Gideon’s Army Judges 6:12-16

Judges 6:12-13 12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!" 13 Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."

Judges 6:14-16 14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?" 15 So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." 16 And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man."

Gideon An unimportant man – just a farmer Gathered an army of 32,000 men Too large – all afraid leave – 22,000 went home All not alert were sent home – Left with an army of 300

1 – God is with us = Power And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!" Judges 6:12 Gideon says that he is weak, not qualified. And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man." Judges 6:16

1 – God is with us = Power And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. Judges 7:7 Over and over God assures them that He will be the power to win over the Midinaites.

Question 1 – Do you trust the promises that God makes in the NT? Matthew 28:20 I am with you always Paul facing shipwreck Peter in prison The NT is full of promises to us. Do you believe them?

2 – Word of God = Certainty & Courage Gideon had to be convinced – tests of the fleece Judges 6:36-37 36 So Gideon said to God, "If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said-- 37 look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said."

2 – Word of God = Certainty & Courage God caused the Midianites to fear Gideon Judges 7:15 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."

Question 2 – Do you believe in the sovereignty of God? God is almighty, all powerful, creator, provider, protector Is God able to deal with your problems?

3 – Wisdom = Peace After the battle is won – Ephraimites complain – not called to help in the fight Judges 8:1b And they reprimanded him sharply. Judges 8:2-3 So he said to them, "What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? 3 God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison with you?" Then their anger toward him subsided when he said that.

Question 3 – How did the wisdom of Gideon calm down the situation? If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:5

Remember Gideon God is with us = Power Word of God = Certainty and Courage Wisdom = Peace