We like to be in the majority. We like to be in the majority because we can think that this means we are on the right side. This is part of our culture war right now. There is a battle for the majority because the belief is if you have the majority, then you must be right. When you are outnumbered, then it can be really frightening. We also see this in our culture today. It is becoming more frightening to be a Christian because we now for the first time really feel like we are outnumbered. We feel like we belong to a very small minority. Now we always were in a small minority but it wasn’t as obvious as it is now. I think about what happened to Daniel’s three friends. Nebuchadnezzar proclaimed that everyone needed to bow down and worship the statue when the music played. All the people of the nation were considered to have gathered for this moment. Can you imagine what it looked like when the music sounded and thousands of people began to bow down to the ground and worship the statue but there were these three men who remained standing? It is hard to stand against overwhelming odds. But this is where God is going to put a man named Gideon at this moment.
Now we noticed in our last lesson that Gideon was a fearful man, hiding in a winepress threshing wheat to keep it from the invading Midian armies. But strangely, an angel of the Lord came to Gideon and called him a mighty man of valor. Further, the Lord told him to go in the strength that he has because the Lord is sending him to deliver Israel from these attacking nations. Before he could do, the Lord told Gideon to go tear down the city idols. So Gideon took 10 men with him and went at night and tore down the idols of the city. This is a courageous act as the city wants to kill him for doing this. But God had more in store for Gideon. Gideon is going to be a mighty man of valor and deliver Israel because God is with him. This brings us to Judges 6:33.
The Confidence To Go (Judges 6:33-40)
We were told at the beginning of Judges 6 that any time the people of Israel had crops, the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the people of the East would come against them and devour the produce of the land. You will notice in verse 33 that these nations are ready to attack again. They have come together and encamped at the Jezreel Valley. This means that these nations have already crossed the Jordan River and are on Israel’s land, preparing to attack. You can imagine that the fear is welling up in the people. You can imagine the news going through the tribe that they are about to attack us again. Everyone needs to run to the caves and hills like they were doing during other attacks (cf. 6:2). But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon. Now I want us to see that we do not see anything miraculous regarding this act. Sometimes people can overstate the meaning of having the Spirit of the Lord. Here what I want you to see is that God is keeping his word. He told Gideon that he could save Israel because God was with him (6:16). Now you see God doing just as he said. The Lord is with Gideon now. The Lord is with Israel now. So Gideon sounds the trumpet and sends messengers throughout of his tribe and surrounding tribes to go meet him. They respond and come to Gideon, ready for his directions and leadership.
But you might be surprised at what happens next. Gideon is still Gideon even though God is with him. Gideon is still fearful even though he has obeyed the Lord and torn down the massive Baal idol in the town. Gideon is still timid even though the angel of the Lord has proclaimed his future, calling him a mighty man of valor. Gideon wants a sign that God will save Israel by his hand as he promised (6:36). By the way, how is Gideon talking to God right now? The text does not reveal that he is talking to an angel. We would assume that Gideon is praying to the Lord at this moment. Everyone has come and is looking to Gideon for his leadership and deliverance. But Gideon wants to make sure that the Lord is with him. So he asks for a sign that dew to fall on the fleece that he will lay outside but keep the ground dry. In verse 38 we see that this is exactly what happened. But Gideon wants more confirmation. So he asks for the same sign in the reverse. That is, this time keep the fleece dry but have the ground all wet with dew. Verse 40 reveals that God did so that night as well.
Now here is what I want us to see. The message is not to set out signs and see if God will answer you. The message is how God is coming to Gideon in his fear. Gideon is preparing to do God’s will but he is nervous. Gideon is wanting to make sure that God is with him before he goes out to do this, which is wise to do. But I want us to see that God does not condemn Gideon for his fear. God does not chastise Gideon at this moment. Rather, God is meeting Gideon at this moment of fear so that Gideon will go forward in trusting in the Lord. The point I am trying to make is that God does not condemn us when we feel fear. The condemnation comes when we allow our fear to keep us from doing God’s will. God has shown he was with Gideon when he tore down the idols. Now Gideon is making sure God is with him again for another fearful task.
Who Saved You? (Judges 7:1-15)
After showing Gideon that the Lord is with him, the people are ready for war at the beginning of chapter 7. However, the Lord has a problem in verse 2. The Lord tells Gideon that the people that Gideon has for battle are too many for this war. Gideon has too many people to give the Midianites into their hand. Now I want to stop here for a moment and think about what God is saying and understand what this looks like. We are told in Judges 8:10 that the number of the Midianites, Amalekites, and people of the East who were ready for war at this moment were 135,000. Now I want you to do an exercise in your mind for a moment. How many people do you think Israel had on their side so that the Lord came to Gideon and told Gideon that he had to many people? Do you think he had 200,000 or 300,000? Do you think that at the very least he had more fighting men at the opposition’s 135,000? But verse 3 tells us that Gideon has 32,000 men. Gideon only has 32,000. The odds are already against them. The opposition has more than four times as many fighters.
Look at verse 2. Why does is God so concerned about Gideon having too many people? God says that the people of Israel will boast in themselves over the Lord, saying that they saved themselves. You know one of the biggest problems God has with his people? One of his biggest problems is that we take the credit for what has done. Our problem is that we elevate ourselves and glory in our own abilities rather than giving God the credit. Our biggest problem is that we think we can save ourselves rather than seeing the only person who can save us is God.
So God tells Gideon to send some people away by telling everyone who is afraid to go home. In verse 3 Gideon tells those who are afraid to go home and 22,000 men go home. Imagine being Gideon who has been fearful about this battle watching two-thirds of his men leave. Now Gideon has only 10,000 men with him, ready to fight against 135,000 Midianites. Now the opposition has more than 13 men to every Israelite. Now the odds are really bad: 13 to 1 against us. But look at verse 4. The Lord says that Gideon still has too many. So Gideon is told to take the men to the water to drink. So they start drinking the water. Some of them are lapping the water with their face in the water and some of them are cupping the water and bringing the water up to their mouths. In verse 6 we read that 300 cupped their hands to their mouths. In verse 7 the Lord says I will use those 300 for victory and you can send the others home. Friends, this is not about God getting best or mightiest. This is about God getting a very small number so that Israel will not think that they accomplished this victory themselves. Now Gideon has 300 men ready to go against 135,000 Midianites. Now there is no way Israel can win. The opposition has 450 men for every Israelite. There is no way for one man to take on 450 men at once. Now God tells Gideon in verse 9 to go attack the camp because he has given them to him.
But notice what God says next in verse 10. If you are afraid to go attack, then go sneak down to the camp and listen to what they are saying. After you do that, you will be strengthened for the battle. So do you think Gideon was afraid? It is not hard to imagine how terrified he is now that he only has 300 men to go fight. But I want us to see that God is addressing Gideon’s fears again. God is offering to give Gideon strength in this moment. So Gideon goes to the Midianite camp and listens to what they are saying. One man was telling his friend about having a dream about a loaf of barley bread tumbling into the Midianite tent, flipping it over, and collapsing it. The friend says in verse 14 that this means that God has given Midian into Gideon’s hands. When Gideon heard this, he worshiped the Lord.
Gideon returns to his camp and gets them ready for the battle by telling them that the Lord has given the Midianite camp into their hands. But notice how they are to get ready. They are have a trumpet in one hand and a torch in a jar in the other hand. They do not have sword in one hand and shield in the other hand. They have a ram’s horn and a torch. The key is in verse 22. The Lord caused the men of the Midianite camp to turn on each other with their swords as God gave Israel the victory.
The Message
Notice what God was teaching Israel, Gideon and us. God has to make our circumstances impossible so that we will not boast in ourselves but see that our help can only come from him. God has to tear down our strength so that we can have his strength. The apostle Paul said that God had to teach him this also.
ut he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 CSB)
God has to stack the odds against us so we will not look to ourselves, but to him. God does not want us to think that we can save ourselves, but depend completely on him. Ironically, when things look impossible we can be tempted to not look to God at all. We say, “It’s impossible! What can God do?” But this reveals that we are still looking to ourselves and not to him. We think that prayer only works in the realm of possible, believing that God can only accomplish certain things but not all things. Gideon won with less because all you need is God. This whole section in Gideon’s life is to teach him and to teach Israel that God will work with us in our weakness and fears. God will work through our weaknesses to accomplish his great purposes. We look at this paragraph from Hebrews 11 in our last lesson from Gideon. I want to bring our attention back to it and focus on one part of the sentence.
32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. (Hebrews 11:32-34 ESV)
I want you to focus on verse 34 and the phrase, “Were made strong out of weakness.” This is what Paul is saying God did for him. This is what God did through Gideon. This is what God can do through you. God wants you to embrace your weakness so that you will depend on God’s strength. God does not want us to elevate ourselves over him. So when life is overwhelming and when it seems like all hope is lost and all is impossible, God is doing this so you will depend on him and see his hand to save you.