Scripture Daily

Context No. 985 of 4322 · Judges

Context · Reflection

Judges 7:8-12: in context

8So the people took food in their hand, and their trumpets; and he sent all the rest of the men of Israel to their own tents, but retained the three hundred men; and the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley. 9That same night, the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down into the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. 10But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp. 11You will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened to go down into the camp.” Then went he down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men who were in the camp. 12The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is on the seashore for multitude.

Gideon has just watched God whittle his army down from thirty-two thousand to three hundred, deliberately making Israel too small to claim the victory as their own. Now, with the vast camp of Midian spread out in the valley below like locusts, camels beyond counting, God tells Gideon to go down and attack, for I have given it into your hand. But then comes a tender concession: if you are afraid to go down, take your servant Purah with you and slip into the camp first, and you will hear something that will strengthen your hands.

The striking thing is how God handles Gideon's fear. He has already promised the victory outright, I have delivered it into your hand, and by rights that promise should be enough. But God knows Gideon, knows he is afraid, and instead of rebuking the fear he accommodates it. If you are afraid, he says, go down and listen first. He gives his frightened servant a way to have his courage bolstered, letting Gideon overhear a Midianite's dream that will convince him God is really going to do this. There is real gentleness in that. God does not demand that Gideon manufacture a courage he does not have; he meets him where he is, provides the extra reassurance, and patiently builds the faith one step at a time. The three hundred against an army like locusts is still an impossible math, and God's answer to the fear that math produces is not scolding but a quiet, personal accommodation to a weak man he intends to use anyway.

When God has promised something but I am still afraid, do I assume he will scold my fear, or can I trust that he meets it gently, as he met Gideon's, and strengthens my hands?

Sources