Lessons From The First "300"-Facing Opposition
In the wake of Gideon's miraculous victory over the armies of Midian, he encounters something he has never had to personally face: opposition. Earlier in the story, stiff opposition reared its head, but it was Gideon's father who came to face them. Now Gideon is faced with opposition & conflict as he & his army are in hot pursuit of the remnant of Midian's army, including the kings of Midian.
Gideon recruits the people of Ephraim to help him track down the soldiers who managed to escape in the self-inflicted massacre at Jezreel. The leaders of Ephraim are pretty upset with Gideon that they were not a part of the initial army that faced off against Midian. The Bible says they "contended" with Gideon. So apparently this was a pretty heated incident. Gideon's handling of this is brilliant. We know that he could have easily pulled rank as the man God called out to lead, but instead he talks up the tribe of Ephraim. He talks about how great they are. He even says that the mission could not have been accomplished without their involvement. He simply helps the leaders of Ephraim see how they played a vital role in God's plan. Their part was just different from his. The Bible says that this approach calmed everyone down, & the contention simply melted away.
After this Gideon sets out with his men to capture the kings of Midian. They arrive in the towns of Succoth & Penuel, & Gideon's army is tired, hungry, & thirsty. In each town Gideon asks for some help from his countrymen. The response is pretty harsh. In each place, they are told to get out of town. Apparently the leaders of these cities did not want to help Gideon because he had not yet captured the kings of Midian. They were covering their backside in the event that the kings escaped. Needless to say, Gideon was ticked. He vowed to capture the kings & return to both of these towns & discipline them accordingly.
Gideon does capture the kings & makes his way back home, & of course, he goes back through Succoth & Penuel. Now it's time for Gideon to go Old Testament on these guys. The Bible says that in Penuel he tore down the great tower they had & killed the leaders. Then in Succoth he took the leaders of the city outside the city & "disciplined" them with thorns & briars. Ouch!
So what's the lesson behind this? The lesson is that leading in the face of opposition requires both wisdom & strength. In the moment, all opposition feels the same. It feels like someone or some group is standing in the way of God's vision, & without wisdom, a leader will always overcompensate. Ephraim's opposition to Gideon was rooted in a misunderstanding. They misunderstood their role in what God was doing. It took wisdom for Gideon to see that & deal with it properly. However, the opposition he faced in Succoth & Penuel was rooted in a total disregard for God's mission. These towns were concerned about themselves & their comfort. And while the discipline may seem harsh to us, there is no way that Gideon could deal with that situation the same way he handled his conflict with Ephraim.
Leading in the face of opposition requires both wisdom & strength. Where do you struggle? Do you need discernment to know how to balance the two? How have you messed this up in the past?
March 3, 2009
March 2, 2009
Lessons From The First "300"-Fearless, Focused, & Faithful
OK, I could camp out here forever because there is so much good stuff, but as Judges 7 begins we find Gideon & his army camped out awaiting the battle against the armies of Midian. As they are there, Gideon gets a word from God. "Your army is too big!" By the way, Gideon's army is outnumbered by over 100,000 soldiers. On top of that, Gideon's soldiers weren't really soldiers. They were not only outnumbered but outclassed by their enemy, yet God's word is still that the army is too big. So Gideon tells anyone who is afraid that they can go home. No consequences, no questions asked, if you're afraid, then go home. Just like that, Gideon loses 22,000 men. All he has now is 10,000 volunteer fighters to take on over 130,000 enemy troops.
Then God says, "Your army is still too big!" At this point, I think I would have thought God had lost his mind. The odds were plenty long enough to insure that victory would be considered a miracle, but no, God has to mess around some more. So Gideon take his army to the river to get some water. Any man that lays down & drinks from the river like a dog is going to be sent home. When they get to the river, all but 300 men lay down & drink like a pack of dogs from the river. So 9,700 men are sent home.
Finally the time for the battle has come. Gideon has 300; the armies of Midian number well over 100,000. Do the math. There is no way to fight this battle. So what kind of plan do you implement to not only fight the battle, but to actually attack such an ominous opponent? Well, Gideon put trumpets & clay pots in the hands of his soldiers. In one hand they held a clay pot with a torch inside it. In the other hand they held a trumpet. They surrounded the enemy camp. Then each man, blew his trumpet & screamed, "A sword for the Lord & for Gideon." Don't miss this: in one hand they held a trumpet & in the other a pot. Where was their sword? Where was their weapon?
This is a powerful lesson in the necessity for fearlessness, focus, & faith. Most people were eliminated from the mission because of their fear. Another group was disqualified because they lacked focus. They were too worried about their own thirst to remember that they were on the edge of a battle. The final 300 proved their worth by demonstrating their faith. They walked into an impossible fight without a sword in their hands. Their faith was in their God to win the battle for them. God uses the fearlessly focused faithful few to accomplish the mission.
OK, I could camp out here forever because there is so much good stuff, but as Judges 7 begins we find Gideon & his army camped out awaiting the battle against the armies of Midian. As they are there, Gideon gets a word from God. "Your army is too big!" By the way, Gideon's army is outnumbered by over 100,000 soldiers. On top of that, Gideon's soldiers weren't really soldiers. They were not only outnumbered but outclassed by their enemy, yet God's word is still that the army is too big. So Gideon tells anyone who is afraid that they can go home. No consequences, no questions asked, if you're afraid, then go home. Just like that, Gideon loses 22,000 men. All he has now is 10,000 volunteer fighters to take on over 130,000 enemy troops.
Then God says, "Your army is still too big!" At this point, I think I would have thought God had lost his mind. The odds were plenty long enough to insure that victory would be considered a miracle, but no, God has to mess around some more. So Gideon take his army to the river to get some water. Any man that lays down & drinks from the river like a dog is going to be sent home. When they get to the river, all but 300 men lay down & drink like a pack of dogs from the river. So 9,700 men are sent home.
Finally the time for the battle has come. Gideon has 300; the armies of Midian number well over 100,000. Do the math. There is no way to fight this battle. So what kind of plan do you implement to not only fight the battle, but to actually attack such an ominous opponent? Well, Gideon put trumpets & clay pots in the hands of his soldiers. In one hand they held a clay pot with a torch inside it. In the other hand they held a trumpet. They surrounded the enemy camp. Then each man, blew his trumpet & screamed, "A sword for the Lord & for Gideon." Don't miss this: in one hand they held a trumpet & in the other a pot. Where was their sword? Where was their weapon?
This is a powerful lesson in the necessity for fearlessness, focus, & faith. Most people were eliminated from the mission because of their fear. Another group was disqualified because they lacked focus. They were too worried about their own thirst to remember that they were on the edge of a battle. The final 300 proved their worth by demonstrating their faith. They walked into an impossible fight without a sword in their hands. Their faith was in their God to win the battle for them. God uses the fearlessly focused faithful few to accomplish the mission.
February 25, 2009
Lessons From The First "300"-Leaders & Doubt
Following Gideon's dramatic move in his own village of destroying the pagan altars, Gideon sends messengers out across the countryside to recruit as many people as possible to join him in the looming battle versus the Midianites.
Meanwhile back at home, doubt begins to creep into the heart & mind of Gideon. However, there's an important distinction that must be made here. Gideon's doubt is rooted in himself, not in God. There is still a part of Gideon that cannot fathom that God would use him for this mission. While his understanding of his God-given identity is deepening, he still is struggling with the idea that he is the "valiant warrior" that God says he is.
So we get into the famous story of Gideon & the fleece. Basically Gideon goes through this dance with God about the fleece, the dew, & the ground around the fleece. If you want the whole thing in detail, go read the end of Judges 6.
God is gracious enough to give Gideon the signs that he asks for, & something really dramatic happens at this point. The story immediately jumps into Gideon's moment of truth versus the Midianites. Through these signs God reassures Gideon that not only has he truly been called to this mission, but that God will also equip him for the mission. Once all this clicks with Gideon, he is transformed. Gone is the timid farmer hiding in the winepress. What emerges is a man that is a bold, courageous leader who pursues God's vision for Israel in a passionate & powerful way.
Gideon definitely experienced doubt, as will we. However, neither Gideon nor we have to doubt the one who called us. When doubt comes we must lean hard into the one who called us & be reminded of who He is leading us to be. We too can have this transformative moment just as Gideon did. When we take our doubts to God & navigate them with Him rather than hiding them, God can transform those doubts into a deeper faith in Him, regardless of whether or not He actually gives us the answer to the doubt. In fact, it is our doubt that is often the very thing that God uses to trigger dramatic growth in our faith. However, we must walk with God through our doubts just as Gideon did.
Following Gideon's dramatic move in his own village of destroying the pagan altars, Gideon sends messengers out across the countryside to recruit as many people as possible to join him in the looming battle versus the Midianites.
Meanwhile back at home, doubt begins to creep into the heart & mind of Gideon. However, there's an important distinction that must be made here. Gideon's doubt is rooted in himself, not in God. There is still a part of Gideon that cannot fathom that God would use him for this mission. While his understanding of his God-given identity is deepening, he still is struggling with the idea that he is the "valiant warrior" that God says he is.
So we get into the famous story of Gideon & the fleece. Basically Gideon goes through this dance with God about the fleece, the dew, & the ground around the fleece. If you want the whole thing in detail, go read the end of Judges 6.
God is gracious enough to give Gideon the signs that he asks for, & something really dramatic happens at this point. The story immediately jumps into Gideon's moment of truth versus the Midianites. Through these signs God reassures Gideon that not only has he truly been called to this mission, but that God will also equip him for the mission. Once all this clicks with Gideon, he is transformed. Gone is the timid farmer hiding in the winepress. What emerges is a man that is a bold, courageous leader who pursues God's vision for Israel in a passionate & powerful way.
Gideon definitely experienced doubt, as will we. However, neither Gideon nor we have to doubt the one who called us. When doubt comes we must lean hard into the one who called us & be reminded of who He is leading us to be. We too can have this transformative moment just as Gideon did. When we take our doubts to God & navigate them with Him rather than hiding them, God can transform those doubts into a deeper faith in Him, regardless of whether or not He actually gives us the answer to the doubt. In fact, it is our doubt that is often the very thing that God uses to trigger dramatic growth in our faith. However, we must walk with God through our doubts just as Gideon did.
February 24, 2009
Lessons From The First "300": Godly Leadership Begins In Our Closest Relationships
After Gideon receives this amazing call from God & after Gideon begins to embrace this new identity of the "valiant warrior" that God has shown him, God asks Gideon to actually act. One of the huge problems in leadership, but especially in Christian leadership, is a lack of action. In Christian circles it's so easy to cloak our inactivity in spiritual sounding cliches. Rather than act on the call that God places on our lives, we pray for God to reveal His will. We know that God wants us to change A, B, or C, & we want to, but "want to" doesn't make any difference if there is no action.
So God stirs Gideon to action. Gideon is asked to step out & be the godly leader that the nation of Israel so desperately needs. However, Gideon isn't told to muster an army & prepare for battle against the Midianites. No, God has a mission that's much closer to home. In fact, God leads Gideon to deal with the real issue before he ever steps onto a battlefield. The real issue was the false worship & spiritual adultery that the people of Israel had fallen into. Gideon's mission is to destroy the altars of Baal & Asherah & to replace it with an altar to the one true God of Israel. Here's the point: notice who these altars belonged to. These altars belonged to Gideon's father.
We all know it's more difficult to lead at home than just about anywhere else. Those people know us, every little ugly detail, & that's scary. Yet that is the very place where God wants to cultivate us as His leaders. After all, if we can't lead there with integrity, we will never be able to take on the greater battles that God may have on our horizon.
As the story ends, the people are ready to kill Gideon, but his father comes to his defense. I so wish that there were more details here. I might be reading between the lines here, but it seems like Gideon's courageous move may have actually served as a wake up call to his father. Leading in our homes & in our closest friendships is not easy. In fact it will be messy & very uncomfortable, but that's the proving ground of our leadership. God will not bless our leadership in the larger arenas of life if we are not faithful to his call to leadership in the arenas of our families & closests friendships.
After Gideon receives this amazing call from God & after Gideon begins to embrace this new identity of the "valiant warrior" that God has shown him, God asks Gideon to actually act. One of the huge problems in leadership, but especially in Christian leadership, is a lack of action. In Christian circles it's so easy to cloak our inactivity in spiritual sounding cliches. Rather than act on the call that God places on our lives, we pray for God to reveal His will. We know that God wants us to change A, B, or C, & we want to, but "want to" doesn't make any difference if there is no action.
So God stirs Gideon to action. Gideon is asked to step out & be the godly leader that the nation of Israel so desperately needs. However, Gideon isn't told to muster an army & prepare for battle against the Midianites. No, God has a mission that's much closer to home. In fact, God leads Gideon to deal with the real issue before he ever steps onto a battlefield. The real issue was the false worship & spiritual adultery that the people of Israel had fallen into. Gideon's mission is to destroy the altars of Baal & Asherah & to replace it with an altar to the one true God of Israel. Here's the point: notice who these altars belonged to. These altars belonged to Gideon's father.
We all know it's more difficult to lead at home than just about anywhere else. Those people know us, every little ugly detail, & that's scary. Yet that is the very place where God wants to cultivate us as His leaders. After all, if we can't lead there with integrity, we will never be able to take on the greater battles that God may have on our horizon.
As the story ends, the people are ready to kill Gideon, but his father comes to his defense. I so wish that there were more details here. I might be reading between the lines here, but it seems like Gideon's courageous move may have actually served as a wake up call to his father. Leading in our homes & in our closest friendships is not easy. In fact it will be messy & very uncomfortable, but that's the proving ground of our leadership. God will not bless our leadership in the larger arenas of life if we are not faithful to his call to leadership in the arenas of our families & closests friendships.
February 23, 2009
Lessons From The First "300"-God Uses The Unlikely To Lead
As the story of Gideon opens we find that Israel is under the oppression of the nation of Midian. Midian sweeps into the land & steals crops & basically terrorizes the countryside. The Bible says that some people had even taken to living in caves to hide from the Midianites.
Then we find that the people finally cry out to God. After all, their disobedience & unfaithfulness is what got them in this situation to begin with. God of course hears their cries & calls out one to be the "judge", the one who will rescue the nation of Israel from the oppression of Midian. God calls out the most qualified leader & bravest man in all the land right? Wrong!
God calls a farmer. In fact, God calls a cowardly farmer. When Gideon is introduced, he is in a winepress threshing wheat. A winepress just might be the worst place to thresh wheat that a person could think of. However, he was in there because of his fear of the Midianites. He didn't want to be seen. He was trying to keep his crop hidden. The greeting that God's angel uses for Gideon gives us some insight. The angel refers to Gideon as a "valiant warrior". As far as I can tell there's not much about Gideon that you could describe as valiant. So why did God choose that terminology?
I think it's because God see us as we can be, not just as we are. God has a deeper understanding of our identity than we do. We don't really have the whole picture most of the time. We focus simply on what is happening now. However, God sees what could be if we would simply surrender ourselves & follow Him in faith.
Gideon was a nobody in our terms. He came from an unimportant family from an unimportant tribe of Israel. On top of that, he was the baby of the family, & in that day & age, that pretty much meant you were the least important of the family. Gideon didn't seem to have any reason to be selected for this calling. Yet God uses the unlikely to lead. He calls out the ones that no one else bothers to pay much attention to. He knows that when these people follow Him & are a part of His work, He will receive glory for it. If God called out a military genius to lead Israel, there's a good chance the people would take all the credit for the victory, but with a farmer leading the way....now that's definitely a God thing.
If you feel like God is calling you to something bigger than you, that's OK. In fact, that's kind of the point. If you don't feel qualified to be where God has placed you, that's OK. It's not about your qualifications; it's about His sufficiency. It's about knowing your real identity. It's about knowing who God is making you to be simply by your following Him faithfully day by day.
As the story of Gideon opens we find that Israel is under the oppression of the nation of Midian. Midian sweeps into the land & steals crops & basically terrorizes the countryside. The Bible says that some people had even taken to living in caves to hide from the Midianites.
Then we find that the people finally cry out to God. After all, their disobedience & unfaithfulness is what got them in this situation to begin with. God of course hears their cries & calls out one to be the "judge", the one who will rescue the nation of Israel from the oppression of Midian. God calls out the most qualified leader & bravest man in all the land right? Wrong!
God calls a farmer. In fact, God calls a cowardly farmer. When Gideon is introduced, he is in a winepress threshing wheat. A winepress just might be the worst place to thresh wheat that a person could think of. However, he was in there because of his fear of the Midianites. He didn't want to be seen. He was trying to keep his crop hidden. The greeting that God's angel uses for Gideon gives us some insight. The angel refers to Gideon as a "valiant warrior". As far as I can tell there's not much about Gideon that you could describe as valiant. So why did God choose that terminology?
I think it's because God see us as we can be, not just as we are. God has a deeper understanding of our identity than we do. We don't really have the whole picture most of the time. We focus simply on what is happening now. However, God sees what could be if we would simply surrender ourselves & follow Him in faith.
Gideon was a nobody in our terms. He came from an unimportant family from an unimportant tribe of Israel. On top of that, he was the baby of the family, & in that day & age, that pretty much meant you were the least important of the family. Gideon didn't seem to have any reason to be selected for this calling. Yet God uses the unlikely to lead. He calls out the ones that no one else bothers to pay much attention to. He knows that when these people follow Him & are a part of His work, He will receive glory for it. If God called out a military genius to lead Israel, there's a good chance the people would take all the credit for the victory, but with a farmer leading the way....now that's definitely a God thing.
If you feel like God is calling you to something bigger than you, that's OK. In fact, that's kind of the point. If you don't feel qualified to be where God has placed you, that's OK. It's not about your qualifications; it's about His sufficiency. It's about knowing your real identity. It's about knowing who God is making you to be simply by your following Him faithfully day by day.
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