Judges 6

Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!"

(Jdg 6:11-12)

In this chapter we are introduced to Gideon. Of all of the Judges, I believe that he is my favorite… you see, he is just a normal guy. He describes himself as a weak nobody that comes from the weakest family in the weakest tribe of all of Israel (a currently weak country oppressed by formidable enemies). He can’t believe that God is really speaking to Him, and He can’t understand why things are going the way they are.

Gideon is no CAPTAIN COURAGE, in reality he is a very fearful guy. We first see him in a winepress trying to thresh wheat because he is AFRAID of the Midianites. Threshing wheat is something that needs WIND to take place. WIND is something you will never find in a winepress. His fear of the Midianites had made it impossible to do God’s work! Here he is, afraid to thresh wheat, and the angel of the Lord calls him a MIGHTY MAN OF VALOUR.

Beneath Gideon’s fear riddled exterior, the LORD saw a heart of faith… Faith that was currently dominated by fear, but faith none the less. The Lord begins to speak to Gideon, calling him to rise up as the deliverer, the judge HE will use to rid Israel of the Midianite oppression. He begins to build Gideon’s faith by proving His promises to be true. The Bible tells us that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. There is absolutely no replacement for God speaking to a man; it is the only way a man can gain the faith needed to accomplish the works God has called him to do.

In Gideon, I see a man who is a perfect candidate to be used by God. No pride, no selfish ambition, just a guy sitting there saying “why me? Can you please pick someone else?” God can transform fear into faith, He can use the weak to confound the strong. As we study Gideon over the next couple of days, I pray your faith would be built, and you would be prepared to accomplish all that God calls you to do.

And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

(Heb 11:32-34)