So, I'm teaching through Judges right now with the kindergarteners and first graders. Today was Gideon's day to fight the Midianites. I've always been intrigued by the story of Gideon. I feel like he's one of those characters I can relate to.
In the beginning of the story God tells Gideon to destroy the altar of Baal in his dad's frontyard (not the biblical term, but how I picture it). Gideon goes at night and destroys the altar. The next morning, the people of the town are outraged because their altar has been destroyed and they find out it's Gideon's fault. They organize to kill him, but Gideon's father asks a pretty good question. If Baal is really God, why can't he do his own work? Would he really need us to kill Gideon?
I've always kind of tripped here because the story that follows is God using Gideon to destroy the altar and Gideon's army to destroy the Midianites. It's just always seemed like the Baal worshipers could have responded with, "Well, if Yahweh is real, couldn't he just defeat his enemies?"
This morning the punchline of the story made a little more sense. The battle that folows places Gideon and 32,000 soldiers facing 120,000 Midianites. God tells Gideon there are too many soldiers and anyone who is scared may leave. 22,000 leave, leaving Gideon with 10,000. Still too many. Gideon leads them to water where he ends up with only 300 men. The 300 fight the 120,000 with three weapons of jars, torches, and ram horns.
God could have defeated the Midianites alone. He could have knocked over Baal's altar alone. But he doesn't seem to ever operate that way. Instead of an overwhelming display of his might, he usually chooses something foolish in mans' eyes to display his glory. 300 jar carriers is even more convincing than a natural disaster. It's like a coach showing how great his is by winning with bad players.
The stories don't end with Gideon. God calls the murderer of Christians to be the apostle to the Gentiles. The elderly couple become the father and mother of a great nation. Salvation itself comes through the sacrifice of the cross. God almost always displays his strength and salvation by becoming weak.
I am always humbled when God answers my questions and doubts with his living word.
6 comments:
thank you Danny.
I view these stories as faith responses. As Randy Harris once said, "The Bible doesn't say many things; it says a few things in a lot of different ways." Gideon's story is just another in a long list of "faith response" stories. Others include marching around Jericho, Abraham offering Isaac, and a huge list in Hebrews 11. God could have acted independently in every one of those instances. But each time it is as if He asked man, "Show me that you believe I can win this battle for you."
James
James,
Do you believe faith is a gift or something that man wills?
Todd
I am curious too- what do YOU (James, Todd, Danny, Rebecca, anyone )believe about faith being a gift vs. man's doing...
I'll jump in. I SAY I believe it is a gift. I LIVE as if I can will some response worthy. God have mercy.
i believe it is a gift. i believe he chose me and that i would have never chosen him without the gift of his grace. i see it biblically and in my day to day life. i am prone to wander and leave the god i love. without him sovereignly saving me, i believe i would have no hope.
Ephesians 2:1-10 settles this for me. Even the faith that I exercised in believing in Christ and his finished work was a gift from God.
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, {it is} the gift of God;
The "and that" and "it is" is faith. So, it is not of ourselves it is a gift.
Todd
Post a Comment