Dear Friends,
The chosen example for this blog is Gideon, and his story is recorded for us in the book of Judges.
Before we continue with Gideon, it is important to stress that the time of the Judges was a difficult time for the Israelite nation. The Bible describes in Judges Chapter 2 that after Moses, Joshua and their generation have passed, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel. Then they did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the gods of the people around them.
The Israelites’ sinful behaviour arose the Lord’s anger and He gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. The hand of the Lord was against His own people to defeat them and they were in great distress! However, each time the Israelites cry out to the Lord for help, He raise up Judges, one after the other, to save the people out of the hands of the raiders. Othniel, Ehud, Shamger and Deborah were named Judges before Gideon.
The Story of Gideon as the weakest and the least is recorded in Judges
The story of Gideon is recorded in Judges Chapter 6 – 8 but below are few points to note:
- Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites when he was met met by an angel of the Lord. The angel greeted him as a mighty warrior and told him the Lord was with him.
- The angel then told him to go and save the Israelites out of the Midian’s hand.
- Gideon expresses his concern, based on what has been happening to the Israelites, as to whether the Lord was with the people.
- He felt incapable of doing what the Lord asked him to do because he saw himself as the weakest and the least both in his family and in Manasseh, his tribe in Israel.
- The Lord assured Gideon that He will be with him and will give him victory over the Midianites.
- Gideon requested for a sign from the Lord that it was indeed Him speaking and it was provided. Gideon then offered a sacrifice to the Lord.
- The Lord requested Gideon to start making changes right from his own family. He was asked to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and then to build the Lord’s altar.
- Although Gideon was afraid of his family and the town’s people, he obeyed God.
- Gideon requested two further signs from the Lord to confirm His promise that God will save Israel by his hand, and the Lord obliged.
- Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and he called out for an army to fight the Midianites.
- The Lord weaned Gideon’s army of thirty-two thousand men to three hundred and used this number to defeat the Midianites.
- The land had peace for forty years of Gideon’s reign, but the people returned to their idol worship after his death. Just as they did with other Judges before him.
A full sermon on Gideon by the Bible teaching ministry of Alistair Begg can be found at http://bit.ly/gideontheweakestandtheleast
Gideon confirmed from the Lord by squeezing water out of a fleece
What can we learn from Gideon?
The reason we have picked up on Gideon as an example of a worker is because he was called to the Lord’s service from his usual workplace of threshing wheat.
As we discussed previously in our introductory blog, all of us have been called to represent Jesus Christ in our workplaces. Few of us may be called to go into full mission as Gideon was but the rest of us are called to serve in the place where we spend most of our waking lives, our workplaces https://fmministry.co.uk/setting-the-scene-1
Few of the lessons we can all take from Gideon’s example are below:
- We should pay attention to spiritual matters even as we do our daily work so that we can recognise when God is speaking to us.
- It is okay to ask God to make us know that He is the one speaking to us, just to be sure.
- We may feel inadequate in what God is calling us to do but the reality is that God has already deposited in us what we need.
- It is okay to ask God to confirm He will do what He promised, and He will show us in a way that we will believe.
- God will usually ask us to start from where we are before He takes us any further.
- He wants to take all the glory for what He accomplished through us. He will therefore most likely use us in our area of weakness.
- God will always fulfil His promise to us.
Only few soldiers are needed so the glory goes to God
How can we apply this to ourselves?
Just like Gideon, God has called each of us to be Judges where we are. We can see that the world around us is behaving exactly as the Israelites were at the time of Gideon. Many people around us do not believe in God and are choosing to go their own ways. It is therefore not surprising that we are all exposed to calamities one after the other. We are being plundered by raiders, just like the Israelites.
God is calling us to start from where we are, He is asking us to tear down the idols in our own house and to erect an altar of worship to HIM. God is asking us to be brave, even if we consider ourselves to be the weakest and the least. Just as Baal cannot contend with Joshua, none of those idols can contend with us if we are in Christ.
God is asking us to build a team around us and to go out and deliver people from captivity to sin, addiction, sicknesses and all things that are not of God.
As we can see from Gideon, we do not need a massive army, God will give us victory even with a few people. He will make sure we understand the victory is not by our power or might but by His Spirit.
Again, as we can see from Gideon’s example, we have the capacity to bring God’s Kingdom to where He has placed us which comes with His peace.
We are all called to be Judges in the workplace
How shall we conclude?
Judges are Leaders of God’s people and that is what we are if we are in Christ. For further reading on our leadership role please read our previous blog: https://fmministry.co.uk/principles-of-work-leadership
Jesus has called each of us who have the privilege of knowing Him to occupy our location until He returns to the earth. This is our duty, so let us do it diligently whilst we are here and let us help disciple others to take over from us when we are gone.
Jesus, our Lord is coming back soon, then all wars will cease, and we will all receive our crown of glory and reign with Him in the New Heavens and the New Earth! In the meantime, let us keep pressing forward and marching on in victory in His name.
Please note that one of the aims of Fishers of Men Ministry is to help initiate, develop and equip workplace Christian Fellowship Groups. So please contact us if you need support in this area.
I hope you have benefited from reading this blog and if so, please share with others. Please also continue to send your feedback and comments to hello@fmministry.co.uk or use the comment box below.
God bless you and let us keep growing in the image of our Lord Jesus Christ
Adesina