Thoughts for the Day

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.’ Gideon answered him, ‘But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, “Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?” But now the Lord has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian.’ Then the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.’ He responded, ‘But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’ The Lord said to him, ‘But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them.’ Then he said to him, ‘If now I have found favour with you, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Do not depart from here until I come to you, and bring out my present, and set it before you.’ And he said, ‘I will stay until you return.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

We have seen before how God calls His people, and today's reading shows the call to Gideon. The time is 200 years after Joshuah's words to the people about following Yahweh (and 1,200 years before Jesus) and much has changed. The Israelites are oppressed by the nomadic Midianites who have invaded the land, destroying crops and causing widespread famine. Gideon is secretly threshing wheat indoors in a small wine-press, probably all he has managed to rescue if it could be done in a barn, since it normally needed open air to allow the chaff to blow away. The twelve tribes have been worshipping local Canaanite gods, but at this point terrified for their lives they finally turn to Yahweh for help, and with some hesitation Gideon accepts God's call to lead the people.

The fact that God calls Gideon is important, for again he selects an unlikely individual as He once had selected his predecessors, Joseph, and later Moses, for their weaknesses. Now he chooses a man from the tribe of Manasseh, one of the least important tribes, and from an insignificant family. God seems to choose weakness to demonstrate His strength. Gideon is physically strong, but lacking in confidence, indeed he will twice put God to the test. In due course though, with God's help he will become a Judge and a Leader, of God's people and will be able to defeat the hordes of Midian. God's choice is not always the world's choice.

The old saying "It takes two to tango!" comes to mind. While we rush through life trying to sort out our things on our own, God lets us get on with it, but when we turn to Him things can change. God sees the possibilities within us, as with Gideon where he saw his strength of character and his courage. With faith in God much is possible!

Lord God,
You see the whole picture of our life
and its possibilities,
whereas we only see limited possibilities.
Teach us to joyfully accept Your will,
and work with You.
May we then turn to You this day,
and allow Your grace to work through us.
Amen.