Jason Esposito: In my last post, we looked at how Gideon was to become the hero of a great Israelite epic, but certainly did not feel that way to begin with. God insisted on calling him a mighty warrior – something that he could not even imagine.

What are the “gods” in your life?

And so Gideon is so much more than he could imagine. This man, living in fear, is a mighty warrior in the eyes of God because God is with him. And so he has his first big assignment to destroy these altars that where built to false gods. He does as the Lord commanded him, but because he was fearful of the people, he does it at night. The next day the people get up and are angry. This is the first CSI group as they carefully investigated what happened. And they figure out that Gideon is the guy who did it and they want him handed over to them. Joash, Gideon’s father, defends his son and is quite a lawyer. “Look - isn’t Baal this great deity? Can’t he defend himself? And for that matter, if you fight for him, he will be angry at you for not believing in his power and you will be dead by morning. If Baal is who he says he is, let him fight his own battles.” That is one sharp guy. The people, fearful of their god Baal, say, “Okay, we will let Baal handle Gideon,” and even gave Gideon a new name that means “let Baal contend with him.” Baal is not the living, breathing, God and so nothing negative happens to Gideon. He was obedient to the one true God and God protected him.

There is a lie in this part of the story that all of us buy into from time to time. We have set up different altars or gods in our life. Those things that consume us. Perhaps this is our job, or pursuit of wealth. Maybe it is a relationship or hobby. For some, an addiction. That god in our life is blocking our capacity to hear the one true God who is calling us to be a mighty warrior for him. To have a life well spent. To experience all the joy and partnership with the one true God. We have become a slave to that false God and we are living in fear of what would occur if we discard that. What would happen if my career is no longer the most important all-consuming force in my life? What would happen if I admit my addiction and receive help? The lie is that we won’t make it. Perhaps our life will be ruined with our coping mechanism gone. But like the people in Gideon’s day found out when those altars, those all-consuming gods in our life are removed, we are not destroyed but the very opposite occurs. We begin to live. We begin to discover the God of the universe who loves us very much. In removing that false god in our life, we open ourselves to hear the incredible message of the one true God.

A mighty warrior revealed

This is when the story of Gideon gets blown wide open. But first, Gideon needs one more test just to make sure he’s okay, and that going before the great army of the Midianites is what God wants. Gideon is slow to get it - kind of like me - and he finally gathers his great army to face the Midianites who number like locusts, too many to count. God says, “Look - you have too many men, so anyone who is fearful, let them go home.” 22,000 leave at this point. Wow, that is a blow to morale. But God says there are still too many, “Go down to the water and everyone who kneels down to drink goes home and everyone who laps like a dog stays to fight.” 300 men lapped with their hands to their mouth and the rest go home. Over 21,000 leave. Typically, we think of a smaller force as elite fighters but not in this case. The ones who lapped like a dog were probably face down, not paying any attention to their surroundings. So Gideon gets this ragtag group of men to fight against this huge army. Their methods would not go over well with the great generals of history. They surround the camp after Gideon was given one last proof that God would defeat their enemies. Each man has a trumpet and a jar covering a torch. They blow their trumpets, shout, “For the Lord and for Gideon!” and break their jars. The battle is over quickly as God causes fear and confusion to overwhelm the camp and the Midianites all turn on each other. Gideon was victorious. He became the mighty warrior that he was called at the beginning of the story. Gideon became what God called him!

It’s all About God

The interesting part of this epic story is that it is not that Gideon was this strategic general, incredible recruiter and a mighty specimen, but that the greatness of Gideon was clearly because of the God of Gideon. It was not the work of his own hand, but the hand of God on his life that transformed Gideon. He fulfilled his God-mandate of being a mighty warrior because of God.

And so it is with each of us. It is not our education or lack thereof. It is not our people skills, our perfect background or our checkered background, as the case may be. It is the fact and reality of God in our life. A life worth living is one that embraces the God who deeply loves us and has an incredible plan for us on this side and the next. That is the God who is available to each of us. He is a God who is speaking into each of our lives: “You are a great warrior; I have a plan for your life. Know that you are loved.” Will you allow God to fulfill his beautiful purpose in your life? When we do, our life can truly be epic.

What do you think? Share your thoughts and comments by clicking on the Comments button.

On the Journey Together,

Jason Esposito

Senior Pastor