Mighty Warrior

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Judges 6: 12 NIV

Gideon belonged to a clan that was, in his words, the weakest of the tribe of Manasseh, and he claimed to be the weakest of his own family, and yet God called him a mighty warrior. The clue to this paradox is the phrase before “mighty warrior”:  The Lord is with you.  In the Lord’s strength, Gideon was able to overcome his fear enough that he took down the altar to Baal and the Asherah pole as God had told him to do.  He used the wood from the pole to make a fire for a sacrifice to God on a new altar that he built to the Lord. Gideon knew that it was a dangerous venture and indeed, the next morning, his community wanted to kill him for it.  Only some quick thinking on his father’s part saved him. Soon after, he led the Israelites into battle against the Midianites but God confused the enemy so that they ended up killing each other.

This story is such an encouragement when we are in difficult situations. God fought Gideon’s battle for him and protected him from his angry family and neighbours. He provided words to Gideon’s father and a unique solution to the Midianites. If I want to be a mighty warrior, I need to invite the Lord to have control over my life and obey his directives as best as I can.  When the Lord is with me, He will fight my battles for me. The mightiness will be all due to Him.

Midianites

“But you have not listened to me.” Judges 6:10 NIV

The Israelites were being oppressed by the Midianites who were raiding their villages and stealing their crops. In their distress, the Israelites cried out to the Lord who sent a prophet to them. God reminded them that He had delivered them out of Egypt and had given them the land of Canaan. He was their saviour and their provider.  Their problem was not God’s lack of care for them; their problem was that they no longer were listening to him. “But I’m an Israelite, one of God’s chosen people,” some of them likely said. “Why does God allow this oppression by the Midianites even if I don’t always listen?”

God is transforming us. He is not satisfied with leaving us as selfish, greedy, proud, fearful people. He wants us to be filled with his Holy Spirit, to have the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If He has to, He will put extreme pressure on us to get us to pay attention to him. If I cling fiercely to my sinful ways and do not listen when He whispers or gently speaks to me, then He will send the Midianites to shake me up.