I have fond memories of the wheat fields in Kansas.
Watching the swaying of the stalks in the wind is quite mesmerizing.
Although I spent time on my grandparent’s farm, I have never harvested wheat.
I recall a picture taken of me with my grandfather on his combine, but I never actually did any farming work.
Why am I talking about harvesting wheat?
It is what Gideon was doing when God called him to lead the Israelites.
What was it about Gideon that made him the right choice?
Why Did God Choose Gideon? | Judges 6-7
Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” (Jdg 6:11-12)
How does the Lord describe Gideon?
13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” (Jdg 6:13)
What does this response reveal about Gideon?
And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” (Jdg 6:14)
Whose might is referred to? Gideon’s or the Lord’s?
And [Gideon] said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” (Jdg 6:15)
How does Gideon view himself?
And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” (Jdg 6:16)
How does the Lord encourage Gideon?
And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And [the Lord] said, “I will stay till you return.”So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. (Jdg 6:17-19)
What does Gideon want to do for the Lord?
And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. (Jdg 6:20–21)
Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” 23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. (Jdg 6:22–24)
What is Gideon’s response to this experience with the Lord?
That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” (Jdg 6:25-26)
So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. 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. (Jdg 6:27)
Was Gideon obedient to the Lord?
Later, the Lord’s Spirit stirs Gideon to rally troops to fight against the Midianites. (Jdg 6:33-7:1)
Then the Lord instructs Gideon to reduce the number of troops from 32,000 to 300 “lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’”(Jdg 7:2-8)
The Lord also instructs Gideon to eavesdrop on the Midianites to gain encouragement for the coming battle. (Jdg 7:9-11)
Gideon and his servant overhear a man telling a dream to his comrade. (Jdg 7:11-13.)
And [the man] said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” (Jdg 7:13-14)
As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.” (Jdg 7:15)
What was Gideon’s first response to what he overheard?
Why Did God Choose Gideon? | Application
Gideon was in survival mode when God appeared to him.
Because he was in survival mode, Gideon questioned whether God was truly with him.
God patiently confirmed, not once, but multiple times, that He was indeed with Gideon.
But why did God choose Gideon?
I see several reasons from the passage above.
- Gideon knew his Israelite heritage of how the Lord brought them out of Egypt with Moses as the Lord’s spokesperson.
- Gideon was quick to bring an offering to the Lord.
- Gideon was obedient to the Lord’s instructions.
- Gideon regularly responded with worship.
Are you quick to obey the Lord’s instructions? Why or why not?
How has the Lord reassured you He was with you when you faced struggles?
What act of worship will you take to thank the Lord for His presence, provision, and assurance?
Blessings,
Barbara Lynn