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by Bill Seng

“When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords.” ~Judges 7:22

I'm going to take a moment to talk politics without talking politics. I find politics and politicians to be interesting creatures. They defy common sense in oh so many ways. This election season is no exception as two supposedly reviled candidates have secured their respective party's nomination. But what I find most fascinating is how establishment politicians are quick to throw each other overboard.

One side of the political spectrum is particularly notorious for doing this. They vet their candidates so thoroughly (or so they want you to think) that whenever a serious charge arises against a candidate, to the chagrin of their opponents, they will force that candidate to withdraw from a race or even resign from their current position. There are documented instances of this happening where the accused is 100% proven innocent… after the election has taken place or even 10 years later. Sometimes, allies can be one’s own worst enemies.

In Gideon's conquest against the oppressors of Israel, the battle takes a bizarre and unexpected twist. Gideon's 300 men blow trumpets and somehow that causes their enemies to attack each other. What on earth is going on here?

There are a couple of possibilities, but my honest opinion is that the Lord allowed for the wickedness dwelling within these people to get the better of them. There is an instance in Mark chapter 5 where Jesus commands evil spirits to leave from a demon possessed man. The demons did not want to be disembodied, so they asked to be sent into a herd of pigs. The pigs immediately, after being possessed, ran into a lake and drowned themselves. Under the influence of the demonic, they sought only to destroy themselves.

I can think of subtle instances today where the friends of certain groups of people actually turn out to be enemies. In 2014, a movie was released called The Interview. It was notorious for its ending that included the killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Apparently the North Korean government didn't find the ending too funny as they engaged in a cyber war against Sony (the company that produced the film). Studio execs are known to be good liberals – you know, social justice warriors that speak up for African Americans, homosexuals, and other minority groups in the name of multiculturalism. Well, the Koreans released some of the emails from one of the studio execs and lo and behold they were wrought with gay and racial slurs. In their secret thoughts, those who hate God hate others as well.

I would not doubt that the camp fighting Gideon's army wasn't much different. They were gathered to fight a common foe, but in their hearts they hated each other. Thus, the Lord merely turned them over to their inward desires to harm and kill those who they were fighting beside, allowing Gideon's victory to be a cake walk.

Do you harbor hatred against someone that you work alongside? The Bible tells us that "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in darkness" (1 John 2:9). Hatred is likened to murder, and murder is of the devil. To harbor hatred is to become a subject of the devil, and hatred will surely lead to your own misfortune. Be unified in Spirit with those around you, particularly believers. It was the obedience of the camp of Gideon that unleashed the power of God against Israel's enemies and forced them to destroy each other. Though we don't desire those who hate us to face destruction, abiding in love tear down the barriers that the evil one sets up as we walk in faith, trusting the word of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

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