Saturday, November 9, 2024

Mighty Warrior

A series on the Judges of Israel
 – Gideon from the tribe of Manasseh
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Judges 6 

[The book of Judges is a roller coaster ride. It’s about the history of Israel following their entry into the Promised Land. Unfortunately, Israel went through cycles of rejecting God and then repenting. Each time, the Lord saved them by raising up a leader who was called a judge. In this series, we will be looking at some of these judges to learn about God’s character as well as our own.]

  

1 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.    NIV

 

Bam! Just like that! The cycle started again! Only this time, the Lord didn’t oppress Israel through an occupying nation, but instead through a nation of nomadic herdsmen that invaded the lush Jezreel Valley, the breadbasket of Israel. Like clockwork, when Israel was harvesting their crops, the Midianites would invade.

 

These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts; they arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help. NLT

 

Because the Midianites were so cruel, the Israelites hid in the “mountain clefts, caves and strongholds”, especially when they were harvesting crops. Such was the case for Gideon who was hiding in a winepress to harvest his wheat.

 

An angel of the Lord appeared and spoke to Gideon saying, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Gideon was anything but a “mighty warrior”. He saw himself as a fearful farmer. A man whose clan was the weakest and whose family worshiped Baal. He even accused the Lord of abandoning Israel. Here’s what the Lord said.

 

14 Then the Lord turned to Gideon and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”            NLT

 

Gideon needed reassurance. Therefore, he asked the angel to show him a sign that it was the Lord who was speaking to him. It was a small step of faith, but Gideon was “going with the strength you have”.

 

Following this, the angel gave Gideon a challenge. He told Gideon to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and the Asherah pole. Because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, Gideon did it at night. Still, he took a huge risk. This step of faith brought him closer to being ready to fulfill the angel’s title of “mighty warrior”.

 

As the Midianites and their allies gathered in the Jezreel Valley, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon. He called the Israelites to prepare to fight. But even then, before Gideon was willing to go to battle, he twice asked the Lord for a sign.

 

Gideon was no different than you or me. He was afraid to take risks; to step out in faith; to lose control. He saw himself as the world saw him, not as the Lord saw him. He let the culture around him shape his life. Despite this, when he was called and sent by the Lord, he obeyed.

 

16 The Lord said to Gideon, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”      NLT

 


The Lord doesn’t want a mighty warrior. He wants us to “go with the strength you have” and in the knowledge that the Lord will be with us.

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment