Lapping Water From Their Hands

There were approximately 10,000 soldiers in the group. After the intense training under the scorching sun, they were all exhausted. To cool down, the soldiers jumped into the river that ran between the two hills. They enjoyed the refreshing water. They scooped the water and splashed it on to their hair and on their beard. Some even put their heads into the stream for a long time, as if to wash away all the tiredness of their body.
When the solders finished drinking the water, Gideon, the commander-in-chief, separated them into two sides. The three hundred men that lapped the water with their tongues like a dog were placed on one side. All the rest of the solders who got down on their knees to drink were sent home to their families. The ones who kneeled down to drink were eliminated from this special selection. Only the outstanding solders were given the chance to go fight against the Midianites.
What was the reason they were considered as outstanding soldiers? It was as simple was the way they drank the water, by scooping it up with their hands, and quickly lapping the water. The way they drank gave them the ability to look out for the potential of enemy attack at any given moment. Everyone was thirsty. They all wanted to kneel down and put their heads into the cool stream. But only the 300 special soldiers controlled their craving. They were the ones who knew how to control themselves.
God used the simple habits of how the soldiers drank their water to test and see how worthy they were as soldiers. Today, God continues to select us based on our daily habits. The habits that we may not consider important can show our true nature. God evaluates us through the way we eat, the way we sleep, or the way we walk, so that He can give us greater responsibilities. We may be eliminated from the selection, simply because we do not give careful consideration to the way we carry out small things.
People can judge our personality based on the simple habits we perform in our daily life.
So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink” (Judges 7:5).
Pastor Thoai Duong