Why God Says “No”
Opening Prayer
Sovereign Lord, You inspired Your Holy Word. I ask for You to illuminate it so that I may understand it now.
Read Judges 7:1–14
Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ 3 Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” 6 Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. 9 During that night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. 10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah 11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. 12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
14 His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (1 Cor. 1:25). We do well to remember this.
Think Further
Facing a fearsome army of Midianites, Gideon inspired 32,000 Israelite men to join him in fighting against them. That seemed a great achievement and a wise military strategy—but God said “no”! Dismissing the fearful—ironically at Harod, “The Spring of Trembling”—Gideon is still left with 10,000 men. But God said “no” a second time. This time God proposed that Gideon take them to water for a drink and observe how they did it. Only afterwards did God reveal his plan. Those who lapped water from their hands were chosen to fight, while the kneelers were sent home. The lappers numbered just 300, less than one hundredth of the original force. We can guess why they were chosen—lappers seem more alert than kneelers—but we’re not told the reason for God’s choice.
What we are told, however, is crystal clear. God did this so that neither Gideon nor Israel could say, “My own strength has saved me” (2). God says, “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols”—or to humans (Isa. 42:8). He says “no” because he works differently from us, as we’d be wise to remember when we are discussing contemporary mission strategies. We think in terms of resources, money, plans, personalities, marketing—but God works in subversive ways. It is through weakness not power, submission not assertiveness, surrender not aggression, that he defeats his enemies. Gideon learned this in an elementary way. The cross demonstrated it in the ultimate way.
Gideon needed some convincing. Ironically, he didn’t believe God’s promise but was convinced by overhearing an enemy’s dream (8–15). How he must have tested God’s patience, as must we. But, then, God often says “no” to things we think are wise.
Apply
Western church decline seems to have panicked many into inventing endless human strategies for mission. Reflect on the New Testament approach. What might we learn about how God works?
Closing prayer
Lord, sometimes Your ways are not discernible to my human understanding. I need to learn to trust You fully when I do not understand.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.