Gideon: From Hiding to Hero.

Gideon is known as an obedient servant of the Lord and a great hero. Here, Brian explains how Gideon came from obscurity to be a hero.

Beebe and Roosevelt

William Beebe, the naturalist, and president Teddy Roosevelt adjusted their view of themselves and of God by going out on the lawn to search the skies for a certain spot of star-like light. Then Roosevelt would recite this:

“That is the Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda. It is as large as our Milky Way. It is one of a hundred million galaxies. It consists of one hundred billion suns, each larger than our sun.”

Then Roosevelt would grin and say,

“Now I think we are small enough! Let’s go to bed.”

When they thought about the starry sky it made God Big and made them small. That’s the lesson of Gideon’s life: Our lives can have importance when we have the right view of God and ourselves.

The Angel of the Lord

Let’s read in Judges, chapter 6, verse 11 –

“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.” Judges 6:11 

Gideon means, “He who cuts down” or “The Destroyer” – sounds like a character from a superhero movie – “Drax the Destroyer” or “Conan the Barbarian”. Many times his mother called him to dinner: “Destroyer, come and eat.”  But what is he doing here? Hiding in a winepress.

“And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.’”  Judges 6:12

God Promises His Presence

God confirms his plans for us by promising his presence: “The Lord is with you.” Gideon got that assurance just for the Midianite Mission; we have that promise for each day. The angel calls Gideon a “mighty man of valor”, a man who charges right into the face of the enemy.

God can see a person completely opposite to what people see. When Jesse looked at David, he saw  a little boy not worth calling to a family meeting with Samuel. When God looked at David, he saw a king. When God looked at Gideon, he saw a “mighty man of valor”. That’s a takeaway for me and you, yes? God sees more than we do – the angel sees Gideon as courageous. God sees us in Jesus:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“In Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God, through faith.” (Galatians 3:26)

Judges 6:13, 15-16

“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.’ And he 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.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.’”

Right View of God

Gideon is not getting the lesson God has for him – our lives will have importance when we have the right view of God and ourselves. At this point, Gideon doesn’t have a proper view of himself or God. His view of himself is that he is the least man, in a small family, in a weak clan – not the Mighty Man of Valor the angel calls him, not “The Destroyer” his parents named him. His view of God is that God is no longer delivering miracles, God is not present with his people to prevent their suffering and God has chosen the wrong man for the job.

At this moment Gideon sees himself as “Zero”, but God is going to take him from Zero to Hero, by God’s strength. The Apostle Paul gives us the balance in 2 Corinthians 3:5 – “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.”

Weak or Little?

If you see yourself as weak and little, that is o.k. – as long as you remember Jesus’ promise:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Do you trust God with your life? Is Jesus your Redeemer? Share with us. Contact us at HopeStreamRadio,  or comment below.