Before Gideon engages in battle with the Midianites, God points out a serious problem with his army, a problem that will hinder them from winning the battle: Gideon had too many men. There was too much human strength at play, and this would hinder the victory that God wanted to bring about for his people. So, Gideon whittles his army down to one third of its size. But there were still too many men. Then the army is scaled down to about a tenth of the original force, three hundred in all. Finally, they are weak enough to win the victory. This would have been so counter-intuitive for Gideon. But he had previously admitted that, in choosing him to lead Israel, God was choosing the weakest person from the weakest clan (6:15). God chose Gideon, not in spite of his weakness, but because of it. He wanted this weak vessel to have only a small force of men to work with. Here is why. The role of human beings is to exercise the power and authority of God on earth. That is his creation mandate. The strength of a human being is not in his strength but in God’s strength. God uses our abilities, but our abilities have no power in themselves. Jesus gives us authority on earth to bring about change for good. Authority is the right to exercise the power of God. To look within ourselves for the power to effect change is at once to forfeit our power in God. God is our strength. Dependence on God is the greatest strength of human beings.
Ask God to give you the strength to be an agent for change today.
Read Judges 7
