We read in Judges 6:17-19, So Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Please do not depart from here, until I come back to you, and bring out my offering and lay it before you.” And He said, “I will remain until you return.” Then Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an each of flour; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the oak and presented them.” (NASB)
Gideon and the people of Israel were going through a period of tumult, degradation and danger at the hands of the Midianites. The reason for their predicament was their sin, willful disobedience, and rejection of God in their lives. The consequence was that God abandoned them, and handed them over into the hands of the destructive Midianites. The Israelites had experienced God’s mighty hand of deliverance as they crossed the Red Sea, and witnessed God’s power as they saw the huge walls of Jericho crumble before them. However, they failed to remember God’s faithfulness, His mighty deeds, and chose to walk in rebellion against God. It was in the midst of their overwhelming affliction that they cried out to the Lord, who heeded their cries and chose Gideon to deliver the people of Israel from the clutches of the Midianites.
David says in Psalm 23:1, ‘the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want’, so whenever like the people of Israel, we are faced with those situations of lack and inadequacy, we must analyze ourselves to see if we are displeasing the Lord in any area of our lives.
We read in Judges 6:17, Gideon wanted to be sure that the favor of the Lord truly rested on him. There may have been many in Israel who may have been qualified for the task, but only Gideon found favor with God.
The life of Joseph is also a beautiful example of one who found favor with God and men. He was hated by his own brothers, sold into slavery, but even as he labored as a slave in Potiphar’s house, Joseph found favor in the eyes of his master. Joseph was falsely accused, and thrown into prison, but even there he found favor in the eyes of the jailer. This was possible only because, the favor of the Lord was on Joseph.
God’s word of encouragement came to Gideon, which changed his mindset from fear to faith, but he wanted to be sure that God’s favor absolutely rested on him. We will study to see the reason God chose Gideon in particular, and as to why God favored him.
If God’s favor rests on us, we can be certain that we will gain the approval from others wherever we go, and whatever our hands purpose to do will surely prosper. For those who are going through a season of prolonged discouragement, shame, lack, failure and disappointment, we can learn lessons from Gideon’s life to consider what we must do for God’s favor to rest on us as well. It is only when God favors us, will we find all our labors being fruitful and all our relationships being blessed.
God favors the humble
Gideon’s humility
In Judges 8:22-23, we see, then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your son, also your son’s son, for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.” But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.” (NASB)
Gideon obeyed the word of the Lord, and brought about astounding victory for the people of Israel from the hands of the Midianites. The Israelites were so overjoyed that they wanted Gideon and his sons to rule over them. Gideon replied to them, I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.” The first quality of Gideon that won God’s favor was his humility. The Lord used Gideon to break the yoke of the Midianites, but even after the great and miraculous victory, Gideon did not take advantage of the fact that God used him, and did not take any credit for his success.
Many people take pride even over simple things like building their own house or owning a car. When God chooses to bless us we must decide to honor God, and not become self-centered and selfish. We live in times when even those who minister in God’s name, advertise themselves, and all that they do through social media. If we do so, we will only receive favor from men, and not find favor with God. The protection over our lives, our jobs, our health and the fact that we are alive is purely because of God’s favor on us. It is only when we honor God in everything will the Lord honor us.
David’s humility
David was an ordinary shepherd boy, who defeated Saul, and whom God chose to be the King of Israel. Though David was the King of Israel, here are his word recorded in Psalm 8:3-4, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?” (NASB)
After having been exalted to the position of a king with a large kingdom, David still looked up at the heavens, and pondered at the thought that he was nothing in the presence of an Almighty God who is the creator of everything. His position as king of Israel did not in any way make David haughty, but he continued to humble himself before the Lord. No wonder then that Jesus Himself came down to earth in the lineage of David, and was referred to as the ‘Son of David.’
When the Lord blesses us by expanding our territory, oftentimes our hearts, and minds get distracted to focus on our blessings, and the people around us. As the blessings of the Lord increase, we must acknowledge the Lord in everything, be more thankful to Him for His favor and stay humble. We must have a right kind of reverence for God, and avoid the extremes of treating God too casually or being too fearful to approach Him. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble, and if we don’t have a teachable spirit, it implies that we are not humble. The favor of God rests only on those who are humble.
We too like David must take time to look up at the skies at night, observe the splendor of the moon and the stars to remind ourselves that we have an awesome God who is Almighty. This great God who is the creator of heaven and earth, calls us His sons and daughters, and when we live with this realization we will truly stay humble.
John the Baptist’s humility
We read in John 3:26-27, “And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him. John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.”(NASB)
John the Baptist came as a forerunner of Jesus. John the Baptist had many disciples who were followed him. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and Jesus started preaching beyond the Jordan, many of John’s disciples decided to leave John and follow Jesus. The disciples of John the Baptist were upset, and came with the complaint to him that everyone was going to Jesus. This did not perturb John the Baptist in any way.
Firstly, John understood that his ministry was given to him by God alone. That is why he told his disciples in John 3:27, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.” (NASB)
Secondly, John the Baptist was a humble man who perceived things the way God did, and he understood that there was no place for jealousy or competition in the Kingdom of God, though his disciples tried to create a case for envy. That is precisely why John the Baptist came as the forerunner of the Lord Jesus.
Every ministry is given by God, and He alone is the source. There is therefore no place for pride or rivalry in serving the Lord. It is also applicable to our day to day lives, where we don’t choose to buy something on loan because our sibling or someone else was able to purchase it. There are two kinds of blessings we can receive, one earthly which we can strive, and manipulate to receive. The other blessing is that which comes from God, and when He gives it to us, He adds no sorrow to it. That is why it is important to wait and receive the blessings that God has in store for us. The waiting may be tough, but if we wait patiently with faith, it will be worth it.
Thirdly, John the Baptist did not in any way claim ownership over Jesus because he baptized Him. None of us should ever claim that if we led a person to Christ, and got them baptized, that the person who was baptized belongs to us. We must grasp the fact that every ministry is ordained and comes from God above. Also everyone who comes to the Lord belongs to the Lord alone.
John the Baptist went on to say further in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”(ESV) This is the most important lesson we must learn from John’s life, that Jesus alone must increase and we must decrease in every area of our lives.
In recent times, we might have heard of a number of deaths of those who died trying to capture selfies in precarious ways. This kind of self-obsession is spoken of in the bible as a sign of the end times, when people will be lovers of themselves. When we begin to love ourselves more than we love God, we are surely treading down a wrong and dangerous path. Everything that God chooses to entrust to us, we must use solely for His glory alone. When we do that the Lord will bless us more. When our motives for asking are right we can be assured that the Lord will definitely answer our prayers. Like John the Baptist, ‘Jesus must increase, and I must decrease’ should be the goal of our lives.
God favors those who obey implicitly
Gideon’s obedience
When Gideon sent a call to the Israelites to join in the war against the Israelites 32,000 men responded positively, but the Lord said to Gideon in Judges 7:2 “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand.”(ESV)
The Midianites were numerous, and when thirty two thousand men responded positively to go to war, Gideon must have rejoiced at the numbers, but the Lord thought otherwise, and reduced the army of Israel to a mere 300 men. God favored Gideon because though he did not understand God’s ways, he chose to obey God unquestioningly, and only took 300 men to battle. God awarded Gideon and the people of Israel with an astounding victory over the Midianites.
Sometimes God’s word to us may be in contradiction to the voice of this world, and we may not understand why. However, we must obey God’s word unreservedly, in order to receive God’s blessings. God grants favor to those who are willing to obey God, and His word no matter what.
Joshua’s obedience
When Joshua was confronted with the battle of Jericho, he had no strategy. The Lord commanded Joshua and the army to go around the city of Jericho praising the Lord. It did not sound logical or strategic, but Joshua decided to obey God, and follow His command, the result of which was a triumphant victory over Jericho.
More than any weapon, the greatest weapon in the hands of a believer is praise, no matter what the situation. Let us learn to seek the Lord, and wait on Him for our deliverance. We must just obey the Lord even if it sounds contradictory to our thinking and go forward without arguing or complaining.
God favors those who honor Him
Gideon honors God
We read in Judges 6:17-19, So Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Please do not depart from here, until I come back to you, and bring out my offering and lay it before you.” And He said, “I will remain until you return.” Then Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the oak and presented them.” (NASB)
The offering that Gideon brought to the Lord was of great worth. An ‘ephah of flour’ was approximately 16 kgs of flour, and with it he offered a young goat. Though the Israelites and Gideon were facing a season of famine, Gideon chose to honor the angel of the Lord who visited him with his very best. Gideon requested the angel of the Lord to wait for him, while he went to prepare the offering. The angel of the Lord willingly waited, probably for a considerable amount of time, solely because the Lord wished to esteem Gideon for his generosity. We read that those that wait on the Lord will renew their strength, but in this incident we witness a contrast where the angel of the Lord willingly waited for Gideon.
Gideon could have given a small offering, but he decided to bring a huge offering to the Lord, because he knew that God would soon change their situation of want to one of plenty. Gideon looked ahead with eyes of faith, and decided to honor God who was soon going to deliver them from the oppression of the Midianites and bring in abundant blessings to Israel.
When we honor God with what we have, He will surely honor us. When we have an appointment to meet with a dignitary, we strive to be on time or even earlier but how often we dilly dally when going to church on Sunday? Let us make is our resolve to honor God in everything we do, and with all that we have.
Gideon’s life transformed from fear to faith and he was emboldened to lead Israel to victory. This revolution was possible because Gideon found favor with God. God favored Gideon because he was humble, implicitly obedient, and sought to honor God wholeheartedly.
If like Gideon we too decide to walk in humility and obedience, seeking God’s honor alone, we will become a great blessing to those around us because God’s favor will rest on us. May we honor God with everything we have; our lives, our family, our time, our possessions, our talents, our strength, and whatever else we have. We must decide to spend much time with God, honoring God, and when we do that God will honor us, our family and the society around us.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
