Gideon Mighty Warrior

Read Judges 6-7
 
Judges 6:12-13, 15 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” 13 “But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? …15 “But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
 
HERE again is the Angel of the LORD coming to empower a man to save his people. Here again is a reluctant man trying to excuse himself from God’s call.
   Gideon and the apostle Peter are two men I often connect with emotionally and spiritually. They had to similar responses to Christ’s call. For instance, the Angel – the pre-incarnate Christ – named Gideon “mighty Warrior”. Jesus – the incarnate God – labeled Peter “the rock”. Gideon says, “But, Lord.” twice here and later tests the LORD’s assignment for him three times, once with a food offering and twice with a fleece. “But Lord.”  was Peter’s response to Jesus’ prophecies of his crucifixion and resurrection. Plus, Peter three times denied he knew Jesus. Peter and Gideon were laborers of the sea and soil. They were uneducated and unqualified by the world’s standards to speak and act for God. But we are thankful I AM would not allow these men’s limitations to stop his redemptive work in Israel and to the world.
   God had “mighty Warrior” plans for Gideon. Gideon saw himself as a powerless scared farmer, hiding in a cistern to protect his meager crop. His goal was to stay alive and o get through each day. Feeling helpless often makes us feel hopeless.
   Then God set Gideon apart. God separated Gideon from idolatry, fear, doubts and his idol-worshiping family. Chosen by God, Gideon was born again to be a Mighty Warrior for God’s covenant. Step-by-step (Remember, go forward step-by-step.) the Holy Spirit replaced, “But, Lord.” in Gideon’s heart with a “Yes, LORD!” devotion in his soul. Gideon’s faith grew to fully trust God’s commands to become God’s Mighty Warrior. The LORD had spoken it, and Gideon lived it. The physical victories defeated the pagan power and cleansed Israel for 40 years.
 
One More Thought:
One part of Gideon’s story we often put aside is the brokenness in his family. His father and community worshiped Baal. Gideon had to destroy the altar to Baal. The townspeople would have killed Gideon if his father had not protected him. Not only did Moab oppress Israel, this idolatry was suffocating Israel’s relationship with God.
   It is difficult to imagine how a people whom God had so especially chosen to be his very own, unique nation among the entire creation could be so devoted to gods of other nations and of their own making. What happens in the human heart that we become so quickly and easily devoted to faceless, lifeless objects over the living God?