Gideon Delivers Israel - Judges 6-7
There was a period of time in Biblical history where God allowed judges to serve and lead Israel. During this season, the Israelites were having trouble trusting in the Lord. They were constantly tempted to serve other gods and compromise their standards. They were living among foreign people in this land that God had promised to give them as their homeland.
The Israelites again turned away from God. This time, God allowed a group of people called the 'Midianites' to oppress them. And again as the usual pattern was, Israel repented and cried out to the Lord in their oppression. God used a man named Gideon, who led the armies of Israel into battle. Gideon was a humble man, but he also lacked confidence in what God was going to do for Israel, and in God's using him to deliver Israel from the Midianites. Gideon wanted to make sure that God was really telling him to lead the armies into battle and that they would have the victory, so he asked God for a sign. He took a piece of sheep's skin and put it out during the night. The next morning, he went out and saw that the fleece (sheep's skin) was wet with water, but the ground around the fleece was dry. The next day, the opposite thing happened. He put the fleece out again, but when he checked on it the next morning, the fleece was dry, but the ground all around it was wet.
Gideon was starting to trust God now. He led a large number of men, around 32,000, into battle. God wanted to show Gideon that He was going to give him the victory, but it would not be because the number of men in the army was large. It was because God is all powerful and would win the victory for the Israelites and deliver them. First, God wanted Gideon to send home anyone who was afraid. Then God wanted Gideon to send home the men who knelt down to drink. By the time he was finished with this, Gideon only had 300 men left in his army. Each one in this army received a pitcher and a trumpet. They entered the Midianite camp during the night while the Midianites were sleeping, and attacked them. Then they blew their trumpets and broke their pitchers. The Midianites woke up when they heard the noise. They were confused and ended up fighting with each other and they destroyed each other. Gideon only needed 300 men to do this and God gave them the victory that night.
God's people were in a foreign land and they were always tempted to settle in and become like the neighboring countries. They wanted to become like the other nations and would be led astray by them. They were tempted to practice idolatry. It is no different for us today. God's people still live in a foreign land. This world is not their home, but the temptation to settle in and become like other nations is just as strong as it was back then. God promises to take care of His people and deliver them, whether it was in the ancient Biblical times or today. His people are not 'of this world' but are in it to serve and be a light for the Gospel Truth that can minister and save souls everywhere.
The time period for this event was around 1350 B.C.
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