A Few Good Men

By John Stallings


He wasn’t a prophet, preacher, priest, or a king, just an ordinary man who was radically changed by an encounter with a heavenly visitor.

His name is kept alive in modern times by the  Bibles to be found in most hotel and motel rooms.

Judges records the history of the nation of Israel for 305 years after the death of Joshua and in this book we see many frightening parallels between Israel and America.

Israel was established by God Himself and He gave them Canaan, the best land on the earth at that time. God gave them His love, The Law, and The Land, only asking them for one thing in return--that they would love Him, obey Him, and serve Him. What did Israel do? They Denied the Lord, they Defied the Law, and Defiled the Land. So God had to judge them.

RIPPED FROM AMERICAN HEADLINES

The parallel with America is obvious and alarming. No nation has ever had a Christian beginning like the USA. We too have been given The Lord, The law, and a Land, and we've Denied Him and Defied Him. Our land is being Defiled, leaving us fighting for survival.

Gideon's story is recorded in chapters 6-8 of the book of Judges. He lived in the period of history of Israel that was made up of seven repeated cycles in which the people of Israel rebelled against God, began to worship the pagan gods around them, suffered the painful consequences, cried out to God for help, and He responded by sending a judge who would deliver them.

For a while the people would return to God but when the judge died they would rebel against God and the cycle would start all over again.

Gideon was the fourth of these judges and his ministry began with the same phrase that got all the other judges started. We find it in verse 1 of Judges 6, -“The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord." This time the consequence of worshiping false gods came in the form of a group of people known as the Midianites. Their mode of attacking the Israelites was different than the Canaanites that Deborah had to deal with. Instead of the iron chariots that served Jabin and Sisera, the Midianites had a unique military weapon in the form of…. camels.

In the twenty-first century with our sophisticated instruments of death: smart bombs, patriot missiles, and stealth bombers it’s hard for us to appreciate the military significance of camels twelve hundred years before Christ. In Gideon's day, camels gave the Midianites an enormous military advantage. They were so ugly they had to slip up on water to get a drink [kidding] and would strike the Israelites with great fear. But the main benefit of the camel was that it gave the Midianites a mobile, long-range, swift, attack-capability against the Hebrews, who were entirely dependent on foot soldiers.


I saw something this week that I never thought I’d see; a video of huge elephants brought to Joplin Missouri to help clean up the debris from the vociferous twisters that struck the town. I watched in amazement as the Pachyderms pulled cars and trucks around like they were small tin-cans. At first it seemed funny but it worked-or they worked-beautifully. I prayed they wouldn’t get upset because if those elephants had decided to throw a fit, a few of them could easily wipe out what was left of Joplin.

A camel can travel for three or four days with a heavy load on its back, and cover about 300 miles without food or water. With this powerful “new weapon,” the Midianites were able to develop a unique strategy in their war against Israel. Rather than invading and occupying the land, they simply waited until harvest time each fall.

Then they would move in from the desert, cross the Jordan in huge numbers, like a plague of locusts, stripping it bare of grain, vegetables, fruit, and livestock. Finally, with their camels loaded down with spoils, they would cross back into the desert and live there until the next harvest time. They did this for seven years and left Israel in desperation. People were reduced to hiding food in mountain dens and caves.

This was incredibly humiliating and debilitating to Israel. Since an attack could come at any moment, they lived in constant fear. We’re told… "They were brought very low because of Midian."

GIDEON

Then Gideon appears on the scene. His name means "hacker" or "hewer" which would seem to be a name for a man of great strength and courage. But, when we get our first look at Gideon, he's cowering under a tree, threshing grain in a wine press. Normally a man would do so on a wooden threshing floor, in an exposed place so that the wind could carry away the chaff. He would use a threshing sledge pulled by oxen. But, Gideon was trying to separate the grain from the chaff by walking on it in his bare feet as you would on grapes to turn them into wine. And he was doing this hidden under a tree for fear of the marauding Midianites. One day when Gideon was doing this a man approached, sat down under the tree, and watched.

Two things are significant about this person; Gideon didn’t know that he was the Angel of the Lord so there must have been nothing supernatural about His appearance. He didn't have wings, or wear a halo, or carry a harp. He didn't glow with a heavenly light like those heavenly beings on Touched by An Angel. Secondly it was not an angel of the Lord, but rather THE angel of the Lord. In the Old Testament whenever the phrase, "THE Angel of the Lord," is used it refers to Jesus Himself, before His incarnation...taking the form of an angel and visiting the earth. Now, if I didn't know the Lord better, I might think that He was mocking Gideon with the first words He spoke. In verse 12, He said, "The Lord is with you, Oh Valiant warrior!" Gideon was anything but valiant at this point. He was more of a cowardly, beleaguered victim.

One day a man came to his psychiatrist with a problem. He said, "Doctor, please help me. Everything's going wrong. I feel worthless. My friends tell me I have a terrible inferiority complex. Can you help me?" So the psychiatrist told him that he would give him some tests and evaluate him. A week later, the man came back and the psychiatrist said, "Friend, I have some good news and some bad news for you. The good news is that we have proved you don’t have a complex. There is no doubt about that. The bad news is, you’re inferior."

Gideon was inferior-at least in the judgment of his peers-and he pointed this out to God. He said that he was of the tribe of Manasseh, which was the lowest and weakest tribe in all Israel. Then, he said that his family was the lowest and weakest family in the tribe of Manasseh. Further, he was the lowest and weakest member of his family. So, he was the lowest and weakest member of the lowest and weakest family of the lowest and weakest tribe of all Israel! You cannot get much lower than that. But to these excuses of inferiority, God gave a single reply, "I will be with you...."which brings us to the first principle of how to be a valiant warrior for God. You see, when it comes to the battles of life you must remember:

IT’S NOT IMPORTANT WHO YOU ARE, IT’S WHO YOU’RE WITH

God does not seek people who are the most outwardly capable, or the most naturally "strong." No, He intentionally works with the most unlikely material so that everyone can see the glory belongs to God and God alone. The apostle Paul marveled over this principle more than a thousand years later writing,

"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong...as it is written, 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” [I Corinthians 1:26-27, 31]

Time and time again as we read the Word of God, we see God cutting away a man's self-confidence to bring him to the place where he admits that he is totally inadequate to do or to be what God desires. There isn’t a single major figure in the Word of God whom God didn’t bring to realize a deep sense of his own inadequacy. And this is vital for truly valiant warriors.

Paul reminds us- "We are not adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves...our adequacy is from God." (II Corinthians 3:5)

The narrative says- "Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon." The Spirit of God wore Gideon the way a man puts on a suit of clothes, indwelling him, empowering him to do battle. You and I must remember this principle if we are to be effective soldiers in God's army! A good approach for us would be to daily say to God, "Lord, here I am. I want to be your suit of clothes today. I want you to take me and use me. Lord, just walk around in me today." This a great philosophy for us to embrace, for our strength, and our sufficiency for victory doesn’t come from ourselves but from God.

Our key to victory is God's indwelling presence and power. We are nothing without God, no matter how strong or talented we may be. In this army, it doesn't matter who you are. It matters Who you are with or Who is with you! To what extent have you allowed the promise of God's adequacy to minister to your life? God Himself has committed to be with you and to pour His strength into you. Remember your weakness does not hinder God. In fact, II Corinthians 12:9 says that,

"His strength is made perfect in weakness."

IF YOU AND I WANT TO BE VICTORIOUS IN LIFE WE MUST DECIDE WHICH GENERAL WE’LL FOLLOW.

The first assignment that God gave Gideon was not to attack the Midianites but to assault the idol worship of his people.

The reason the people of Israel were weaken and unable to defend themselves was that they had chosen to worship and put their faith in something other than the true God. They were following the wrong "general!" And many times we are weak because we make the same mistake. We feel overwhelmed because we worship things other than God. We have divided loyalties. This is what Jesus was warning us of when He said,

"No man can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other." (Matthew 6:24)

And this, Gideon's first battle was probably his toughest because in his own backyard there was a vivid example of the reason God had allowed Midian to overwhelm and enslave Israel.

Joash, Gideon's father, had apparently built an altar to Baal on his property and with it an Asherah, a wooden pillar representing the Canaanite goddess of fertility. And it was not just for the family's private use. It obviously served as the village shrine with Joash acting as the supervisor of pagan worship in the area. God told Gideon to take a young bull and a seven-year-old bull and use them to tear down the massive altar to Baal. Then he was to cut down the wooden Asherah and, using that wood, he was to build a fire on which to sacrifice the seven-year-old bull on a new altar which he was to build for the Lord. God gave Gideon this task so that he could learn that before Midian could go, Baal had to go.

God would tolerate no rivals. Truly great soldiers in God’s army only follow one commander.

People notice how committed we, who claim to be Christians, are to God. Gideon's neighbors certainly noticed the results of his actions that night. In fact the next morning when they saw what he had done they demanded his death but his own father came to his defense and said … "Hey....if baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar!" The neighbors agreed and they gave Gideon a new name, "Jerub-baal" which literally means "let baal contend-let him fight for himself."

From that moment on, every time the people of Israel looked at Gideon, they had visible proof of the weakness of baal and the power of God. This valiant warrior helped them to see the importance of following only the one true God.

OUR FOLLOWING HIS ORDERS ARE IMPORTANT TO GOD

This was a learning process for Gideon. From the beginning he had a lot of trouble trusting the commands and promises of God. Even after he gathered his army he was afraid and you may remember he tested God. It wasn't that Gideon was trying to discover God's will. He already knew what God's will was for his life. Prior to his fleece Gideon said to God, "If You will deliver Israel through me, as You have said." You see, God had made His will perfectly clear. Gideon didn't lack information about the will of God; He lacked confidence to trust the Word of God. Gideon's real struggle was one of faith, not information. This is an important lesson for all Christians to learn for as Hebrews 11:6 says,

"Without faith it is impossible to please God."

Note that God is gentle with Gideon. God graciously helps build Gideon's faith. First Gideon put a sheep skin on the ground and asked God to make only the fleece wet with dew and the ground dry and God did this. But that wasn't enough to build Gideon's confidence. You can almost see his mind at work. He thinks, "Maybe this isn't as amazing as it seems...after all, it would be more likely for the water to be absorbed by the wool than the ground.

Maybe the fact that the wool is wet and the ground is dry would have happened anyway. It's not really as sign of anything." So, he makes a second request of God: "Will you reverse the process -- and make the ground wet and the fleece dry?" Gideon's response here points out how inadequate fleeces can be when used as a method for discovering God's will. The results are difficult to interpret.

I read about a Bible school announcing that it was planning to buy a building. They said, "If we have $100,000 by this date, we will know it is God's will. We will know that God wants us to do it." On the appointed day, they had only $90,000 and now they had a problem; should they buy the building or not? And if it was not God's will, where had the $90,000 come from? Was it Satan's money? Of course not. But the fallacy was that they had expected God to do His work in their way.

Do you see the weakness in this practice? It tends to limit God...it puts Him in a box. Litmus tests like this are always difficult to interpret. Fleeces aren't the best way to find the will of God. We don't need to cast fleeces to experience God's guidance. We’re liable to be “fleeced.” He has given us His written Word to help us find His will...and His presence to help us understand and do it. In Psalm 73:23-24 the psalmist rejoices in this truth saying to God,

"You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory."

The amazing thing about this isn’t what it shows about Gideon's fleece, but what it teaches us about God's patience. Gideon was a special student in God's "slow-learner class." God had done so much in his life already but Gideon was still saying, "If you're really going to do what You say...do this or that." But God kept on loving and working with him. I thank God for that because I too am one of God's slow learners. Many times in my life I have had to pray, "I believe...but not quite enough...help my unbelief.”

Over and over I have learned to be thankful that God is,

"Slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness; maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin." Exodus. 34:6-7.

IF WE FOLLOW GOD, GET READY FOR “GOD-SIZED” BATTLES.

The Midianites had a force of 135,000 men with them when they invaded Israel in this 8th harvest season. They camped in the Valley of Jezreel, and they came fully expecting to carry out their usual policy of an uncontested stripping of the land and a triumphant return to their desert home. But this time there was a difference. God had raised up a man who was prepared to lead Israel against these camel-riding carpet baggers. Empowered by the Spirit of God, Gideon marched his army of 32,000 men to the hills of Mt. Gilboa.

The Midianites were armed to the teeth but Gideon and his men had virtually no weapons. Gideon and his men were no doubt wondering how they could possibly win against such a superior force. So imagine how Gideon felt when God said that he had too many troops and that all those who were afraid should return home? Interestingly, 22,000 took him up on this offer!

After the 22,000 left, God said that was still too many so He instructed Gideon to watch his men drink and send everyone home who bent their faces down to drink water from the stream directly. Only 300 stood up alertly, ready for battle, the water cupped in their hands.

So in a short span of time God had taken an overwhelming situation and made it impossible. It would seem that defeat was going to be snatched from the jaws of victory. The original 32000 had no chance of winning against the hordes of the Midianites and their superior weaponry but for 300 it was laughable. God chose less than one percent of the group that Gideon began with to fight. They were outnumbered 450 to 1. God isn’t interested in simply giving His people victory. He’s concerned with teaching us trust.

Our victories make us self-reliant, which is worse, far worse, in the long run, than losing! That night I don't think Gideon slept too well. Would you? 300 against 135,000! That's like a football team composed of junior high school girls going up against Super Bowl champions! God of course knew how Gideon felt so He told him, "If you are afraid to go down against the Midianites, let me help you."

A DREAM CHANGES EVERYTHING

God knew the anguish Gideon was going through so He invited Gideon to go to the camp of the Midianites. Gideon obeyed and was accompanied by a young boy, named Purah. They snuck in close enough to hear Midianite sentries talking about a dream in which a barley loaf flattened a tent. The Midianites were nomadic so the tent clearly represented them. And barley was most often used as animal food, but it was all that the Israelites had left because of the better foodstuffs had been taken. So, the barley loaf clearly represented Israel. The Midianite said, "That barley bun is nothing less than the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash. God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand."

As he listened Gideon no doubt sensed that the dream had been repeated throughout the whole army of the Midianites. They had been terrorized inwardly by the mysterious hand of God. So this huge army was already defeated. And at this point Gideon learned he greatest lesson of his life. He realized as he never had before, that it was not a battle between 300 Israelites and 135,000 Midianites. It was God who was fighting Midian and the 300 men were just His channels.

Gideon went back to his little band of men and said, "Arise, for the Lord has given the camp of Midian into your hands." He divided his army into three groups of 100 and as they departed they were given their weapons.

Here is what was issued to them: a clay jar, a trumpet, and a torch. No shields, no spears, no swords. Gideon had his “few good men” to surround the camp and then waited until the middle watch had just been posted. That was about 10:30 pm when some of the men had been asleep for three or four hours and were now in their deepest sleep. The men who had just been relieved from guard duty would still be moving through the camp, and the men who had just gone on duty would still be rubbing their eyes.

Suddenly there was a huge noise all around them. The rams' horns were signaling an enemy attack! Then the clay pitchers smashed on the ground sounded like the armor of armies clashing into one another. The Midianites looked up and they were surrounded on three sides by lights and torches. Finally a great shout shattered the silence "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon."

In all the confusion, the camels stampeded and in the chaos that resulted, the panicked Midianites began to slaughter one another. To the half-asleep men, everything that moved became an enemy. Every shadow was an Israelite. All this time, Gideon's men didn’t move. They stood in their place blowing their trumpets, waving their torches and shouting their slogan, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon." By they way, they only had one "sword"-the sword of the Lord-and that is all they needed!

God still calls His troops into battle against overwhelming odds but sadly many Christians only want to do things they can do. Just like Gideon, fear keeps us from victory. Fear stops us dead in our tracks. So we go on living a defeated existence until the pain of defeat becomes too much for us to bear.

Then some of us like Gideon find the faith to break through seemingly unconquerable fear and take an honest shot at victorious life in God.

Why is Gideon in Hebrews 11? In the midst of a backslidden people he rerouted his doubts. He accomplished something for God strictly by faith!

Gideon defeated the powerful Midianite army with only 300 soldiers-Just a few good men!


Blessings,


John