“God Calls Gideon”
The angel
of the Lord appeared to him (Gideon) and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O
valiant warrior.” (v.12)
Here we
see God Himself came down to call Gideon into His
service. The visit by ""the angel of the LORD"" was another
Old Testament appearance of Christ. Gideon realized who his Guest was when the
Lord burned up Gideon's meal in answer to his request for a sign. As soon as
the meal went up in flames, the angel of the Lord disappeared.
Gideon's first reaction was fear, because the common belief was
that to see God was to die. But God spoke an all-important word of peace, or
shalom, to Gideon (v.23). So like Moses before him, Gideon built an altar to
the Lord and gave it a name: "The LORD is peace" (v.24).
However Gideon needed assurance, because as far as he was
concerned the nation's enemies were too powerful to be conquered. God's message
of peace to Gideon was a guarantee that His plans for Israel's deliverer would
be carried out.
We too may doubt our own abilities and potential. But let us
never doubt what God can do with us when we trust and obey Him. Gideon’s God is
the same God who will help us accomplish all that He asks us to do.
The Truth
“I can do
all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
