The story of Gideon clearly paints the picture of the manifestation of God's grace to and through a weak and undeserving human vessel. This story is found in Judges chapter 6 through 8, Israel had sinned again, years after Deborah and Barrack had rescued the nation from bondage, are now in another bondage.
The Lord had subjected the Israelites to the Midianites for 7 years, a period of anguish and suffering. The Midianites were so cruel to Israel that they were forced to live in mountain clefts for security purposes. There was no harvest in Israel during that time because at the time of harvest, the Amalekites, the Midianites and other tribes invaded the land and pillaged it. This suffering made Israel to cry to God for help, as a result Gideon enters the records of the great men of God.
Even though the whole house of Israel had walked away from God by worshiping Baal, Gideon seems not to have been involved in the worship of Baal despite the fact that his father might have been a priest of Baal.
When the Lord appeared to Gideon, he had a low opinion of his clan and thought of himself as a worthless person. Due to the poor self image and low self esteem, it took the Lord much persuasion coupled with some miraculous signs to convince Gideon that truly it was the Lord who was speaking to him.
Not only did Gideon have a poor self image, he also had a crippling fear that could not let him go to war. God saw through his fear and asked to go near the camp of the Midianites where he overheard of how highly the Midianites esteemed him and that they were afraid of him, this propelled him to go.
Gideon marched to battle with his army of 300 soldiers and rather than fight, the Lord took care of the enemy, Gideon just went to finalize what the Lord had initially finished. After wards we meet a Gideon who is courageous, he mustered the courage to pursue the two kings, Zalmuna and Zebah and killed them with his sword.
When the whole nation saw that the Lord was with Gideon, they wanted to crown him king over the whole nation but Gideon refused, maybe he still had a low opinion of himself but ultimately its because Israel was a theocracy.
This story clearly shows the redemptive plan of God for man. Man will always need the sovereign hand of God in order to come out of the bondage of sin. Through this story it is also evident that God does not select, elect or choose anyone on the merits of what they are capable of achieving or their status quo but rather it is for his own pleasure and glory.
God is sovereign and it is evident throughout the story of Gideon that it is God who called him, encouraged him to go to war and also He, God, fought on behalf of Gideon. Gideon's work was mainly to win the battle which God had already fought.
No one is insignificant before God, He can use anyone to achieve anything despite the person's level of education or qualification. God is able to make a future out of anyone who submits to his call. Anyone who heeds God's call is on the path of being marked for greatness.
What is God asking you to do? Does it seem so big that you feel inadequate? Are feeling insignificant enough to achieve anything for God? The truth is that God is not concerned with your ability but rather your availability. The odds were against David as he stood against Goliath, yet because he trusted in the Lord of the universe the music was sung to his tune. It was beyond reason for a foreign slave to raise to be a prime minister in a nation that was then a super power but God's ways are beyond comprehension hence we live to remember Joseph.
The Bible is strewn with examples of cases whereby God used people who had "questionable" backgrounds or who were not adequate enough, yet he enabled them to accomplish great feats and are all marked in history's wall of fame. If one is qualified to be favoured by God then it is not grace. We are not qualified to receive grace and that is why it is called grace.
May the God of Heaven open your eyes to know how great he is so that you may be ready to do what He has called you to do. May He open your eyes to see his victorious arm in action over your life. May the God of Jacob keep and sustain you when all else fails.
No comments:
Post a Comment