Mighty Man Of Valor

Judges 6:11-16

Many people like to see when an underdog wins.  Everyone else is rooting for the big, strong, powerful player, and then the upset happens, and the little guy wins.  The Bible has several accounts of God choosing and using a “little guy” to achieve His purposes. Our Scripture passage today tells of such a person, the young man Gideon.  Let’s look at the account of when God called Gideon, and see what we can learn from his life.

Gideon was from the tribe of Manasseh, and lived during the time of the judges, a period of years between the death of the general Joshua and the first king, King Saul (around 1300 BC - 1070 BC).  During the period of judges, the people of Israel struggled with falling into the idolatrous practices of the Canaanite people of the region. Consequently, God sent judgment upon them, allowing foreign powers to overrun them, and forcing them into servitude.  At the time of Gideon, his people have been conquered by the Midianites. The Midianites were desert marauders who were distantly related to the Israelites. They were descended from Abraham thru the wife Keturah, which he took after the death of Sarah (Genesis 25:1-2). Her son, Midian, became enemies of the Israelites.

We find Gideon hiding from the Midianites as he secretly threshes the family’s grain.  He was so afraid of being caught, that he was doing that at night in a winepress, rather than in the open air, where one normally would do that task. Gideon is a fearful, timid person. It is here that the Lord God comes to him, to call him to lead the people and defeat the Midianites.

When God called Gideon into service he called him a “mighty man of valor” (vs. 12), in other words a brave, courageous man.  Yet here he was, hiding from the Midianites in a winepress doing his tasks. God’s view of us is often different from our view of ourselves, or from what others say of us.  God called Gideon a “man of valor” because He knew what He could accomplish through Gideon if he yielded and obeyed Him. Gideon saw himself as weak because he was focused on the circumstances, not on God.  When we depend on God to empower us, we can become who He says we are, and do what He wants us to do.

When Gideon was complaining in verse 13 about the condition the nation was in, he failed to take into account that the people had brought this problem on themselves because they disobeyed God and went after pagan gods (Judges 6:1).  Sometimes when we have problems we need to look at our own life, rather than blame God or others. We need to always take personal accountability.

God told Gideon that He wanted him to deliver the Israelites from the Midianites, and that He would be with him (vs. 14).  God told Gideon, and He tells us, as well, that we don’t need to rely on our own strength. We have been given His strength.  He will give us what we need to accomplish what we need to. Don’t waste time making excuses. Instead, obey God, and have faith in Him.

Gideon was the least in his family, and his family was unimportant in the tribe. He felt very inadequate and unqualified. Yet God called him to lead an army. The army only had 300, coming against an army of 100,000 (Judges 7:7). This seemed impossible, but God was with him, so it was possible!

When God calls us to do something for Him, don’t say that we can’t or that we are unable or unqualified.  In addition, don’t let anyone else say that, either. When we depend on God and not on ourself, we can do anything He asks us to (vs. 16).  Don’t be afraid! The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!