Gideon

April 3

Judges 7:1-8

Too many!

Now that God had given Gideon a clear sign that He would give him victory over the Midianites, Gideon and his men got up early the next day and camped next to a little river.

The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. Your men might boast that they won the battle all by themselves. Let those who are afraid go back home.” After thousands had gone back home, the Lord said to Gideon, “You still have too many men. Take the men down to the river and I will show you who to choose.”

Then the Lord showed Gideon that the men who scooped up the water with their hands and lapped it should go with him, while those who got down on their knees to drink were to go back home. So Gideon was left with only three hundred men.

How can fewer be better?

How would you feel if your team coach decided to halve the number of players just before the team runs onto the field? You would probably hear comments from both sides about the slaughter about to take place. You would wonder if the coach even cared that you would be facing one of the strongest teams out there.

Yet, how would you feel afterwards if your half-sized team beat the strongest team so badly that the scorekeeper couldn’t keep up? Wouldn’t you be proud to have a coach who knows what he is doing and who knows what his team can do?

Our Lord gets all the glory when the odds are against us—when victory seems impossible. Let us never boast in our own strength but in the strength of the Lord our God (1 Corinthians 1:28-29).

Verse for today

It is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's… 1 Samuel 17:47