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The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me.’”
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The Midianites were much more numerous and more powerful than the Israelites and had been using their advantage to oppress the people of God for seven long years. Now, the Lord reminding Gideon of His having delivered His people when they were in Egypt, the Lord tells Gideon that He is now sending him to go and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. {Jdg.6:14}

After cajoling the Lord to give proof of His promise he ‘laid a fleece’ before the Lord for confirmation. When the Lord then did that for him he still questioned what God had told him and laid another fleece before the Lord. God in His mercy and grace once again confirmed His word. {Jdg.6:39-40} So now, Gideon, that “valiant warrior”, and all of the men of Israel went out preparing to meet the Midianites. The enemy forces were also joined by the Amalekites and other sons of the east.

Gideon had gathered 32,000 men for the battle, so many of whom were fearful of what faced them. The Lord said the fearful ones should be sent home. Fear and faith are both contagious! That reduced Gideons army to 10,000 men which was still too many in the eyes of the Lord. Gideon’s men were again tested to find those who were confident in God, leaving a grand total of 300 godly warriors. A remnant small enough that this victory could only possibly be attributed to the hand of God! Only God gets the glory!

God is a jealous God, and His name is Jealous. {Ex.34:14} He will not give His glory to another. {Is.42:8} Something for which we should be extremely grateful. There is an enemy which even today is far more dangerous and deadly than any army that can come against us—pride! Coincidently, we have just posted one of our Bible Bites recently entitled ‘Satan’s Weapon of Mass Destruction’, and that is pride!

As we know, pride goes before destruction {Pr.16:18} so we are told to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt us, {1Pt.5:6} for He will not give His glory to another. {Is.42:8} If we bow down He will lift us up as He is glorified. Even Jesus said that of His own self He could do nothing. {Jn.5:30} A truly smart move is to remember to boast in what He has done, not what we have done. Remember that not one of the Lord’s promises has failed to come to pass. {Jos.21:45}

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)

BE ASSURED GOD WILL DO WHAT HE HAS PROMISED