Gideon, The Hesitant Warrior
From the Book of Judges Chapter 6
The
Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them
into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so
oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts,
caves and strongholds.
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. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he
said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if
the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders
that our ancestors told us about when
they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt
The
Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel
“Pardon
me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel
The
Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the
Midianites, leaving none alive.”
The call of Gideon, deals with
the subject of fear, doubt and insecurity. It also deals with the feeling of
hopelessness and despair. All of us at one point have experienced, self doubt,
fear, and despair. Some of us might have
felt forsaken.
As we go through these life
experiences, God’s word is as relevant today as it was during the time of
Gideon. We can draw a lesson from Gideon, a man, who came from the lowest class
among the tribes of Israel ,
obscure, insignificant, and hopelessly insecure.
The story of Gideon happened at a
time when Israel , did what
was evil in the sight of God, so for seven years, God allowed Israel ’s
enemies the Midianites to overpower and oppress them. So cruel were the
Midinites that the Israelites hid in mountain caves and clefts. They were
bereft of any courage to go against their oppressors, they simply despaired of
life, losing all hope.
God’s anger against his people
soon waned. It was now time to liberate them from their enemies, and to show
mercy to His people, who thought the Lord had abandoned them.
The angel of the Lord appeared to
Gideon, who was threshing wheat in a wine press. Gideon was simply doing a
menial task. All he cared for was to do his work, so he and his family would be
able to survive. He had no other ambition. Then an angel came, who greeted him,
“The Lord is with you Mighty Warrior”. Gideon was surprised, because far from
being a warrior, he was a worker in the field. He also thought the greeting was
absurd, because he thought how could God be with him, when even the entire
people of Israel
have been abandoned by God?
So Gideon spoke to the angel with
a hint of disappointment, saying, “ Pardon me, my lord, but if the Lord is with
us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our
ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt ?’
But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
Gideon’s reaction was a natural
reaction, characterizing the general sentiment of his people, who thought God
had forgotten them. Losing all hope ever escaping from the clutches of their
oppressors, Gideon, was full of self doubt.
We too have experienced the
feeling of being hopeless and forsaken. And like Gideon we doubt God’s
encouragement, and promises, belittling ourselves. The angel’s greeting was heartening.
The angel greeted Gideon with words too superfluous for him to believe.
Here is an ordinary obscure
workman described by the angel as a mighty warrior. Not only this, the angel said
that the Lord was with him. And yet Gideon doubted if he ever amounted to
anything the angel said of him. The spirit of timidity has taken control of
Gideon.
God had chosen Gideon despite his
moral weakness. God commanded Gideon, with the assurance that He is sending him
to go and save Israel
out of the hands of their enemies.
And yet Gideon still full of
insecurity and self doubt put up excuses. He said he was weak, and least among
his clan. He appraised himself and felt was not up to the task. Fear had overcome his
will. Gideon looked at the circumstances surrounding himself that he lost sight
of the fact that the God of his people is an all powerful God upon whom he should
completely trust.
Again God reassured Gideon,
saying, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites,
leaving none alive.”
In today’s world, we face hard
and difficult circumstances, even as we fight the fierce battles of life. All
too often we draw strength upon our own resources. We are apt to follow Gideon’s
poor and gloomy outlook, that we forget we have a great and powerful God, who
declares, “I am with you, go, Am I not sending you? I will be with you.”
My friends, God has not given us a
spirit of fear and timidity but of power, love and self-discipline.(2 Timothy
1:7)
Think about it.
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