizes
was a special privilege.
He had this opportunity to pioneer
with his mom and his sister.
So remember,
each assignment has its blessings,
even the challenging ones.
Don’t just appreciate them in hindsight.
Now for the fourth lesson
(and this might be
my favorite part of the account),
so the 300 men blow the horns,
they smash the water jugs,
and the Midianites start to run away.
What happens next?
Let’s go back to chapter 7 and verse 23:
“And the men of Israel were called together
from Naphtali, Asher, and all of Manasseh,
and they chased after Midian.”
Now, why is that so exciting?
Do you recognize those tribes?
Those were some of the tribes
that we saw in verse 6
that these men had been called from,
some of the places
they had gone back home to.
There was more work to be done.
They were being called
to chase after the Midianites
if they were willing to adapt.
That’s our fourth lesson:
Organization needs change.
Stay flexible, be adaptable,
and be willing to put your heart
into whatever work is needed.
It’s true that we still might be disappointed
with change sometimes,
but never let that disappointment
turn into bitterness.
Keep that beautiful, humble spirit
that you’ve always shown,
that spirit that Jehovah loves.
It’s what will allow him to continue
to use you no matter what.
So, what have we learned
from these 9,700 men?
Continue to be empathetic
toward those going through change.
And if change comes your way,
focus on the work in front of you,
look for the positive, and enjoy it.
And never forget your main assignment:
to give glory to Jehovah.
Be determined to stick
to that assignment forever.

D’Arcy MacEwan: Four Lessons From 9,700 Men—159th Gilead Graduation