Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 79: Gideon

Good afternoon, everyone!

Today I read Judges 6-7, which is Gideon's story.

Now Gideon wasn't anyone very important. He was the youngest son in the least family of the half-tribe of Manasseh.

No one really knew who he was. By all accounts, he was a nobody. But not to God. God knew exactly who he was. And God knew something else too. In the midst of all the unfaithful people in Israel, Gideon was faithful to God and His laws.

So, an angel of the LORD appears to Gideon one day and tells him to go up against the Midianites, who are oppressing Israel.

And get this.

Gideon tests God. But not in a bad way. He wants to make sure that God is actually asking this of him. First, he asks the angel of the Lord to wait, and goes to get an offering. Then, he takes meat and unleavened bread and places it on a rock near the angel. The offering is consumed by fire, and the angel vanishes.

Now, in the morning, Gideon does something else God commanded. He tears down his father's altar to Baal and builds one for God.

Now, Gideon wants to make sure that God will deliver Israel as He said. So, Gideon places a fleece on the ground, asking for the morning dew to only be on the fleece, and the ground to be dry.

It happens as Gideon asks.

Third, Gideon places the fleece on the ground again. This time, he asks for the fleece to be dry and for the ground to be wet with dew.

Again, it happens as Gideon asks.

So, he calls men to him, and they go out to fight the Midianites. But God tells him that he has too many men, and they will say that they defeated the Midianites in their own power. So everyone who was afraid was allowed to go home: 22,000 people returned home.

And out of the 10,000 who remained, God told Gideon to narrow it down more. When they arrived at the water, only those who drank water out of their hands, rather than with their tongue like a dog, were chosen.

Thus, Gideon went to war with only 300 men.

And God delivered the Midianites into their hands.

It always amazes me how God takes care of His people. Even when they are unfaithful to Him, He still cares. And when they begin to cry out to Him, He still listens.

And what truly impressed me in this story is that Gideon, by his own admission, was no one special. He was an ordinary man. The youngest son. From the least family. In one of the half-tribes.

God does not choose those who are impressive to people. He chooses those who are faithful to Him.

Gideon did not feel qualified to do what God asked, but he did it anyway. Because he was faithful and obedient to God. Because he remembered what God had done for His people.

Amazing. I love the story of Gideon.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read Judges 8-9.