Monday, August 3, 2015

The Vision of the Lord as the Barley Cake by Susan O’Marra

Today at the Healing Rooms, I was caught up into a 
visionary experience:  

I am sitting on the grassy hillside of the mountain again 
in the vision, and I am sitting beside the Lord. We are 
clothed in our tunics, and our sandals. I see the valley 
laying below us and I see the encampment of the enemy 
arrayed against a group of people living in the valley at 
the base of the mountain. The group was embattled by the 
enemy, and I knew that they were being slowly whittled down 
to a small group. I knew the group was strong, yet they 
were also very weary in the longevity of the enemy attacks. 

Jesus did not look overly concerned, and only sat there 
watching with his arms wrapped around his knees. I sat 
there to see what would happen. After a few more minutes of 
watching, I saw Jesus then stand up, and looked over at me, 
and said, "Let's have some fun!" Suddenly He grabbed my 
hand and pulled me up, and then He launched Himself 
forwards into a tumble with me still holding his hand. Here 
we are both tumbling down the mountainside like a dual 
ball, and I hear Jesus laughing all the way down! So I 
start laughing too, and realize that we are like the barley 
cake falling down the hillside in Judges 7. The Lord knew 
my thoughts as we tumbled, and He shouted to me as we 
rolled, "Exactly!" 

Then we reached the bottom of the mountain and as we hit 
the valley floor, thunder and lightning flew outwards from 
our rolling momentum, and it hit the enemy forces with 
great bolts. The enemy began to scatter and run. Then fire 
broke out everywhere, and we came to a standstill at the 
edge of the city. We stood and watched the fire burn in a 
circle, all around the city like a wheel. The fire burned 
up all of the encampments and the weapons of the enemy that 
the fleeing army had erected. The people that were worn 
out, then came and stood by us, and the Lord said to them 
all, "Come." 

The Lord then turned and walked over to a lake that was 
near the city, and He walked down into the lake until He 
was under the water. I quickly followed the Lord and went 
under the water too. I knew the people behind us on the 
shore were deciding what to do, to either enter the water, 
or to stay. I also knew their thoughts, and their thinking 
of the possibility of getting pounded by the army that was 
sure to regroup against them. One by one, the group finally 
chose to follow us, and soon we were all in a group 
standing under the water together. Then the lake we were 
all in turned into a body of fire. We were all standing in 
the flames, and the people were all crying out in the 
purification process, and soon they were were shouting. 
After a few minutes they were all worshipping together. 

Then the fire died down, and we were all found standing on 
the valley's dry ground again. The Lord then said to them 
all standing there, "Never fear anything of the enemy that 
draws near. I am your Battle Axe, and I am also your Barley 
Cake. Never fear the tactics, nor the weapons, that the 
enemy use or would make. Know that these things currently 
being arrayed against you are only being used to becloud 
the path that is about to be paved. You are to lead My 
People into the Purposes that I have ordained, and into the 
destiny written for you all in this land. There is nothing 
that can withstand Me, nor My Word, and nothing can 
withstand My Plans for you. Rise up today; move forth 
firmly in your faith; and then move into your full 
inheritance that lies just ahead of you, knowing that 
certain victory shall be yours in every way." 

Scriptures: 

Judges 7:1-25 Then Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, and all the 
people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the 
spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was north of them 
by the hill of Moreh in the valley. 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 boast 
about themselves against Me, saying, My own hand has 
delivered me. So now proclaim in the ears of the men, 
saying, Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him turn back 
and depart from Mount Gilead. And 22,000 of the men 
returned, but 10,000 remained. And the Lord said to Gideon, 
The men are still too many; bring them down to the water, 
and I will test them for you there. And he of whom I say to 
you, This man shall go with you, shall go with you; and he 
of whom I say to you, This man shall not go with you, shall 
not go. So he brought the men down to the water, and the 
Lord said to Gideon, Everyone who laps up the water with 
his tongue as a dog laps it, you shall set by himself, 
likewise everyone who bows down on his knees to drink. And 
the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their 
mouth, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people bowed 
down upon their knees to drink water. And the Lord said to 
Gideon, With the 300 men who lapped I will deliver you, and 
give the Midianites into your hand. Let all the others 
return every man to his home. So the people took provisions 
and their trumpets in their hands, and he sent all the rest 
of Israel every man to his home and retained those 300 men. 
And the host of Midian was below him in the valley. That 
same night the Lord said to Gideon, Arise, go down against 
their camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you 
fear to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the 
camp And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your 
hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp. 
Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of 
the camp of the armed men. And the Midianites and the 
Amalekites and all the sons of the east lay along the 
valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were 
without number, as the sand on the seashore for multitude. 
When Gideon arrived, 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. And 
his comrade replied, This is nothing else but the sword of 
Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel. Into his hand God has 
given Midian and all the host. When Gideon heard the 
telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped 
and returned to the camp of Israel and said, Arise, for the 
Lord has given into your hand the host of Midian. And he 
divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put into 
the hands of all of them trumpets and empty pitchers, with 
torches inside the pitchers. And he said to them, Look at 
me, then do likewise. When I come to the edge of their 
camp, do as I do. When I blow the trumpet, I and all who 
are with me,then you blow the trumpets also on every side 
of all the camp and shout, For the Lord and for Gideon! So 
Gideon and the 100 men who were with him came to the 
outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, 
when the guards had just been changed, and they blew the 
trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. 
And the three companies blew the trumpets and shattered the 
pitchers, holding the torches in their left hands, and in 
their right hands the trumpets to blow leaving no chance to 
use swords, and they cried, The sword for the Lord and 
Gideon! They stood every man in his place round about the 
camp, and all the Midianite army ran—they cried out and 
fled. When Gideon’s men blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set 
every Midianite’s sword against his comrade and against all 
the army, and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward 
Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah by Tabbath. 
And the men of Israel were called together out of Naphtali 
and Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian. And 
Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of 
Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites and take 
all the intervening fords as far as Beth-barah and also the 
Jordan. So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together 
and took all the fords as far as Beth-barah and also the 
Jordan. And the men of Ephraim took the two princes of 
Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they slew Oreb at the rock of 
Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and 
pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb 
to Gideon beyond the Jordan. 

- Susan O'Marra 

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