The Army of the Lord

The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon

A few nights ago, I had a dream that I was preaching. My eyes were closed and my hand was lifted high. My voice was loud and I was decreeing, “I see the flames of ten thousand torches being lit by the Holy Spirit!”

When I awoke from the dream, I was directed to the story of Gideon and the camp of the Midianites in Judges Chapter 7. The Lord wanted to give Gideon the victory over the Jews’ oppressors, the Midianites. Out of 22,000 men, only 10,000 were brave enough to face the Midianites; but because their numbers were great, God cut the army’s numbers down to 300 men so that they could not boast that they had won the battle on their own strength, but on God’s. God told Gideon that he would deliver the vast horde of the Midianites into Israel’s hands and confirmed the word.
Gideon placed trumpets and empty clay jars with torches inside of them in the hands of the men (leaving no chance to use their swords). They surrounded the camp, blew their trumpets, and broke the jars. They carried the torches in one hand and the trumpet in the other and shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” (verse 18).

The Midianites then panicked and began to fight one another, and the Israelites overtook the camp. Though they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” The only “weapons” they used in this particular strategy were trumpets, torches, and earthen pitchers.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

Our Kingdom Authority: Spirit and Power

The torch represents the Believer and the torch flame – the Holy Spirit, Christ the Word within us. The clay pots were broken to symbolize that God has done away with the old nature in favor of the nature of Christ, the Spirit of power.

Horns, or trumpets represent Kingdom authority and salvation. Instead of marching into the camp with thousands of men with swords, they instead chose to enter the camp with the torch and horn, which represents the Holy Spirit, authority and salvation. This symbolizes the authority and faith of the Believer.

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the LORD Almighty. Zechariah 4:6

The Midianites heard the army’s declaration and were afraid. There was no use of force or weaponry, because God was on their side. When we operate in faith in God, this causes the enemy to flee.

“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” 1 Corinthians 2:4

Just as 300 men could defeat the immense host of the Midianites, we do not lean on our human abilities but on the strength and might of God’s Spirit within us. In other words, we are unable to do anything apart from the Spirit of God. He is our strength and our enabler. So many times, we try to do things through earthly devices, and forget that we are unable to do anything apart from Christ. We are “strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might”(Ephesians 6:10).

A Host of Champions

I believe that the dream that I had was symbolic of a sudden move of the Holy Spirit through the Body of Christ and in the earthly realm. I believe that there is a move of the God on the horizon, which will set many people on fire with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Ten thousand (or myriad) is a number that is often used in the Bible to describe an innumerable number. 

Joel Chapter 2 describes an Army of Champions: 

“A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yes, and none has escaped [the ravages of the devouring hordes]. 
Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses and horsemen, so do they run. 
Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains they leap—like the noise of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a mighty people set in battle array. 
Before them the peoples are in anguish; all faces become pale.
They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war. They march each one [straight ahead] on his ways, and they do not break their ranks.
Neither does one thrust upon another; they walk every one in his path. And they burst through and upon the weapons, yet they are not wounded and do not change their course.
They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up on and into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief.
The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened and the stars withdraw their shining.
And the Lord utters His voice before His army, for His host is very great, and [they are] strong and powerful who execute [God’s] word.”

I see a fearless army on the horizon, those who seek the favor of God above man’s opinion, and who carry faith as a shield! They are outfitted in the full armor of God with the sword of the spirit in hand; the enemy is terrified of these powerful men and women.
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Lord, we thank You for Your Spirit and power in the earth, and the gift of the Holy Spirit that empowers us! I thank You for a new breed of champions being birthed in the spirit realm – an Army of the Lord!

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-Amy Shamp