Too Many Men

Judges 7:2-3

“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.’ Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.”

When I was a kid, I had a pet betta fish named David. (Don’t ask me why I named him that because I don’t know) Every morning and every night I would feed him and every other weekend I would clean out his bowl. I kept him alive for almost 6 years which is a pretty long time in fish years. David was totally dependent on me for survival.

In the verse above, we find the Lord giving a strange command before Gideon goes to war against the Midianites. He tells him to reduce the number of Israelite soldiers from 32,000 to just 300. Long story short, Gidean and his army of just 300 soldiers surrounded the Midianite camp at night and smashed jars, blew trumpets, and yelled. Torches were in all of the jars so the Midianites became totally confused by the noise and light display. In their confusion, they began to fight and kill each other. The Israelites then attcked the Midianite army of around 135,000 men and won by a land slide.

No matter what comes your way today remember that the battle belongs to the Lord. Gideon did things God’s way and his small army won a seemingly impossible battle. Be encouraged that the Lord is fighting for you and remember that not everything depends on us. There is a great danger when we let self-sufficiency run our life and we think we have to do everything in our own human strength and power. Just like how David depended on me to feed him every day and night, spend time getting fed by the presence of God. No amount of human knowledge, wisdom, experience, money, resources, or popularity will be able to save us. Jesus won the victory when he died on the cross and rose again 3 days later. So fight your battles today with the word of God, prayer, thankfulness, and praise and watch God do a mighty work in your life.