Biblical Essays
GIDEON AND HIS COMPANIONS
(Judges 6-8)
Introduction
In studying the history of the nation of Israel, we notice two distinct eras: unity and individuality – the period in which the twelve tribes acted as one man, and the period in which one man was called to act for the twelve tribes. The Book of Joshua illustrates the former; the Book of Judges the latter. The most cursory reader cannot fail to discern the difference between these two books. One is characterized by external power and glory; the other by weakness and failure. Power is stamped on the former, ruin on the latter. In one, Jehovah gives the land to Israel; in the other, Israel fails to take the land from Jehovah.
All this is expressed in the two words that may be regarded as the motto of both books – “Gilgal” and “Bochim.” In the Book of Joshua we find the congregation always starting from Gilgal to prosecute the war, and returning there to celebrate their victory. Gilgal was their center, because there they were circumcised; and there the reproach of Egypt was rolled away (See Joshua 5:9, 10).
But, no sooner have we opened the Book of Judges, than the eye rests on the sad record, “An angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars; but ye have not obeyed my voice; why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim, that is, weepers; and they sacrificed there unto the Lord” (Judges 2:1-5).
Remarkably, we have here the contrast between the two books of Joshua and Judges – the book of unity and the book of individuality – the book of external power and glory, and the book of internal weakness, failure, and ruin. Alas! Alas! The glory speedily departed. Israel’s national greatness soon faded away. “The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old . . . And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim . . . And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.”
This is truly a gloomy and humiliating record. Joshua’s sword was sheathed. Those palmy days in which he had led Israel’s compact host to splendid victories over the kings of Canaan were passed and gone. The moral influence of Joshua and the elders that survived him had passed away, and with terrible avidity the whole nation had rushed into the gross moral evils and abominable idolatries of those nations whom they should have driven out from before them. In other words, the ruin was complete as far as Israel was concerned. Like Adam in the garden; and Noah in the restored earth; so Israel in the land of Canaan utterly failed. Adam ate the forbidden fruit; Noah got drunk; and Israel bowed before the altars of Baal.
So much for man; but, thank God; there is another side of the picture. There is what we may call a bright and beauteous “Nevertheless;” for God will be God, no matter what man may prove to be. This is an unspeakable relief and consolation to the heart. God is always faithful. He is faith’s stronghold, no matter what. God can always be counted on, in spite of man's failure and shortcoming. His goodness and faithfulness form the resource and refuge of the soul amid the darkest scenes of human history.
This soul-sustaining truth shines out with remarkable luster in the passage from which we have just given such a depressing quotation. “Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.” But mark the following words, so illustrative of the individuality of the Book of Judges: “And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them” (Judges 2:16, 18).
In these last quoted words, we have the root principle of the Book of Judges – the divine secret of the ministry of the Baraks, Gideons, Jephthas, and Samsons, the record of whose ministry occupies such a large portion of this interesting section of inspiration. Sadly and shamefully, Israel had inexcusably failed. They had forfeited all claims to the protection of Jehovah’s shield. They were justly given over into the ruthless hands of the kings of Canaan. Regarding all this there can be no question. “Nevertheless” Jehovah’s heart could feel for His poor, oppressed, and groaning Israel. True, they had proven themselves naughty and unworthy, yet His ear was always ready to catch their earliest groan; yea, in Judges 10 we are told that “his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.”
What touching words; what exquisite tenderness; what deep compassion. Such a statement lets us into the profound depths of the heart of God. The misery of His people moved the loving heart of Jehovah. The faintest and earliest symptoms of Israel’s brokenness and contrition met with a God’s ready and gracious response. It mattered not how far they had wandered, how deeply they had sunk, or how grievously they had sinned; God was always ready to welcome the feeblest breathings of a broken heart. The springs of divine mercy and compassion are absolutely inexhaustible. The ocean of His love is boundless and unfathomable; and hence, the very moment His people take the place of confession, He enters the place of forgiveness. He delights to pardon according to the largeness of His heart, and according to the glory of His own Name. He finds joy in blotting out transgressions, in healing, restoring, and blessing in a manner worthy of Himself. This glorious truth shines in the history of Israel; it shines in the history of the church; and it shines in the history of every Christian.
Part 1
But it is time we turn to our subject: “Gideon and his companions,” as presented in that portion of the Book of Judges given at the head of this essay. May the eternal Spirit unfold and apply its precious contents to our souls.
Judges 6 opens with a sad and depressing record – a record only too characteristic of Israel’s entire history: “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds.”
What a humiliating picture; what a reverse for the Israel of God; what a contrast to the conquering host that had crossed the Jordan and walked across the ruins of Jericho. How sad and humbling – Israel crouching and hiding in the dens and caves of the mountains, through terror of the uncircumcised Midianites.
It is important for us to gaze on this picture, pondering its salutary lesson. Israel’s power and glory consisted simply in having the presence of God with them. Without that, they were as water spilt upon the ground. They were as the autumn leaf before the blast. But the divine presence could not be enjoyed in connection with allowed evil. Therefore, when Israel forgot their Lord and wandered away from Him into the forbidden paths of idolatry, He had to recall them to their senses by stretching out His governmental rod, causing them to feel the crushing power of the nations around.
All this has a voice and lesson for us. As long as God’s people walk with Him in holy obedience, they have nothing to fear. They are safe from the snares and assaults of all spiritual foes. Nothing can, by any means, harm them while they abide in the shelter of God’s own presence. But, clearly, that presence demands and secures holiness. Unjudged evil cannot dwell there. To live in sin and talk of security; to attempt to connect the presence of God with sanctioned evil; is wickedness of the deepest dye – it must not be. “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints; and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about him.” “Thy testimonies are very sure; holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, for ever.” If God’s people forget these wholesome truths, He knows how to recall them to remembrance – by the rod of discipline, and, blessed forever be His name, He loves them too well to spare that rod, however reluctant He may be to use it. “Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons: for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees” (Hebrews 12:6-12).
These are encouraging words for the people of God, at all times. The discipline may be painful; but when we know that a Father’s hand is in it, and when we realize what His object is, we can pass through the trial with exercised hearts, reaping the peaceable fruits of righteousness. On the other hand, if we meet the discipline with an impatient spirit, a rebellious will, an unsubdued mind, we only render it necessary for the pressure to be continued and augmented, for our loving Father will never let us alone. He will have us in holy subjection, whatever the cost. He graciously takes our part against ourselves, subdues the proud risings of our will, and crushes all in that is in us hindering our growth in holiness, grace, and divine knowledge.
Oh, what infinite grace shines in the fact that in order to deliver us, our God is occupied with our failures and follies, our waywardness and willfulness, our sins and shortcomings. He knows all about us. He understands and takes into account all our surroundings and inward tendencies. He deals with us in infinite wisdom and perfect patience – always before Him is one gracious object: to make us partakers of His holiness; to bring out in us the expression of His own nature and character. Surely, in the presence of such abounding grace and mercy, we may well “lift up the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees.”
Part 2
There is one truth that shines out with uncommon luster in the Book of Judges – God is always to be counted on, even amid the darkest scenes of human history; and faith can always count on God. God never fails a trusting heart – He never has failed, never will, never can fail the individual soul that confides in Him, that takes hold of His precious Word, in the artless simplicity of a faith that trusts Him in the face of man's deepest and most humiliating failure and shortcoming.
This is consolatory and encouraging at all times and under all circumstances. How true it is – man fails in everything. Trace him where you will; mark him in whatever sphere of action or responsibility he occupies, and over and over it is the same sad tale of unfaithfulness, failure, and ruin. Without fear of contradiction, we may assert that in the history of Adam’s fallen race there has not been one exception to the dismal rule. We must never forget this. In its highest flights and brightest visions, true faith never forgets it. It would be the blindest folly to attempt ignoring the fact that ruin is stamped from first to last, in characters deep and broad upon the entire of man’s story.
But, in the face of all this, God faithfully abides. He cannot deny Himself. Here is the resource and the resting-place of faith. It recognizes the ruin; but counts on God. Faith is not blind to human failure; but it fixes its gaze on divine faithfulness. It confesses the ruin of man; but it counts on the resources of God.
All this strikingly comes out in the interesting and instructive story of Gideon. Truly, in his own person and experience he was made to realize the fact of Israel’s fallen condition. The contrast between Joshua and Gideon is as striking as anything can be, regarding the question of their condition and circumstances. Joshua could place his foot on the necks of the kings of Canaan. Gideon had to thrash his wheat in a corner to hide it from the Midianites. The day of Joshua was marked by splendid victories; the day of Gideon was a day of small things. But the day of small things for man is the day of great things for God. Gideon found it this way. True, he was not permitted to witness the sun and moon arrested in their course, or the cities of the uncircumcised leveled to the ground. His was a day of barley cakes and broken pitchers, not of astounding miracles and brilliant achievements. But God was with him; and this was enough. “There came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite; and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour” (Judges 6:11, 12).
What words to fall on the ear of Gideon, who, through fear of the enemy, was cowering in the winepress. They were words from heaven to lift his soul above the trials, sorrows, and humiliations of earth – words of divine power and virtue to infuse vigor into his depressed and sorrowing heart. “Thou mighty man of valour!” How hard it must have been for Gideon to take in such wondrous accents. How difficult to apply them to himself. Where was the might; where was the valor? Most certainly not in himself or in his surroundings. Where then? In the living God; precisely where Joshua found his might and valor. There is a striking similarity in the terms in which both these eminent servants of God were addressed. The similarity of the terms is as marked as is the contrast in their circumstances. Here are the terms to Joshua: “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage: be not thou afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” And what were the terms to Gideon? The very same – “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.”
What precious words; soul-stirring, heart-strengthening accents; words of light, life, and power. And yet Gideon was slow to take hold of them – slow to grasp them, in the lovely appropriating power of faith that delights the heart of God, and glorifies His name. How often is it the same with us. How constantly we fail to rise to the height of God’s gracious thoughts and purposes towards us. We are prone to reason about ourselves and our surroundings, instead of believing God, and tranquilly resting in His perfect love and infallible faithfulness.
So it was with that dear man of God on whose history we are dwelling. The divine statement was clear, full, absolute, and unconditional: “The Lord is with thee.” In these words, there was no ground whatsoever for question, doubt, or difficulty; and yet mark Gideon’s reply: “And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (v. 18).
As is evident, here Gideon reasons from his surroundings – hence, the “if,” that little monosyllable of unbelief. It is a familiar remark among us, “If you want to be miserable, look within; if you want to be distracted, look around; if you want to be peaceful and happy, look up – ‘look off unto Jesus.’” This is most true. So, as surely as we become occupied with self, men and things, or the circumstances surrounding us, we must be unhinged and unhappy. Our only strength, only comfort, only light, is to keep the eye of faith fixed on Jesus, and the heart firmly centered on Him. Gideon’s surroundings were certainly of the gloomiest character. His “sensible horizon” was overhung with dark and heavy clouds. But there was one bright and blessed ray that shone in upon his depressed spirit – a ray emanating from the very heart of God, conveyed in that one brief but comprehensive sentence, “The Lord is with thee.” There was no “if” in this – no doubt, no difficulty, no reserve, no condition. It was distinct and unqualified, and needed only one thing to make it a spring of joy, strength, and victory in Gideon’s soul, and that was to mix it with faith. But then “if” is not faith. True faith never answers God with “ifs,” for the simplest of all reasons, because it looks only at God, and there are no “ifs” with Him. Faith reasons from God downwards; not from man upwards. Faith has only one difficulty, and that difficulty is embodied in the question, “How shall he not?” It never says, “How shall he?” This is the language of unbelief.
But, it may be asked, was there not some foundation for Gideon’s “if” and “why?” Certainly not in God or in His Word, whatever had been in Israel and their actions. No doubt, if Gideon had only cast his eye back over the pages of his national history, he might have discovered ample reason for the sad and humiliating condition in which he found himself. Those blotted pages would have furnished an abundant answer to his question, “Why then is all this befallen us?” Had Israel’s actions dimmed the luster of Jehovah’s mighty “miracles?” Not in the vision of faith. God had done great and glorious things for His people; and the record of those doings lay under the eye of faith, in all its soul-sustaining virtue. No doubt Israel had shamefully failed; and the record of that failure lay under the eye of faith, furnishing a solemn answer to Gideon’s inquiry, “Why is all this befallen us?” Faith recognizes God’s government as well as His grace, and in solemn awe it bows before each stroke of His governmental rod.
It is well to keep all this in mind. We are apt to forget it. At times, God has to stretch forth His hand and lift the rod of authority. He cannot allow what is contrary to His name and nature. Gideon needed to remember this. Israel had sinned, and this was the reason why they were under the rod, of which the power of the Midianites was the expression in Gideon’s day.
Gideon was called to practically enter into the meaning of all this – to taste the reality of identification with his people in all their pressure and affliction. As we know, this latter was the portion and experience of every true servant of God in Israel. Consequent on their association with the people of God all had to pass through those deep exercises of soul. It mattered not whether it was a judge, prophet, priest, or king; all had to participate in the sorrows and trials of the nation of Israel. Even true hearts – genuine lovers of God or His people – could desire exemption from such deep and holy exercises. This was pre-eminently true of the only perfect Servant that ever stood on this earth. Though personally exempt from all the consequences of Israel’s sin and failure – though pure and spotless, divinely holy in nature and life – He nevertheless voluntarily identified Himself with the people in all their sorrow and humiliation. “In all their affliction he was afflicted.” Thus it was with our blessed Lord Jesus Christ; and according to their measure, all who partook of His Spirit had to taste of the same cup, though none could ever come up to Him in this or in anything else.
But when we closely compare the angel’s words to Gideon with his reply, we notice an interesting point, one that illustrates the individual character of the Book of Judges. The angel says, “The Lord is with thee.” Gideon replies, “If the Lord be with us.” This is interesting and instructive. It is in full keeping with a passage already referred to in Judges 3: “And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge” – it does not say, “with the people,” but with touching grace adds, “and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them” (v. 18).
There is sweetness and beauty in this. Even though Jehovah had to hide His face from His people and for a time give them over into the hand of the uncircumcised, still, His loving heart was always turned towards them, always ready to mark and recognize the faintest traces of a repentant spirit. “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old” (Micah 7:18-20).
Part 3
Nothing can be more encouraging to the heart than the mode in which the Lord deals with the soul of Gideon – the way He prepares him for the course of action for which He was calling him. Like us, Gideon was full of “ifs” and “whys,” those little words so full of unbelief. The human heart is always slow to take in the magnificence of divine grace; our feeble vision is dazzled by the brilliancy of divine revelation. It is only artless faith that can cause the soul to feel at home in the presence of the richest unfoldings of the goodness and loving-kindness of God. Faith never says “if” or “why?” It believes what God says, simply because He says it. In sweet tranquility, it rests upon every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. Unbelief looks at circumstances and reasons from them. Faith looks at God, and reasons from Him. Hence the vast difference in their conclusions. Judging from his surroundings, Gideon concluded that Jehovah had forsaken His people. Simple faith would have led him to the opposite conclusion. Simple faith would have enabled him to see, know, and remember that Jehovah would ever be true to His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, no matter how, in His governmental dealings, He might have to hide His face from their rebellious and sinful offspring. Faith always counts on God; and God always honors faith. He first creates it, and then owns it.
But, not only does God graciously honor faith; He rebukes our fears. He rises above our unbelief, and hushes all our silly reasoning. Thus, in His dealings with His chosen servant Gideon, it would seem as though He did not hear the “if” or “why?” He goes on to unfold His own thoughts, to display His own resources, and to fill the soul of His servant with a confidence and courage that was to lift him above all the depressing influences surrounding him.
“And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel out of the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” Here we have the true secret of strength: “The Lord looked upon him.” There was divine power in this look, if Gideon could have only taken it in. But he was still full of questions. “And he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
Thus it always is. Unbelief turns the eye in on self, or out on our surroundings. It leads us to compare our visible resources with the work to which God is calling us. Jehovah had said, “Go in this thy might.” What was the “might?” In what did it consist? Was it great wealth, lofty position, high education, or great physical power? No; nothing of the kind. “Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel.” This was absolute and unqualified. It left no room for Gideon’s “wherewith?” It made it plain that the might with which he was to deliver Israel was not in himself or in his father’s house, but in the God of Israel. It mattered little whether his family was rich or poor; whether he was little or great. It was God who was about to use him. What was wealth or greatness to Him? He could use a barley cake or a broken pitcher. Actually, we can observe this special feature in the varied instruments taken up in the Book of Judges, namely, that “no flesh shall glory in God’s presence.” Human glory fades away before the humiliating fact that Israel’s hosts were called forth to battle under the leadership of a woman. What a stain on human pride in the fact of deliverance coming through the agency of a “left-handed man.”
On the other hand, in proportion with man’s glory fading away, we find that the divine glory shines out. The humbler the instrument, the more we see the power of God. What difference does it make to the Almighty God whether His instrument is left-handed or right-handed – a man or a woman – a dwarf or a giant? The instrument is nothing. God is all in all. True, He deigns to use instruments; but all the power is His, and His shall be the eternal and universal praise. Gideon had to learn this; and so did Moses; and so do we. It is an invaluable lesson. We are prone to think of our competency for any work or service that may lie before us, when we ought to remember that the works that God is the doer of all of them done on earth. Our sufficiency is of Him. We can do nothing; and anything we do is always done badly. The human finger can only leave behind soiling. The works of men perish like their thoughts. The work of God abides forever. Let us remember these things, so that we may walk humbly and always lean only on the mighty arm of God. In this way, the soul is kept in a well-balanced condition, free from self-confidence and fleshly excitement, on one hand; and from gloom and depression, on the other. If we can do nothing, self-confidence is the height of presumption. If God can do everything, despondency is the height of folly.
In the case of Gideon, as in that of all God’s servants, we observe two things worthy of attention. In the first place, we have the divine commission embodied in those weighty words, “Have not I sent thee?” And in the second place, we have the assurance of divine presence as set forth in these encouraging words, “Surely I will be with thee.”
These are the two grand points for all who will serve God in their day and generation. They must know that the path they tread has been distinctly marked out by the hand of God. Furthermore, along the path they must have the sense of His presence with them. These things are absolutely essential. Without them we shall waver and vacillate, running from one line of work to another. We shall take up certain work, go with it for a while, and then abandon it for something else. We shall work by fits and starts; our course will be faltering, our light flickering: “Unstable as water, we shall not excel.” We shall never succeed – there will be no certainty, no stability, and no progress.
These are weighty matters. It is of immense importance for every servant of Christ, every child of God to know that he is at his divinely appointed post and divinely given work. This will give fixedness of purpose, moral elevation, and holy independence. It will preserve us from being tossed about by human thoughts and opinions – being influenced by the judgment of others. It is our happy privilege to be so sure that we are doing the work that the Master has given us to do, that the thoughts of others respecting us shall carry no more weight with us than the pattering of rain on the window.
We should not for a moment countenance, much less cultivate, a spirit of haughty independence. Far from it. In one sense, as Christians we can never be independent of one another. Seeing we are members one of another, how can we? We are united to one another and to our risen Head in glory, by the one Spirit who is with us and in us. The most intense individuality – and our individuality should be as intense as our unity is indissoluble – can never touch the precious truth of the one body and one Spirit.
This is all divinely true, but, at the same time, we must insist on the truth of our individuality and personal responsibility. This must be maintained with all possible energy and decision. In that particular sphere of work to which he has been called, each servant has to do with his Lord. And, further, each should know his work and diligently and constantly give himself to it. He should possess the holy certainty and authority imparted to the soul by that divine and powerful sentence, “Have not I sent thee?”
It will, perhaps, be said, “We are not all Gideons or Joshuas. We are not all called to occupy such a prominent place or tread such a brilliant path as those illustrious servants.” True; but we are called to serve; and it is essential to every servant to know his commission, to understand his work, and to be fully assured in his own soul that he is doing the very work the Lord has given him to do, and treading the very path the hand of God has marked out for him. If there is any uncertainty regarding this, we do not see how there can be any progress.
But there is more than this. It is not enough to know that we are treading the divinely appointed path. We want to realize the divine presence. We want to have the precious words made good in our experience, “Surely I will be with thee.” This completes the servant’s equipment. The divine commission and presence are all we want; but we must have these in order to get on. With these priceless realities it matters not who we are, what we are, or where we are. The Lord can use a feeble woman, a left-handed man, a cake of barley meal, or a broken pitcher. The instrument is nothing. God is the workman. Unbelief may cry out, “O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” Faith can cry out, in reply, “What of all this if God be for us? Does He want the rich or the noble? What are riches or greatness to Him? It is nothing whatsoever.” “Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
These are wholesome words for us. It is an unspeakable mercy for every dear servant of Christ to be kept in the abiding sense of his own utter nothingness – to be taught to realize in some measure the depth, fullness, and power of that one brief but most comprehensive statement, “Apart from me ye can do nothing.” There is not a single branch in the entire vine, however imposing or wide-spreading it may seem to be, which, if separated from the parent stem by the thickness of a gold leaf, can produce the smallest atom of fruit. There must be the abiding realization of our union with Christ – the practical, living, abiding in Him by faith, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, in order to bring forth fruit God can accept. It is as we abide in Christ that the living sap circulates freely through us, giving forth the healthy bud, the green leaf, and the seasonable fruit.
Here is the grand secret of power: abiding in the living vine. “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is; for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river; and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7, 8).
All this is intensely personal. Each of us must by faith cling to Christ. It is of the utmost importance for us to bear in mind that Christianity is a thoroughly individual thing. We are individual in our faith, our repentance, our salvation, our communion, our service, and in our reward. Look at the addresses to the seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3. Hearken to those pointed words, “He that hath an ear” – “To him that overcometh.” What do they mean? In the most distinct and forcible manner, they unquestionably set forth that blessed individuality of which we speak? But do they touch unity? No; they leave its sacred domain completely untouched. “There is one body and one Spirit.” This must always hold good, in spite of all the ruin and failure of the professing church. Nevertheless, the writings of John are pre-eminently individual. We trace this failure from the opening lines of his Gospel to the closing. He shows us the Philips, the Simons, the Andrews, and the Nathanaels coming, in their individuality, to Jesus. He tells us of a Jewish ruler here, and a Samaritan sinner there, drawn by the Father to Jesus. He tells us of the good Shepherd who calls His sheep by name; he tells us of the branches clinging to the living vine. Thus it is in John’s Gospel; and when we turn to his Epistles, we find the same principle running through them all. He writes to an elect lady, and to his beloved Gaius; and if he once speaks of “the church,” it is but to weep over its departed glory, and to raise amid its ruins that warning note for individual ears, “Look to yourselves.” And as to the Revelation, it ends as it begins, with a solemn appeal “to him that Heareth.”
Part 4
The more closely we study the narrative of the Lord’s dealings with Gideon, the more we are struck with the marvelous way He prepares him for his course. Like all God’s servants in all ages, Gideon had to undergo a course of secret training and discipline before he was fit to appear in public. The space of time occupied in this training may vary, as may the character of discipline; but we may rest assured of this: all who will be used of God in public must be taught by God in private. It is a fatal mistake for anyone to rush into prominence without proper equipment; equipment that can only be attained in the secret of divine presence. It is in profound and hallowed retirement with God that vessels are filled and instruments fitted for His work.
Let us never forget this. Moses had to spend forty years at “the back side of the desert” before he was fit to enter on his public career. David had to feed his father’s flock before he was called to rule the nation of Israel. He slew a lion and a bear in secret before he was called to slay Goliath in public. The great apostle of the Gentiles spent three years in Arabia, notwithstanding his remarkable conversion and call. The apostles spent three and a half years in companionship with their Master, and then had to tarry until they were endued with power from on high. Thus it has been with all those who have ever been called to occupy a prominent place in the Lord’s work. Even the blessed Master Himself, in order to set us an example, spent thirty years in retirement before He came forth in public, though He was perfect and needed no training or discipline.
All this is full of wholesome instruction. Let us seek to take it in and profit by it. No one can ever get on in public work without this private teaching in the school of Christ. It is this which gives depth, solidity, and mellowness to character. It imparts a tone of reality and a fixedness of purpose most desirable in all who engage in any department of the Lord’s work. It will invariably be found that where anyone goes to work without this divine preparation, there is shallowness and instability, perhaps for a time, there may be more flash and show in superficial characters than in those who have been educated in the school of Christ: but it never lasts. It may create a momentary sensation, but like the morning cloud or the early dew, it soon passes away. Only from the results of private communion with God; the discipline of God’s school, the secret training in His presence can His work be accomplished and stand the test of time.
Let us see how all this is exemplified in Gideon’s case. It is evident that this honored servant was called to pass through deep exercises of soul before he took a single step in public action, yea before he unfurled the standard of testimony in his father’s house. He had to begin with himself, with his personal condition, with his own heart. Those who will be used for others must begin with themselves. So was Gideon’s path. Let us pursue his history. “And the Lord said unto Gideon, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry till thou come again. And Gideon went in and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour; the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die” (Judges 6:16-23).
Here we reach a profoundly interesting stage of Gideon’s preparatory course. Practically and experimentally, He is called to enter into the great and universal law for the servants of God – “When I am weak, then I am strong.” This is a precious law; one that forms an indispensable element in the education of all Christ’s servants. Let no one imagine that he can ever be used in the Lord’s work or make progress in the divine life, without some measure of entrance into this invaluable principle We consider it to be absolutely essential in forming the character of a true servant of Christ. Where it is not known, has not been felt, has not been realized, there is sure to be unsubduedness, unbrokenness, and self-occupation in some form or another. More or less, there will be self-confidence, various points and angles turning up here and there, and acting as a sad hindrance to all that is good, useful, and holy.
On the other hand, when one has learned that great family motto quoted above – when one has learned to say, “When I am weak, then I am strong” – when nature has been weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, there we will always find a measure of brokenness, softness, and tenderness of spirit. We also find there a largeness of heart, readiness for every good work, and that lovely elasticity of mind that enables one to rise above all those petty selfish considerations so sadly hindering the work of God. In short, the heart must first be broken, then made whole; and, being made whole, be undividedly given to Christ and His blessed service. It is impossible to run the eye along the brilliant array of Christ’s workmen, and not see this truth. In Old Testament times: Moses, Joshua, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel; In the New Testament: Peter, Paul, and John – all stand before us as vivid illustrations of the value of broken material. In order to be made whole and be ready for anything and everything, all those beloved and honored servants had to be broken – emptied in order to be filled; to learn that of themselves they could do nothing.
Such is the law of the household; the law of the vineyard; the law of the kingdom. Gideon found it so in his day. His “alas” was followed by Jehovah’s “Peace; fear not” – then, and only then, was he ready to begin. He had been brought face to face with the angel of God, and there he learned not only that his family was poor in Manasseh, and he the least in his father's house, but that in himself he was powerless, and all his springs must be found in the living God. Priceless lesson for the son of Joash, as well as for us – a lesson that cannot be learned in man’s schools and colleges, but only in the deep and holy retirement of God’s sanctuary.
Let us now consider Gideon’s first act after his fears were hushed, and his soul filled with divine peace. His first act was to build an altar. “Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.” He takes the happy place of a worshipper, and his worship is characterized by the revelation of divine character. He calls his altar by that precious title, “The Lord send peace.” He had gone through many deep soul-exercises that none can know save those who are called out into a prominent place among God’s people. He felt the ruin and weakness of all around him – the fallen and humiliating condition of his beloved people. He felt his own littleness, emptiness and nothingness. How could he come forward? How could he smite the Midianites? How could he save Israel? Who was sufficient for these things? It is all well for those persons who live an easy, irresponsible kind of life; who know not the toils, cares, and anxieties connected with the public service of Christ and the testimony for His name in an evil day. These know nothing of Gideon’s painful exercises of soul; nothing of the pressure on his spirit as he contemplated the dangers and responsibilities of the battle-field, looking from beneath the shade of his father’s oak tree. Only one high up in the school of Christ can feebly enter into the meaning of those words, “We had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead.”
These are weighty words for Christ’s servants; but in order to enter into their deep significance we must be His servants in reality. If we are content to live a life of indolence and ease, a life of self-seeking and self-pleasing, it is impossible for us to understand such words, or to enter into any of those intense exercises of soul through which Christ’s true-hearted servants and faithful witnesses in all ages have been called to pass. We invariably find that all those who have been most used by God in public have gone through deep waters in secret. In other words, when the sentence of death is written on self, the power of resurrection life in Christ shines out. Thus Paul could say to the Corinthians, “Death worketh in us; but life in you.” Marvelous words – they lead us into the profound depths of the apostle’s ministry. What a ministry his must have been to be carried on with such a principle; what power; what energy – death working in the poor earthen vessel; streams of life, heavenly grace, and spiritual power, flowing into those to whom he ministered.
This is the true secret of effective ministry. It is easy to talk about ministry; to set up to be ministers of Christ; but oh how the Lord’s church has departed from the divine reality of ministry. The heart sinks at the thought of it. Where are the Pauls, the Gideons, and the Joshuas? Where are the deep heart searchings and profound soul exercises that characterized Christ’s servants in other days? We are flippant and wordy, shallow and empty, self-sufficient and self-indulgent. Need we wonder at the small results? How can we expect to see life working in others when we know so little about death working in us?
May the eternal Spirit stir us up, and work in us a more powerful sense of what it is to be the true-hearted, single-eyed, devoted servants of Jesus Christ.
Part 5
We now contemplate Gideon called forth into action. He has received his commission from Jehovah. His questions have been answered, his fears hushed, his heart tranquillized, and he has built an altar. All this had reference to his personal condition, to the state of his soul, to the attitude of his heart in the sight of God.
So it must ever be. If we are to be used by God to act on others, we must begin in this way. We must have to do with God in the secret of our souls; else we shall prove to be but sorry workmen in the sequel. All who go forth in public work without this secret training are sure to prove flimsy and shallow. Self must be measured in the divine presence. We must learn that nature is of no account in the Lord’s work. “Not by might, nor by power, but my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).
It was not until Gideon had gone through holy discipline in secret that he was led out into service. And let us carefully note where he had to commence. “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 [Jehovah knew how many bullocks Joash had, and the age of each] and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it. And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down” (emphasis added).
Here we see that Gideon had to begin at home. He was called to unfurl the standard of testimony in the bosom of his family – in the center of his father’s house. This is intensely interesting, and deeply practical. It teaches a lesson to which we should bend our ears and apply our hearts. Testimony must begin at home. It will never do to rush forth into public work while our private and domestic ways are not what they ought to be. It is useless to set about throwing down the altar of Baal in public, while the selfsame altar remains standing at home.
This is important. We are all imperatively called on to show piety at home. Nothing is more sorrowful than to meet with people who are known by a high tone of spirituality among their fellow men and fellow Christians; a style of speaking that leads us to think they are far beyond the ordinary level of Christians, and yet when in close quarters and when acquainted with their private life and ways, we find them far from bearing testimony for Christ to those with whom they come in contact. This is deplorable. It dishonors the Lord Jesus, grieves the Spirit, stumbles and repulses young believers, gives occasion to the enemy to speak reproachfully, and to our brethren to speak doubtfully of us. Surely these things should not be. There should be a testimony yielded at home. Those who see the most of us should see the most of Christ in us. Those who know us best should best know that we are Christ’s. But it is too often otherwise. The home circle is too often the place where we least exhibit the traits of Christian character. The wife or husband, the parent or child, the brother or sister, is the one in whose sight we least display the beauteous fruits of divine life. It is in private life that our weak points come out – our oddities and peculiarities, our silly tendencies and sinful tempers. But this should not be – in that sphere the grace of Jesus should be most faithfully manifested.
Let us not turn away from the word of reproof, of admonition, or exhortation. It may not be pleasant; but, we may rest assured it is salutary. It may not be agreeable to the flesh; but it is wholesome to the soul. Like Gideon, if we would prove helpful to our brethren or act effectively against the common foe, we are called to begin at home.
No doubt, there are difficulties involved in this home testimony. For example, it is often hard for a child to bear witness against the worldliness of a parent, or of the whole family; but where there is humility of mind and simple dependence on God, He marvelously maintains and carries us through. One thing is certain, there is nothing like decision. “The first blow is half the battle.” Actually, the whole battle is often gained by a single blow, when that blow is dealt in full communion with the mind of Christ.
On the other hand, where there is weakness and vacillation – playing fast and loose with the truth of God, trifling with divine principles and one’s conscience, looking at consequences and weighing of probable results – there the enemy is sure to have the upper hand, and the testimony completely fails. God acts with those who act for Him. This is the grand secret of their success; but where the eye is not single there is no real progress, no divine result.
Here is where so many of us fail. We are not whole hearted, not decided, not thoroughly out and out for Christ. Hence there is no result for God, no action on others. We have no idea of what may be accomplished by a single devoted heart, one earnest and energetic soul. Such a one may be used to raise up a standard around which thousands will flock who might never have had the courage or energy to unfurl the standard themselves.
Look at Gideon. See how he stood for God, and how God stood with him. “Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him; and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. And when the men of the city rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die; because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.”
This is what we may call striking at the root of the matter. The worship of Baal is completely overturned. This was no trifle. We have little idea of what it cost the son of Joash to do this thing; but, by the grace of God, he did it. True it may have been with fear and trembling, still he did it. He dealt one vigorous blow at the entire system of Baal, and it crumbled into dust beneath his feet. No half measures would have availed. It would have been of no use to pick a stone, here and there, out of the idol’s altar; the whole fabric had to be overturned from its very foundation, and the idol itself degraded in the presence of its deluded worshippers. A bold decisive stroke was needed, and that stroke was given by the hand of Gideon the son of Joash, God’s “mighty man of valour.”
There is nothing like plain decision – bold, uncompromising faithfulness for Christ, no matter the cost. Had Gideon been less decided, had his line of action been less thorough, his father Joash would not have been so won over. To convince a rational person that the worship of such a god was a sham and a falsehood, it needed just such a method of dealing with Baal. “And Joash said unto all that stood against him, 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. Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.”
This was simple reasoning, “If he be a god, let him plead for himself.” Gideon’s decided course brought matters to a point. Baal was either a reality or a complete delusion. If the former, let him plead for himself. If the latter, who would think of pleading for him? Nothing could be simpler. Gideon’s action was a complete success. The worship of Baal was overturned; and the worship of Jehovah Elohim set up instead.
Thus we see that the divine work in the soul of Gideon is making rapid but real progress. He is conducted from strength to strength. When first the divine voice fell on his ear, how little idea he had that in so short a time, he would take so bold a step. If, at the beginning, someone had said to him, “In a few hours you will overturn the worship of Baal in the midst of your father’s house,” he would not have believed it. But the Lord led him along, step by step, gently yet firmly; and as the heavenly light broke in upon his soul his confidence and courage grew.
The Lord always deals with His servants in this way. He does not expect them to run before they have learned to walk; but where the heart is true, and the purpose honest and firm, He graciously supplies the needed strength, moment by moment. He causes mountains of difficulty to remove, rolls away many a dark and heavy cloud, fortifies the heart, and girds up the loins of the mind, so that the feeblest are armed with giant strength, and the coward heart filled with wonder, love, and praise at the triumph of divine grace.
With great vividness, all this is illustrated in Gideon’s interesting story. No sooner had he leveled Baal’s altar, than he was called to encounter Midian’s hosts. “Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel. But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, and Abi-ezer was gathered after him. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also was gathered after him; and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.”
In short there was a thorough awakening. The tide of spiritual energy rose majestically, and bore hundreds and thousands on its bosom. The work which had begun in Gideon’s heart was extending far and wide throughout the length and breadth of the land. The Spirit of the Lord was displaying His mighty energy, and multitudes were stirred up to gather around the standard that the hand of faith had unfurled.
At this point, it would seem that Gideon’s faith needed fresh confirmation. It may be his spirit was overawed when he saw the mighty host of the uncircumcised mustering before him; and then, for a moment, his courage failed, and his heart craved a fresh sign from the Lord. “And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said [alas! the poor heart can place its unbelieving ‘if’ right in front of the word of God who cannot lie] behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and if it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said” (emphasis added).
How marvelous; how matchless is the grace of God. What unupbraiding love; what tender considerateness. He graciously meets the weakness of His poor servant, for “It was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowlfull of water.” What condescending grace. Instead of severely rebuking Gideon’s unbelieving “if,” He graciously confirms his wavering faith by superabounding evidence.
And yet all this did not suffice. Gideon seeks further confirmation. “And he said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once. Let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew upon all the ground.”
Such is the abounding grace and exhaustless patience of our God. Forever adored be His holy name! Who would not trust Him, love Him, and serve Him?
Part 6
Let us now open his Bible to Judges 7. Here Gideon’s companions, their history and leader are brought before us; it is full of interest and profit for us. They also had to be trained and tested. Let us ponder the narrative. “Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh in the valley. And the Lord said unto Gideon, 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.”
The clear and soul-stirring blast of Gideon’s trumpet had drawn around him a large and imposing company; but this company had to be tested. It is one thing to be moved by the zeal and energy of some earnest servant of Christ, and it is quite another to possess those moral qualities that alone can fit a man to be an earnest servant. There is a vast difference between following in the wake of some devoted man of God, and walking with God – being propped up and led on by the faith and energy of another, and leaning on God in the power of individual faith.
This is something we should seriously consider. There is always danger of being mere imitators of the faith of other people; copying their example without their spiritual power; adopting their peculiar line of things without their personal communion. All this must be carefully guarded against. We especially warn young Christians against it. Let us be simple, humble, and real. We may be small, our sphere narrow, our path retired; but it does not matter, provided we are precisely what grace has made us; occupying the sphere our blessed Master has given us, and treading the path He has opened before us. By no means is it necessary that we should be great, prominent, showy, or noisy in the world; but it is absolutely necessary that we should be real and humble, obedient and dependent. Thus our God can use us; and we are safe, peaceful, and happy. There is nothing more delightful to the true genuine servant of Christ, than to find himself in that quiet, humble, shady path where self is lost sight of and the precious light of God’s countenance enjoyed – where the thoughts of men are of small account, and the sweet approval of Christ is everything to the soul.
Flesh cannot be trusted. It will turn the service of Christ into an occasion of self-exaltation. In order to make something out of itself, it will use the name of Him who made Himself nothing. It will build up its own reputation by seeming to further the cause of Him who made Himself of none. Such is flesh. In ourselves we are silly, self-exalting creatures, always ready to vaunt ourselves, while professing to be nothing in ourselves.
Should we marvel at the testing and proving of Gideon’s companions? All must be tested and proved. The service of Christ is a solemn and holy thing; and all who take part therein must be self-judged, self-distrusting, and self-emptied; and they must lean with unshaken confidence on the living God, These are the grand qualities that make up the character of the true servant of Christ, and they are strikingly illustrated on the page of inspiration now open before us.
Let us proceed with the narrative. “The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands . . . 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. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.”
Here the first grand test is applied to Gideon’s host – a test designed to bring out the measure of the heart’s simple confidence in Jehovah. A coward heart will not do for the day of battle; a doubting spirit will not stand in the conflict. The same principle is set forth in Deuteronomy 20:8: “And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as well as his heart.”
Faint heartedness is terribly contagious. It spreads rapidly, withering the arm that should bear the shield and paralyzing the hand that should wield the sword. The only cure for this malady is simple confidence in God, a firm grasp of His faithfulness, a child-like trust in His Word, true personal acquaintance with Him. We must know God personally, in such a way that His Word is everything to us, and that we can walk alone with Him and stand alone with Him in the darkest hour.
Is it thus with us? Do we have this blessed confidence in God – this solid hold of His Word? Do we have down in our heart such an experimental knowledge of God and His Christ necessary to sustain us even though we have not the support or sympathy of another believer under the sun? Are we prepared to walk alone in the world?
These are weighty questions, and we feel the need of pressing them on the Lord’s church in this age. There is a wide diffusion of the precious truth of God, and several seem to be getting hold of it. Like the blast of Gideon’s trumpet, so the clear testimony that has gone forth within the last few years has attracted many; and while we feel that there is ground for thankfulness because of this, we also feel that there is ground for serious reflection. Truth is a precious thing, if it be truthfully found: and truthfully held: but let us remember that in exact proportion to the preciousness of the truth of God is the moral danger of trafficking therein without a self-judged heart and an exercised conscience. What we really need is unfeigned, earnest, simple faith that connects the soul in living power with God, enabling us to overcome all difficulties and discouragements of the way. There can be no imitation of this faith. We must either possess it in reality or not at all. A sham faith will in time fall to the ground. The man who attempts to walk by faith, but does not have it not will certainly totter and fall. We cannot face the hosts of Midian unless we have full confidence in the living God. “Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return.” Thus it must always be. Only those who are braced up by a faith that grasps the unseen realities of eternity, and endures by seeing Him who is invisible can go to battle. May this faith be ours in larger measure.
Noticing the effect of the first test on the host of Gideon is full of instruction for the heart. Amazingly, it thinned his ranks. “There returned of the people twenty and two thousand, and there remained ten thousand.” This was a serious reduction. But it is far better to have ten thousand that can trust God than ten thousand times ten thousand who cannot. What avails a vast mass of unbelieving flesh? Nothing – so, what use are numbers if they be not energized by a living faith? None whatsoever. It is comparatively easy to flock around a standard raised by a vigorous hand; but it is totally different to stand in the actual battle. Nothing but genuine faith can do this; and hence when the searching question is put, “Who can trust God?” the showy ranks of profession are speedily thinned.
But there was yet another test for Gideon’s companions. “And the Lord said unto Gideon, 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. So he brought down the people unto the water: and the lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place” (Judges 7:4-7).
Here we have another great moral quality that must always characterize those who will act for God and His people in an evil day. They must not only have confidence in God, but they must also be prepared to surrender self. This is a universal law in the service of Christ. If we want to swim in God’s current, we must sink self; and we can only sink self in proportion as we trust Christ. Thus it always stands. It is not a question of salvation; it is a question of service – not a question of being a child of God, but of being a proper servant of Christ. The thirty-one thousand seven hundred that were dismissed from Gideon’s army were just as much Israelites as the three hundred that remained; but they were not fitted for the moment of conflict; they were not the right men for the crisis. And why? Was it because they were not circumcised? No. What then? They could not trust God and surrender self. They were full of fear when they should have been full of faith. They made refreshment their object instead of conflict.
Here is the true secret of their moral unfitness. God cannot trust those who do not trust Him and sink self. This is solemn and practical. We live in a day of easy professionand self-indulgence. Today, knowledge can be picked up at small cost. Scraps of truth can be gathered second hand in all directions. Truth that cost some of God’s dear servants years of deep soul ploughing and heart-searching exercise, is now in free circulation and can be intellectually seized and flippantly professed, by many who know not what soul ploughing or heart-exercise means.
But let us never forget – let us constantly remember – that the life of faith is a reality; service is a reality; testimony for Christ, a reality. And further let us bear in mind that if we want to stand for Christ in an evil day; if we would be men for the crisis, genuine servants, and true witnesses; then we must learn the true meaning of those two qualities: confidence in God and self-surrender.
Part 7
In the days of Gideon, there is something striking in the fact that out of the many thousands of Israel there were only three hundred men who were really fit for conflict with the Midianites; only this small band fit for the occasion. This truly is a suggestive and admonitory fact. There were hundreds of thousands of true Israelites – truly circumcised sons of Abraham – members of the congregation of the Lord, who were by no means up to the mark, when it was a question of war to the knife with Midian – a question of genuine confidence in God and self-surrender. We are safe in saying that the men who were morally fitted for the grand crisis in the day of battle were not one in a thousand. How solemn. Not one in a thousand who could trust God and deny self.
Is this not worthy of deep and serious thought? Does it not suggest the inquiry regarding whether it is otherwise in this age? Is it not painfully evident that we live in a day in which little is known of the blessed secret of confidence in God, and still less of the exercise of self-surrender? In point of fact, these things can never be rightly separated. If we attempt to divorce self-surrender from confidence in God, it will land us in the deep and dark delusions of monasticism, asceticism, or ritualism. It will issue in nature trying to subdue nature. This is the direct opposite of Christianity. The latter starts with the fact that the old self has been condemned – set aside by the cross of Christ. Therefore, it can be surrendered every day by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the meaning of those fine words in Colossians 3, “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” He does not say, “Ye ought to be dead.” No; but “ye are dead.” What then? “Mortify your members which are on the earth.” So also in the profound teaching in Romans 6: “How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? [What then?] Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (emphasis added).
Here then lies the secret of true surrender. If this is not understood and entered into, it will simply be self in one form trying to subdue self in another. This is a fatal delusion. It is a snare of the devil into which earnest souls are in imminent danger of falling; who sigh after holiness of life, but do not know the power of accomplished redemption and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – are not built upon the solid foundation of Christianity.
We especially warn against this deadly error. It distinctly savors of monasticism or asceticism. It clothes itself in the garb of pietism and sanctimoniousness, and is attractive to a certain class of ardent spirits who long for victory over the lusts, passions, and tendencies of nature; but, not knowing how to attain it, are turning their back on Christ and His cross, and running instead to the resources of a spurious religion.
It is against this most mischievous and soul-destroying system that in glowing words, the apostle warns us in Colossians 2. “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances – such as, touch not; taste not; handle not; which all are to perish with the using – after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh” (vs. 18-23).
We desire it to be distinctly understood that the only possible ground of self-surrender is the knowledge of accomplished redemption, and our union with Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the essential basis of all Christian conduct. In short, a known salvation is the basis; the Holy Spirit indwelling, the power; and the Word of God – directory of all true self-surrender.
But what did Gideon and his companions know of these things? Nothing, as Christians now know them. But they had confidence in God, and they did not make their own refreshment their object, but simply took it up along the way as a means to an end. Herein they teach a fine lesson even to those whose privilege it is to walk in the full orbed light of New Testament Christianity. If, in the dim twilight in which they lived, they could trust God and surrender self for the moment, even in measure; then what shall we say for ourselves who, with all our light and privileges, are so ready to doubt God and seek our own things?
It is painfully evident that in this our day of light and privilege there is little moral preparedness for the path of service and conflict we are called to tread? With just a casual look into this age, one finds such a statement difficult to deny. There is a deplorable lack of genuine trust in the living God, and of the true spirit of self-surrender. We may rest assured that here is the deep secret of the whole matter. God is not practically known and habitually trusted; self is exalted and indulged – hence our unfitness for the warfare, our failure in the day of battle. It is one thing to be saved, and quite another to be a soldier. It is one thing to have our sins forgiven, and quite another to have our swords sharpened and our shields up. There is a vast difference between talking about conflict and taking part therein; and we cannot shake off the painful conviction that, in this age of widely extended profession, the proportion of workmen and warriors would not be found no greater than it was in the days of Gideon and his companions. The fact is we want and need men of faith, men of one idea, men whose hearts are fixed and their eyes single, men so absorbed with Christ and His cause that they have no time for anything else. We greatly fear that if the double test which was applied to Israel in the days of Gideon, were to be applied to those who now stand on the highest platform of profession, the practical result would not differ much materially.
The close of Judges 7 shows us Gideon and his companions completely victorious. “The cake of barley bread,” and “the broken pitchers,” proved a match for all the power of the Midianites and Amalekites, although the latter “lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude, and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.” God was with the cake of barley bread and the pitchers, as He will always be with those who are prepared to take the low place; prepared to be nothing, but to make Him their all in all; prepared to trust Him and sink self. Let it never be forgotten, this is the root principle in all service and all conflict. Without it, we can never succeed; with it, we can never fail. It matters not what the difficulties, or what the numbers and power of our enemies, all must give way before the presence of the living God; and that presence will always accompany those who trust Him and sink self.
And this is not all. Not only is trust in God and self-surrender the secret of victory over external enemies; it is also the secret of overcoming, disarming, and melting down jealous and envious brethren, though these latter are often far more difficult to deal with than open enemies. Thus, no sooner had Gideon reached the point of victory over the uncircumcised, than he was called to encounter the petty and contemptible jealousy of his brethren. “And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not when thou wentest to fight the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply” (Judges 8:1).
All this was most uncalled for and unworthy. Did they not hear the sound of the trumpet calling Israel to the battle field? Did they not hear that the standard was unfurled? Why did they not rush to the battle at the first? It was an easy matter to come in at the close and reap the spoil, and then find fault with the one who had been God’s instrument on the occasion.
However, we shall not dwell on the unlovely conduct of the men of Ephraim; but turn for a moment to the exquisite way in which Gideon met them. “And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? . . . God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him when he had said that.”
Here is the true way to vanquish jealous and envious brethren. The cake of barley bread and the empty pitcher can vanquish jealous Ephraimites as well as hostile Midianites. A self-hiding spirit is the secret of victory over envy and jealousy in all their odious forms. It is difficult, if not impossible, to quarrel with a man who is down in the dust of true self-abasement. “What have I done now in comparison of you?” This is the language of one who had learned something of the real meaning of self-surrender; and we may safely assert that such language will always disarm the envy and jealousy of the self-occupied and self-sufficient. May we know more and more of the truth of this.
But we now contemplate the closing scene of Gideon’s remarkable history – a scene full of admonition for every servant of Christ. From it we learn that it is easier to gain a victory than to make good use of it; easier to reach a position than to occupy it correctly. We shall quote the passage. “Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.”
So far, this was fine. It was in full keeping with the self-surrender of Gideon’s previous course. Every true servant of Christ will always seek to connect souls with his Master – not with himself. Gideon would not displace Jehovah as the ruler of Israel. What he shrank from in one form, he fell into in another; simply because his self-surrender was not complete. There has been only One whose self-surrender was in all things, and He must always have the pre-eminence. “And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey . . . And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house” (Judges 8:22-27).
Such is even the best of men, when left to himself. Here we see the very man who had led his brethren to victory over Midian, now leading them into dark and abominable idolatry. The earrings of the Ishmaelites did what their swords could not do; and the love-tokens of the men of Israel proved far more dangerous than the sharp chidings of the men of Ephraim. The latter drew out a lovely spirit of self-emptiness: the former proved a snare to Gideon and to the whole house of Israel.
Let us remember all this. If Gideon had refused the earrings as well as the throne, it would have been well for him and his brethren; but the devil laid a snare for him into which he fell, carrying his brethren with him. May we take warning from Gideon’s fall, and draw encouragement from Gideon’s victories. May we remember that it is one thing to gain a victory, and another to make good use of it; it is easier to reach a position than to occupy it correctly. May God grant to each of us more simple confidence in Him, and more of the true spirit of self-surrender. May such be the result of our meditations on Gideon and his companions.
