A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

Lord is with us” (v. 13), suggesting he was basing his own spiritual life on the problematic
conditions he saw in others around him. Because it was clear the Lord was not with them, He
could not be with Gideon, so he concluded. Further, it is significant that he referred only to the
miracles in the distant past, as far back as the Exodus from Egypt. God had clearly acted on
Israel’s behalf in a miraculous way on several occasions since then, but Gideon had in his mind
equated the involvement of God in the affairs of the life of Israel as only a bit of trivia from
ancient history. Third, it is clear that his focus in this statement was on the enemy he feared. He
was problem-conscious rather than power-conscious.
But Gideon’s statement only confirmed God’s choice of a deliverer. “Go in this might of
yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites” (v. 14). It was clear that Gideon
had everything he needed to win the decisive victory God wanted to give Israel. First, Gideon
understood and would be the first to admit his own inability to win the battle. This meant God
could prove Himself strong in Gideon’s weakness. Second, Gideon now had a mission in life,
“You shall defeat the Midianites as one man” (v. 16). But most important, Gideon’s greatest
resource going into battle would be the coveted presence of God Himself. “Surely I will be with
you” (v. 16).
Still, Gideon was a coward and reluctant to believe these strange things that were being
spoken to him by this Stranger. He wasn’t the sort of person most people would think of when
they thought of a deliverer. He was not only from the insignificant tribe of Manasseh, but his
family was poor and he himself was at the bottom of the pecking order in his own family. The
picture the Scripture portrays of Gideon is that of a scared young man with a very low selfesteem
that had for years been reinforced by his circumstance in life. But in accordance with the
Near Eastern standard of hospitality, Gideon urged the man to remain to enjoy a meal. It was not
until the Angel of the Lord consumed the food with a fire that Gideon perceived he was speaking
with God.
That realization created a new problem for Gideon. It was widely believed that if one saw
God he would die, and though Gideon did not enjoy his low standing in life, his miserable
existence hiding out from the Midianites was better than no life at all. God had to assure Gideon
he had nothing to fear, “You shall not die” (v. 23). Only then did Gideon demonstrate the
existence of a kernel of faith in his bushel of doubt. “So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord,
and called it The-Lord-Shalom” (v. 24). The name The-Lord-Shalom means “The Lord our
peace” but in this context it also had a fuller meaning. Israel was oppressed at the time Gideon
built the altar, and he had just been commissioned to engage in battle against the oppressor. In
calling the altar “Peace,” he was also confessing a willingness to believe the Lord would give
him victory over the Midianites.
But if Gideon was going to deliver Israel from the bondage of the Midianites, he had to
first get his own personal priorities in life established. Gideon’s own father had an altar of Baal
and associated grove of trees which appears to have been used by others in the area also. God
told Gideon to destroy the altar and grove and build an altar to the Lord in its place. And God
wanted Gideon to offer a burnt offering on the altar.
The whole burnt offering was an expression of complete consecration to God. That would
certainly be true in this case. For seven years the Midianites and their allies had been invading
the land, destroying the crops and livestock of Israel, but somehow Gideon’s father had been
successful in hiding and preserving the life of one bullock which had been born about the time
the raids began. This highly prized bullock was the sacrifice God required Gideon to offer on the