Wisdom From Old Testament Stories Sample

Gideon 

Today’s story also comes from the book of Judges. It’s pretty common for us to want to see the  underdogs—the unlikely heroes—win. And that’s what happened with Gideon against the Midianites. 

As we learned in Day 2, the Israelites lived in a terribly toxic cycle. At this time, Gideon was Israel’s judge, and they’d been oppressed by the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel to the Israelites that they were starving. That’s when they called on the Lord...again.

God sent a prophet to His people and scolded them for worshipping false and foreign idols. After this, an angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and called Gideon a “mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12). Clearly surprised at this, Gideon then asks why God has abandoned them. 

God tells Gideon to save Israel from Midian’s hand. Gideon doubts God several times. But, God tells him that He’ll be with him, and that He’ll deliver him. Finally, Gideon moves forward in the role God has called him to. 

Gideon had 22,000 men, but God said that was too many. Eventually, the 22,000 men were dwindled down to 300 to fight a force of thousands of Midianites. And with that obedience and reliance upon God, the Israelites, led by Gideon, were victorious. A few things we can learn from this story are:

God Doesn’t Cause All of Our Messes

When the angel of the Lord came to Gideon the first time, Gideon doubted God and practically blamed Him for abandoning them. But, we can clearly see that their actions led to their oppression and hardship. They chose to do “evil in the eyes of the Lord” (Judges 6:1). So, it’s wise for all of us to look at our choices and see what we need to adjust. Blaming God isn’t the answer.

God Is Patient in Our Doubts

Gideon questioned where God was, he questioned God using him, he asked for two signs from God that it was really God, and argued that he didn’t have enough men to win the battle. And even after God told Gideon two separate times that He would “give him victory over the Midianites,” Gideon still doubted. Yet, each time, God patiently and kindly responded to Gideon’s doubts and fears. God didn’t give up on him after one doubt or a dozen doubts. He understood the humanity problem that Gideon had. God knows us! He knows our weaknesses. He knows we still get scared even when we hear from Him. He knows we don’t see what He sees. He so merciful and gracious!

God’s Power Is More Than Enough

God took a fear-filled, unequipped, doubting man named Gideon and led him to defeat thousands of Midianites with an army of 300 men. Won’t He do the same for us? We may feel weak, but with His power, we aren’t likely to fail, we’re likely to succeed! God’s Word tells us that He’s trustworthy. Is anything too hard for Him?