Week 6 (The Judges) – Day 3: Gideon Defeats the Midianites

Day 28 – Gideon Defeats the Midianites - Judges 6:1-7:26

Gideon is the judge involved in today’s passage.  We see a leader who is hesitant and asks for a sign from God over and over again.  God, ever full of grace, provides these signs.  It is interesting that God even takes the step of providing the proof of the upcoming victory, “But if you fear to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah;” (v. 7:10)  Gideon, of course, does fear, and heads down to the camp.    One of my great privileges as a pastor is to see and point out God’s power at work in situations.  I am truly amazed. How often do we fear rather than see the signs of God’s power at work?

Another interesting aspect of Gideon’s life is God’s desire to show that victory does not come through Gideon or the Israelites.  God states:  Israel would only take the credit away from me, saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me.’  We will skip over the later part of Gideon’s life.  But as Gideon becomes more self-reliant, his relationship with God turns sour, leading to disaster.  How often do we forget God’s blessing of our skills and abilities, forgetting to heed God?  And is this when problems strike our own life?

In Christ,

Randy