Gideon: The Once Doubtful Judge Becomes "The Valiant Warrior"

            In the Old Testament we read about a Judge named Gideon in Judges Ch. 6-8. The scene in which we are introduced to Gideon is in 6:11. The Angel of the Lord appears to him saying “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.” The Angel goes on to tell him to deliver Israel from their current enemies, the Midianites. Gideon responds “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel?” and goes on to name excuses why he can’t do it.  To which the Lord responded “ Surely I’ll be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.” Gideon doubtful at first finally trusted the Lord. He put his trust in God and was the tool in which God used to crush the Midianites. We see the end result, to this Judge’s obedience and faith in the God above taking place in Ch. 8:28. It states that “Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel.” What an awesome declaration of God’s power. It just proves we must let go of our doubt and trust that we can accomplish that which God has commanded us to do.

Can the same thing not be said of us today though? When we take a look at Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus is speaking to His disciples and tells them “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” We see here that the Lord has given us commands to “Go” just as He did to Gideon, and we must obey them. Gideon was fighting the current enemy of the Israelites, but we’re fighting a spiritual battle against Satan. Some may say.. “O Lord, how will we ever win this spiritual fight?” But the Lord gives us the answer in Matthew 28:20, where He says “Observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  What more comforting and encouraging words could a Christian ask for? Just as Gideon would’ve lost his battle without obeying the Lord’s commands, we too shall lose this battle if we deny His commandments and doubt His judgment.