An Unlikely Deliverer
There is a reason I call Gideon a “victorious failure.” When he first appears in the Scriptures, Gideon is threshing wheat indoors in order to hide it from the cruel Midianites. When the angel appears and calls him to deliver Israel from the enemy army. Gideon whines that he’s just an ordinary man, completely unqualified. In effect, Gideon says to Yahweh, “I’m weak and helpless and you’ve got the wrong guy.” Yet Gideon went on to become a victorious failure, because he truly did deliver Israel.
The main battle should have been a disaster. But Gideon was the right man for the job.
With God’s divine help and guidance, of course.
A Failure to His Troops
Gideon was a terrible military leader; the Israelite soldiers must have questioned his sanity. Keep in mind, his army was made up of farmers, potters, stable boys, shopkeepers and woodworkers.
The initial odds against Gideon’s army? Terrible. The Midianites and their allies outnumbered the Jewish soldiers 135,000 to 32,000.
So naturally, the Israelites looked toward their leader for inspiration and encouragement.
They looked to the wrong guy.
In Gideon’s first speech, he invited every fearful Israelite to go home; 22,000 promptly did, leaving only 10,000 Jewish solders on the eve of battle. But Gideon wasn’t done thinning out the ranks.
His next instruction to his men? Take a drink at a nearby stream. This simple order was a test and 9,700 flunked. After everyone had quenched their thirst, the general turned to the soldiers who had knelt and said,
“Okay fellas, you’re dismissed too. But leave all your stuff with us.”
Only 300 men passed the test, because instead of kneeling down to drink, they brought the water up to their mouths.
Israel’s fighting force went from 32,000 men to 300 right before the battle. Before a spear had been thrown, Gideon had deliberately destroyed his army’s ability to win.
The Hidden Reason Why
Frankly, Israel’s newest general looked insane.
Fortunately, the Scripture shows us why Gideon gave such mind-numbingly stupid orders. Because it was God’s command which sent so many soldiers home.
2 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.’
3 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.
4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.”
6 Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. (Judges 7:2-6 NIV)
Gideon had two qualities which made him a perfect judge and deliverer. He understood that only an act of Yahweh would save their nation from the enemy and he was 100% obedient. Those 300 remaining Jewish soldiers? God hand-picked each individual. They mirrored Gideon’s heart because they believed God was going to give His army the victory.
This handful of soldiers also had to step out in faith, because Gideon didn’t even tell them the plan.
Fighting God’s Way: Trusting but Defenseless
Gideon divided his men into 3 companies. Each man carried a lit torch concealed by a jar and a trumpet in his other hand.
During the night, the Israelites crept up on the sleeping Midianite army. At Gideon’s signal, all the Jews broke the jars, raised their torches high and blew the trumpets.
Let me point out a few minor details, because this underlines the great risk the Gideon’s 300 soldiers took.
20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” (Judges 7:20 NIV)
Each Jewish soldier held a torch and a trumpet and their hands were full. No one held a sword, a spear or even a dagger. Even worse, no man in Gideon’s army could even hold up a shield.
If this trick didn’t work, Gideon men had no ability to defend themselves against a counter attack by a much larger foe.
By Torchlight
Want to hear something even worse? Each Israelite soldier 
held up a lit torch.
Let me ask you a simple question. In the dark, who’s the one guy you can see to shoot an arrow at?
A few enemy archers could have slaughtered Gideon’s entire army in minutes. Yet in the darkness and confusion, the torch-bearing Jewish soldiers survived that night without a scratch.
God saw to that.
Battle Casualties
When the Jewish soldiers broke the jars, lifted their torches and blew their trumpets, the enemy soldiers suddenly jerked awake. They thought a surprise attack was taking place and panicked. Blundering around in the dark, the Midianite army slaughtered each other; 120,000 enemy soldiers fell in the initial battle; only 15,000 managed to flee.
Gideon’s 300-man army pursued, calling out the other nearby Jewish tribes to join in. The enemy army which came against Israel was devastated and Yahweh gave the Jews back their freedom.
Concluding Thoughts
God’s work has to be done God’s way.
The bigger the task, the more necessary 100% obedience is. God allowed Gideon to ask for confirmation of His will, but once he received it, Gideon was all in.
In the natural, Gideon flunked every lesson of leadership. Did he explain any of his crazy decisions or build up morale by having open, frank talks with his men? Nope. Later, did Gideon bother to respond to upset questions, criticism or urgent human advice? Not at all. He seriously weakened his own army right before the battle. The soldiers that left were probably pleased to go. Why follow such a madman?
Of course, the soldiers didn’t understand one important point; Gideon wasn’t the one in charge.
Gideon became a “victorious failure” because he knew a key truth that David expressed centuries later, the day he fought Goliath;
47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” (I Samuel 17:47 NIV)
Additional Note:
As you can imagine, there’s very little information about ancient fighting techniques, defensive armor or weapons during Gideon’s time.
I’ve included this image because there’s a good likelihood that both armies consisted of non-professional soldiers who fought in their regular clothes. Primarily they would defend their bodies using shields and swords.
So surprising the Midianite army using Gideon’s God-given strategy would take an immense amount of faith and courage.
But if it doesn’t make us uncomfortable, it’s not a step of faith.
Resources:
Gideon is the most unlikely of heroes but his victory is one of the Bible’s greatest adventures. Read the whole story about Gideon and his family in Judges 6-9; it’s a page-turner.
Threshing Wheat-Even today in some parts of the world, wheat is threshed outside, by hand. Farmers crush the wheat and then throw it up into the air. The wind blows the lightweight chaff away, while the heavier wheat kernel falls to the ground. Gideon threshed the wheat inside a building, but he had to. The Midianites frequently impoverished the Israelites by destroying the crops.
I love this story. It really highlights the need for obedience to have that right relationship with God.
Yes. None of Gideon’s plans would have worked in the natural, but in God’s hands they could not fail.
Thanks for stopping by. -M