So Gideon's story takes place at a time where the Israelites were doing evil, which happened a lot in the Old Testament. And because of their behavior God decided to turn them over to their enemies, they sowed destruction and reaped it in return. One cool thing about this is that even though it looked like everyone was working together to kill of the believers, they couldn't prevail because of God's promise to His people. So when the people began to cry out God answered and He answered with Gideon, who was wise enough to hide food from his oppressors to feed his family. An angel calls him a mighty man of valor, and if we think about it Gideon was just a normal person who wanted food to eat yet he was regarded as brave by an angel of the Lord. What happens next? The battle? No! (Sprays with water)
Gideon doesn't test God once, but twice. Gideon is told to destroy the alters of the idols of his father's house and he is scared. He is so scared that he waits until night to follow God's instructions but he does it and earns a new name along the way. Because he saw how God had taken care of him in that situation when Judges 6:37-40 came around he was fully prepared to save Israel if it really was the will of the Lord, but just to be sure Gideon asked for confirmation, again. Sometimes you just have to be sure, right? Make sure you do it humbly though, like Gideon.
The Bible doesn't show how Gideon got so many followers or what happened in between chapters 6 and 7 but there were so many people behind him that God couldn't use it for His glory. He had 32,000 people and had to whittle it down until God was satisfied so he sent home everyone who was afraid and everyone who drank water a certain way. By only having 300 men the Lord makes sure they cannot try and say that the victory comes from their own strength or power. Something I find interesting is that all 300 men have trumpets. But that is a story for another time. So Gideon goes down to the enemy camp, just him and a servant and everything happens just as God said it would. Gideon hears a dream being interpreted and becomes encouraged. Side Note: Just because you are afraid doesn't mean something is wrong with you, it just means you should spend more time with Him.
Gideon has an amazing plan and not only sent the enemy running but pursued them, He even sent messengers out to tell other Israelites to attack if these people came within their borders. And wouldn't you know it? Just like some of the people in our lives here comes Ephraim, saying that if someone would have told them they would have joined in the fight. But honestly. they just wanted the glory that came with the win. Would they have been there if Gideon lost? Not a chance. I can just imagine Gideon giving them some serious side eye but he kept his negative comments to himself and abates their anger through soft words. There is a difference between abating someone's anger and appeasing them, so be mindful of that.
Gideon's battle was not over though, they went after the Midianite kings too. This is when Gideon messes up. He asks for provision from a neighboring town but is refused. In his pride and anger he says that he will have victory over them as well because they denied them what he asked (and they were rude tbh). Something interesting, they do get the victory over these lands but Gideon only attacked because of his own sense of justice, he did not go to God and hear from him. Let me know what you think of that in the comments.
After Gideon returns home the people want to make him king (this is before the time of Saul, recall) but Gideon has gotten back to his old self and announces that the only one to rule Israel is the Lord. Go Gideon! However, and this is where you can shake your head, Gideon does something extremely stupid next. He takes all the gold plunder that the people had collected and builds an ephod which makes the people follow him anyway, leading to an immense swelling of the head. To conclude our story, there are 40 years of peace in the land because of Gideon but as soon as he dies things change and get even worse than they were before and a part of that is because of Gideon's own son, someone named Abimelech. If you are unfamiliar with Abimelech I suggest you do some research, this dude was straight evil.
Anyway, Gideon was more than just a man with an army, he had his ups and he surely had his downs and yet God still used him and blessed him with 71 sons, not including the daughters. Who has that many kids???? Just because you mes up doesn't mean God is upset or anything like that, it means He wants an apology and for you to return home, which is where we should all be.
Disclaimer: Everything comes from KJV!
The Song for Today:Sweet Victory by Trip Lee
Much love,
Chy
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