We have all heard the story of Gideon, son of Joash. The man who was found by God beating wheat in a winepress out of fear, called a mighty man of valor. God calls Gideon to lead an army of men and attack the opposing people of Midian, who had for seven years treated Israel as slaves. At first, Gideon is confused. "Me, lead an army, against MIDIAN? My family is the least of my tribe, and I am the least of my family. Surely, you made a mistake when you called me, God." Have you ever had these thoughts. God calls you to a task yet you assume he made a mistake and should have called someone else. We don't know why God called Gideon, but whatever the reason, God knew what he was doing then, and he knows what he is doing now as he calls you. Anyway, back to Gideon. After God tells him what he wants him to do, Gideon asks God to do a few tests, you know, just to make sure. Gideon spoke to God, saying, "If you are going to deliver Israel, through me, as you have spoken, behold I will put a fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, I will know that you will deliver Israel through me, as you have spoken." Of course, the next morning, Gideon found the fleece just as he asked, enough dew to fill a bowl full of water. "O, God" said Gideon, "Do not let your anger burn against me, but i will lay the fleece out again tonight and tomorrow, if the fleece is dry, but everything around it is wet, then I will know that you have called me." So the next morning, Gideon again found it as he requested. Ok. Now Gideon is on board here. Time to rally the troops. Gideon pulls together an impressive army. An army surpassing 32,000 men. Alright, here we go. With the amount of men we have, the army might still be a challenge, but we are large enough that we can do defeat them. Wait? What? Too big? How can we be too big? The bigger the better, right? No? Ok, God. "If you are terrified of this battle, go on home." Apparently, Midian had to have been pretty impressive, because 22,000 men left, leaving 10,000 to stay and fight. Ok, lets do this. Fighting the army with 32,000 would have been easier, but I beleive me and these 10,000 men will be up for the challenge. Here we...What? Your kidding me? Still to many? God you must be crazy. The Midianite army surpass us 10 to 1 and you are telling me we still have to many? Ok, God. If you say so. "Ok, men, take five and go get a drink from the stream.""How will I know who to keep and who goes. Wait, Those 300 men are drinking the water in a civilized way, yet the other 9,700 are licking it up like dogs. Ok, God, 300 it is. This makes sense now. The bigger my army, the less glory you get and the more boastful we get. But right now, I have 300 men. No one would believe that me and 300 men took on the whole army of Midian. You shrunk down my army in order that you get the glory. I'm ready Lord, give me your plan. God tells Gideon to split his men into 3 sections, a 100 men to each. Give each man a lit torch and an empty vessel. Have the men positioned around the enemy's camp and when you blow the trumpet, each man must break their vessel that is over their torch and blow their horns. Gideon tells this to the people and they begin to get ready for battle. On the night they plan on taking Midian, God calls Gideon over to the camp. Gideon overhears a dream being spoken between two Midianites. Here is what was said,"Behold, I had a dream. A loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it, so it fell, and turned it upside down so the tent laid flat" His friend replied saying," This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon, son of Joash. God has given Midian into his hands". Yeah, Confirmation. Gideon had seen the test and now heard the vision. I can imagine he was pumped for this battle. He had no idea what God was going to do, but he had full confidence that he would do something unforgettable. So Gideon goes to his place with one unit of men, breaks the vessel, blows the trumpet and proclaims," For the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. The men follow suit, and pretty soon, 300 trumpets are blowing and torches are waving and a war cry is being shouted. This causes mass confusion in the Midianite camp, and they begin slaying themselves, thinking they are under full attack. Not one Midian survived. How cool is that? Not a single sword was drawn from Israel, yet every enemy was slain that day.
God is calling you to crazy things. and it may seem like he is given you just enough resources to get by. but even when you only have a small army, God has got the armies of Heaven ready to fight on our behalf. He is simply waiting on us to answer the call and Listen to his plan.
To God be all the glory, forever and ever- Galatians 1:5
Adam Semple- a young man on a mission from God.
*photo credit- Veggietales- Gideon Tuba Warrior
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