The story of Gideon and the Midionites is one of great meaning to me, and not only because the title has such an aesthetically pleasing cadence. God calls Gideon to raise an army to fight the Midianites who are currently oppressing Israel. He resists at first, requiring several signs from the Lord before he accepts the task, but he eventually comes around.
Gideon started with 32,000 men to face the Midianite army of over 100,000. God told him to keep sending men home though until he had only 300 men left when he finally reached the Midianites. The reason God told him to do this is because he had too many men for God to deliver the Midianites to. God said that if a real Israelite army defeated the Midianites then they would be boastful and believe that they did it themselves, without God’s help. In order to make His point, God had to make the army so weak that they couldn’t possibly claim credit for the victory themselves.
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