Verse: Judges 6:11-12, 14-16
11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
14 And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
Devotional Thoughts:
You’ve likely heard of the “mighty man” who was Gideon. The verses themselves are humorously ironic. Gideon is threshing wheat in the winepress. That’s not how it was usually done. Threshing wheat was done outside in the open, where one could throw the wheat in the air so the wind could separate the grain from the chaff.
So why is Gideon in the winepress? Well, he’s afraid the Midianites might see him and either take or destroy his harvest. And it’s at this point in the story where the angel of the Lord appears to him and calls him a “mighty man of valor.”
Gideon sees the irony here. He knows he’s not a “mighty man.” So he doesn’t understand why the Lord is calling him to fight against the Midianites. He can’t even thresh wheat outside because he’s afraid of the Midianites – there’s no way he’s about to go and drive them out! Then the excuses come. My family is the weakest family of my tribe. And I am the least of my family.
Points to Ponder:
Perhaps it’s my excitement for the upcoming movie, but a Lion King illustration comes to mind. Mufasa appears to Simba and essentially tells him that he must go back to Pride Rock.
Simba replies: How can I go back?
Mufasa: Remember who you are. You are my son…
A similar thing happens with Gideon. He looked at his own abilities and arrived at a conclusion – I’m not up to the task that you’re asking me to do.
We need to consider that in our own lives too. As long as you’re looking to your own abilities, you’ll never think you’re up to the task to which God has called you.
But that’s just the thing – if God has called us, then we know that God will be with us. We too must remember who we are, not in the sense that we are good public speakers, strong leaders, etc. But rather, that we are children of the one true King, sons and daughter of God Almighty, and as such, we are God-sent ambassadors, disciple-makers in our communities, missionaries with a God-given mission.
So we embark on our mission not by looking to the strength of our resumes, but by looking to the greatness of our God. He who has sent us will surely be with us and will even go before us.
Psalm 121: 1-2 –
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
