The Lord works in ways we never
thought of. He works in ways we never expected. When we start with
our God-given task we might think that it might work out this way
or that and then something totally different happens and we stand
in awe. When the Lord called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt he
most probably thought that he would go to Egypt, ask Pharaoh to go
and by the Grace of the Lord then lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
But the Lord had other plans. He wanted to teach the Egyptians a
lesson and He wanted to display His awesome power through the ten
plagues. The same thing happened with Gideon.
In the first place things got much
worse for Gideon once the Lord called him (Just like Moses!). The
Lord told Gideon to pull down his father's altar to Baal and to cut
down the Asherah pole beside it. He was to build an altar to the
Lord and sacrifice a bull on it. Gideon obeyed and did just that.
He was a bit afraid to do it, so he did it at night when no one
could see him. But at least he did what he was told. And the very
next morning when the people saw what was done, they were angry and
immediately searched around for the culprit. When they found out
that it was Gideon who did it, they wanted to kill him (PS It is
just beautiful to me how his father stood up for him when the mob
came to kill Gideon). What a start to his campaign to rescue his
people! His very own people wanted to kill him, never mind the
enemy. Just like Moses when he first went to Pharaoh, his own
people wanted to get rid of him too as their circumstances
deteriorated because of him.
So once again when you start doing
what is required of you, don't be surprised when things firstly get
much worse and your own people turn against you and even want to
stop you. The Lord works in different mysterious ways. Simply
trust in Him that things would work out as it should. Just don't
give up.
As I said, the Lord works
differently than expected. Once Gideon was fired up and ready to go
and rescue the Israelites, his first mission was to get as many
warriors as possible to get rid of this ferocious army once and for
all. He blew the ram's horn to summon all the warriors of Israel.
He called on the clan of Abiezer and sent messengers throughout the
tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali to gather armed
men. He managed to get 32 000 men in total to be part of his mighty
army. But the Lord once again had other plans. He asked Gideon to
send away all the men who were afraid. Twenty-two thousand left.
That must have been a very disheartening sight for Gideon. Imagine
feeling quite safe with your army of 32 000 and suddenly two thirds
of them leave! And to top it off, the Lord goes further and divides
the men into two groups and sends home another 9 700. Of the 32 000
only 300 remained! Wow, Gideon must have been scared to death! Here
he was with only 300 men to take on the army of Midian, Amalek and
the people of the east. The Bible says they were like a swarm of
locusts and their camels were like the grains on the seashore. What
an intimidating sight that must have been! And here he was with
merely 300 men. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
However, even though He works
mysteriously, and even though everything may look dismal and
hopeless, He will give us the courage to go on. He did just that
for Gideon.
Judges 7:9-11: "Go down to the
Midianite camp, for I have given you victory over them! But if you
are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah.
Listen to what the Midianites are saying, and you will be greatly
encouraged. Then you will be eager to attack."
Gideon did go and he heard how one
of the Midianites had a dream that the Lord will give victory to
him over all the armies united with Midian. Which the Lord then
did. All Gideon and his 300 men did was to blow on their ram's
horns and break their jars and shout "A sword for the Lord and
Gideon!" and the alliance forces were thrown into turmoil. They
even started killing one another. All Gideon did was stand and
watch. And once the momentum was gained he rolled into action and
mobilized his forces. But ultimately the Lord rescued them and
brought the victory, in a totally unexpected way.
The Lord would do the same for you.
If you feel that the odds are against you, if you feel that you
will not be able to cope, if you are afraid, remember that Gideon
felt the same way. The Lord will encourage you, the Lord will fight
on your behalf. The Lord will bring the victory, maybe in totally
another way than you expected, but the Lord is true and just. He
will make all things work for good for those who trust in Him
(Romans 8:28).
Gideon had victory over the forces
and he reigned in peace for 40 years. May you also experience peace
after the storm. But firstly you need to be obedient. Gideon would
probably have died in that winepress if he didn't obey. Or most
likely the Lord would have found someone else, and he would have
died still as the least in his entire family. But now he died
peacefully as the leader of a mighty nation. He died as a mighty
hero. Why? Because he obeyed the Lord.
Lord help us to obey You. Even if
Your ways looks so strange and not as we expect it to look. Help us
to take action even thought we feel afraid. Thank you that we can
know that You will encourage us. Amen