Judges 7:10-11 "But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: (11) And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host."
I strongly encourage you to read all of Judges, chapters 6 and 7. It is in
those two chapters that God deals with Gideon in a very special manner. The
Lord sent a prophet to speak, then He sent His angel specifically to Gideon. He
gave Gideon friends to stand with him when he was instructed to tear down the
altar to the false god, Baal. Gideon had many questions and also fears. God
pared down the number of men from 32,000 to 300 that would go with Gideon to
face the Midianites that had come to devour their land.
Today's verse takes place as Gideon is positioned to go against the enemy. God
is so good and merciful. He is so patient and kind to us. In those qualities,
He spoke to Gideon concerning his fear and hesitancy in those final moments
before the battle. God told Gideon to go down to the camp "... and thou
shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go
down unto the host." It was when he went down to the camp that he
heard a man tell of a dream that would normally make no sense, but the other
man interpreted the dream to mean the people of Israel would defeat them and he
mentioned Gideon by name. It was after this that Gideon went back to the camp.
"And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the
interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of
Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of
Midian." (Judges 7:15)
My thought this morning has to do with Gideon's outlook and determination.
Yesterday we saw the contrast in how Gideon felt about himself versus the way
God saw him. Today, we see how Gideon saw the 300 men in light of the
innumerable multitude of the Midianites. Notice he left the 300 men to go down
to the HOST of Midianites. After hearing the dream interpretation, he left the
Midianites to go back to the "HOST of Israel". I think of the
old Gospel song that says, "Little is much if God is in it." His
entire outlook changed when he realized the purpose of God for him. May
we use the mind of Christ to approach each day with confidence in His mercy,
grace, and His will for us.