Gideon and Barley in the Bible, part 16
God’s Word is up-to-date! Here’s proof. As regular readers of this series are aware, this Barley Series of blogs is based on a series of seven lectures which I presented live to our Stone Kingdom Ministries fellowship ca. 1990-91.
I have left most of it unchanged, but I have added new material to reflect (1) my increased understanding (Thank you, Lord), and (2) to recount some of the historical and current events of the past 34 years which can be related to barley in the Bible.
Nowhere is this intersection of current events and barley in the Bible more evident than in this story of Gideon, for we have a situation in America happening right now which seems to be lifted straight out of the story of ancient Israel under the judges, specifically at the time of Gideon.
Thus, we will pause my text from 34 years ago in order to show you the connection. Recall from the previous entry (part 15) that we had just begun to recount the story of Gideon and the situation that he and his fellow Israelite countrymen were suffering in those days.
And why were the people of Israel suffering calamities in those days? For the very same reason that we (the latter-day descendants of these people, now Christians, who have been regathered here in America, plus our related brethren in Canada, the British Isles, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and more) are suffering the same things.
Here is why: It is because we have not been obedient to the laws which our Creator-God has given us. To the extent that we fail to follow His law, to that extent God promises we shall suffer the curses of His law!
Note to you Christian ministers, teachers, theologians, etc. who teach that the divine law has been abolished; listen and learn. (For example, to my series on The Laws of the Stone Kingdom, wherein your foolish antinomian teachings are demolished by the plain Word of God. See the list of the individual lectures on page 4 at that link.)
Also, about 30-plus years ago, I gave another series of lectures expounding the blessings and curses of the law. It is evident that I should also update that series for this blogging format. But for now in this essay, we shall review just a few verses which demonstrate our current situation.
Deuteronomy 28:15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD [Yahweh] thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.
And then follows a listing of all the curses, verses 15 through verse 68, which is the end of the chapter. We expounded that passage verse-by-verse in my series many years ago and we shall do so again in this space as time permits.
But for now, yes, we are “picking and choosing” those verses which so clearly are in force today—to force us, His Christian-Israel people, into repentance under His commandments, statutes, and judgments.
We shall bring those verses of curses forward shortly, but first let us refresh our memories of key facts from the story of Gideon as we see it playing out in a modern context today—and by today, I mean in the past few years and to this very day, Thursday, October 30, 2025, as you will see in this essay.
In review: The Bible historian then records the invasions of the alien raiders.
Judges 6: 3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
The past four years of the faux Joe Biden administration have been the culmination of these decades of invasion through immigration. Just as in ancient Israel, it was not initially a military invasion, but was an economic incursion. The sustenance of the people of the nation was/is being drained by the invaders.
From 2021 through 2024, we have now witnessed, as they witnessed then, an actual, full-scale invasion. But it is not military yet in this country, but any thinking person who has been paying attention realizes that there are undoubtedly millions of military-age young men who have entered the United States illegally.
They are now spread out into every state, ready to break out into full-scale violence when their bosses give the order. We pray that such a day will never come and that President Trump and the white hats with him will be able to rapidly rid our nation of all the illegal immigrants before that tragic event can occur.
But here at the time of Gideon it was apparently not yet at the military stage then either, for it says this in verse 4:
Judges 6: 4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
Verse 4 tells us that these aliens came in and destroyed the increase of the land. It says that Israel sowed, (most Israelites worked the land) and then the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the children of the east came in and destroyed it, so it left no sustenance for Israel. How is this happening to us today? END REVIEW
Consider that in the days of Gideon, there were three main people groups which invaded the land and impoverished the Israelites. Notice the specific wording of the KJV in verse 3 above: “the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them.
In our era, going back nearly a century, but especially during the Biden administration, we have seen invaders (illegal aliens) coming up from across the Mexican-U.S. border and then spreading out across the entire United States.
Unlike Gideon’s time when “only” three alien people groups invaded Israel, today, honest news outlets have reported that we have been invaded by people from 168 foreign nations—and some reports put that number even higher.
Furthermore, while some undoubtedly came down across our northern border, the overwhelming majority of them came up, via Central and South America, and across our southern border.
Surely no one will now doubt that they came up to rob us, to take what they have not sown, to take what they have not earned, to “take a spoil” (shades of Ezekiel 38 there), to eat the produce of the people of modern Israel in America.
Here then is one of the curses which show God keeping His Word when we are disobedient.
Deuteronomy 28: 33 The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation [or 168 of them] which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:
What has been a primary topic in the national news for the past 30 days? The government shutdown. This week it seems to be coming to a climax politically and socially because in two days (this coming Saturday, November 1st) the SNAP benefits will cease due to no money available, due to the government shutdown.
What is SNAP? Well, here is where it (the similarity to the time of Gideon and the curses upon us) shows up so very vividly in the news this very week and day. On Tuesday, the conservative Newsmax host, Rob Finnerty, put the facts on display for all America.
We transcribed his monologue and will include a screen grab or two where appropriate. All emphases and comments within [brackets] are mine. QUOTE:
Okay, good evening. Welcome back to Finnerty. Hope you had a great weekend. Glad you’re here. I’m Rob Finnerty. What did we learn this weekend? Well, it turns out that we learned a lot.
We learned that as predicted on this show when the shutdown first started on October 1st, it was going to last a long time, perhaps the longest shutdown of all time, and that will happen.
This will be the longest shutdown we’ve ever seen. That will become official next week, next Wednesday. Donald Trump, owner of the two longest shutdowns in history, that’s also not a coincidence. But we did learn something that no one else is talking about tonight.
If the government shutdown continues, 42 million people, not Americans, 42 million people living in this country will lose SNAP benefits. And if you’re asking yourself, what are SNAP benefits?
Well, SNAP stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and SNAP is just the catchy, new, Democrat-approved word for food stamps. They’re food stamps. The Left do this a lot. They change the language and confuse and shame people into compliance. [In a sarcastic voice, Finnerty imitates the Leftists:]
You can’t say that. That’s offensive.
Sex change surgery is now gender-affirming care.
Illegal aliens are now undocumented citizens.
And no one is homeless anymore. They are now unhoused.
Your master bedroom is now the primary bedroom.
NBA team owners, and this is one of the dumber ones, they are now governors.
Global warming went from global cooling in the 70s and early 80s to global warming to now climate change.
And the gay community now include a full one-third of the alphabet. LGBTQI plus, and it keeps going.
Mom has become birthing person.
And no one’s overweight anymore. Have you noticed this? No one’s overweight. They’re all plus size. Plus size models. Plus size clothes. Plus size everything. Still get heart disease, though, okay?
Back to the food stamps. Did you have any idea that 42 million people in this country were on food stamps before yesterday? I did not. We did not as a team.
42 million people are collecting money from a government program that started during the Great Depression to help people get back on their feet. And now we’ve got 42 million people living off that program permanently, a program that was always meant to be temporary.
That means one in every seven adults in this country are on food stamps. One in seven. Think about that. Another Democrat grift just totally exposed by Democrats. [By shutting down the government.]
But the Left spent the day pearl-clutching on TV that people are going to lose their food stamps this weekend during a shutdown that the Democrats started.
And maybe this is not the best person for the free government food program. Again, we are not trying to be mean. But maybe when addressing the impacts of taking food off the table, you choose somebody else as a spokesperson.
[Voice of the obese woman:] “…Employee of the school district. I only get paid once a month. By the time I get my bills paid, I have nothing left to pay for food and other basic needs.
If it wasn’t for SNAP benefits, I wouldn’t be able to feed my children or myself.
I work, pay my bills, and like every other mom, I want to be sure that I have enough food to put on the table.”
[Finnerty comments:] Hmm. I think she has enough food to put on the table. I haven’t been to her house. I don’t know. And again, we’re not trying to be mean. Some people do need food stamps. Okay?
We understand that. Some people need food stamps. And we’re sure that that woman meant every word that she just said.
But do you honestly think there are 42 million people in this country that need food stamps on a weekly basis?
And we’re saying “people” deliberately instead of “Americans” because most of the people that are on food stamps aren’t even from this country.
45% of Afghanistan immigrants are on food stamps.
42% of Somali immigrants.
34% [of] Every immigrant from Iraq.
23% of Haitians.
59% of all illegal aliens are collecting food stamps.
Meaning that most of the people getting food stamps from the U.S. government and the U.S. taxpayer are not even Americans. Think about that.
And we didn’t know about any of this before the government shutdown started.
But thanks to Democrats, we can confirm tonight that millions of Joe Biden illegal aliens, people who crossed the border when Joe was president, are now collecting food stamps from a program funded by hardworking American taxpayers. END QUOTE
Indeed, as our God warned us: “The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours [via heavy taxation on our labor], shall a nation [or 168 of them] which thou knowest not eat up;
Note: The above chart and statistics are only concerning food stamps/SNAP. Consider what the chart would look like if the illegal aliens from 168 countries were included, and if the chart also included their “benefits” for housing, education, medical, etc! Are we ready to return to God’s law yet?
Now, in light of all that, read these next two verses of curses.
Deuteronomy 28: 38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.
On last night’s Carl Higbee Frontline program, Carl had Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), as a guest to discuss the government shutdown. The conservative Ms. Mace (who is now running for Governor of South Carolina, while still serving in Congress) explained what many Americans are now realizing concerning the politics of the shutdown.
Namely, that it can and should all be blamed on the Democrats whose Senators (except Sen. Fetterman!) are united, blatantly refusing to pass the CR (Continuing Resolution) which they have voted for 13 times during the faux Joe Biden administration.
The Dems refuse to reopen the government until the Republicans agree to restore 1.5 trillion dollars to continue to finance Obamacare for all the illegal aliens! In that context, Rep. Mace pointed out that the 1.5 trillion also includes $2.3 million for addressing “locusts in Africa!”
That is a “God-wink” if I ever saw one! Because if our labor (via taxes) is going to allegedly go to Africa to deal with a locust problem, then metaphorically, this is the “locusts” consuming our labor!
We shall have much more about the metaphorical locusts as we continue next time.
(To be continued.)
~END~
