A Brave Man

by R. Darke, Victoria, B.C., Canada | Category: General | Jan 1991

Depressed, discouraged, fearful: these appeared to be Gideon's symptoms when the angel of the Lord addressed him as "thou mighty man of valour". Did he deserve such a divine commendation? Yes, because he seemed to be the only one doing something to feed the people of God in a time of great adversity.

The marauding Midianites, with their fleet-footed camels, had completely changed Israel's way of life. Instead of enjoying peace in a land they had conquered, God's people were forced to exist in dens and caves,

the habitat of wild animals. They were robbed of their crops, vines, sheep, and cattle. What a contrast to the prosperity and promise associated with the early possession of a land they had effectively subdued!

Although this occurred over 3,000 years ago, there is a message m it for the people of God today. Our warfare is spiritual, our promised land is the heavenly places, and our enemy is Satan and his hosts of wickedness. Are they. depriving us of the full joy of what God has made available in Christ's work at Calvary? Instead of being happy, vibrant, prosperous Christians, is it possible that we are living deprived, unhappy, fearful, starved lives, because our enemy has gained the upper hand? Is this possible? Is it true? Moffatt gives this graphic translation of Ephesians 6:12, "For we have to struggle not with blood and flesh but with the angelic Rulers, the angelic Authorities, the potentates of the dark present, the spirit-forces of evil in the heavenly sphere. So take God's armour..." We cannot afford to be on the losing side as Israel was, early in Gideon's day.

Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress because he had a shepherd's care for God's sheep. The shallow pit, which was the lower part of the winepress, was where Gideon stood day after day secretly producing food, and distributing it before the enemy swooped down to steal it. The smallness of the winepress contrasted with the wide, open area of the normal threshing-floor; its use for threshing wheat clearly indicates the absence of joy in the land, for the winepress was for the crushing of grapes to produce wine which "maketh glad the heart of man" (Ps. 104:15). No grapes were being crushed. It was at this time God turned towards Gideon and spoke to him the reassuring words: "Surely I will be with thee" (Judges 6:16). The assurance of divine presence was reinforced by the Lord granting him His peace, and Gideon built an altar, naming it Jehovah-Shalom (v.24). After destroying his father's idol (v.28), Gideon was further strengthened by the Spirit of the Lord coming upon him (y.34). Surely he was now ready for the great task of leading Israel' into victorious battle. Gideon proved to be a brave man in a day of adversity. His example can encourage us in today's spiritual warfare against an ever present enemy in the spiritual realm. Take courage, beloved, "The LORD is with thee" (Judges 6:12).

Gideon's visit to the threshing-floor with the fleece (Judges 6:1640) was a great step of faith from the days when he worked in fear of the enemy, in the winepress beating out wheat. The once insecure son of Joash knew dealings with God which replaced timidity with courage, weakness with strength. Gideon appears in his earlier days to have been a man whose morale had been whittled away by the adversities of life. Despair, fear, depression, failure, all seemed to have left their mark, creating a need for the help and confidence God alone could give. Perhaps a fellow Christian reading this article is going through a like experience and wondering what the future might hold. Let me assure you that Gideon's God is your God, and He will not only provide you with the same assurance, but also co-operate with you in the carrying out of His will, as we find He did with Gideon on the threshing floor. It needs that first step of faith away from despair; the willingness to listen to His word and desire to act upon it.

When Gideon brought his fleece to the threshing-floor to prove God, he had come to a quiet place. No work had been done there for a long time; he had come to the spot where he could know God's restoring hand for himself and his people. And it was no ball of wool that he had in his hand. It was a one-piece, full coat taken from the back of a normal-sized sheep, and it had been skilfully removed by the shearer. Gideon had probably done it himself.

The threshing-floor would be a place of experience for others, such as David and Ornan, but Gideon was reminded there that the dew he prayed for had a distinct link with his family's blessings from God. His bloodline went back through Manasseh to Joseph the patriarch, of whom Moses said, "Blessed of the LORD be his land; For the precious things of heaven, for the dew..." (Deut. 33:13). That very ordinary place, a threshing floor, became a sanctified place when Gideon had dealings with his God there. So did the place of the bush become sanctified when Moses met the Lord there; and an ordinary mountain became holy, sanctified, when Peter, James, and John were privileged witnesses of the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus (2 Peter 1:18). How important such times became for them, and can be for us if we desire them.

The dew is an illustration of the Holy Spirit. In its association with the manna, for instance, we see a picture of the Spirit's work in the birth of the Lord Jesus, for the manna speaks of Him as the true Bread which came down Out of heaven. "Mary ... was found with child of the Holy ....... that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Mat. 1:18,20 RVM). Then Paul counsels us to give diligence to keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3), which provides a precious link with David's sentiment that the dew of Hermon is a picture of brethren dwelling together in unity (Ps.133l,3).

Does the blessing of the dew on the ground picture a request for the Spirit's blessing on Israel's land after victory? At least we do know that God used only a small army with weak weapons to defeat a strong army. Midian was subdued, and the land had peace for forty years.

All Gideon's experiences were necessary and beneficial to him; in a spiritual sense ours can be for us, too. The more positive dealings we have with God, the deeper our spiritual lives become. "Seek the LORD, and ye shall live" says Amos (5:6). God knew Gideon as He knows us, and He ever remains gracious and patient.

R. Darke, Victoria, B.C., Canada | Jan 1991
General