THE CROSS - as ridiculous as Gideon's army?# ~ Lent 3
"We can become so familiar with the story of the cross that we forget its foolishness.#
But, first consider Gideon. There is not much to find admirable in the life and character of Gideon.
His story opens in Judges 6 to be found hiding in the winepress threshing wheat, in fear of the Midianites.
When God announces that He will deliver Israel through him, Gideon repeatedly tries to find ways to weedle out of fulfilling God’s will. His famous ‘fleeces’ are just more feeble attempts to avoid the privileged task God has given to him. Then in chapter 8 Gideon, appointed a judge over God’s people, who leads them back into idolatry.
So, Gideon begins badly and ends worse. But at the centre of his life is a wonderful act of divine salvation. Gideon believes God and this response of faith warrants a mention in the book of Hebrews’ honour roll of faith (Hebrews 11:32).
One of the most misunderstood passages in the story of Gideon is the account of God whittling down the army of Gideon because it is too large. I expect that Gideon wouldn’t have believed what God was saying. After all, the soldiers were already outnumbered 4:1, and against a stronger and better equipped army. But God knows the hearts of people and explains the reason for this command: ‘Israel would boast against me, “my own strength has saved me” (7:2).
The Lord gives permission to all who are scared to go home. Then at a stream we have this famous account of the Lord examining how the men drink water. Some lap like a dog, while others kneel, and presumably cup their hands. Preachers often try to rationalise God’s choice of ‘lappers’ over ‘scoopers’, as if one method is more faithful or wiser than another. That misses the point entirely. The point is, the men with Gideon are too many. Not too faithless or too focused on their own needs. With this entirely arbitrary method God achieves his purpose, and Israel is left facing an army of 135,000 soldiers with just 300 men armed with pots, candles and trumpets! They are now outnumbered 450:1. God intends to leave it beyond any question that He and He alone will win the battle, so that He and He alone receives the praise.
The remainder of chapter 7 describes the battle. The Israelites are led by a man barely recognisable from that fearful, vacillating, coward we read about in chapter 6. He is now bold and fearless. There is not a hint of uncertainty or reservation in his voice: ‘Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands’ (v 15). They cry out ‘a sword for the LORD and for Gideon!’ (v 17) which is ironic because when the LORD routs the Midianites there’s not a sword in sight, just 300 pots, 300 torches and a trumpet ensemble. And ‘the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords’ (v 22).
No-one for a moment would have taken seriously the suggestion that an army of 300, armed with pots and torches, could have defeated an army of more than 100,000 with swords and mounted on camels. However, that’s what God said He would do to display His glory.
Even more so, no-one for a moment would have taken seriously the suggestion that one man, and He crucified, dead and buried, would by that death have defeated sin and satan and won our reconciliation to God.
We can become so familiar with the story of the Cross that we forget its foolishness.
A FOOTNOTE:
A friend of mine, an evangelist, said to me that he can’t understand how anybody can’t believe the gospel. For him it makes perfect sense. I suspect that it makes such sense to him because he’s been preaching it for so long he’s forgotten how astounding it is. Humanly speaking it’s as ridiculous as Gideon’s army. Yet, as Paul reminds us, God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the strong, ‘so that no-one may boast before him’ (1 Corinthians 1:29).
"My own strength has never saved me".
#Today's SoulSnack of Lenten Devotions was originally published by Youthworks Media and written by Rev Mike Raiter of The Centre for Biblical Preaching.
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