Gideon
The coward called mighty
He was threshing wheat in hiding when the angel called him “mighty man of valor”; with 300 men God defeated the Midianites.
The least in his family
The angel greets Gideon as a “mighty man of valor” while he hides, threshing wheat in fear of the Midianites. He sees himself as the least in the weakest family. God sees what a person is not yet, and calls them by their destiny, not by their past.
The 300
God cuts the army down from 32,000 to 300 men, so the victory would not be credited to human strength: “lest Israel glorify themselves over Me” (Judges 7:2). With torches, jars and trumpets, a few men defeat a multitude.
The faith that still doubts
Gideon asks for signs (the wet and dry fleece), and God, patient, grants them. It is a portrait of real faith, which moves forward even with fear. The danger comes later: the hero makes an idol from the gold of the victory. Even the great need to guard their hearts.
Where to read in the Bible
- Judges 6–8