God who knows my fear and gives me courage
“But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp, and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp …” (Judges 7:10-11).
It is a world of fear. They are so many fears in this world. They are so many waves in this world that threaten us. We Christians are riding the ship with the Lord our Pilot in this world that is like a dark sea and are striving to paddle toward the Heaven. But on the way to Heaven we meet a big storm that we didn’t expect. Obviously, what we prayed and expected was a calm sea wave. Then we are afraid of the unexpected big storm of our lives. We are afraid to see the big storm. And in fear we try to battle against the great storm (Jonah 1:13). As we keep on trying desperately to row back to land, the sea is becoming even stormier against us (v. 13). At that time we cry out to the Lord in our incompetence and helplessness (v. 14). As we cry out to God, we no longer seek our own will, but God’s will (v. 14). Then the Lord listened to our cry out and calms the great storm of our lives (v. 15). And eventually, God makes us not to be afraid of the great storm of our lives, but rather Creator Almighty God who can calm the great storm (v. 16).
In Judges 7:10-11, God told Gideon to go down to the camp of Midian, who were camping at the bottom of the valley from where Gideon and his 300 men were, because God had given them into Gideon’s hands (vv. 8-9). And God told him “if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp” (v. 10). God knew that Gideon was afraid. In fact, Gideon was in a state of great crisis that he had to fear. That great crisis was that Gideon and his army were only about 300, but the enemies the Midianites, the Amalekites and all the people of the east were as numerous as locusts and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore (v. 12). The number of the coalition seems to have been about 135,000 (8:10). Can you imagine a war between 300 Israelites and 135,000 enemies? How can 300 soldiers battle against 135,000 enemies and win? I cannot help but think that this war is a war that the Israelites cannot win at all. In particular, considering the current situation in the eyes of the 300 Israelites, the number of Israelites who were gathered to fight the enemy at first was 32,000. But God said, “Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead” (v. 3). “So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained” (v. 3). At that time, among the 10,000 people who went from 32,000 to 22,000 people, what would Gideon's 300 soldiers think? Did those 300 soldiers think that it was right thing to do, sending 22,000 people away from 32,000 people? But God said to Gideon again, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go” (v. 4). How could God say that 10,000 of the Israeli army are still too many compared to about 135,000 enemies? Wasn’t the number of Israelites too small? Eventually, God revealed to Gideon that only 300 men would go to war with him against the enemies and the rest of 9,700 men could not go. So God told Gideon, “"I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his home” (v. 7). How could God tell Gideon to send 9,700 men? Didn’t God tell Gideon to send those who were afraid and trembling so 22,000 men left? (v. 3) How could He tell Gideon to send 9,700 men among 10,000 men? How could Gideon’s 300 soldiers fight against 135,000 enemies and win? With our reason, we cannot understand these actions of God.
As I was meditating on this word, I asked the following question as I applied this word to the church: ‘Don’t we need a lot of people in the church so we can do more of God’s work greatly?’ But maybe the Lord of the Church is saying to us that there are too many church members (v. 2), ‘let them return’ (v. 3), and ‘let all the people go’ (v. 7). The reason is that if we do the Lord's work with too many church members, we will become boastful of our own power (v. 2). So God said to Gideon, “The people who are with you (32,000 men) are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands” (v. 2), “Whoever is afraid and trembling (22,000 men), let him return and depart from Mount Gilead” (v. 3), “let all the other people (9,700 men) go, each man to his home” (v.7). As a result, only three 300 Israelites remained (v.7). With these 300 men, God promised to Gideon that He would deliver Israel and would give the Midianites into Gideon’s hands (v. 7). And God, who gave this promise, said to Gideon that night, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands” (v. 9). Why did God tell Gideon to go down to the enemy camp? Obviously God would not have sent Gideon alone to attack the Midianites. I think the reason God told Gideon to go down to the camp of Midian was to give Gideon courage since he was afraid to attack the Midian army (vv. 10-11). God knew that Gideon was afraid. Of course, in Gideon’s position, he had to be afraid because he only had 300 men but the enemies had 135,000 soldiers. That was why God told Gideon, “But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp, and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp” (vv. 10-11). So Gideon took Purah and went down near the enemy camp (v. 11), and there he listened to a man who was telling his dream to his friend and his friend’s interpretation of that dream (vv. 13-14). When Gideon heard it, he bowed in worship and then returned to the camp of Israel (v. 15). And he said to his 300 men, “Arise, for the LORD has given the camp of Midian into your hands” (v. 15). Now he has the courage to attack the Midianites (v. 11).
The first thing that came to my mind as I was meditating on this word is that the Lord knows all my fear. God know when I am afraid of a fearful situation that is becoming more and more fearful. When the Spirit helped me to realize this, I was comforted in my heart. The second thought is that the Lord makes the situation fearful enough for me to realize that I cannot handle it by myself. It’s like the Gideon’s situation in which he had 32,000 men at first against his enemy who had 135,000 soldiers, but 32,000 men became 10,000 men and then became 300 men only. The situation got worse in which with 300 men there was no way he could win the war against his 135,000 enemy soldiers. As my fearful situation getting worse, I feel more helpless and powerless. I think that’s what God does sometime to us. Why does the Lord reduce the people whom I rely on? Why does the Lord make me feel more and more incompetence and helplessness? The reason is because He doesn’t want me to boast myself saying I accomplished this and that by my power and my strength. In fact, the Lord doesn’t want me to be proud but wants me to be a humble person who totally depends on God. Fourth, one additional thought, is how God gave Gideon the courage to attack Gideon who was afraid. I thought how God changes my fear into courage. As I was thinking about this, the word that came into my mind was “conviction”. God gave Gideon, who was afraid, the assurance of victory. God gave Gideon the assurance of victory by making him to go down to the enemy camp and let him hear the dream and its’ interpretation. This assurance of victory made Gideon to attack the enemy with only 300 men who had no weapons but trumpets and empty pitchers with torches inside the pitchers (v. 16). What a reckless act. It is an act that cannot be understood by human reason and logic. How can 300 people attack 135,000 without any weapons? Gideon, with the conviction of victory, divided the 300 troops into three units, and with 100 men and his followers arriving on the outskirts of Midian's army (which was about midnight when the enemy had just posted the watch) and they broke the pitchers that they were holding (v. 19). At that time, the two other units also broke the pitchers and lifted the torches in their left hands and blow the trumpet in their right hands, saying, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon” (v. 20). “Each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled” (v. 21). When the 300 warriors of Gideon blew the 300 trumpets, God put the enemies in confusion and set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army (v. 22). Eventually, Gideon's 300 soldiers defeated an enemy army of about 135,000. God gave victory to Gideon and his 300 men.
Living in this world, we can be afraid because of great difficulties and great adversity. And we can feel our own incompetence and helplessness because of the great difficulties and great adversity. At that time, God graciously makes us to cry out to Him and to rely on His Word. And God gives us His word of promise and gives us faith to believe in God who fulfills that promise. In fact, God gives us assurance and conviction regarding His promise Word. God will surely give us victory. When God gives us assurance of victory, not only that God gives us peace in our hearts but also He changes our fears to courage. With that courage, we no longer avoid the fearful situation but face it. In doing so, God make us to endure and to overcome our great adversity and difficulties. And in the end, God will deliver us and surely will make us victorious.