Devotional: The Lord will be victorious

“That same night the Lord said to him, ‘Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.’ Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp.” — Judges 7:9-10

Sometimes, the Bible is brutally honest about the heroes we see throughout the Old Testament. Men we read about and laud for their courage and faithfulness to God are shown to be flawed and sinful. In Gideon’s case, he defeated the army of Midian, described as being like locusts in number, with a mere 300 men. We would look at this story and marvel at his bravery and praise his faith.

However, Gideon is not always portrayed as a man of great faith. In fact, he is often shown to be afraid and unwilling to obey God’s commands.

In chapter 6 of Judges, God tells Gideon to destroy the altar to Baal that was in his father’s house. While he obeyed, the Bible tells us that “he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.” (Judges 6:27).

After doing so, he tested God by placing a fleece on the ground. The purpose of this was to see if God was really with him. In fact, Gideon questions God when he says, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said” (Judges 6:36).

God, instead of being angry, proved himself to Gideon. After all of that, God gives Gideon the chance to go down into the Midianite army if he is still afraid. In the very next verse, we are told that Gideon “went down with Purah his servant.” Gideon went down to the camp because he was still afraid after all God had done. But even though Gideon repeatedly tested God and didn’t fully trust him, the Midianites were still defeated.

This proves something that’s repeated over and over again in Judges: God is the one who won the victory. God used sinners like us to save Israel over and over again. He did so knowing they would turn from him again and again.

God will always win. Even when life seems difficult and we don’t know what to do, God will be victorious. Even when we are like the children of Israel who turned from God when life was good, God will be victorious. Even when we fail God, place our faith in ourselves and stumble through life, God will be victorious.

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