Text: Judges 7:1-2
When the time came to go to battle against the Midianites, Gideon assembled a large army. Yet God dramatically reduced his number in order to teach him (and us) a lesson. Despite the smaller number, Gideon’s army of 300 defeated the Midianites because God was with them. The lesson from this is that we need to trust in God, not the number of people on our side.
Depend on God, not on numbers
The Defeat of the Midianites
- Gideon assembled an army of 32,000 (Judges 7:1-3) – God did not want him to take that many; if Gideon won with 32,000 men, he might think that he was victorious without the help of God
- God told him to send home those who were afraid (Judges 7:3) – 22,000 left; 10,000 stayed, but this was still too many
- God divided the rest by taking them down to the water to see how they would drink (Judges 7:4-5) – after this, only 300 remained (Judges 7:6-7); they went to the camp of Midian at night and the whole army fled (Judges 7:15-22)
God’s Side Will Be Victorious
- Victory does not depend on having the majority on our side, but on us being on God’s side – we overwhelmingly conquer through Christ (Romans 8:37); remember the church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-8); they had “little power” but great opportunity
- We need to be comfortable being in the minority – the remnant will be saved (Romans 9:27; cf. Isaiah 10:22); few will be saved (Matthew 7:13-14); we need to be willing to be different (Romans 12:2)
We Must Still Act
- Even though victory is won only through God, His people still need to act – Gideon and his 300 men had to follow God’s instructions (Judges 7:7-8, 16-23); we need to do what God has called us to do
- Remember, we overwhelmingly conquer through Christ (Romans 8:37) – but we must still put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17), the armor that He supplies (cf. Isaiah 59:16-18); we are to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12), remembering where faith comes from (Romans 10:17)
Conclusion
- It can be intimidating to be in the minority – yet if we are on God’s side, we will be victorious
- Let us put our trust in Him – fight the good fight, knowing that we overwhelmingly conquer through Him
