July 24, 2011
Background Scripture: Judges 7:2-4,13-15;8:32
Devotional Reading: 1 Samuel 2:1-10

The most talented and best-prepared people usually make the best leaders – but not always. Sometimes the most talented and best prepared lack other qualities that are essential for good leadership.

During the Civil War, Union Gen. George B. McClellan appeared to be very talented and well prepared to lead the Union armies, but as President Lincoln learned to his sorrow and frustration, McClellan failed to attack because he always, usually erroneously, assumed his army was outnumbered.
In comparison, when Lincoln replaced McClellan with Gen. U.S. Grant, there were many Union men, both civilians and soldiers, who were certain Grant did not have the right qualifications.

Similarly, when in 1978 the Roman Catholic cardinals were in the process of electing a pope to follow John Paul I, Polish Cardinal Karol Jozef Wojtyla was thought to be too much an “outsider” to ascend to the papal throne. But he was elected and served as Supreme Pontiff from 1978-2005.

Regarded as one of the Catholicism’s most popular popes, he was beatified two months ago, becoming the eighth of 266 popes to be beatified.

The lord is with you?
While it is true that some people seem to be born leaders, others assume leadership roles as late bloomers. Some people think they should be leaders, but ought not to be; others think they shouldn’t be and actually should.
Such a man was Gideon, an obscure Israelite farmer whose current concern was to hide the wheat crop from the marauding bands of Midianite raiders. He must have been amazed to be greeted by an angel of the Lord, who appeared to him saying: “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.”

But Gideon is not captive and he argues with God’s angel: “Pray, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this befallen us/And where are all his wonderful deeds which our fathers recounted to us …?” (6:12,13).

This was not so much a question as an argument that God is not with him and his tribe – not a promising beginning! The angel presses on: “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”
But Gideon is still resistant: “Pray, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

But the Lord persists: “But I will be with you, and you shall smite the Midianites as one man” (6:15,16). This response from the Lord is the one all of us must remember when He comes to us with a task: “But I will be with you.”

In 7:1 the writer of Judges says: “Then Jerubbaal (that is Gideon).” This man apparently has two names. Gideon, meaning “the Hacker” or “the Hewer,” is probably his Hebrew given name. In Jerubbaal, we can see the name of the pagan god, “Baal,” and he was probably given this name because, in order to obey God’s command to build him an altar, Gideon is instructed first to pull down his father’s altar to Baal.

Too many people?

Apparently Gideon assembles a mighty army, but God gives him what must have seemed to be a strange command: “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying ‘My own hand has delivered me’” (7:2).

God doesn’t want Gideon’s people to think that by their great numbers they will have achieved victory over the Midianites. He wants Gideon to reduce the size of his army so that Gideon and his people will know that it is by God’s power that their enemies are vanquished. In other words, if they put their faith in God, they will accomplish more with less.

In our Western brand of Christianity, we perhaps place too much store in sheer numbers: The more church members, the stronger our churches will be. In the Old Testament there is put forth by some of the prophets the concept of “the remnant.” (See Genesis 45:7; Isaiah 10:21,22; 37:31,32; Jeremiah 6:9; 44:12,14,28; Ezekiel 11:13; Micah 2:12; Zephaniah 2:7,9; Haggai 1:12; Zechariah 8:6,11,12.). Because the whole body of Israel did not accomplish God’s purpose, he would do that with a remnant.

In North America, the British Isles and Western Europe, Christianity’s statistics are disheartening. But do smaller numbers necessarily mean a weaker Christian witness or a thwarted will of God? Might God accomplish more with less?

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.