Gideon The Mighty Hero, Finally

In the last post, I mentioned that Gideon received a huge response to his request for warriors - 32,000 men to be exact. Well to you and I, that would make us confident, we would start devising plans and strategizing, all with victory in mind. But God said, "It's too much, your army is too large. If you win, you will think it was because of your strength and not my divine intervention." (Judges 7:2-3) Though Gideon had such a huge turnout, it appeared that many of these men were afraid. With God's guidance, Gideon simply said "If you're afraid, you don't have to fight," and 22,000 men went home. Can you imagine, more than half of his initial army were afraid? It's good to ask questions of people to see where your team stands - you might be surprised yet relieved at the response.

The remaining 10,000 were still too many, so God instructed Gideon to use another creative way to separate them - those who drank water from their hands or those who drank straight from the source. It can be viewed as moderation vs. indulgence. Those that were indulgent were sent home, 9700 and the 300 who lapped the water from their hands were Gideon's army. These 300 passed all the tests - they were not afraid and they were careful - just who you want to fight with you. (Judges 7:1-7)

With this army of 300 Gideon wreaked havoc and defeated the Midianites - but first, before the fighting started he needed one more confirmation. God told him if he's afraid (wasn't Gideon always afraid?) to listen in at the edge of the Midianite camp with his servant. His servant, Purah, was a witness who could also confirm God's plan for Gideon. Gideon heard two of the Midianites talking; they were talking about a dream and its meaning. One man told the other the dream meant that Gideon would defeat them.  Judges 7:9-14. Have you ever overheard someone saying good things about you? Or things you didn't even recognize about yourself? It is usually a confidence booster, just like it was for Gideon.  When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship before the Lord. Then he returned to the Israelite camp and shouted, “Get up! For the Lord has given you victory over the Midianite hordes!” (Judges 7:15)

And just as it was in the interpretation of the dream, it became a reality. Gideon used his army of 300 to create confusion in the Midianites camp - for the fighting started at an unexpected time, in the middle watch, which was between 10:00 pm and 2:00 am. The Midianites were so startled by the blowing of the horns that they attacked each other while also trying to escape. Though they were few, the Israelites used strategy to outsmart the Midianites because they were prepared and the Midianites were not; they also had God on their side. (Judges 7:16-23)

In all of this, Gideon became the mighty hero that God said he would be. He had some missteps along the way - he took revenge against those who wouldn't assist him (Judges 8:1-21), made priestly garments that didn't serve a priestly purpose which ended up leading the Israelites astray(Judges 8:22-28), and he was a womanizer - he had many wives and one on the side (Judges 8:29-31). But in spite of his flaws God used him and his faith is noted in the book of Hebrews.  For the remainder of Gideon's life - about 40 years, the Israelites had peace in the land.

Like Gideon's initial army - sometimes we're too much or we have too much. Too many smarts, too much money, too much pride, too much knowledge. And God is telling us we have to scale back so that he can use us mightily. Or like Gideon also, we're too afraid and God keeps telling us that we don't need to be afraid; I got this!

I see attributes of Gideon in myself. I have to be willing to listen to God to ensure that I have the right people in my corner - my 300, to do what He has called me to do. Sometimes I'm afraid to trust God, but when I am afraid I know that I can rely on Him. I know this without a doubt and it banishes my fear at the moment. It almost does not matter who we are, as long as we believe in God and exhibit the faith in Him that He requires of us.

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Psalm 37:23

Are you realizing that you don't need to remain afraid? Do you need to scale back so that God can move mightily? Who should be in your 300? What else can you learn from Gideon's life?

--Nylse

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Gideon Owns His Identity

Now that Gideon has accepted his assignment, the magnitude of what needs to be accomplished is staring him in the face; he is called to lead and defeat the Midianites. The Midianites who are prolific and plenteous, and make his people quake in fear. God is on his side but how will he do this?

Gideon was fearful yet obedient - he wanted to honor what had been told to him.

It's no wonder the Israelites were always in this cycle of failure - the previous generations seem to have forgotten what God had done in the past; the knowledge of God's faithfulness and goodness was not passed down to the next generation; it was only hearsay and it seemed many chose not to believe. Joash - Gideon's father displayed this trait.

The first thing he did was to follow God's instruction cut down his father's shrine to a false god - Asherah and build an altar to the True God. Now that took some nerve on Gideon's part, so this plan was carried out at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father’s household and the people of the town. In the morning, when this is discovered the people figure out that Gideon is the culprit.They are not happy. They wanted to kill Gideon, but Joash - Gideon's father said if Baal is god, let him defend himself and destroy the one who broke down his altar. At this point, Gideon gains new respect and is also called Jerubabaal - which means let Baal defend himself. Parents and children don't often see eye to eye, but when it came to what was important, Joash - the idol worshipper, defended Gideon. With God on his side, Gideon took a stand against his father.

Gideon is developing more confidence, but he's still wary. Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. He blew his horn and he's in the process of army building- he gets a huge response (which we'll talk about in the next post).

Then he asked the Lord for a sign -

36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, 37 prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” 38 And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water.
39 Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.” 40 So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew. Judges 6:36-40

This is the story we were told in Sunday School, how Gideon puts a fleece down and tested God. But without the greater context of knowing that God had chosen Gideon, God had given him instruction, Gideon was obedient, and God had placed his Spirit on him, many of us seem to think that we can test God willy-nilly and then rebel against God when he doesn't pass our test. We deal with difficult situations but instead of using God's word as a barometer and an indicator for our direction we rely on our feelings. We test God when we doubt him and the promises in His Word instead of having faith in Him. Gideon had a personal encounter with God, God called him a mighty hero; Gideon turned his doubt into faith and knew that the God that was calling him to do this task was faithful. He may have been timid, afraid and grouchy by nature, but with God's help, he would overcome and God confirmed it to him.

Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. Judges 6:34

Is there anything in Gideon's experience that is similar to yours? Please share.

--Nylse

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Grouchy Gideon Becomes a Mighty Hero - the 5th Judge

Rest, disobedience, deliverance, rest. The story of the Israelites is characterized by a cycle of

failing and then renewal. Once more after a period of rest, the children of Israel were disobedient. At the beginning of Judges 6, we see that their current enemy - the Midianites were thick like locusts - they were plenteous, and all encompassing. The Israelites could not escape from them; they pillaged the land and Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. (Judges 6:1-6) This went on for seven years.

We are now introduced to our sixth Judge - Gideon. He seems to be the most reluctant and timid of all the judges we've read about so far. But in spite of his personality, God uses him mightily to defeat the swarming locusts - the Midianites to the point where he is listed as a faith hero in the book of Hebrews. (Hebrews 11:32-34) Intitially, unbeknownst to Gideon, God sent an angel to Gideon to talk and chat with him. When Gideon meets the angel he is threshing wheat and hiding his harvest from the Midianites. Gideon was afraid of the Midianites, yet wise - the hidden wheat meant his family could eat.

The conversation starts with the angel addressing Gideon as, "Mighty Hero." As far we know Gideon never thought of himself in this way and because he's never thought of himself in this manner, he responded, "If that's the case, why are the Midianites terrorizing us? Why does it seem that the Lord has abandoned us? I am the least in my entire family."

More astounding is the response from the angel. He said to Gideon, "Go in the strength you have and rescue Israel. I am sending you."

Gideon says, "Show me a sign that you are indeed Lord. Also, Don't leave until I come back with my offering." Gideon may have begun to realize that this was not an ordinary man he was speaking with. Also, recall from your Sunday School lessons that  Gideon needed lots of signs from God for confirmation.

Gideon returns with a goat meat, broth and biscuits! The angel instructs Gideon to place the meat and the bread on a rock and to then pour the broth over both. Then the angel places his rod on the meat and bread and a fire consumes the meal and disappears. This supernatural act rendered Gideon momentarily speechless and more afraid for he realized that he just had a face to face conversation with God.

The Lord reassures him that he need not be afraid, and he will not die  (Exodus 33:20) as was expected, so Gideon built an altar to the Lord at that spot and referred to the Lord as being his peace - Jehovah Shalom. (Judges 6: 7-24)

Instead of fear, Gideon now had a sense of peace regarding his new assignment. He no longer had to be afraid. God had given him a new identity. What God calls and who you are can be two entirely different things. In the rest of Gideon's story, we will see that he lives up to the moniker that God gave him.

The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you! Judges 6:12

--Nylse

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