The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, “My own hand has saved me.” Judges 7:2.

Gideon’s courage was greatly strengthened by the tokens of divine favor vouchsafed to him. Without delay he went out with his forces to give battle to the Midianites. But now another severe trial of faith awaited him. With the immense host of invaders spread out before him—the thirty-two thousand of the Hebrews seeming, in contrast, like a mere handful—the word of the Lord came to him, “The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead.” …

Because of the weak condition of the armies of Israel in contrast with the numbers of the enemy, Gideon had refrained from making the usual proclamation. He was filled with astonishment at the declaration that his force was too large. But the Lord saw the pride and unbelief existing in the hearts of this people. Aroused by the stirring appeals of Gideon, they had readily enlisted; but when they saw the multitudes of the Midianites, their courage failed….

Instead of being too many, the Israelites felt that their numbers were too few; but Gideon made the proclamation as the Lord had directed. With sinking heart he saw … more than two thirds of his entire force, depart….

Again the word of the Lord came to His servant, “The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.” …

A few hastily took a little water in the hand and sucked it up as they went on, but nearly all bowed upon their knees and leisurely drank from the surface of the water. Those who took of the water in their hands were but three hundred out of the ten thousand; yet these were selected, and the great body of the army were permitted to return to their homes.

Here we see the simple means by which character is often tested…. The men of God’s choice were the few who would not permit their own wants to hinder them in the discharge of duty.—Signs of the Times, June 30, 1881.

From From the Heart

It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground. Judges 6:40.

Gideon deeply felt his own insufficiency for the great work before him. He dared not place himself at the head of the army without positive evidence that God had called him to this work and that He would be with him. He prayed, “If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.”

The Lord granted the prayer of His servant. In the morning the fleece was wet while the ground was dry. But now unbelief suggested that wool naturally absorbs moisture when there is any in the air, and that the test was not decisive. Hence, he asked a renewal of the sign, humbly pleading that unbelief might not move the Lord to anger. His request was granted.

The Lord does not always choose for His work people of the greatest talents, but He selects those whom He can best use….

God will accept the services of all who will work in obedience to His will, who will not for any consideration bring a stain upon the conscience, who will not permit any influence to lead them from the path of duty. If we choose, we may make the record of our lives such as we shall not be ashamed to own when the secrets of all hearts shall stand revealed, and everyone’s work shall be weighed in the balances of truth. The Lord employs men and women as His colaborers, but let none imagine that they are essential to the work of God, that they cannot be dispensed with.

The teachable and trusting ones, having a right purpose and a pure heart, need not wait for great occasions or for extraordinary abilities before they employ their powers. They should not stand irresolute, questioning, and fearing what the world will say or think of them. We are not to weary ourselves with anxious care, but to go on, quietly performing with faithfulness the work which God assigns us, and leaving the result wholly with Him….

Let the daily life be a reflection of the life of Christ, and the testimony thus borne to the world will have a powerful influence…. The great contest of truth against error must be carried forward by men and women who kindle their taper at the divine altar.—Signs of the Times, June 23, 1881.

From From the Heart

The Lord said to him, “… tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it.” Judges 6:25.

The deliverer of Israel must declare war upon idolatry before he went to battle with the enemies of his people. He must esteem the honor of God above the credit of his father and regard the divine commands as more obligatory than parental authority.

The offering of sacrifice unto the Lord had been committed to the priests and Levites and had been restricted to the altar at Shiloh, but He who had established the Jewish economy, and to whom all its services pointed, had power to change its requirements. In this instance He saw fit to depart from the ritual appointment. It was of great importance that the deliverance of Israel should be preceded by a solemn protest against the worship of Baal and an acknowledgment of Jehovah as the only true and living God.

When the men of the city, early in the morning, came to pay their devotions to Baal, they were greatly surprised and enraged at what had taken place. Soon it was known that Gideon had done this, and then nothing but his blood could satisfy those deluded idolaters….

Gideon had told his father, Joash, of the Angel’s visit and the promise that Israel should be delivered. He also related to him the divine command to destroy the altar of Baal. The Spirit of God moved upon the heart of Joash. He saw that the gods whom he had worshipped had no power even to save themselves from utter destruction, and hence they could not protect their worshippers. When the idolatrous multitude clamored for the death of Gideon, Joash fearlessly stood in his defense and endeavored to show the people how powerless and unworthy of trust or adoration were their gods: “Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.” …

All thoughts of violence were dismissed, and when, moved by the Spirit of the Lord, Gideon sounded the trumpet of war, they were among the first to gather to him. He then sent messengers throughout his own tribe of Manasseh, and also to Asher, Zebulon, and Naphtali, and all cheerfully obeyed the call….

Evil may seem for a time to prevail, but in the end righteousness will gain the victory.—Signs of the Times, June 23, 1881.

From From the Heart

If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. Judges 6:17.

Gideon desired some token that the One now addressing him was the same that spoke to Moses in the burning bush. The angel had veiled the divine glory of His presence, but it was none other than Christ, the Son of God. When a prophet or an angel delivered a divine message, his words were, “The Lord saith, I will do this,” but it is stated of the Person who talked with Gideon, “The Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee.”

Desiring to show special honor to his illustrious Visitor, and having obtained the assurance that the Angel would tarry, Gideon hastened to his tent, and out of his scanty store prepared a kid and unleavened cakes, which he brought forth to set before Him. Gideon was poor, yet he was ready to use hospitality without grudging.

As the gift was presented, the Angel said, “Take the flesh and unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth.” Gideon did so, and then the Lord gave him the sign which he desired. With the staff in His hand, the Angel touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and a fire rose up out of the rock and consumed the whole as a sacrifice, and not as a hospitable meal; for He was God, and not man. After this token of His divine character, the Angel disappeared.

When convinced that he had looked upon the Son of God, Gideon was filled with fear, and exclaimed, “Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.” Then the Lord graciously appeared to Gideon a second time and said, “Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.” …

The family to which Gideon belonged was grievously infected with idolatry. His father erected at Ophrah, where he dwelt, a large altar to Baal, at which the people of the towns worshipped. Gideon was commanded to destroy this altar, to cut down the groves that surrounded it, and in its stead to erect an altar to Jehovah, over the rock on which the offering had been consumed, and then to offer a sacrifice unto the Lord. Gideon faithfully carried out these directions, performing the work by night, lest he should be compelled to desist if he attempted it by day.—Signs of the Times, June 23, 1881.

From From the Heart

So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Judges 6:6.

Alas, that in the history of God’s chosen people the sorrowful story of apostasy and its punishment must be so oft repeated! …

Because of their sins, the protecting hand of God was withdrawn from Israel, and they were left to the mercies of their enemies. The wild, fierce inhabitants of the desert [the Midianites and Amalekites], “as grasshoppers for multitude,” came swarming into the land with their flocks and herds and pitched their tents in plain and valley. They came as soon as the harvests began to ripen and remained until the last fruits of the earth had been gathered. They stripped the fields of their increase and robbed and maltreated the inhabitants, and then returned to the deserts….

For seven years this oppression continued, and then in their distress the people remembered Him who had so often delivered them; and they cried unto the Lord for help….

Their prayers were heard, and again the Lord sent forth the man of His choice to act as deliverer for Israel. The one thus selected was Gideon, of the tribe of Manasseh…. It was only with the greatest difficulty that the Hebrews could secrete sufficient food to save them from actual starvation. Gideon had, however, retained possession of a small quantity of wheat, and fearing to beat it out in the threshing floor, he had taken it to the vineyard, near the winepress. The time of ripe grapes being far off, the attention of the Midianites would not be directed to that place…. Gideon almost despaired of inspiring the people with faith or courage, but he knew that the Lord would work mightily for Israel as He had done in the past….

While Gideon’s mind was absorbed in meditations like these, suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to him and addressed him with the words, “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.”

The melancholy nature of Gideon’s thoughts is revealed by his answer, “Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?” … With a sense of his own unfitness for so important a work, Gideon exclaimed, “Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” … Then the angel gave him the gracious assurance, “Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.”—Signs of the Times, June 23, 1881.

From From the Heart