Mountain Movers

"And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon" (Hebrews 11:32)

The writer had only a limited time to tell about the great examples of faith found in the Bible. Certainly he could have told a lot about Gideon to his audience. However, for the sake of brevity, he was only able to mention the name of Gideon.

We first read about Gideon in Judges 6. Gideon arrived at a saving time for the people of Israel-- they had slid back into their previous wicked ways and were reaping the consequences of their sin by being oppressed by the Midianites.

Eventually, wearied by their suffering, they cried out to God to rescue them. God decided to respond in the most unlikely of ways by choosing a hero for them who would have otherwise been overlooked by the world. As an answer to the prayers of the Israelites, God sent His angel to appear before His chosen leader, Gideon. When the angel appeared to Gideon, he said, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior."

Gideon was in the midst of threshing wheat when the angel hailed him a mighty warrior. Gideon was most likely startled by this greeting-- what was he a warrior of-- warrior of wheat? God had a heroic vision for this humble farmer's life. How did Gideon respond? He questioned everything that happened around him. He even accused God of abandoning the Israelites and delivering them into their enemies' clutches. God demonstrated His grace by equipping this unlikely savior to pluck his people from out of the hand of the Midianites.

Was Gideon convicted that he was the right one for the job of leadership? He reminded the angel of God of how weak he was in his family and amongst his clan. He begged God for a sign. Only when God complied with convincing proofs was he ready to move forward.

Gideon's his first assignment was to decimate the pagan altar in town. Gideon, along with ten other servants decided to demolish the altar in the dark because they were too afraid to do it during the daytime. When the townspeople discovered that Gideon and his band had carried out this act against the shrines of their god Baal, they cried out for their deaths. Gideon's father intervened, proposing that Baal defend himself against Gideon. This seemed fair to the Baal-worshipers but, ultimately, because Baal was imaginary and lifeless, nothing happened to Gideon and his followers.

Throughout this venture, Gideon's faith gradually built. As Gideon received word of the oncoming attack of the raging Baal-worshipers, he rallied his thousands of men to meet the Midianites. However, God had something to say about this.

"You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, "Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead."#34; So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. (Judges 7:2-3)

This pronouncement must have shook Gideon's infant faith in a huge way. He watched helplessly as the vast numbers of followers chose to abscond. Even before the desertion, the odds of defeating Midian were now stacked heavily against him. However, God still had a "surprise" in store for Gideon and his army. Because God's directive was to pare down his army even further, Gideon dispatched the remaining warriors to the riverbank to drink water. The 300 who lapped their water when they drank were the ones whom God chose to fight against the Midianites.

This imbalance between the two sides, 300 against thousands, must have seen like a 'suicide mission'. God knew Gideon needed encouragement at this point so he urged Gideon to go with his servant to the edge of the Midianite camp. As Gideon and Purah went, they overheard one man telling another about a dream of how Gideon and his army would defeat the Midianites.

Gideon's confidence and his faith were boosted by what was surely a supernatural revelation. He responded by readying his men and attacking the the Midianites. God orchestrated a chaotic series of events wherein the Midianites turned their slaughtering prowess on each other, and the Israelites accomplished the unimaginable-- they conquered the powerful Midian masses! Even beyond that, in Judges 8:28, it is written: "Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon's lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years."

Because of the God-built faith of one unlikely leader, a small unprepared group was equipped to take down a hugely powerful nation's heavily resourced army. Gideon started off faithless, discouraged, ordinary, and weak but was transformed into the faithful and mighty warrior that God destined him to be.

Gideon needed each one of the 300 remaining warriors to share in the vision God gave him. If any of them just focused on what they saw, they would have been overwhelmed and most likely would have given up. However, Gideon's faith helped strengthen his men and they collectively won the battle for God.

The greatest warrior that day was God. Exodus 14 says, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." If it was only up to the strength of the Israelites, they would have lost. Yet, they won because they totally relied upon God as they fought for Him.

Like Gideon, God places us in situations where the odds seem insurmountable. Believe this: God can give you victory when you let him. Like He did with Gideon, God will give us the encouragement we need to gain victory for Him.

In the next chapter, we will look Barak. He was another example of someone who had to overcome great odds in order to achieve conquest for God.