Gideon’s Obedience and Godly Wisdom
The book of Judges is an account of the Israelite nation in the promised land before the demand of an earthly king. We are told in the first chapter that the Israelites would forget God, turn to sin, and be turned over to the oppression of godless nations. When the Israelites repented and cried out to God, He would send a deliverer - or judge- to defeat their enemy. In chapters 6 through 8, we find a man named Gideon who - through obedience and the wisdom of God - transformed from a farmer’s son to a mighty warrior and Judge. What was the change agent? Gideon displayed God’s wisdom through obedience.
We first see Gideon threshing wheat in a wine press to keep his crops secret from the oppressive Midianites. It's a humble beginning. When an Angel of the Lord appears to Gideon and tells him to deliver Israel from the Midianites, Gideon seems confused. His clan was the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh, he was the youngest of his siblings, and his father was a worshiper of Baal. How could he possibly be chosen for such an honorable task? But in verse 16 we see the angel reply, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” What gave Gideon his guidance, wisdom, and might was the presence of God.
God is not a respecter of persons. True wisdom and strength come from following God and trusting Him. The world has redefined strength, power, and wisdom. As followers of God, we are victims of this redefining just as much as anyone else. Education, social influence, age, and experience all take the place of true wisdom and authority. Consider when Moses is talking to the Israelite nation just before they enter the promised land. Deuteronomy 4:5-6 reads, “See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’” It is through obedience that we have access to the wisdom of God. Psalm 19:7 says, “...the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” Our obedience makes even the simplest of us wise.
And so we see the same is true with Gideon. Having accepted his role as the leader of God’s army (and after tearing down his father’s altar to Baal), it says that the “Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon” (Jdg. 6:34), and when he called the men of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, they all went up to meet him - 32,000 soldiers in all. The Midianite army had 135,000 (Jdg. 8:10), but we are told that “the Lord said to Gideon, ‘The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me saying, ‘My own hand has saved me’” (Jdg. 7:2). And so, Gideon obeys and tells those who are afraid to go home. Twenty-two thousand men return home, leaving just 10,000 to fight. How surprised Gideon must have been - how discouraged. And yet we see him move forward obediently and faithfully.
True wisdom glorifies God and does not self-promote. James 3:13-17 tells us:
“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”
By the time Gideon was ready to fight, he had established a reputation. He had called out to the men of Israel and there had been many who were ready to follow him. However, we see here he was also ready and willing to give God the glory - with true meekness of wisdom.
But again, the Lord tells Gideon the men are too many. And again, Gideon is told to narrow down the people. This time, he takes the men down to the water. We see in verse 5 of Judges chapter 7 that “Everyone who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself.” This prerequisite has always seemed quite odd to me. I have heard some say that God chose these men because it was a ridiculous way to drink and that He wanted the weakest and least trained to truly show His power. However, some Bible historians disagree stating that it was the trained soldier who did not stop to kneel but hastily drank from his hands. There have even been some that point to the kneeling as a practice of Baal worship and that the distinction was to rid the army of the idolatrous. In the end, I’m not sure it matters. What is clear is that God would require an even smaller army - only 300 men.
God’s wisdom separates the worldly from the godly. In 1 Corinthians 1, starting in verse 27, it reads:
”But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God."
The wisdom of God does not always feel “natural” - and why should it? By its very definition it is supernatural wisdom. It does not feel natural to submit to our husbands or to fellow Christians. It does not feel natural to put others first even when we are tired and feel unequally yoked. It doesn’t feel natural to stop gossip mid conversation. It does not feel natural to forgive over and over and over and over without end or any sign of remorse or change from the other person. The world tells us that knowing our worth means drawing boundaries around ourselves, but God’s wisdom says our worth comes from His Son’s willingness to give up everything for us.
After the final clearing of soldiers, God’s wisdom is revealed to Gideon. The Lord tells Gideon to go with his servant and spy on the enemy. Having snuck up on the Midianites, Gideon overhears his enemies' fretful conversations of dreams, prophecies, and destruction. Rejuvenated, Gideon goes back to his troops with a battle plan. The warrior judge readies his troops - separating them into three groups of 100 and arming them with trumpets and lit torches hidden inside empty jars. Together, they quietly surround the enemy camp in the dead of night. All at once, the soldiers blow their trumpets and smash their pots - not only causing quite a ruckus, but also exposing the light from their torches. Hearing the cry, ”A sword for the Lord and Gideon!” and in complete terror, the enemy turns on itself, killing each other and fleeing into neighboring cities – Gideon's army in hot pursuit. Finally, God’s wisdom is fully revealed and, as the pots’ smashing illuminated the Midianite camp, so too were God’s plans illuminated.
Going back to the passage in 1 Corinthians 1 starting is verse 21, it reads:
“For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
Christ is the power and wisdom of God and just like with our Savior, obedience is our access to godly wisdom: "Although He was a son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. And being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him...” (Hebrews 5:8)