If I had to choose one word to describe Gideon it would be fearful, or maybe insecure.
Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
Judges 6:11b ESV
He was afraid of the Midianites, so he hid out in the winepress so they did not know he was beating out his wheat.
The chapter goes on to reveal his fearful insecurities.
“Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?”
Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
show me a sign
“Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.”
But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.
If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.
Please let me test just once more with the fleece.
(excerpts from Judges 6: 11-39 ESV)
But, my favorite part of this story is how God describes Gideon.
“Go in this might of yours and save Israel” (Judges 6:14)
But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon (Judges 6:34)
God does not get hung up on our fear or uncertainties. He sees the might that He has given us, but we might have buried a bit. His Spirit is the only weapon we need even in the face of our greatest enemies.
God does not look for the mighty warrior or the most skilled individual to do His work. He looks for a tender heart willing to give all.
3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Luke 21:3-4 ESV
God is not asking me to give the most, but to give my all.
34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength . . .” (from Luke 21:34-36 ESV)
The cares of this life have a tendency to hang on me and drag me down, to skew my perspective. I relate to Gideon, learning to manage life in a difficult situation, to cope by setting up wheat threshing in a safe place, instead of looking for the strength God has given to break free of it. The incredible beauty of this is this is God chooses people in the midst of their frailty. Those that man would pass over.
Instead of the one who would win an election, God choose the one who is running the other way.
Instead of the one who stands head and shoulders above the rest, God chooses the youngest boy in a long line of capable looking young men.
Instead of a member of a priestly family, He chooses a prostitute to fill in the Messianic lineage.
Instead of an establish general, He chooses the guy hiding out in a winepress.
I don’t need to be the strongest or most secure, just to come with a surrendered heart. He will answer my doubts and use every act of obedience for His Glory.
Lord God, thank you for your ability to see beneath the human frailty and emotion to someone that You can use to point people to you. Help me give not just out of my abundance, but out of my weakness and areas of poverty. Thank you for Your might and Your Spirit each and every day. In Jesus name, Amen.
Erin (6intow)
Sixty-six books in a year 