S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

The account of Gideon's life is recorded in Judges 6:11-8:32. The backdrop for Gideon's biography begins with the Israelites being ravaged by the Midianites as a consequence of their disobedience t...

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July 01 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

The Man of Might and Valor: Gideon was perhaps the greatest of the judges (Wiersbe).

The one incident that I find most fascinating is the incident of the reduction of Gideon’s army from 32,000 to 10,000, then to only 300. God told Gideon, “Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.” 22,000 left, and I would have been one of them, too. Far too often am I a coward. Cowardice is an unwillingness to act in a situation of danger or opposition, because of fear. It is avoiding the source of one's anxiety or fear, rather than dealing with it directly. By and by, there were only 300 men against the countless swarms of Midian! Yes, but the few choice, brave, active men and God were in the majority [Romans 8:31 says, “If God be for us, then who can be against us?”]. God is not always on the side of big battalions. In a sermon on Gideon Dr. J. Vernon McGee repeatedly uses 1 Corinthians 1:27 which he quotes as saying, “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.”

Without doubt Gideon is among the brightest luminaries of Old Testament history. (Lockyer). Wiersbe also says, [There is] “a principle every Christian needs to take to heart: When God goes to war, He usually chooses the most unlikely soldiers, hands them the most unusual weapons, and accomplishes through them the most unpredictable results. 

“For example, God gave Shamgar an ox goad, and with it he killed 600 men (Jg 3:31). Jael used a hammer and tent peg to kill a captain (Jg 4:21), and Gideon routed the whole Midianite army with only pitchers and torches as weapons (Jg 7:20). Samson slaughtered 1,000 Philistines using the jawbone of an ass (Jg 15:15), and young David killed the giant Goliath with a stone hurled from a sling of a shepherd (1 Sam. 17). West Point is not likely to offer courses on how to use these weapons.” Wiersbe

June 20 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report