Winning the Lord’s Battle (Judges 7:1-23)

Gideon is now stepping out into facing the enemy that threatened the people of Israel. So far, we can say that he has put his personal life right, his family life right, and received encouraging and specific guidance from the Lord. Those three features are usually essential for those who lead the Lord’s work. Gideon had personal dealings with God and dedicated himself to serving the Lord when he met the Angel of the Lord while threshing wheat in secret. We can regard that as his conversion.

Then he was called to remove the altar of Baal from his father’s land, which was a potentially difficult task, but he did it even although he was afraid. We can regard that as his commitment to the Lord’s cause. Perhaps in our circles we could liken the first to when a person is converted and the second to when a person makes known that he or she has been converted.

This was followed by his asking the Lord for guidance through the twofold use of a fleece. Although some regard this as an indication of unbelief, it is better to see it as an expression of confidence in the power of God to do the impossible. After all, the task given to Gideon seemed impossible – defeat the large army of the Midianites, so he asked God to perform two smaller ‘impossible’ activities by reversing the normal course of nature and also to do what no one had ever asked him to do before.

It is important to observe that the giving of divine comfort was connected to his service of God. We can see that Gideon responded correctly to the word of comfort because he immediately prepared for battle with the Midianites (7:1). God’s promises are not given to encourage inactivity, and if we follow the receiving of comfort with a response of spiritual laziness the comfort will not last. Yet although Gideon was now willing to serve God, he also discovered that his army was not.

God’s selection process

There is a lot of interest in military circles regarding how great generals fought their campaigns. Even although they may have lived in different periods of time, there is much to learn from their ability to use surprising methods that targeted the weaknesses of the enemy and won incredible victories. Here we are introduced to some of the methods that the General of the armies of God uses in order to bring about his triumphs. The General here is not Gideon, but the Lord himself. Gideon is only a ranking officer, who has to implement the instructions of the General.

The first detail that we can observe is that the Lord will not fight in a battle in which he will not get the glory. We may find the Lord’s use of arithmetic here to be unusually challenging. After all, we know that Gideon has 32,000 men and the Midianites have 135,000 men (8:10). Gideon and his men are outnumbered by over four to one, and the Lord says that in such circumstances it is still possible for the Israelites to fight in such a way that would prevent the Lord receiving the glory. Since that is the case, he will not proceed with leading the campaign. If Gideon chooses to fight with his 32,000 men he will not have the Lord to help him.

What does this divine calculation say about the enemies of Israel? It says that although they seemed so strong (135,000), they were in fact weak and that it would have been possible for the 32,000 Israelites to defeat them. With God on their side, it would have been easy for the smaller army to defeat the larger army. But it would have been possible for the smaller army to boast about their achievements. And God would not have it. We know how easy it is for Christians to boast. If we are boasting about our strengths, we are a long way from victory.

The second detail is that the Lord knows the hearts of all the men who have joined up with Gideon. Two thirds of them have hearts in a wrong state (vv. 2-4). They are described as ‘fearful and trembling’. I suppose we could say that they are in the same condition that Gideon was in before he met the Angel of the Lord. So we can deduce that the fear they possessed was not accompanied by confidence in the Lord. Perhaps they were there because they, as Israelites, wanted to defeat the invading Midianites. In the circumstances of the time, they did not want to return to the Lord from the sinful lives they had adopted. They were concerned about the size of the enemy and did not bring the bigness of God into the situation. It is impossible to serve God if we do not have faith in Jesus.

Gideon may have thought that now he had an ideal army of 10,000 soldiers. But he discovered that this was not the case. The Lord’s estimate was that the number was too large and that 9,700 of them were not fit to fight his battle. God told Gideon how he could identify the 300 that were suitable. It was a simple test, but is there any significance in it?

One interpretation suggests that in order to see the point we have to remember that the enemy are around. The place where they were drinking could have been one of the locations where the Midianites would have gone for water as well. In such a situation, we would expect the Israelite soldiers to be careful that the enemy would not sneak up on them while they were drinking or come close enough to shoot arrows at them. Instead most of them seemed unaware that the enemy could strike. Such were not the kind of soldiers that God wanted. It is almost as if God was saying to Gideon, ‘The kind of soldier who fights in the big battle must also be alert in case he is picked off by an archer while by himself.’ It is easy to see the application for us – those who are selected by God to fight are those who are always alert to the possibility of spiritual danger.

Having said that, it has too be admitted that the suggestion is not based on any evidence in the passage. The author does not suggest that those who lapped were more careful than the others. Instead it may have been the case that God was making it easy for Gideon to discover the ones he would keep and the ones that he would send home. It is the case that God often makes it easy to know how to make a hard decision. The main point may be that Gideon’s faith is being stretched to the limits to see if he will trust the instructions of God.

The third detail to observe is that the Lord reassured his chosen leader that victory would follow through this divinely approved means. Gideon would need such encouragement, wouldn’t he? Instead of facing an army that was four times the size of the Israelite army, he was now facing one that was forty-five times its size. We are being told here that it is quality and not quantity that matters. Nevertheless Gideon still needs assurance that the Lord is with him, and God provides it for him. We should not be surprised that the Lord can use a small number. After all, that is what Jesus did with the eleven apostles to whom he gave the Great Commission! We should not be concerned with the numbers, but with our spiritual state.

Discovering the Lord’s strategy

Gideon was instructed by the Lord to make his way down to the camp below so that he can discover the mood of the enemy. I suppose the position occupied by the Israelites tells us a great deal. It was obvious in ancient battles for an army to try and have the high ground. And it is obvious that we should be located on higher ground when we are engaged in spiritual battles. It is on the higher ground of spiritual heights that we can expect to hear and understand the Lord’s instructions.

Gideon discovered afresh here the sensitivity of the Lord regarding the feelings of his servant. God knew that Gideon was apprehensive about taking on such a large army, so when he asked Gideon to go down to the camp he informed him that he could take his servant Purah with him. Why would Gideon need his servant with him? I suppose a simple answer is to speak to one another. After all, two would not be a match against the entire army, but they could encourage one another as they surveyed the camp. In other words, we can say that fellowship is important when fighting for the Lord, even if we can only have such interaction with one person.

Gideon also discovered that the Lord had been working in the hearts of the enemy, but not in order to give them a blessing. Instead he had sent a dream to one man and enabled another man to interpret it correctly (vv. 13-14). The dream and the interpretation would have been fulfilled whether Gideon heard it or not. Yet it was good for Gideon to hear that his God was in charge of providence. Of course, there is all the difference between knowing that God is in charge and hearing that he is in control of the enemy. And as we listen in, we should be amazed at the precision with which God arranges for Gideon to discover what the enemy is thinking. This means that even the rate with which Gideon and Purah descended to the camp was under the control of God, as was the fact that they were not spotted or captured by the Midianite guards. We have to learn that he is the God of the little steps as well as the God of the major moments.

There is something unusual here in the interpretation of the dream and that is that the enemy soldier knew all about Gideon. Perhaps they had been informed of the actions of Gideon in gathering the troops of Israel for this battle. Whatever the reason, they knew about Gideon, and they knew that he was God’s servant. And it is the case that the spiritual enemies of Christians know who they are and that they serve the omnipotent God who alone has the power to arrange for a victory to take place. It is important for us to have this perspective in our minds when we participate in spiritual activities.

Responding to the Lord’s message (vv. 15-23)

The author of Judges tells us what the first response of Gideon was to hearing the information – he worshipped the Lord (v. 15). This response reveals a great deal about the state of Gideon’s heart. It is interesting that the account of his life mentions several of Gideon’s time of worship. There was his worship when he met the Angel of the Lord, there was his worship when he destroyed the altar connected to Baal, and now there is his worship as he prepares for battle.

The second aspect of Gideon’s response is wisdom, although it may not look like it initially. His weapons for the battle seemed useless – each soldier had a trumpet and an empty jar with a torch, although the torch could not be seen. We are not told why he gave them such weapons although we can assume that God told him to do so. When each of the three divisions were in place – their locations gave the impression to the enemy that they were surrounded, the men shouted their war cry, blew their trumpets and waved their torches. With such simple weapons, they won the battle. And is that not what we are called to do? We are charged to use the simple weapon of the gospel, which Paul reminds us is the power of God unto salvation. It may be that we need to use some ingenuity in how we use it, even as Gideon had to use ingenuity in using the trumpets and the torches.

The third aspect of his response is to watch what God did with the enemy. There is only one word to describe what happened – confusion. They fought one another. The groups that had united to fight God’s people were now on the run, and God had done it all without needing many participants on his side. As we are told in Psalm 46, God’s people can have the privilege of standing still and seeing the salvation of God.