The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 7:9-10,
"During that night the Lord said to Gideon, 'Get up, go down against
the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are
afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and
listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to
attack the camp.' So he and Purah his servant went down to the
outposts of the camp."
When the Lord told Gideon to attack the camp of the Midianites, he
provided Gideon an opportunity to assuage his fear. He could go down
to the Midianite camp and listen to one man telling another that his
dream meant the Lord was going to give the Midianites into Gideon's
hands. Gideon's response to this was to worship God and call his men
to action.
It is hard to be critical of Gideon. The Lord had pared his army of
thirty two thousand troops down to just 300 to fight against a
Midianite army so vast, they were described as "...swarms of locusts.
It was impossible to count the men and their camels". Judges 6:5. I am
certain any right-minded person would be fearful against such odds.
However, the Lord had told Gideon he would give the Midianites into
his hands - but he wasn't reassured until he heard the interpretation
of a dream from within the enemy camp.
Gideon had already been given marching orders by the Lord. He knew
what the Lord wanted him to do. Yet Gideon asked for a "sign" to
insure he was hearing the Lord correctly, that it really was the Lord
who was speaking to him. As a result we read about how Gideon prepared
a sacrifice for the Lord and the angel of the Lord consumed the meat
and the bread with fire right in front of him by simply touching it
with his staff, "fire flared from the rock". Verse 6:21. Gideon
exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face
to face!" 6:22.
Not only this, Gideon further asked for a sign from the Lord to
provide assurance that he really would save Israel through him. He
asked the Lord to make the morning dew collect only on a fleece and
not the ground. The Lord did so. Gideon asked again, this time to make
the morning dew collect on the ground but keep it off the fleece. The
Lord did so.
Gideon further revealed his challenged faith by following through on
the Lord's command to tear down his father's Baal altar and "Asherah"
pole and replace them with an altar to the Lord. Gideon did so - but
only at night, "So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord
told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the
town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime." Judges 6:27.
Gideon is acknowledged as a man of faith in Hebrews 11:32-38. He is
listed among those whose faith was such that it is said, "the world
was not worthy of them." As I note in these passages in Judges, I find
some fascinating things about this faith of Gideon, a faith he is
honored in the Scriptures for, a faith that yielded the world unworthy
of him.
The first is Gideon had faith, but it was a faith that needed
nurturing, it required authenticating responses from the Lord. I don't
know what kind of yardstick might be used to measure faith, but from
these accounts it was anything but a "perfect faith".
The second - and most astonishing - is the Lord worked with what faith
Gideon had, met him where his faith took him and provided what Gideon
would need to accomplish what the Lord had for him to do. Gideon had
faith and where that faith was weak, the Lord encouraged and
strengthened it.
I wish I were a great man of faith. Because I am not, these passages
about Gideon hold great interest for me. My faith may not be perfect,
but that does not mean there is no hope for me. How much faith does it
take to gain a standing of righteousness in God's sight? From Gideon,
I learn that the Lord does in fact work with those who have an
"imperfect faith".
Don't ask me what an "imperfect faith" is, because I couldn't say.
What I can say is that Gideon's faith required encouragement,
strengthening. In my mind it was not a perfect faith. Yet he was a man
of faith, acknowledged with great honor in the Scriptures. How much
faith does it take? Does faith have to be "perfect" in order to secure
our salvation?
I am reminded of Jesus' statement when his apostles asked him to
increase their faith, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,
you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the
sea,' and it will obey you." Luke 17:6. In Matthew 17:20-21 we read,
"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed,
you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will
move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Perhaps many of us can relate to the father of a demon possessed boy
who begged Jesus to heal him. When Jesus told him "Everything is
possible for him who believes", the man exclaimed, "I do believe; help
me overcome my unbelief!" Jesus healed the boy.
I do believe the Lord aids us when we respond to him with a faith as
small as a mustard seed. What I see in Judges 6 is that the Lord can
work with those of us who have imperfect faith. Faith, yes. We need to
believe, we need to trust. And when we may begin to question how
strong our faith is, I find comfort in the accounts of Gideon. If
nothing else, Judges is book all about faith. A lack of faith, a
little faith and how the Lord responds to what faith we do or do not
have.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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