9. Gideon A Mighty Man Of Valor


GIDEON A MIGHTY MAN OF VALOR

Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, when the Angel of the Lord appeared to him. The Midianites, who reigned over Israel at that time, would come up against them and rob them of all the produce of the earth at the season of the harvest. Gideon was so afraid of them that he was threshing wheat secretly in the winepress. At that time the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!" Although the Angel of the Lord called him "a mighty man!", in his sight he was not a mighty man but a coward and weakling who was not bold in anything. He could not understand why God called him 'a mighty man'. He rather asked God,"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."(Judges 6:13). God's answer was even more difficult to be understood. He said, "Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: Have I not sent thee?" Gideon was unconvinced of God's promise that He would use him in delivering the Israelites out of the hands of the Midianites. If he thought he was actually a mighty man of valor and a person of prominence, he could have worked confidently for God. But he could not easily accept the word of God, looking to himself, as one weak and worthless. "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." Even though he was actually a coward, the weakest in Manasseh and the least of his brothers, God began to work through him, soon after He called him a mighty man of valor. He was led by God and later destroyed the innumerable army of the Midianites with only three hundred men as a mighty man of valor. As with Gideon, so likewise the way we see things can be totally different from the way God sees them.

GOD'S SIGHT AND OUR SIGHT

Some time ago, an old man named Chang Ho Cho escaped from the North Korea. He had lived a miserable life as a prisoner of the Korean War which began in 1950. He was a forward fire control observer in the South Korean army. The forward fire control observer's mission was to survey the situation of the enemy, spot the location of its powder magazines, oil tanks or headquarters. And he informs the artillery man of them by a wireless radio. It is impossible for the artilleryman to see the location of the enemy. So he has to fire the gun as the forward fire control observer commands. Watching the former firing the gun from afar, the latter transmits a message, saying "O.K" or "Turn to right" or "Turn to left".
So is our life of faith. We are too shortsighted to look forward, but God is very different from us. As the artillery man can not see what is before him, but the forward fire control observer looks forward into the enemy's camp, we don't have the eyes to foresee the future, but the living God sees our past and our farthest future at the same time. Therefore our sight can never be same with God's.
Gideon belonged to the weakest clan of Manasseh and was the least in his father's house. In his own sight, he was a useless coward and a weakling, but God already saw the transformed Gideon who would save Israel from the Midianites in the future. So He called him 'a mighty man of valor'. Looking at himself, Gideon could not accept God's word that he was a mighty man of valor. He said continually, "I am weak and not qualified." God, however, made him a mighty man of valor regardless of his weakness and miraculously delivered the Israelites out of the hand of the Midianites through him. Because He sees the past, the present and the future at the same time, and we only can look at the present, His divine foreknowledge can never be compared with our extremely limited knowledge.

ABRAHAM A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS

One day, God called Abram 'Abraham', promising that He would make him a father of many nations. Abraham means 'a father of many nations' When God called Abram 'a father of many nations', he had no children. Without children he became very old and Sarah his wife had also passed the age of childbearing. In spite of the impossibility of him becoming a father, God still called him 'a father of many multitudes'(Abraham). Whenever He called, "Abraham! Abraham!", He meant, "A father of many nations! A father of many nations!"  Abraham could not understand why God called him so. He thought; 'Far from a father of many nations, I have no child and my wife has also passed the age of childbearing. Then God calls me a father of many nations. I can not believe it.' But God looked forward Abraham's future. He foresaw his descendants as many as the stars in heaven and the sand of the seashore and called him a father of many nations (Abraham).
The most important thing in our life of faith is to possess God's sight by experiencing our spiritual eyes being opened. When our faith in God, then, rises, we can understand the meaning of His word, and accept His will without any burden. Likewise without His sight in us, His words seem unfit for our circumstances and are so burdensome to be received. The artillery man's duty is to fire a gun as the forward fire control observer commands. He needs not to follow the latter's command, after climbing on the mountain and confirming whether his command is right or not. And so our thoughts are only concentrated on the present by which we can see nothing except the circumstance just before our eyes. On the other hand, God knows our future perfectly and so His concerns can not be compared with ours.
Is there anyone who marries after being acquainted with his spouse's future? Most people choose their spouses according to their outward appearance or health or academic achievment or family or property or social status. All of these things are about the present, not about the future. Why do many people become regretful after marriage and are so afflicted that they come to divorce eventually? Because they just look at their spouse of the present, not of the future. If we had the eyes with which we could brightly look forward to our future, our lives would be changed greatly.
As we don? have the eyes to see even our nearest future, we are satisfied with the good looking, temporary things and our present riches. But God is not. He knows our hearts very well, He looks into our inside and even looks forward into our far future. So, even though His words seem to be unfit for our thoughts now, we would recognize that His words are right after the years have passed.

JUSTIFYING THE UNGODLY

When God commanded Gideon to tear down the altar of Baal, and cut down the wooden image, he was so afraid of his neighbors that he tried to do it with his servants at night, avoiding the daytime. And because of fear, he tempted God by a fleece of wool, but he later became a mighty man of valor.
If we only look at our present appearance or position, it is very difficult for us to trust God. Many people who had followed God felt difficulties in worshiping Him because they beheld only their circumstances. Our sight is temporary and not exact. The One who sees our past, present and future at the same time can judge properly and have a right view. So, we have to accept His words by faith. The reason why we can not agree with the words of God is that we see only one part of them. When we look over all the parts, we will find that the words of God are right.
Although we read the Bible the word of God and come to Him, we can be greatly conscience-stricken by our sin and wickedness. Worldly desire, lust or the desire for honor rises continually from us. Dragged by them, we commit sins; stealing, lying, adultery and hatred. While often disobeying the words of God, we are naturally caught by the pricks of our conscience and our minds become heavy. Even in the Bible, the words, 'The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.' or 'There is none righteous, no, not one.' seem to be reasonable rather than the word of faith 'We can come to God boldly' The words that 'We can come to Him boldly' or 'We are justified' are not easily accepted.
In our sight, Gideon was surely a coward, but God called him a mighty man of valor. From our viewpoint, Abraham was only an old man who could not bear even a child, but God named him ' a father of many multitudes'. Those words do not fit into our thoughts. How could Gideon be a mighty man of valor? He was a coward. How could Abraham be a father of many multitudes? He did not even have a child. As the years passed, however, our own thoughts collapse more and more. When we behold that Gideon actually became a mighty man of valor, we come to realize that the word of God is right.
Abraham and Sarah were poor and lonely old people, not having even one child, but God gave them Isaac as the years had passed. Isaac begot Jacob, Jacob begot twelve sons and they became the twelve tribes of Israel. After seeing that Abraham? descendants became multiplied as numerous as the stars in heaven and the sand of the seashore, we came to believe that Abraham was indeed a father of many multitudes. Our sight can not but be different from God's. In spite of that, many people reject to accept the works of God by faith, persisting in their opinions. In Romans 4:4, it is written, "Now to him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Why does God call the ungodly the righteous, in spite that they are ungodly in our sights?
At first, Abraham and Gideon saw only their circumstances before their eyes. They could not look forward to their far future and accept the words of God. We are so filthy, evil, dishonest, abominable, and carnal that we have difficulties in receiving the words of God that we are declared righteous. If we were righteous and godly in our sight and God calls us righteous, we would naturally believe His words. But when He calls us, who are filthy, the righteous, it is very difficult to be accepted. So most people do not accept the word that they became righteous, instead they reject it.
I am filthy. I told a lie this morning. I am evil, filthy, and abominable, one who commits sins all day long. How can I be righteous? Why does God call such a person righteous? It is natural that we regard ourselves not righteous, when we behold our real self. But, God not only looks at us who are evil and filthy, but also Jesus Christ who died for our sins. If we see ourselves and Jesus Christ at the same time, the words of God that declare we are righteous are right, for Jesus washed all our sins forever.
If we only look at ourselves, the ungodly, we can not help confessing that we are sinners far from God? righteousness. However, God, regarding the ungodly as righteous, sees us who are ungodly and Jesus Christ who died for us at the same time. Although we have sinned and now sin, Jesus forgave all our sins. Because the blood of Jesus Christ covered all our sins forever, we are righteous in God's sight.

THE FAITH THAT WE ARE RIGHTEOUS

Today many church-goers are still afflicted by sins in fear. They continually say they are not the righteous ones, but the sinners, because they see themselves who have sinned instead of looking to the Lord. It is true that we have sinned. Now we still sin, we all make many mistakes and have many faults. But we have to look upon the blood of Jesus Christ which made us holy. Since, then, His sin-washing power prevails against our sinning ability, we can overcome sins and say that we are God's holy and righteous children. Inspite of His promise that to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, many people persist in saying that they are sinners. They keep on insisting that they are not righteous and godly. How many people are holding fast to their own thoughts, as if God's view were wrong!
The words 'We are justified'are found many times in the Bible. In Romans 8:30, it is written, "Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth: Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again..."(Romans 8:33,34) God says that we are justified. He does not say so, not knowing we are filthy and evil. As He sees us, who are filthy and evil, and the blood of Jesus Christ at the same time, He can call us the righteous.
God called Gideon the coward, a mighty man of valor. At that time, it seemed to be wrong, but Gideon became a mighty man of valor in the end. God called Abram, who had not even one child, a father of many nations and God's promise was eventually accomplished. The word of God is the truth. He sees not only ourselves but also the blood of Jesus Christ together and calls us the righteous. As we became actually righteous, He says that we are righteous.
Abandoning our own thoughts, we have to accept, by faith, the word of God which justified us. The faith which makes oneself trust that he is righteous ?that is real faith. How many people are persisting in their own thoughts, not trusting God? promise? I desire you to be set free from your own thoughts, accept the words of God by faith and abide in Him as the righteous. God, then, will accomplish His will through you.