
So Israel is in crisis, hiding in the hills hoping the economy doesn’t collapse, food prices don’t skyrocket, and the political barbarians (no I’m not talking about Republicans or Democrats) knowns as the Midianites don’t destroy the entire country. Gideon calls out to God to do something! “Aren’t we suppose to be the chosen people You liberated from Egypt? What happened? Have you forgotten about us?”
What Gideon doesn’t seem to acknowledge, and neither do we for that matter, is that their current plight is of their own making.
“The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds” Judges 6:1-2 (NIV)
Maybe a little humility would have sufficed, but humility has never been one of our strong virtues. The funny part of this story is when God turns the table and invites Gideon, who is making the plea, to be the catalyst for God’s salvation.
This is not what Gideon had in mind! He tells God, as if God needed to know, the he is the least in his clan in the Tribe of Manasseh the smallest in Israel.
Of course God has a plan, but God almost always uses the most unlikely to do the most improbable.
Questions one: Are you a consumer or a Contributor?
Question Two: Are you a Follower or only a Fan?
Join us this week as the Last Remnant considers what it really means to be a follower of Christ! Are you up to the challenge?