Judges 7:1 – 8 “Early in the morning Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon, “Let Baal contend”) and all the men with him camped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many people for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ Now, therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people: ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand of them turned back, but ten thousand remained.
Then the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go. But if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
So Gideon brought the people down to the water, and the LORD said to him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel to drink.” And the number of those who lapped the water with their hands to their mouths was three hundred men; all the others knelt to drink.
Then the LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped the water I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hands. But all the others are to go home.” So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred men, who took charge of the provisions and rams’ horns of the others. And the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.”
THIRTY – TWO THOUSAND! Yes, 32,000 men! That’s what Gideon started out with. Looks like a great response to Gideon’s cry for help, right? But wait! Not so fast! God has other plans, and those plans don’t include a horde of Israelite soldiers. At the end of the day, God doesn’t want a bunch of would – be heroes beating their chests and boasting about how THEY defeated the Midianites. God wants Israel to trust in Him and not in themselves. So God nudges Gideon, “Gideon, tell these men that anybody who is afraid can leave.” WHOOSH!!! Two thirds of these guys take off, leaving nothing but dust behind them.
Well, Gideon is left with ten thousand men, and that sounds like a pretty good number to Gideon. But God isn’t happy; there are still enough Israelites that they will take credit if they get a chance, ignoring God. Nope! It’s time for Israel to get reminded of Who God really is and how powerful He really is. God has Gideon send all the men to a nearby stream to drink water. Only 300 of the men really behave like fighters expecting an enemy attack. Rather than kneeling and focusing solely on satisfying their thirst, these men cup water in one hand and drink, maintaining a position from which they can quickly get up and fight if necessary. The result: 9,700 men immediately demonstrate that they do not have a warrior mentality and are sent home, leaving 300 men to fight with Gideon.
APPLICATION: Have you ever been in a situation in which you felt like Gideon? You know God has called you to do a major work, but you have very few people or resources. If God does not move sovereignly, you are in big trouble!
When we first came to the village of Saboba in January 1993, there was only a small health center building and a staff of eleven workers. But a few years earlier, a talented theater nurse had returned to the Saboba area, convinced that God was going to bring a surgeon. And about the same time, we had gathered hospital equipment that had been shipped to the first project with which we had worked in Ghana. When we arrived in Saboba, there was no Theater (OR) and no laboratory.
We got a slow start; however, when we found ourselves in the middle of a tribal conflict with patients who had nowhere else to go, we went back to our first project and got some equipment. I had worked previously in a hospital lab in the U.S., as well as observing operations in a large government hospital lab in Ghana. I set up a small lab and a theater, and we began operations and blood transfusions. We had no electricity, so we sterilized things in a big US Army surplus pressure cooker over a coal pot on the veranda. We used a small petrol generator for lights at night. Ultimately, we stuffed 37 beds into that health center building, turning it into a tiny hospital. Trust me when I say that we could REALLY identify with Gideon!
I am not telling this story to impress anybody with our efforts. It was God who had already put everything and everybody in place and it was God who allowed us to save lives. I tell this story to encourage anybody reading this to take heart! You might feel that the odds are overwhelmingly against you, but God plus you still makes a majority.
One of the most common Adinkra symbols in Ghana is the “Gye Nyame” symbol. “Gye Nyame” is a Twi phrase meaning “Except God.” Psalm 127:1-2 says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.” By ourselves, none of us can accomplish anything worthwhile; it is only through God that we can be successful. Those who think they are self – made men or women deceive themselves. Only at the end of time will we fully appreciate how much God has done for us when we were totally oblivious.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You that YOU are always more than enough and that You are the One who helps us and who saves us from ourselves. Help us to trust You completely and to recognize that when You move, nobody can stand in the way. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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