An Unlikely Hero...Part 6

Okay, I'm going to wrap this up today if it takes me ALL day!
So, Gideon now has an army of 300. THREE HUNDRED. Let that sink it. It's a soaker, as my dad likes to say, lol.
The enemy has a cool 135,000 but we're not worried because God is on our side, right?

Riiiiiight. Gideon's scared to death. 

They're camped out, waiting for the signal to attack, and God knows Gideon is still having some trust issues. So, once again, He calms His child down. He tells Gideon, Arise, go fight the Midianites, for I have delivered them into your hand! But....just in case you are still afraid...take your servant and go listen to what they're talking about. THAT will make you feel better!


So little Gideon 'neaks down (sorry, I have a 5 yr old with a "s" blend problem...it works it's way into my vocabulary from time to time ☺) into the enemy's camp in the middle of the night and overhears two soldiers discussing a dream.

The one man tells his dream:


A loaf of barley tumbles into the camp and knocks a tent down.

Now, I would have said, Boy, you been eatin' too much lamb pizza! 
But his companion says, Yep, we're all gonna DIE. It's just a sign that Gideon & His God are going to kill us all.

How's that for faith?! He had more faith in Gideon and the God he served than Gideon had himself!

I love that God let him hear that dream. I love that He took Gideon's insecurities in to account and, instead of rebuking him, He calmed him. Tell me He doesn't love us! That He isn't for us, and won't help us!

So, Gideon and the 300 men surround the camp in 3 groups of 100 men each, with only a trumpet in one hand and clay pot in the other, covering up a torch. Now THAT takes faith. And from here on out, Gideon has faith in spades. No more hand holding by God, no more running scared, afraid to do what God called him to do. From that night onward, Gideon chases down the enemy one by one till they are wiped off the face of the earth. Just as God called him to do.

The highlight of Gideon's story for me is in chapter 8:

Gideon comes to the city of Succoth and asks for food & water to help his tired & hungry men on their chase of the two kings of Midian. The elders of Succoth say, Are the kings in your hand, that we should give you bread? So, basically, no kings, no bread. They had NO faith in Gideon or God to complete the task. To which Gideon replies:


I'm going to chase down and capture the two kings, then come back here and teach you a lesson! And he does.

Man after my own heart ☺


He comes to another town and they respond the same way and he tells this town,
"When I come back in peace, I'm going to tear down your tower!" And he does.

Listen at that faith! Not if, but when!

Gideon is a changed man. He now has the confidence in God, and himself, he needs to get the job done. What a transformation!


A lot of people think Gideon went out of kind of a low note, but I disagree:

When he returns from battle, the men of Israel ask him to be their king. Rule over them, fight their enemies, be their leader. He turns it down and says something I love:

"...the Lord shall rule over you."

But he makes a rookie mistake. A human mistake, if you will. He knows he did good. He wants a little something, a token, to remind everyone what he and God just accomplished. So he takes some of the gold jewelry they recovered and builds a statue of an ephod, a short vest the priest wore in service to God.

I think he had good intentions. I don't think he turned down the position of king and proclaimed that God was their king and leader, only to turn around a build a statue to worship. Remember, they usually built a pile of rocks as a memorial when God did something for them. I think he wanted a memorial for all to remember what God had accomplished for them; he just went about it the wrong way. 


So he erected this statue in his hometown and, while it does not say that Gideon himself worshiped the statue, the Bible says it became a snare to him and the Israelites and they began to worship the memorial, the statue, instead of the One the statue was built in honor of. Maybe he did, I don't know, but I like to think his heart was in the right place when he made it.

That still goes on today, by the way: people love to worship nature, instead of the One who formed it and controls it. Or worship a human being, another creation of the Master Creator. I've said it before in church...it's like worshiping a light bulb when you have the sun. The light bulb is a wanna be sun. 

 
Okay, so I'm done with Gideon!!! What did we learn? God is loving and patient with His people. If He has chosen you for a job, He'll equip you. He often chooses the least likely and able, because He then receives the glory when they succeed. And He holds our hand. He's a loving Father, a parent, who does not leave us on our own but holds our hand and walks us through each trial and fight. He's on OUR side! And if God be for us....who cares who is against us!


I wish you'd comment if you read this story on Gideon and give me your thoughts. Or if you agree/disagree. Or if you hated it, liked it, couldn't finish it...whatever! I feel like I'm typing to the wall sometimes. ☺

God bless!