Knows That All Glory Belongs To The Lord

Knows That All Glory Belongs To The Lord

A HERO’S TALE

Have you ever read a comic book about a hero hiding from the enemy? Have you ever seen a movie about a warrior trembling in a ditch? That sounds like a story that’s doomed for failure!

But that’s the tale of Gideon.

When we first meet Gideon in Judges 6, he’s doing something odd: threshing wheat in a winepress. Winepresses in ancient times were pits in the ground where farmers would extract juice from grapes. Threshing wheat was usually done on level ground so the wind could separate the unwanted chaff from the wheat.

Gideon was hiding while he worked. He was scared of the Midianites, a nasty nation of camel-riding invaders who stole Israel’s crops and animals and destroyed their land.

One day, an angel from God visited this scaredy-cat. The angel greeted Gideon by saying, “Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!” (Judges 6:12). Apparently, even angels have a sense of humor.

The angel told Gideon that God had chosen him to rescue Israel from Midian. Gideon’s response was not exactly heroic. He questioned why God was allowing Israel’s enemies to succeed. He made excuses. He even tested God by asking for three miracles.

Finally, Gideon agreed to obey God and lead Israel into battle against Midian’s powerful army of 135,000 soldiers. Then God did something strange. He whittled Gideon’s army of 32,000 men down to 300. God then told Gideon’s soldiers that they were to attack Midian with trumpets, torches, and empty clay jars!

DECODING THE MESSAGE

It all sounded like a big joke. Why would God choose a fearful, unimportant man to lead a tiny army into a battle without swords?

Because it’s all about glory.

The dictionary defines glory as “praise, honor, or distinction.” It’s the fame someone gets when he or she does something great.

The Bible says all glory is for God, not us. Read through God’s Word and you’ll see that he often calls unimportant people to do amazing things that they could never do by themselves. God loves using human weakness to show his perfect strength. When Israel needed him most, God showed them, through Gideon, that the power to save comes from God alone.

By the way, Gideon’s teeny army won the battle. You can read more about it in Judges 7–8. It was a miraculous victory that could come only from the almighty God who deserves all the glory!

BATTLE PLAN

Write a list of your five greatest accomplishments:

1. ___________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________

Now prayerfully give God glory for allowing you to achieve each one!