Gideon

Gideon
Then the LORD ... said [to Gideon], "Go in this might of
yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the
Midianites. Have I not sent you?"

So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel?
Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the
least in my father's house."

So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened
bread ...

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 rose out of the rock and
consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel
of the LORD departed out of his sight. (Judges
6:14,15,19,21, NKJV)

... the same night ... the LORD said to [Gideon], "... tear
down the altar of Baal that your father has, ... and build
an altar to the LORD your God on top of this rock ... So
Gideon ... did as the LORD had said .... But ... by night.
(Judges 6:25-27, NKJV)

Then the LORD said to Gideon,"By the three hundred men who
lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into
your hand. (Judges 7:7, NKJV)

Now the Midianites and Amalekites, ... were ... as numerous
as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the
sand by the seashore in multitude. (Judges 7:12, NKJV)

Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies,
and he put a trumpet into every man's hand, with empty
pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. ... When I blow
the trumpet, ... then you also blow the trumpets on every
side of the whole camp, and say, 'The sword of the LORD and
of Gideon!'" (Judges 7:16-18, NKJV)

After having enjoyed forty years of peace, the nation of
Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and suffered
torments from the Midianites and Amalekites for the
subsequent twenty years. Then the angel of the Lord came to
a teenage boy named Gideon, who was threshing wheat in a
wine press, concealing his activities from his enemies.
Gideon had heard stories about the Lord's mighty deeds, but
he neither knew the Lord, nor had seen him work. The Lord
told this timid boy to lead an army of Israelites against
the Midianites and Amalekites, and promised to empower him
to defeat his enemies.

After worshiping the Lord and destroying his father's idol,
Gideon asked the Lord to perform a miraculous sign for him
as a confirmation of His protection and guidance. First, he
asked the Lord to cause the morning dew to settle
exclusively on a bundle of wool. The Lord granted his
request, and, even though the surrounding ground was
completely dry, he was able to wring a bowl full of water
out of the wool. The Gideon asked the Lord to reverse the
situation, and the wool was dry while the ground was
drenched (Judges 6:36-40).

The Lord complied with Gideon's requests, but then greatly
increased the stakes of trusting the Lord: He pared an army
of 32,000 Israelites down to a mere three hundred men,
against an enormous army of perhaps hundreds of thousands.
In the end, Gideon and his men performed a prophetic act,
and all their enemies killed each other as they fled in
fear.

So what can we learn about faith from Gideon? First, age
has little or no bearing on faith (Matthew 10:15). Second,
exercised faith will naturally increase over time. Third,
the Lord encourages the growth of faith, by continually
increasing the demands on our faith. Fourth, the Lord
honors sincere requests for confirmation of his
instructions, but then requires an even greater exercise of
faith when confirmation is given. Fifth, our faith should
always be in the Lord Himself, and in His benevolence and
omnipotence, not in our own strength. Sixth, faith can
change things very quickly.

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Jon Straumfjord is the author of numerous articles about
the Seven Spirits of God and the God of the Bible. He is
also the creator of the website http://www.7-spirits.com ,
and is the author of the book "The Seven Spirits of God."