By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
Na ka mea a Ihowa ki a Kiriona, He nui rawa te iwi i a koe nei hei hoatutanga maku i nga Miriani ki o ratou ringa, kei whakapehapeha a Iharaira ki ahau, kei mea, Na toku ringa ake ahau i whakaora.
Ua fetalai mai Ieova ia Kitiona, E toatele naua le nuu o loo ia te oe; ou te le tuuina atu Mitiana i o latou lima, ne'i mitamita mai Isaraelu, i o'u luma e faapea mai, O lo'u lava lima ua ola ai a'u.
The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’
Judges 7:2
Judges 6–7 is like an ascent up the mountain of Gideon’s life. He climbs from being a young nobody to the peak of the mountain, routing an enemy army.
God, in his grace, chooses the weak.
“Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand,” the angel of the Lord tells Gideon.
Note his response: “My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Gideon sees himself as weak. He sees himself coming from a weak tribe, from a weak clan. He’s the youngest and therefore the lowest in his family.
God, in his grace, weakens them further.
In Judges 7:3–7, the Lord reduces Gideon’s army from 30,000 men to 300. That’s a 99% decrease.
Why would God choose a weakling and then deliberately weaken his army?
We see the answer in chapter seven, verse two. The Lord says to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’”
God weakens them further so they would worship him.
God did not want Israel to boast in their own strength but in his. He didn’t want them to mistake his mercy and power for their own ability.
God chose a weakling and weakened his army further so that his people would see the strength of their God, see the goodness and grace of his kindness, and worship him.
I so often think that God sees me as the competent operations manager of my life. I know he’s there if I need him, but sometimes I think I’ve got this.
The truth is, in God’s sight, we are his children, often weak, clueless, and making situations worse. What’s remarkable is he still chooses to work with us and through us in the world because of his love for us.
God knows our weaknesses; often, he will weaken us further, so that he can display his grace even more in us and through us.
