Lessons from Gideon's Story

It is such an encouragement that the records of Gideon shows that God is faithful and powerful.

From an army of 32001 (including Gideon) to deliver Israel, He decided to choose 301 instead. The reason is found in Judges 7:2 (NASB) whereby ²the LORD said to Gideon, "The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, 'My own power has delivered me.'

It is interesting to note that among those people who were about to fight the battle, 22000 were fearful and were sent back. Yet God said that the number is still too many. After another test, 9700 were sent back home and the final number for the battle is 301.

What can we learn from this episode?

1)      Many response to the call (Judges 6:33-35) but not all response with faith.

Those who did not response with faith and in faith, they were eventually sent back.

22000 of Gideon’s initial army were sent back because they were fearful. They could have had the greatest adventure in their lives and telling their story to their descendants.

It is a reality in life that often when we response to a call of God, we may not response in faith. Faith is necessary for this journey and great adventure with God.

2)      301 chosen because of certain good qualities God requires

In the test to separate the 10000, 300 were chosen because of the way they drank the water. These 300 were watchful and alert, qualities needed for warfare. They were chosen for this adventure and eventually they were able to tell this great deliverance to others: God has used them mightily.

It is encouraging to know that in terms of God’s agenda and events, He does not need a huge number because it is all about His Glory and His Name. Yet He needs people of faith and those who are of good qualities.

Conclusion:

As we are preparing ourselves for His great move in our lives and in history, we need not focus on the number which can sometimes discourage us. Instead we focus on God who is able. We focus on our preparation: our Faith and our quality or our characters. We focus on building up others for God’s use.  

God our Lord, who demonstrated His Power and Faithfulness in this episode in the Book of Judges, will surely be able to do the same thing in our lives.