Judges 6-7: Gideon (2)

Gideon's Victory

Gideon, as we have seen, was a man of wavering faith, a man who needed much assurance and evidence that God would fulfill his promise. God placed him in a position of prominence, leadership and responsibility; yet one has the feeling that it was sometimes all too much for him.

Nonetheless, chapter 7 ends with victory over the Midianites and their leaders. So the question we are asking in this study is -- how did this kind of man secure this kind of victory? What were the elements of this victory? What has this experience to teach us?

It seems to me that as we read through Judges 7, we are shown three things about Gideon.

(1) 7:1-8 -- Gideon emptied

Perhaps it was because of the fleece that Gideon needed further refining and emptying. Gideon was able to marshall an army of some 32,000 people to fight against the Midianites. But, after having heaped up assurance on assurance that the Lord would actually do what he promised, Gideon now requires to be emptied of all self-reliance and self-confidence to make it evident that God alone is the Lord of his people and their armies.

It is important to note this point at the beginning of chapter 7; God says to Gideon 'The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me saying, My own hand has saved me' (7:2). God will not give his glory to any other, not even to his own people. They are to learn that the work is all of grace -- it is all his, and must remain so.

So the first test is to ask the crowd for those who wish to return home to do so. That one act reduced the army by 22000. Almost two thirds returned out of fear. They opted for the escape route, for the getout clause. It is important to appreciate that this too was a provision of God's law. In Deuteronomy 20, God gave laws concerning warfare; 20:8 states

And the officers shall speak further to the people and say, Is there any many who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.

So although this was the means God used to reduce the army, deliberately to make Israel weak, the law took a commonsense approach. Better a small army of committed people than a large army which can be made ineffective through the fears of a few. Fear is contagious, and has a torment which stings and bites. God's people are to be warriors of love, because perfect love casts out fear.

Even at 10,000, however, the Lord judged Gideon's army to be too large. Bearing in mind that the Midianite threat was 120,000 strong (8:10), this seemed a strange calculation. But sometimes weakness is necessary; God considers it necessary to empty us further and further, so that we can say with Paul 'I am content with weaknesses ... for when I am weak, then I am strong' (2 Corinthians 12:10).

But the size of the scale-down is still staggering. God left Gideon with only 300 men; Israel was going to fight Midian against overwhelming proportions: each Israelite warrior faced 400 Midianites. The method of scale-down was that the 10,000 men who were left were taken to the water. Some knelt down to drink; others crouched or lay down and scooped up the water in their hands, lapping it with their tongues. These latter were the ones God chose.

We must not read too much into this. It's not that the ones who lapped were more vigilant or careful than the rest. It is just that God has a habit of doing his work his own way, and sometimes in ways that defy all human logic and explanation. This was a means of separating, of taking 300 chosen warriors apart from the rest. Through them, God will do great things. Sometimes God does this; he casts aside our preconceptions, and overthrows our logic. He leaves us with a reduced capacity, simply in order to fill us with his own power and strength.

(2) 7:9-18 -- Gideon encouraged

Having emptied Gideon, God granted Gideon a further token of his purpose and of his presence, allowing him to overhear a conversation between Midianites, which gave Gideon the assurance of victory. What a gracious God he proved to be; he gave tokens of assurance when Gideon asked, and guarantees of victory when he did not.

Indeed, God's pastoral care of Gideon is evident in the words spoken to him in verses 9-11:

Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. And you shall hear what they say, and afterwards your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.

God was sending Gideon out to face the Midianite camp, but he knows his servant -- he knows his weaknesses, his fears and his anxieties. For that reason, he makes another remarkable provision. He asks Gideon to go to the outskirts of the camp, where he will overhear a conversation. 'If you are afraid', says God, 'go at night, and take someone with you ... afterwards your hands will be strong'.

These words are magnificent. God has emptied Gideon, but not in order to leave him empty. He has reduced him, but not to leave him overwhelmed. He has taken away much from him, but not in order to leave him empty-handed. He has pruned him; but as Jesus makes plain in John 15:2ff, God always prunes these branches united to the vine, not so that they will be bare, but so that they will be fruitful. The most effective way to fruitfulness, effectiveness and growth is under God's pruning-knife.

God will never leave us desolate, forsaken or empty. He will encourage us when we need it, and he will sometimes do it through the most surprising of methods. Gideon overheard a man telling his friend about his dream. The previous night, he dreamt of a cake rolling into a Midianite tent and causing it to tumble. God, who overrules all things, overrules our dreams too. There was a reason why the man had dreamt it that night, and not the night before; a reason why he told it to his comrade at the very edge of the camp, and in earshot of Gideon. God wanted Gideon to hear and to know that victory was assured.

How many different ways does God use to encourage his people? Can we limit him? If being a Christian means anything, it means that we can see significance in things beyond their size. One word can lift us up. One experience can encourage us. One insight can give us the assurance that God is with us. And 'afterwards' our hands are strengthened and we can get on with the task.

(3) 7:19-25 -- Gideon engaged

Of course, none of this was enough on its own. Gideon had to face Midian. There had to be engagement. There had to be fighting. It could not be done without a battle plan, without strategy, and without conflict.

The battle plan was simple: each warrior would take a jar, with a torch inside it. Each would also take a trumpet. None of them took a sword. Instead, when the trumpets sounded and the 300 warriors raised the torches, the Midianites turned on one another, fled and were pursued by Israel. The princes of Mideon, Oreb and Zeeb, were taken and killed.

So, with the help of the Lord, and carrying a light and a sword, Gideon and his men were able to dislodge Midian and behead the princes. That is all we need too -- God's word as our lamp (Psalm 119:105) and as our sword (Ephesians 6:17), and with God assisting us we will be equipped with strength (Psalm 18:32).

When Gideon went out, something marvellous happened: the army which God had pruned, grew again, as assistance came from the tribes of Naphtali, Asher and Manasseh (7:23) and then from Ephraim (7:24). What a blessing we can be to others when we have been pruned by the Lord! This was the Lord's doing, and it was wondrous in the eyes of all of Israel!

Throughout the narrative, it is evident that this is the Lord's battle. It is God who fights for Israel. As the people obey him, trusting to him, he demonstrates both his power and his covenant faithfulness. They live to see a day of the right hand of the Most High. The weapons of their warfare are spiritual, not carnal. To that extent, Gideon has much to teach us.