Judges 7

Verses 1-8, “Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained. But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.” So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.”

The 32,000 men that assembled to fight were still no match for the 132,000 Midianites. But in God's eyes, the army was too big. If He gave them the victory, He did not want them taking any of the credit. First he offered all the men that were afraid to go home. This reduced the size of the army down to 10,000. The men who left clearly had little or no faith in God, and walked by sight, according to what they could see. When God is finished dwindling down the army, Gideon is left with 300 men. This is a completely impossible mission unless God is fighting on their behalves. Those who remained to take part in this battle would experience first hand a miracle of God. It makes you wonder what we may have missed out on by being weak in faith.

Verses 9-15, “It happened on the same night that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude. And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.” Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.” And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.”

The Lord knew that Gideon would need encouragement, so He spoke to him to go down to the enemy camp and spy along with his servant Purah. The enemy troops were too numerous to count, but Gideon had a divine appointment to overhear a man telling of a dream that they presumed was an indication of their upcoming defeat at the hands of Gideon. Gideon knew that this was a sign from God and responded in worship. He then returned with confidence and faith to continue the mission God had given him. We are not expected to be without fear, but we are expected to overcome it by putting our trust in Him who is worthy. 1 Peter 5:6-7, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

Gideon had to be in a place to hear from God, which is exactly where you want to go when you are troubled. If he wasn't seeking God, he may not have heard from the Lord to rescue this encouragement. Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  If you aren't asking and seeking, you cannot expect to receive, you do not have because you do not ask. Seek God and receive encouragement that you can bring back to exhort others.

Verses 16-23, “Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do: When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘ The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!’ ” So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers—they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing—and they cried, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled. When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath. And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites.”

Gideon's army had no weapons or swords, they carried only trumpets and torches. But knowing that his enemies were afraid of him and the Lord was behind him,  Gideon led his men in a way the cleverly made them seem like a much bigger army than they were. When all 300 trumpets blew and the pitchers broke to reveal the torches, the enemies were sent in a tailspin so that they turned on each other with their swords. Gideon's men never even engaged in the battle. Sometimes we run from battles that we would have never fought, and are defeated in our minds prematurely. God wants us to be willing to walk through the fire, but sometimes he has a way of escape am planned. We can trust that he loves us and nothing will affect us the He doesn't allow.

Verses 24-25, “Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.” Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan. And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.”

Not everyone has the faith to step out, but once a godly leader has led, it is not uncommon that others will step out and follow. Had Gideon been concerned about his own power and fame, he may have not wanted others involved. But the men of Ephraim were invited to take part in a work of the Lord, and God blessed their work, giving them success. Gideon was a man who came from the weakest tribe and the smallest in his family, but God raised him up and used him mightily. Although we may feel insignificant, God will use us if we are willing to step out in faith. Otherwise we can follow along after others who do or miss out altogether due to our spiritual weakness.