The Lord Delivers

Introduction

Anyone who has played sports knows something about pep talks. The coach comes in before the game and gives you what amounts to a short talk to bring self-confidence. He might say something like “we have practiced all week. These guys are not better than you. It comes down to who wants this game more.” And hopefully the effect is to encourage the team to try hard on the field of battle. But such talks are not found only in sports. A sales manager does the same thing. He or she will rally the troops and give them a pep talk about sales. The effect is to inspire the employee to go out and make a difference. Preachers have been known to do the same thing. Some congregations look for what are called “spark plugs.” Some congregations want a man who can inspire, lead, and rally the troops. The essence of motivation is to think about the possibilities which are inside of you.

But the tone of scripture seems to be a bit different. Jesus speaks of dying to self and taking up a cross to follow him. Those are not exactly words to rally the troops. Paul speaks of suffering for the cause of Christ. Again those words will not cause to many to leave a church building ready to take on the world. There are times when we need to be motivated and pepped up. But the tone of scripture seems to focus outside of ourselves and to center on what God can do through you. This is very clear in the story of Gideon. Last week, we noticed Gideon hiding in a winepress trying to thresh wheat so that the Midianites would not take it. In chapter 7, we find Gideon following God’s desire to amass an army to fight against the Midianites. Remember God called Gideon a mighty warrior. Gideon didn’t believe, but now he is listening to God. What we find in chapter 7 is that God is going to do something which will demonstrate that no one can boast about their abilities. Instead, God is the one who is working great wonders. Our focus today will be on God and what he has and can do for us. This is not a day to feel strong in our power, but trust in the power of God.

You Call This Recruiting?

To appreciate what is happening in chapter 7 we need to get the scene in mind. Gideon in chapter 6 has called for an army to gather. 32,000 men travel to the spring of Harod to do battle with the Midianites. This spring is between two mountains. The Midianites are camping just north of this spring. According to 8:10 there are 135,000 Midianites. An army of 32,000 arrive to just the south of this spring. They are in clear view of the Midianites. God says to Gideon: “You have too many men. We need to reduce the size of the army.” Now most of us can do this simple math. 135,000 to 32,000 is not equal. Reducing the numbers even more will not make it more even. It will if God is the one who is doing the fighting.

Look at verse 2. Why does God want to reduce the army? Because 32,000 will boast about their strength. God doesn’t want a large army so that no one can later say, “we did it ourselves.” What God wants is a group who is willing to trust him and who will acknowledge that what was done could not have possibly happened because they were strong and mighty. This is God’s work. Gideon and the men who will eventually fight are merely God’s instruments. The battle belongs to God and there is no room for anyone to take his place. God is preparing this army for a great victory, but it will be his victory. It will the opportunity they need to understand that God is the true God.

God now gives two simple tests to reduce the size of the army. First, all who are afraid are free to go home and 22,000 leave. Can you imagine how Gideon must have felt when 2/3 of his army left? Can you imagine what the Midianites thought when they saw that many leaving? God knew that the vast majority of these soldiers didn’t want to be there. Fear is contagious. Remember the story of David and Goliath? When Goliath came out and taunted God, no one was willing to step forward including Saul. Sometimes congregations give in to fear. A proposal is made and opposition is voiced because of fear and such opposition may be enough to kill the idea or initiative. God says to Gideon, “those who are afraid need to go home. I want the ones who are ready to fight.”

There are 10,000 left now. Gideon probably is thinking that God can do a lot with that number. God comes again and says, “It’s still too big.” The second test was for each man to go to the spring of Harod and get a drink of water. Notice in verse 4, that God doesn’t tell Gideon how he will decide who stays and who goes. This is a blind test. Now the scene must be remembered. 135,000 Midianites are not that far away. The entire army of Israel goes to get a drink out of the spring in full view of the Midianite army. Suddenly it becomes important to see which ones will keep their eyes on the enemy and which ones will forget about his surroundings and just drink. God takes those who keep their eyes on the enemy—300 in all. Surely the point is obvious. God is looking for those who keep their eyes on the enemy.

These are the guys who will not even let a drink of water keep them from being prepared to do battle. Jesus needs those kind of disciples. Those who will remain ready to fight the spiritual battles without getting distracted. God is looking for those whose hearts burn for an opportunity to do battle. Who are not easily distracted. Who maintain their focus on what is truly important.

Final Preparations

The odds are just right. 135,000 to 300 or 450 to 1. Now God has his army. Could they boast of strength? Hardly. The odds on a human level are insurmountable. Their only hope was in God. They either could depend completely on God or they could lose their lives. Their options were limited. Either they could fight the army of Midian or they could allow God to do what only he could do through them.

But God is not through with his preparation. Notice verse 10. God says to Gideon, “if you are afraid…” From the very beginning Gideon has been a reluctant mighty warrior. So God allows him to overhear a conversation between two Midianites. Gideon and his servant under the cover of darkness go to the Midianite camp. There they hear the dream and interpretation of that dream. Of the thousands of tents they could have gone to, how is that they go to that particular one? Don’t you leave here thinking God didn’t have his hand in this from the very beginning? Gideon returns to the 300 men with confidence—not in himself, but in God’s ability to deliver. And indeed God gave Gideon and his men a great victory.

First, notice the work of God. God prepares the army to trust him reducing it from 32,000 to 300. God prepares Gideon by allowing him to hear about the Midianite man’s dream. God prepares Midian for defeat. Why would a powerful army like Midian fear 300 men? Because God planted fear in their hearts. Do you see how much God worked to bring this together? This tells us something about our God. He is active in this world. He works to bring about his will. God intervenes. While we cannot be specific about each event, we can know that God’s will ultimately will be carried out in this world.

Second, when all is said and done the only weapon Israel’s army had was faith. Yes, they went to battle, but it was because of their faith. What makes 300 men agree to surround a camp that is 450 times bigger than they are? Stupidity or faith and when God has sent you, it is faith. This story is about God and man’s response to him. Israel trusted in other gods. Now with Gideon as their leader, they are given the opportunity to see God at work and to place their faith in him.

God is still at work in this world. Do you trust him or do you trust yourself? Pep talks are great at times. But that which makes us turn our focus inward so that we are confident in ourselves rather than God needs to be set aside. Our confidence needs to be in the one who is at work in this world. The one who can take what looks to be hopeless and bring victory. When we think about our sin, it is hopeless. But when we look at what God did through Jesus then there is victory—not in what we can do but in what God did.

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