The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give you the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." (Judges 7:7)
Gideon must have thought he had a shot in defeating the Midanites with an army of 32,000 men. But then God sifted the fearful out, leaving 10,000. Still, at least these were men Gideon could rely on not to run at the first sign of battle. But God isn't finished. A final, radical and bizarre cull of the army is still to occur. God allowed the three hundred who lapped water with their hands rather than drinking from their knees to remain with Gideon. Some commentators suggest they were the army elite, Gideon's special forces, as in lapping watter with their hands they were the most alert and courageous of the army, ready to respond to any surprise attack. Whether this was the case is secondary. What is of primary interest is that Gideon's army is now less than 1% of the size he started with.
Now with a radically smaller army, God commands Gideon to attack the Midianites (v.9). God sees into Gideon's heart and know that he is afraid, which seem natural given the overwhelming odds against victory that Gideon faced. God, by his grace, grants Gideon encouragement as he overhears a Midianite dream and interpretation (vv.13-15). It was enough for Gideon and so with 300 men, some good old-fashioned psychological warfare and most especially, with God at his side - Gideon and his men win a remarkable victory.
God strips Gideon of all his external security and then, and only then does God deliver on his promise to Gideon and Israel. There can be no mistake; God alone has delivered the victory. It wasn't the size of Gideon's army or his extraordinary courage. Gideon's men did not even have to raise a weapon to win the battle. The battle was God's; the victory was secured by him. Gideon's and Israel's true security was God.
Sometimes God strips us of all competing securities in order that we learn to place all of our hope in him alone. It can be a painful process, but along the way we discover the God's grace is sufficient in every and all circumstances.
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