Pastor Ben’s Ponderings

From The Desk Of Pastor Ben

“And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, ‘Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.’”       (Judges 7:15)

The story of Gideon is one of those stories that is better than fiction. From everything we read in Judges, Gideon was a lot like many of us. He needed to know what was going to happen before it happened. His name means “mighty warrior” but it looks like to me he preferred to play it safe. When God told Gideon He wanted to use him to rescue Israel, Gideon wanted proof. His first sign was given by an angel, but he needed more proof. (More proof than an angel?)
He laid wool outside on the ground at night, and he told God that if He really wanted to use him to help rescue Israel, to make the wool wet with dew in the morning but keep the grass around it dry. Well, he woke up the next morning and the wool was so wet he could wring the water out of it in a bowl, and the grass around it was completely dry. But Gideon still wasn’t satisfied! He asked God to keep the wool dry the next night and make the ground all around it wet. God humored him and did exactly that. I guess since Gideon was going to be leading his army into an enemy camp, he wanted too make sure he was hearing God right. And who can blame him? Leadership can be a scary thing!
When he gathered his army, he sent messengers all over the place and gathered thousands of men to help him win the battle. He wanted to make sure his army was stronger than his enemies! But then, God told him to send everyone home who was afraid and didn’t want to fight. So 22,000 men went home and he was left with 10,000 men. Then, God went on asking Gideon to test his men and be sure they were really fit for battle and, long story short, his mighty army that started off with 32,000 men strong had dwindled down to 300!
When the time came for Gideon and his little ensemble to approach the enemy camp, did they bring weapons? NO! They came in the dark with trumpets, clay pots and torches. Gideon stationed his men throughout the camp, and then when he gave them the cue, they started blowing their trumpets, smashing their clay pots, waving their torches and shouting “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” The Midianites freaked out! They got so crazy that they turned on each other and started killing each other with their swords! Only God could have come up with that scheme!
I love that God forces us to trust Him. Well, I don’t always love it. It’s uncomfortable. But when we are most dependent on Him, we are reminded that HE is the mighty One. He is the One winning our battles for us. I don’t know about you, but that helps me sleep a whole lot better at night!