Gideon

God uses the weak to do the mighty.

This is the story of Gideon. Gideon was the son of Joash from the Abiezrite clan of the Tribe of Manasseh. The Abiezrite clan was the weakest of all tribes within Manasseh, and Gideon was the weakest man within that clan. So in other words Gideon was the weakest of the weakest.

The tribe of Manasseh was under siege by a neighboring people called the Midian’s because the people had done evil in the sight of the Lord. Oppressed and downhearted, Gideon sat one day beating wheat in a winepress. Whenever the people of Israel would plant crops, these Midianites would come in and take their harvest which left them starving. So Gideon had a little crop of wheat that they managed to hide from the Midianites, and he was beating the grains of wheat out on the floor of a winepress, which is not a normal place to see someone harvesting grain.

The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon here, (the angel of the Lord is Jesus Christ BTW) and Gideon began to pour his heart out to Him. Gideon wanted to know if God was still with them seeings how they were being crippled by foreign enemies. Gideon inquired as to why God had done such powerful things for the nation of Israel in the past, but now He seems to be completely absent from them. (In reality it was they who had left God, they were following false god’s and giving their worship elsewhere. It is always we who turn our backs, it is never God.) So the Lord answered Gideon with this “You go and free the people of Israel. You free your tribe from the hands of the Midianites, and I will be with you.”

This is the moment that Gideon explained that he is practically the weakest man in the whole of Israel, and that there is no way he could lead an army against their enemy. But the Lord simply said “I will be with you.” God gave Him a list of tasks to complete. First was to tear down the altar to a false god, and raise up an altar to Him, the one true God. Then Gideon was to form an army and push the Midianites out. Gideon mustered 32,000 soldiers, but God said that that was too many. Remember God uses the weak to perform the mighty. So God commanded that whoever was afraid should go home. 22,000 men left, but God said that was still too many. So when they stopped for water God said anyone who kneels and drinks with their mouths from the river is to be sent home. Those who cup the water and bring it to their mouths will be chosen. Out of 10,000 men, only 300 advanced that day. Over all this was 300 men out of 32,000. Gideon must have felt pretty small, but God uses the small to do the most miraculous things.

In the middle of the night Gideon separated his men into 3 groups armed with trumpets, and torches. Surrounding the enemy, they screamed as fiercely as they could, they blew their trumpets as loud as possible, and the waved their torches high in the air. Startled and filled with panic and fear, the Midianites scrambled in the darkness terrified at the onset of a surprise attack. You see they had know idea how small the army was in the pitch black but that does not matter. God uses the small to accomplish the great. These Midianites were confused, and out of fear they started to run. Killing whoever was in their path, which means they were fighting themselves. Gideon had the Midianites killing each other, and on the run without ever lifting a sword in battle. He never came close.

You see Gideon started off as a weak, fearful man back at the winepress, but he was obedient to the Lord and God used him in mighty and miraculous ways. God is not asking us to be the biggest, the strongest, the smartest, coolest, richest, ect. God is simply calling us to be obedient and follow Him.

“I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” I will always be by your side, and I will never turn my back on you. God uses the small and weak to complete the largest tasks. Why? Because they will not be able to do it on their own. God wants to show the people that He is at work. He does not need worker who act as if they themselves can perform the tasks. God uses men and women every day to do mighty things for Him that they themselves would fail to do in their own strength.

God does not chose people who are going to boast in themselves. He will not use people that are going to turn the spotlight on themselves and take the glory. God uses unlikely heroes. So when God asks you to do something for Him don’t say “we’ll God so and so has a better platform than me. They seem more popular. People will listen to them better. They’re faster, stronger, better” (who gets to say who’s better than who anyways? And at what? Life is too short to compare yourself with others) But God might have rejected them already for their heart, you have no idea, but what you do know is He chose you for a specific reason. No matter your thoughts on the choice, no matter how many questions you have, He asked you. Just be faithful, and obediently follow Him.