Modern Day Gideon

I was reading in Judges 6, beginning in verse 11, the account of Gideon and God calling him to defeat the army of their enemy, the Midianites.

Verse 11 begins, Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior." Hear how God expresses how he sees Gideon as a valiant warrior.

Verse 13 Then Gideon said to him, "O my Lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian."

I was recently counseling a gentleman who was basically saying the same thing about his life. "God, if you are with me, why then has all this happened to my family and me? And where are all your miracles which I read and hear about? It's obvious you have abandoned me and given me over to my enemies."
He was seeing his life and himself, not the way God sees him, but he saw himself based on his circumstances and experiences.

Verse 14, The LORD looked at him and said, "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?" Go in this your strength. What was "this"? God was trying to open Gideon's eyes to a strength other than his own. To see himself as God sees him, a valiant warrior. Gideon saw himself only as a mere man. Paul refers to this in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 and tells them they are still fleshly, meaning they are still living in their own resources and performance instead of by the Spirit. He says they are living and walking as mere men, their eyes firmly fixed on themselves.
Paul describes "this strength not of ourselves" in Phil. 4:11-13 Paul concludes that no matter what the circumstances, his strength, comes solely from depending on God. So he declares, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

God says to Gideon, "Have I not sent you?" We see Gideon hesitant to believe God even though an angel of God is sitting with him and speaking directly to him. We see by Gideon's response he still does not see as God sees. He allows his circumstances to guide him.

15 He said to Him, "O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house."

How many times are we like Gideon? Simply not believing what God has said. We are completely forgiven, past, present, and future, once, for all time but believe and act like we are not. Heb. 10:12.
We have been made righteous in Christ, but continually try to be more righteous to please God more. 2 Cor. 5:21.
We are sanctified and in union with the living God, but I believe God is distant and disinterested in me, and I need to do more to maintain or improve my relationship with Him. 1Cor. 1:30

Verse 16 But the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man." 17 So Gideon said to Him, "If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me. 18 Please do not depart from here, until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You." And He said, "I will remain until you return."

Gideon is coming around at this point but still needs proof from God. Thankfully God is filled with mercy, and Grace allows Gideon to bring a sacrifice to help open his eyes to what's been right in front of him all this time.

Verse 19 Then Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the oak and presented them. 20 The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. 22 When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face." 23 The LORD said to him, "Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die." 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and named it The LORD is Peace.

Do you not know when you are in Christ, you live in a better covenant than Gideon, one based on better promises? Hebrews 8:6-7 (NLT) 6 But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. 7 If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it.

God has spoken to you through His Living word, Jesus. He's not sending an angel to sit under an Oak tree with you. You live in union with him. Nothing can separate you from that union. Rom 8:39. We have His Spirit living inside us 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 , guiding us into truth, instructing, counseling, and comforting us. John 16:13-15

Gideon lived according to how he saw himself, which made him powerless to listen to what God was speaking, let alone believe it. God said, Gideon, you are my valiant warrior, but Gideon said, "Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house."

So what changed for Gideon? He began to believe God, and with just 300 men, he defeated the army of the Midianites, which numbered over 135,000 men.

He began to see as God sees, even in the face of incredible odds. He saw himself as God's valiant warrior, no longer dependent on his abilities but completely dependent on the strength given by God.

Maybe it's time to start considering what exactly we believe about God and ourselves. Religion is content to ask a man what are you doing for God. The gospel asks “what are you believing?”

You see, believing what God has said has always been a struggle for humanity. Maybe that's why when the disciples asked Jesus in John 6, "what is God's will?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

I encourage you to believe what God has said because, like Gideon, God is saying to you, "Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die."

@ Righteous Reminders!