Year 7, Day 267: Judges 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Today I’m going to split my time between two thoughts, neither of which is new to the study of Judges or the study of the whole Bible.  For the first thought, we look at how this chapter opens.  The people had fallen away from God’s ways.  The Midianites were running amok with the Hebrew people.  They were stealing their food.  They were taking their possessions.  They were such a threat that the Hebrew people had caves to dwell in to protect them from their raids.

Why is this happening?  This is happening because the Hebrew people had abandoned God’s ways.  God had lifted His protection from over the Hebrew people because they were no longer following Him.  The people are not listening to God.  The walked away from Him; God is letting them get far enough away that they recognize their need of Him.

Look at how this plays out in reality.  The Hebrew people have embraced other gods.  The Hebrew people have built the Asherah poles and the altars of Ba’al.  The Hebrew people are simply doing what we all do to be successful.  We look at the strong and popular people around us and imitate them.  When we are emulating godly people, this can be a good thing.  But when we are emulating the world – or emulating godly people for the wrong reasons – it will actually lead us away from God.  The Hebrew people are actually walking away from God because they are looking to emulate the success around them instead of acknowledging that true and satisfying success comes from living out our identity that comes from God.

The second thought for today takes us to Gideon.  Remember how often we think about the judges and see them as bold and vibrant personalities?  Deborah was bold, but Barak was a bit of a chicken in need of encouragement.  Now we see Gideon.  Gideon is often thought of as a war hero because of this story.  Tomorrow we’ll see the hero.  Today we see the humble beginnings.

Do you hear the doubt in Gideon’s voice?  Gideon s visited by an angel of the Lord and told to go out and conquer, yet Gideon’s response is to ask God how he can possibly beat them with his obvious lack of power.  When God convinces Gideon that he needs to rely upon God’s power, Gideon still needs to test God to make sure He’s serious.  When God passes the test, Gideon needs him to pass another test.  This is not the sign of a bold man.  This is the sign of a man who is cautious, timid, and uncertain.

Believe it or not, I actually think this is a good thing.  I’m not trying to slam Gideon here.  I’m certainly not trying to diminish Gideon’s reputation.  I’m lifting this up because I think that it has more to teach us than we think.  Most of us have moments of uncertainty.  Most of us have moments of timidity, especially just before we do something big or challenging.  It’s common for us to question and doubt.  It’s human.  When we have moments of question and doubt, we are being normal.

The cool thing about this is that God accepts it.  God still works with Gideon. God answers Gideon’s challenge.  God doesn’t dismiss Gideon for his doubt; God still works His power through Gideon.  God will accept our bravery.  He also will accept our hesitation.  He will accept our doubts.  He’s bigger than our weaknesses.  That’s our God.

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