Read: Judges 6:11-24
At first glance, one might say Midian was wishy-washy or even cowardly - but if we take a closer look we can see Gideon as God saw him when his angel addressed the man as “mighty hero.”
At the time, Midian was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress in order to hide the grain from the Midianites. Remember, for 7 years this nation of marauders would sweep in and destroy the crops of Israel. In Judges 6:5, the text says that they were as thick as locusts. To put that in perspective, a small swarm of locusts can consume as much food as 35,000 people would consume in one day. So, I picture a frustrated Gideon removing chaff at the bottom of a winepress when the angel appears. He doesn’t recognize the angel at first (like many people in the Bible) and he vents his frustration to the stranger, even saying that the Lord has abandoned Israel.
In verse 14, God speaks up and tells Gideon that he is sending him to rescue Israel. In verse 15, he tells God that he is from the weakest clan and the least in his family. But then in verse 17, God assures Gideon that he will be with him.
What happens next often gets overlooked, but it shows us the character that God sees in Gideon. He runs off to prepare a sacrifice in order to make his calling sure, and remember that he was hiding grain from the Midianites who have been stripping away the harvest. Midian in an offering to God prepares a feast that includes an ephah of flour. This is no small meal, an ephah weighs about 36 lbs., and is almost 6 gallons in size; so that brings us to a quick heart check. How often do we hold back from God what he deserves? Do we respond to the circumstances around us, or do we trust God with the very thing that may be lacking in our lives? If God calls you ‘mighty hero’ would you believe him? Are our hearts in a place where God will call on us, and if he does, how will we respond?