(Judges 6:13) 3 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 not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."
Gideon was the son of Joash which belonged
to the tribe Abiezrite. Abiezrite was the descendent of Manasseh. In the bible
it was also called Jeezerites (Numbers 26:30). At that period, the people of
Israel did evil in the eyes of God. Therefore, God put them into the hand of
Midianites for seven years. Midianites were Abraham and Keturah’s fourth
child’s descendants (Genesis 25:2). They lived in the wilderness east of the
Jordan river, near Canaan where the Israel people lived. In these seven years,
Midianites united with other enemies to destroy the food of the Israelis, and
also taken the cows, sheep, donkeys, and other animals that they depended on
for their livelihoods. It can be imagined that their situation must be very
miserable. In these troubles, God chose Gideon to lead the Israel people out of
the hand of Midianites. From the reply of Gideon to God’s messenger, we can see
that he hears God’s miracles on his ancestors.
(Judges 6:14-16) 14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?" 15 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." 16 And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man."
Compared with the situation of the
Israelites, they were also under the oppression of powerful enemies, so they
were eagerly looking forward to God's salvation. When Gideon was called, he
replied: "His family is the poorest in the tribe of Manasseh. I am the
smallest in my father's house." At the moment, Gideon does not think he
can respond to God's called, but he did not choose to escape. Instead, he asked
God to give him evidence to strengthen his confidence and let him know that the
message he received came from Jehovah; God agreed to his request, and Gideon
also took practical actions to respond to God's call, to concentrate on relying
on God for things that God sends.
(Hebrews 4:14-16) 14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
In our life, we might just be normal people
with no fame and distinguished background. When God called us, are we willing
to use our faith and action to reply to God’s call? This is like when we do
holy work, we often think that we do not have enough ability but by prayer and
asking, God will grant relevant capability to his worker. The final result will
normally be better than what we expected.
Gideon did not rely on his strategy or
experience in the things that God directed, but he sought God's will before
acting. In our religion, family, and life we need to readjust our footsteps and
examine whether we are being led by the norms of the world or focus our eyes on
the present suffering and forget God’s salvation. May we allow the Holy Spirit
to renew from time to time and make our behaviour and life closer to God's
will.
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