Judges 6:11-24
11 Then the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites.
12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, valiant warrior.”
13 Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”
14 And the Lord looked at him and said, “Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?”
15 But he said to Him, “O Lord, how am I to save Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”
16 Yet the Lord said to him, “I will certainly be with you, and you will defeat Midian as one man.”
17 So Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then perform for me a sign that it is You speaking with me.
18 Please do not depart from here until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You.” And He said, “I will remain until you return.”
19 Then Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the oak and presented them.
20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so.
21 Then the angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.
22 When Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord, he said, “Oh, Lord God! For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace to you, do not be afraid; you shall not die.”
24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and named it The Lord is Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Gideon’s Call
A warrior or a coward
We often tend to hesitate even when we receive a calling from God because of the lack of confidence in our abilities and or faith. However, God uses those who are weak to manifest His glory. Let us learn a lesson from the calling of Gideon. (1) Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress. Normally, wheat is threshed in a spacious area on a hill. The fact that he was in a winepress indicates two things: he was hiding from the Midianites while threshing the wheat, and he had only a small amount of wheat. (2) Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him (it gradually becomes clear that the angel of the Lord is the pre-incarnate Christ, that is, God Himself). The angel of the Lord addresses Gideon as a “valiant warrior” and assures him that the Lord is with him. (3) Gideon questioned why he is being called a valiant warrior, raising several reasons: Israel is under attack by the Midianites, which seems like evidence of God forsaking His people. Moreover, he belongs to the weakest clan of Manasseh, and within his family, he is the youngest. He does not see himself as a valiant warrior. (4) The angel of the Lord promised Gideon, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.”
Gideon’s request
Gideon requested for a sign to confirm the truth of the promise (Gideon’s lack of confidence is reiterated in Judg. 6:36-39). The angel of the Lord granted the request and consumed by fire the meal prepared by Gideon. This revealed that the one before him was indeed God Himself, as it was not consumed in a normal human manner. (1) Gideon failed to understand that the term “valiant warrior” carried prophetic significance and focused solely on the present circumstances, which beecame the root of the problem. (2) The assurance that “the Lord is with you” is the guarantee of the fulfillment of the prophecy. How do you overcome your lack of confidence? We have been given the promise of Jesus, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).
Today's prayer
Heavenly Father, I thank you for calling me a "valiant warrior." May I always see myself through Your eyes. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.