Recently I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about
Gideon, one of the mighty men mentioned in the Old Testament. Gideon is
probably best known for his ‘casting the fleece’ to see if God really meant
what God was saying. And…I’ll get to that in a couple of weeks. However, when
we first meet Gideon in the Book of Judges (Chapter 6, verse 11) he is hiding
in a wine press threshing grain (not what we might consider the actions of a hero). This was a large hole in the ground lined with
bricks, where the grapes were crushed and the juice drained into a hole where
it was collected. It would certainly have been deep enough to conceal Gideon
and his grain from the prying eyes of the neighbors.
A bit of history from earlier in Chapter 6 tells us that “The Israelites did what was evil in the
sight of the Lord, and the Lord
gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years… the Israelites provided for
themselves hiding-places in the mountains, caves and strongholds…[the
Midianites] would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the land, as
far as the neighborhood of Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, and no
sheep or ox or donkey… Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian; and
the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.”
(Judges 6:1-10)
In response to the prayers for help, we hear that “the angel of the Lord
came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as
his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the
Midianites.” We know that Gideon is the son of a man named Joash. The
Abiezrites are descended from Joseph (Jacob’s son). We don’t know how old
Gideon is, or anything about his looks or the rest of his family or whether
they were rich or poor. From an author’s standpoint, there are a lot of details
missing. Even the location of the town of Ophrah is lost to the mists of time.
Most archeologists think it’s in the area about 15-20 miles SW of the Sea of
Galilee not far from Jezreel.
Perhaps the important thing is that Gideon is taking action.
He has found some grain, perhaps growing wild, and is pounding it to provide food
for his family. To get the grains of wheat to release from the stem, ancient
people used a flail. This was a simply handle with one or more pieces of wood
attached at one end by a cord so that it would flip back and forth. (As an
aside, the flail is also one of the symbols of Pharaoh’s royalty, along with a
crook.)
Gideon, hiding in the wine press with his pile of grain,
gets the surprise of his life. “The angel
of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.’” Not the typical
greeting for a, presumably, young man. Gideon does not appear to be shocked by
the appearance. Instead, he starts a theological discussion. “But sir, if the Lord is
with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful
deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord
bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has cast us
off, and given us into the hand of Midian.”
Rather than getting angry with the presumption of Gideon, “the Lord turned to him
and said, ‘Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of
Midian; I hereby commission you.’” This really isn’t an answer to all the
questions Gideon has asked, but a call to action. Gideon clearly doesn’t think
he’s the right choice for this job. He continues to argue with the angel “But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan
is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Even after
reassurance from the Lord, “But I will be
with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them,”
Gideon begs for a further sign. “If now I
have found favor with you, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with
me. Do not depart from here until I come to you, and bring out my present, and
set it before you.” The angel promises to stay.
Gideon prepares a feast with a “kid, and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour; the meat he put in a
basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the oak
and presented them…then the angel of the Lord reached out
the tip of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the
unleavened cakes; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and
the unleavened cakes; and the angel of the Lord vanished
from his sight.”
Only now does “Gideon [perceive]
that it was the angel of the Lord; and…said, ‘Help me,
Lord God! For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.’ But the Lord said to
him, ‘Peace be to you; do not fear, you shall not die.’ Then Gideon built an
altar there to the Lord, and called it, The Lord is peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which
belongs to the Abiezrites.”
As I’ve been studying the story of Gideon, I wonder what
this part of the saga says to me and to all of us in our Christian walk. I can
certainly relate to Gideon’s doubts about his abilities to do God’s bidding. Like
Gideon, and many other heroes of the faith, I can come up with numerous reasons
why I’m not the ‘right’ one for the job of…teaching Sunday School, writing a
book, joining a ministry, taking on leadership, or whatever it might be.
I admire Gideon for being a man of action. He is making the best
of a bad situation when we meet him. He has found grain and is working to make
it usable for the family. Gideon may be hiding in a wine press, but he is doing something and not jsut complaining about the problems. He is also a very careful man. Not one to fly off the
handle and go chasing a mirage, he seeks to confirm that this really is God
telling him to do something seemingly crazy.
I think it is reassuring that the Lord doesn’t get angry
with Gideon for all his questions and his need for confirmation that the
message is authentic. We’ll see that, much like me, Gideon is always wanting
more and more assurances that God is with him and really asking him to do what
God says. God honors the requests for signs and does not get angry at what we
might call doubts. Perhaps we can imagine a rather wry smile on God’s face as
he convinces Gideon (and us) that it really is God who is asking us to step out
in faith.
God promises Gideon "I will be with you" and we have the same promise "Lo I am with you always" (Matthew28:20). When God asks us to do something, God will be with us throughout.
This part of the story tells me that when we take action,
God will honor that and then ask us to take further steps of faith. Gideon
shows that he is willing to take a stand against the Midianites, even if it a
hidden rebellion. God takes that initial stand against the oppression and tells
Gideon that he can ‘deliver Israel from the hand of Midian’.
Are you working in secret because you are afraid of...being misunderstood, or judged, or laughed at...? Where is God taking your words and/or actions and calling you into further ministry?
Is God calling you to be a 'mighty (woman or man) warrior'?
