In
this passage we come to the fifth deliverer God used to rescue His people. He
was none other than Gideon. In the account of Gideon, we learn that God
demonstrated His power and might through human weakness. We’ll see how his
story affirm what Paul said in the Corinthians epistles that “God uses the weak
things of this world to confound the wise.” Besides, His strength is made
perfect through human weakness. That means that God will demonstrate His strength
through human weakness.
The
appearance of the angel of the Lord is a phenomenon that we often see in the
Old Testament narratives. This is referred to as Theophany or Christophany.
They are the appearances of God or the pre-incarnate appearance of Christ to
people in the Old Testament. The angel of Yahweh usually come to announce the
mission that God has for an instrument that He had chosen. One such example is
seen when the angel of Yahweh appeared to Moses in a burning bush. In
Exodus 3:2 we are told that – “The angel of the LORD (Yahweh) appeared to him
(Moses) in a blazing fire from the midst of a
bush, and he (Moses) looked, and behold, the bush was burning with
fire, yet the bush was not consumed.” In the call of Gideon, verse 11
tells us that the angel of Yahweh first came and stationed Himself under a
well-known oak tree in the property that belonged to Joash from the tribe of
Manasseh. At this time Gideon, the son of Joash was beating out wheat in a
winepress. What he was doing was to try to avoid the marauding Midianites
from taking away his harvest.
The
opening statement of the angel was, “The Lord is
with you, O valiant warrior.” Gideon was here called a “valiant
warrior.” In his condition, Gideon was in no mood for the niceties. How could
he be considered a valiant warrior if he and the Israelites were cowering in
fear of the Midianites? In his heart of hearts, Gideon knew that it would make
a difference if the Lord was truly with His people. He challenged the assumption of
the angel asking, “O my lord, if the Lord is
with us, why then has all this happened to us?” Gideon’s question suggests
that they would not be in such a state if Yahweh was with them. For in the past
God had acted on their behalf. The former generation of Israelites had
experienced His wonderful miraculous deliverance. And since those wonders were
no longer experienced, Gideon concluded that God had abandoned them, leaving
them at the mercy of the Midianites.
In
verse 14, we see God revealed more of Himself to Gideon till he realized that
the angel of the Lord whom he was talking to, was not an ordinary person. The
Lord then revealed the purpose of His appearance to him. Here he was commissioning
Gideon to be His instrument to deliver His people from the hand of the
Midianites. But Gideon felt inadequate. He felt he had an insignificant
history. His family was small and he was the youngest, suggesting that he
lacked the influence and maturity demanded by the task. But the Lord called his
attention to the fact that He would be with him. His ability would not rest in
himself but in the Lord. God would be the source of His strength. This ought to
be his confidence. At this point, Gideon wanted to test the calling to be
sure. He requested that the angel of the Lord wait while he went and prepare an
offering to the Lord. Amazingly, the angel agreed to wait for his
return.
These
verses tell us that God is fully aware of the plight of His people. He is ever
ready to come to their rescue. He initiated the rescue operation by
selecting a man and prepared him for the task. The victory we can experience in
life is not ourselves. He wants us for His service. He will be with us in the
task. The critical issue is not about our ability but our availability to Him.
Are we willing?
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