#1 Holy Wit – Bible Study God Is Faithful to Fearful People - Gideon (God Is Faithful to Flawed People – Judges 6:11–16; 6:36–40; 7:9–15) Scripture Reading (NKJV): Judges 6:11–16 11 Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!” 13 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” 14 Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” 15 So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” Judges 6:36–40 36 So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said— 37 look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground. Judges 7:9–15 9 It happened on the same night that the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, 11 and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude. 13 And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.” 14 Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.” 15 And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.” Judges 6–7 (NKJV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+6-7&version=NKJV 1. Fear Does Not Disqualify a Man from God’s Notice Gideon is introduced not as a bold warrior standing on a hilltop, but as a frightened man hiding in a winepress, threshing wheat in secret so the Midianites will not take it from him. That is where the Lord finds him. The opening picture matters. Gideon is not courageous in the ordinary human sense. He is cautious, shaken, and living under long oppression. Yet the Lord comes to him there. God does not begin by demanding that Gideon prove himself. He begins by drawing near. That is one of the first comforts in this passage: the Lord is not repelled by the trembling of His people. He does not say, “Return when you are made of sterner material.” He comes to fearful people in the middle of their fear. Judges 6:11–12 (NKJV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+6%3A11-12&version=NKJV 2. The Lord’s Greeting Is Better Than Gideon’s Self-Assessment “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!” is one of those lines in Scripture that almost makes you look over Gideon’s shoulder to see if someone else is standing behind him. Gideon does not look like a mighty man of valor. He looks like a man trying not to be noticed. But God’s words are not empty flattery. The Lord is speaking not out of Gideon’s present emotional condition, but out of God’s own purpose and presence. This is crucial for the whole study. Gideon’s usefulness will not arise from Gideon’s native boldness. It will arise from the Lord’s faithfulness. God does not wait for fearful people to become naturally brave before He uses them; He comes near, strengthens their trembling hearts, and proves faithful in the very place of their fear. The foundation of Gideon’s calling is not, “You are enough.” It is, “The LORD is with you.” Judges 6:12, 16 (NKJV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+6%3A12%2C16&version=NKJV 3. Gideon’s Questions Are Mixed with Weakness, But God Still Answers Gideon does not greet the Lord with immediate heroic resolve. He questions. He protests. He looks at the condition of Israel and wonders where the mighty acts of God have gone. Then he looks at himself and sees only smallness: the weakest clan, the least in his father’s house. There is weakness here, certainly. But there is also honesty. Gideon is not pretending to be stronger than he is. He is bringing his fear and confusion into the presence of God. And God, in remarkable patience, answers the real issue. He does not give Gideon a speech about hidden potential. He says, in effect, “I am sending you, and I will be with you.” That is how God steadies fearful people. He does not always explain everything that troubles them, but He gives them Himself. Judges 6:13–16 (NKJV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+6%3A13-16&version=NKJV 4. The Fleece Reveals Fear, and the Lord Bears with It The episode of the fleece is often treated as if Gideon were setting out an admirable method for spiritual decision-making. That is not really what is happening. Gideon is not a model of cool certainty here. He is afraid and wants reassurance. Twice he asks for confirming signs. Twice the Lord grants them. We should be careful. The point is not that believers should endlessly test God whenever obedience feels costly. Gideon’s fleece is not mainly a technique to imitate. It is a window into a man’s weakness—and into the patience of God. The tenderness of the text lies in the fact that the Lord does not crush Gideon for needing reassurance. Gideon knows he is on thin ground—“Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more”—and still God answers him. Not because unbelief is noble, but because God is merciful to weak faith. Judges 6:36–40 (NKJV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+6%3A36-40&version=NKJV 5. The Lord Strengthens Gideon Again on the Edge of Battle By the time we reach Judges 7, Gideon has already received God’s word, seen signs, and gathered men. We might suppose that fear would have vanished by now. But the Lord says, “If you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant.” The Lord knows Gideon through and through. He knows that the fear has not evaporated simply because earlier grace was given. And here again, the Lord does not cast him off. He provides one more strengthening mercy. Gideon is allowed to overhear a Midianite dream and its interpretation, and through the mouth of the enemy camp itself God confirms His promise. This is deeply encouraging. The Lord knows that some of His servants need strengthening more than once. He does not say, “I already helped you yesterday; why are you still shaking today?” He knows our frame. He gives fresh grace for fresh need. Judges 7:9–15 (NKJV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+7%3A9-15&version=NKJV 6. Courage Finally Appears, But It Is Borrowed Courage When Gideon hears the dream, he worships. Then he rises and tells Israel to go forward, because the Lord has delivered Midian into their hand. This is real courage—but notice where it comes from. It does not bubble up from some hidden reservoir of natural confidence. It comes after the Lord has spoken, promised, reassured, and strengthened. This matters for all of us. Scripture does not present Gideon as a naturally fearless man who happened to have religion on top. It presents him as a fearful man upheld by a faithful God. His courage is not self-generated. It is drawn from the certainty that God has spoken and will act. In other words, the story of Gideon does not glorify human nerve. It glorifies divine faithfulness. Judges 7:15 (NKJV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+7%3A15&version=NKJV 7. The Great Lesson: The Lord Is the Hero of Gideon’s Story If we read Gideon merely as an example of bravery, we will miss the center of the passage. Gideon is not primarily there to shame timid Christians into acting tougher. He is there to show that God is faithful to flawed people. The man is hesitant, questioning, uncertain, and plainly afraid. Yet God calls him, bears with him, reassures him, and uses him. That does not make fear a virtue. Gideon’s hesitation is real weakness. But weakness in the servant does not cancel faithfulness in the Lord. That is what makes this study so valuable. Many believers imagine that if they were less anxious, less hesitant, less intimidated, then perhaps God could use them. But Gideon’s life says otherwise. God often lays hold of fearful people precisely so that His own presence and power may be seen clearly. The final comfort is not, “Try harder to be brave.” It is, “The Lord is with you.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+12%3A9&version=NKJV Hebrews 13:5–6 (NKJV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+13%3A5-6&version=NKJV Reflection Questions 1. Why is it significant that God found Gideon hiding in a winepress rather than standing boldly in public? 2. How does the Lord’s word, “The LORD is with you,” answer Gideon’s fear more deeply than mere encouragement would? 3. What does the fleece episode teach us about the difference between weak faith and hardened unbelief? 4. Have you ever wanted God to use you only after you felt stronger, steadier, or less afraid? What does Gideon’s story say to that? 5. In what area of your life do you most need to hear again that God does not abandon trembling people? Prayer Points 1. Thank God that He does not wait for His people to become naturally brave before He calls and uses them. 2. Confess the specific fears that have made you hesitant to obey the Lord. 3. Ask God to strengthen your heart not mainly by changing your temperament, but by deepening your confidence in His presence. 4. Pray for grace to move forward in obedience even when your knees still shake. 5. Praise God that His faithfulness is greater than your fear. For Further Study (NKJV) Exodus 3:11–12 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+3%3A11-12&version=NKJV Joshua 1:5–9 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua+1%3A5-9&version=NKJV Isaiah 41:10 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+41%3A10&version=NKJV Mark 9:24 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+9%3A24&version=NKJV #HolyWitBibleStudy #GordonMcGinnis #GodIsFaithfulToFlawedPeople #Judges61115