Imagine 32,000 Israelites facing 135,000 Midianites (Judg. 8:10), but it was the kind of situation that the Lord uses to glorify His name. When God is on your side, the size of the enemy is of no great concern, so keep your eyes on Him.
The really dangerous enemies were within the hearts of Gideon’s soldiers. Fear was one of them (vv. 1–3), and it sent 22,000 men home (Deut. 20:1–9). Overconfidence was another enemy (vv. 4–8). God cut down the ranks from 10,000 to 300 so that the “army” had to trust completely in God. When God strips away your resources, it is not to impoverish your life but to enrich your faith.
Like Joshua, Gideon worshiped God before going to battle (v. 15; Josh. 5:13–15), for he knew the source of his power. God used weak weapons to defeat a great host because Gideon and his men were living by faith: “For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few” (1 Sam. 14:6).
Tests
We never know when God is using the everyday things of life to test our faith. The men in Gideon’s army were tested by the way they drank water. Lot was tested by a disagreement over land (Gen. 13:6ff.). Israel was tested by thirst (Exod. 15:22–27), and Moses was tested by the complaining of the people (Num. 20:1–13). We must constantly be on guard because sometimes we do not know what the lesson was until we have failed the test!
