Our text today will come from the New International Version. In our message we’re going to view a story about an ordinary man who had an intense struggle with trusting God, and this man’s name was Gideon. We will learn how when Gideon finally trusted the Lord, that he understood what it meant to have the power of God dwelling within. As we consider Gideon’s struggle and his eventual surrender to the Lord, we will learn what happens whenever we decide put our whole-hearted trust in God. We will discover that the Lord can use us in amazing ways for His glory if we will just let go of the reigns, and let God do His thing! Therefore, this is a message about “letting go, and letting God.”
You Mighty Warrior (6:11-12)
11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, He said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
We read here where “the angel of the Lord” appeared to Gideon (v. 11), and presented Himself “in the guise of a wayfaring man.”(1) In various places in the Scripture, we read where the angel of the Lord went out in flaming fire with His sword drawn, in order to do battle at God’s bidding (cf. Ex 3:2; Nm 22:31; Jgs 13:20; 2 Sm 24:16). He often disguised Himself as a human being, because His appearance would have possibly frightened someone to death. I find it amazing that the angel of the Lord would have chosen to speak with Gideon, for he was just a lowly farmer. This goes to show that God will speak with anyone; even you and me.
We read here that the angel of the Lord sat down under an “oak tree” next to Gideon (v. 11). In this time period and location, trees were actually venerated and worshipped by tree cults that assigned meanings to different types of trees.(2) An oak is considered to be very strong; and we sometimes call it “the mighty oak,” even to this day. This tree is specified as being the one in Ophrah belonging to Joash, further substantiating the idea that there is a deeper meaning that’s being communicated here. In Hebrew, Ophrah means, “dear, fawn, or stag.”(3) Therefore, the angel appeared precisely where He did in order to emphasize “something” or “someone” as being young, vigorous and full of strength; and that someone was Gideon, son of Joash.
The very commander of the Lord’s armies (Josh 5:13-14) looked upon Gideon and declared, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior” (v. 12). Gideon wondered why the angel of the Lord had said such a thing. The Broadman Bible Commentary states that “at the time of the appearance of the angel, Gideon, the son of Joash, was beating out wheat in the winepress. Such an unlikely place was occasioned by the danger of the Bedouin raids and by the fact that it was partially concealed, being hewn out of native rock, and much more difficult for the enemy to locate than the exposed eminence of the threshing floor.” In considering this information, we can conclude that Gideon was hiding there in fear; and yet the angel of the Lord called him a “mighty warrior.” In the New King James Version, he is addressed as, “You mighty man of valor” (v. 12).
Why would God send His warrior angel to tell this lowly and frightened farmer that he was a mighty warrior? It’s because God saw that Gideon had great faith in Him. He believed in the Lord; and if we too believe and are obedient to Him, then He will look at us and say the same thing that He said to Gideon. He will see each of us as a mighty warrior too! Now, keep in mind that this was the commander of the Lord’s army speaking to Gideon; therefore, He should know what He’s talking about when it comes to evaluating a soldier’s potential.
Requesting a Sign (6:13-17)
13 “But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.” 14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
15 “But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.” 17 Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.”
Though Gideon believed in God, he was having a crisis of belief at this moment. The Lord asked him to be the one to go and save Israel from the Midianites; however, Gideon was afraid to do as God commanded, because he feared what the Midianites might do should he and his men fail. He realized they could be enslaved, tortured or even killed. Think about how you would feel if God came to you and told you to gather a small group of believers, go overseas, and try to take down a prominent terrorist leader; or perhaps infiltrate a Middle Eastern country to serve as an incognito missionary to the Muslims. You too would probably have a crisis of belief.
At first, Gideon didn’t fully trust the Lord. In verse 17, he said, “Give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.” The Broadman Bible Commentary says that “a sign is a proximate token palpably evident in the present, which confirms a promise of things still unrealized.”(4) Gideon wanted to be certain that it was the angel of the Lord through whom God was speaking, and that it was not some figment of his imagination or some lunatic talking to him; therefore, he requested tangible proof that the Lord was really asking him to do this. His request for a sign seems understandable, since he had probably never seen an angel before in his life; and also, because the Israelites had not seen any of the wonders that their forefathers had witnessed. However, the bottom line is that Gideon failed to lean wholly on God in faith.
Putting Out the Fleece (6:36-40)
36 Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised - 37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew – a bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew.” 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.
In these verses, do you think that Gideon demonstrated a whole-hearted faith and trust in God? No, for we see here that he asked for a sign, telling the Lord that he would indeed go to Midian if God would perform this sign that he requested. In verse 37, he asked God to make it possible for him to wake up the very next morning and find that his wool fleece was wet, and that the ground was completely dry; and in verse 28, we see that He received exactly what he requested.
In verse 39, we see that Gideon still refused to believe the Lord that He could deliver Israel from Midian by his hand; therefore, he asked for yet another sign – one that was completely opposite from the other. He asked God to make it possible for him to wake up the very next morning and find that his wool fleece was dry, and that the ground was soaking wet. In verse 40, we see that he got what he asked for once again. Gideon demonstrated here that he didn’t fully trust the Lord at His word.
In Matthew 4:5-7, we read, “Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If You are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw Yourself down. For it is written: He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone’” (NIV). How did Jesus respond to the devil’s temptation to test God? Jesus refused; and He stated in reply, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’.” In Matthew 12:39, Jesus said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” I am simply amazed at the Lord’s patience with Gideon.
Gideon was testing God, because he didn’t trust Him. The Broadman Bible Commentary tells us that Gideon’s weaknesses – such as his repeated request for a sign, his self-depreciation, and his apparent lack of self-confidence – are being contrasted here with his later victory over the Midianites, in order to stress how the Lord can create strength from weakness, and that the power for deliverance really belongs to God and not to us.(5) So, now that we see how the Lord bestowed on Gideon the signs that he requested, how did Gideon respond in the end? Do you think he finally trusted God?
Light in Jars of Clay (7:16-22)
16 Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside. 17 “Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon’.”
19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”
21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. 22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
So, Gideon finally stepped out in faith and did what God asked of him. He attempted to engage the Midianites in battle, and the Lord gave him three hundred men to work with. It seems like so few! Allow me to back up a little and explain how he arrived at this small band of three hundred soldiers. The account can be seen in chapter 7, verses 1-8; however, instead of reading the passage, I want to share with you a word-for-word commentary provided by survival expert Mykel Hawke on his Discovery Channel show called, “Man, Woman, Wild.” On one episode, set in the backwoods of eastern Kentucky, Hawke was drinking from a mountain stream, and he began to say this:
“This reminds me of the very first documented case in history of a Special Forces selection. It comes from the Bible in the Old Testament; and basically, Gideon needed an elite force to fight the enemy and he had 10,000 volunteers. So what he did was he sent them all down to the water to drink. The ones who stuck their face into the water, he got rid of, and the ones who brought the water to their face, he kept; because those were the ones who stayed alert. And it’s good for survival, because when you go down and get water, that’s when most predators attack their prey; so, if you bring the water to your face, you stay alert; you stay alive.”(6)
So, Gideon had three hundred men, which was not very many in comparison to the army of Midian. It’s a wonder that he didn’t run and hide! We see, however, that Gideon had an ingenious idea: “Gideon summoned his three hundred men, divided them into three groups, and instructed them concerning the procedure to be followed. The three companies were to advance to the outskirts of the camp with each man equipped with trumpet and a lamp within a jar. As the middle watch was set (about ten o-clock), following Gideon’s example, the soldiers were to blow their trumpets, smash the jars, hold aloft the torches, and cry [‘A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!’]” (Broadman).(7)
“When the attack was launched, the darkness and quietness was suddenly changed to torchlight and trumpet blasts. The shock of surprise and the siege of the entire camp by what appeared to be a vast army threw panic in the Midianite hosts” (Broadman).(8) The army of Midian was half-asleep when this clamor took place and, therefore, they panicked; some killing each other, while others fled the scene. Gideon’s men ran after them and defeated them.
We see here that Gideon finally obeyed the Lord. When he trusted God, the Lord blessed him for it. Gideon didn’t have very many people in his army, but God saw him through; and we might be just one individual, but if we trust the Lord and rely completely on Him, we will see God do wonders through us as well! It doesn’t matter if we feel small or insignificant. If we trust the Lord and follow Him in faith, then He is big enough to accomplish whatever He asks of us.
Time of Reflection
God saw a lowly farmer like Gideon as a mighty warrior. When God looks at each of us, He sees a mighty warrior too. However, that warrior doesn’t appear unless we put our trust in the Lord and rely on Him in faith. If we fail to trust Him, then we will be unsuccessful in the war in which we fight.
You see, we are each at war daily in what’s called spiritual warfare. Believers and unbelievers alike are attacked by the devil, as he hurls his fiery darts of temptation in our direction. In Ephesians 6:11, the apostle Paul said, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” If you aren’t a believer in Christ, then how will you ever be able to put on the armor of God, and how will you ever be able to withstand the attacks of the enemy? How can you ever rely on the Lord in times of trouble? The only way you can is to know God through a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:6-7, “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (NKJV). If you know Jesus as Savior and Lord, then the light of Christ will be hidden in your heart, inside your earthen vessel; meaning that the power of God is living inside you! You are like an earthen vessel waiting to unleash the light of God to battle the devil, and share the love of Christ with the world (Matthew 5:14-16)!
Therefore, I wish to encourage you to come receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today; to come receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
NOTES
(1) Edward R. Dalglish, “Judges,” The Broadman Bible Commentary, ed. Clifton J. Allen (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1970), p. 414.
(2) Ibid., p. 414.
(3) Strong’s Numbers 6082 and 6084, Blue Letter Bible: www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H6082&t=KJV (Accessed April 22, 2013).
(4) Daglish, p. 416.
(5) Ibid., p. 418.
(6) “Newt and Roots,” Man, Woman, Wild, Season 2, Episode 10, Discovery Channel.
(7) Daglish, p. 420.
(8) Ibid., p. 420.
