Judg 7:3 | KingComments | STEP | The army must be stripped of all elements that could stand in the way of victory. The first element is fear. Any person who, on closer inspection, is very reluctant to fight with a powerful enemy, may return home. This is in keeping with the law of war that God has given His people: “Then the officers shall speak further to the people and say, ‘Who is the man that is afraid and fainthearted? Let him depart and return to his house, so that he might not make his brothers’ hearts melt like his heart’” ( ). It is extremely discouraging when some people in the heat of the battle suddenly start to lose their heads and leave. This is why everyone must know what they are doing in advance. The costs must be considered ( ). The people who are allowed to leave first are those who are more under the impression of the power of the enemy than of the power of God. They did show up to fight after Gideon’s call, but now that they are face to face with the enemy, it turns out that they have little faith. We too can be attracted by someone who enthusiastically brings forward a plan to do a work for the Lord. The person who does so is himself motivated for this plan because he has spoken about it with the Lord. It is an assignment he has been given. It is a good thing that he wants to involve others. But those others will only become good co-workers when they have gone through this plan themselves with the Lord and do not go along only on the basis of the enthusiastic story. You can be impressed by someone else’s faith in a particular work, but that is different from personal faith in that particular work. For people who only want to participate on the basis of an emotional impression of the moment and not on the basis of a personal conviction, there is no place in this work. That can and must also be said. Something similar Paul does when he asks for intercession to be “rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith” ( ). He does not need the help of people who do not have the same faith and dedication to the work of the Lord that characterizes him. What will have gone through Gideon when he sees his already small army getting smaller and smaller? No less than 22,000 men go home. If the ratio first is still 1 to 4, and that is by no means a great starting point, now it has been reduced to the, in human eyes, impossible ratio of 1 to 13/14.

‏ Judges 7:3

The First Selection

The army must be stripped of all elements that could stand in the way of victory. The first element is fear. Any person who, on closer inspection, is very reluctant to fight with a powerful enemy, may return home. This is in keeping with the law of war that God has given His people: “Then the officers shall speak further to the people and say, ‘Who is the man that is afraid and fainthearted? Let him depart and return to his house, so that he might not make his brothers’ hearts melt like his heart’” (Deu 20:8). It is extremely discouraging when some people in the heat of the battle suddenly start to lose their heads and leave. This is why everyone must know what they are doing in advance. The costs must be considered (Lk 14:31 ; 33).

The people who are allowed to leave first are those who are more under the impression of the power of the enemy than of the power of God. They did show up to fight after Gideon’s call, but now that they are face to face with the enemy, it turns out that they have little faith.

We too can be attracted by someone who enthusiastically brings forward a plan to do a work for the Lord. The person who does so is himself motivated for this plan because he has spoken about it with the Lord. It is an assignment he has been given. It is a good thing that he wants to involve others. But those others will only become good co-workers when they have gone through this plan themselves with the Lord and do not go along only on the basis of the enthusiastic story.

You can be impressed by someone else’s faith in a particular work, but that is different from personal faith in that particular work. For people who only want to participate on the basis of an emotional impression of the moment and not on the basis of a personal conviction, there is no place in this work. That can and must also be said.

Something similar Paul does when he asks for intercession to be “rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith” (2Thes 3:2). He does not need the help of people who do not have the same faith and dedication to the work of the Lord that characterizes him.

What will have gone through Gideon when he sees his already small army getting smaller and smaller? No less than 22,000 men go home. If the ratio first is still 1 to 4, and that is by no means a great starting point, now it has been reduced to the, in human eyes, impossible ratio of 1 to 13/14.