Wednesday, March 17, 2021
The prophet Samuel tell the story of an unlikely deliverer: Gideon.
Judges 6:12 & 14 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” ”Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian.” (ESV)
Gideon could have written a book entitled, “How To Be a Hero: For Dummies”! While Gideon might not have been a dummy, he certainly did not seem to be a “mighty man of valor”, as the angel called him. The Midianites were terrorizing Gideon’s region by sweeping in at harvest time and stealing their crops! Gideon was hiding in a winepress trying to thresh his wheat – when a heavenly visitor appeared. “Mighty man of valor” was a foreshadowing of God’s plan to deliver Israel. God had chosen Gideon, as a human instrument, to defeat the invaders!
Gideon asked, “O Lord how shall I deliver Israel?” God, over time, elevated Gideon from the smallest family in the tribe of Manasseh, along with an army of only 300, to defeat the Midianites who were “as numerous as locusts.” Being used of God is never about you – it’s about being willing to be used by God to accomplish His purposes!
Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.