WHAT MADE GIDEON GREAT?
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, R.S.V.
Far be it from me to disagree with an angel, but I'll have to make an honest confession. Even though the angel labeled Gideon as a mighty man of valor, I've sometimes suspected him of being rather weak in the faith. After all, what would you do if an angel were to come to you for a personal conversation, make your meal suddenly catch fire while it sat on a rock, then disappear miraculously from sight? Would you question the message he brought to you? On top of that, would you insist on a wet fleece on the dry ground, and then a dry fleece on the wet ground, before you believed God meant what he said?
Missing the possibility that Gideon may have simply been fearful of presumption, I've thought, I would have said, Yes, sir! to the angel's first instructions. Admittedly, Gideon was being asked to go on a rather dangerous mission, one that could endanger other lives as well.
Perhaps it could be said that, given the general spiritual poverty of the nation at the time, Gideon--with all his cautious faith--was the very best whom God could find. It should be noted also that Gideon did, after all, get the job done. And it is comforting to know that God can do heroic things even with people as careful as Gideon.
Which brings us to a key insight that goes far beyond the book of Judges: God is the only real hero in the Bible. The outstanding personality in this well-known story isn't Gideon, but a patient God who was able to enable Gideon to do mighty deeds of valor. The hero is a compassionate Father who understood Gisdeon's fears and humble self-opinion, and who--rather than chastising him for his seeking of reassurance--went ahead and gave him both a wet fleece and a dry fleece.
In the end, of course, I revise my opinion of Gideon, for he himself grasped this larger picture. He knew who the true Hero was. And when the people came rushing to him, begging him to become their leader, his response was firm: "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you" (Judges 8:23, R.S.V.). That attitude is, in the end, what made Gideon a mighty man of valor.
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, R.S.V.
Far be it from me to disagree with an angel, but I'll have to make an honest confession. Even though the angel labeled Gideon as a mighty man of valor, I've sometimes suspected him of being rather weak in the faith. After all, what would you do if an angel were to come to you for a personal conversation, make your meal suddenly catch fire while it sat on a rock, then disappear miraculously from sight? Would you question the message he brought to you? On top of that, would you insist on a wet fleece on the dry ground, and then a dry fleece on the wet ground, before you believed God meant what he said?
Missing the possibility that Gideon may have simply been fearful of presumption, I've thought, I would have said, Yes, sir! to the angel's first instructions. Admittedly, Gideon was being asked to go on a rather dangerous mission, one that could endanger other lives as well.
Perhaps it could be said that, given the general spiritual poverty of the nation at the time, Gideon--with all his cautious faith--was the very best whom God could find. It should be noted also that Gideon did, after all, get the job done. And it is comforting to know that God can do heroic things even with people as careful as Gideon.
Which brings us to a key insight that goes far beyond the book of Judges: God is the only real hero in the Bible. The outstanding personality in this well-known story isn't Gideon, but a patient God who was able to enable Gideon to do mighty deeds of valor. The hero is a compassionate Father who understood Gisdeon's fears and humble self-opinion, and who--rather than chastising him for his seeking of reassurance--went ahead and gave him both a wet fleece and a dry fleece.
In the end, of course, I revise my opinion of Gideon, for he himself grasped this larger picture. He knew who the true Hero was. And when the people came rushing to him, begging him to become their leader, his response was firm: "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you" (Judges 8:23, R.S.V.). That attitude is, in the end, what made Gideon a mighty man of valor.
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