In the annals of the faithful, few names resound with the thunder of divine intervention like Gideon, the son of Joash the Abiezrite. He was a man called from the lowliest of circumstances—threshing wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianite oppressors—to become a “mighty man of valour.” His life is the ultimate testimony that the strength of the remnant lies not in numbers, but in the presence of the Almighty.
When the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him, Gideon’s first response was one of honest, theological inquiry. He questioned why, if the Lord were with Israel, such calamity had befallen them. It is a question many ask in these days of the great falling away. The answer given to Gideon remains the answer for us today: “Go in this thy might… have not I sent thee?” (Judges 6:14).
The defense of the truth required Gideon to first cleanse his own house. Before he could face the Midianites, he had to throw down the altar of Baal that his father had reared. This act of physical obedience earned him the name Jerubbaal, meaning “Let Baal plead against him.” It is a stark reminder that we cannot expect victory in the public square if we allow idolatry in our private chambers.
“And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:” (Judges 6:25)
The hallmark of Gideon’s leadership was the “divine reduction.” Facing an army that covered the valley like grasshoppers, the Lord stripped Gideon’s forces from thirty-two thousand down to a mere three hundred men—those who lapped water with their tongues, remaining alert and watchful. God’s purpose was clear: “Lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me” (Judges 7:2). With nothing but trumpets, empty pitchers, and lamps, they cried, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” and the host of the enemy fled in confusion.
Yet, history records another Gideon in the genealogies of the tribe of Benjamin, a father to Abidan, who was the prince of the children of Benjamin during the wilderness wanderings.
“On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni, prince of the children of Benjamin, offered:” (Numbers 7:60)
While Gideoni (often associated with the name Gideon in lineage) served in the order of the camp, the Judge Gideon served in the heat of the battle. Both, however, were part of the sovereign plan to preserve the seed of Israel and the truth of the Living God. Gideon the Judge, despite his initial fleece-laying and hesitation, ended his course in the Hall of Faith, proving that even a “least” house can produce a “greatest” deliverance when the Spirit of the Lord clothes a man.
“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:” (Hebrews 11:32)