Heroes

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” (Judges 6:11-16 ESV).

I recently saw a great political cartoon, produced here. The image of the present day heroes in our crisis are portrayed in the same setting as those of Iwo Jima in WWII. In no way would I denigrate the sacrifice of those who fought in that war or any war. However, I would call your attention to the heroism of these new groups of people in our present “war.” It reminds me a bit of Gideon and our reading today. In this story, Gideon goes on to become a great hero (cf. Judges 7) even though his beginning was very surprising. The angel of the Lord greets Gideon with the words, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” But where is Gideon when the angel greets him? Polishing his armor? Mustering the troops? No. He’s threshing grain in a winepress, hiding out from marauding Midianites, who are a constant threat to the Israelites at that time. So Gideon is not acting like a mighty warrior but more like a “regular” citizen. Repeatedly we see Gideon as uncertain and sometimes timid. However, before we are too hard on him, we must understand that his anxiety and hesitation simply highlight the fact that God is calling him in the midst of impossible odds. By using Gideon and just a small army, even though many thousands of soldiers were available (cf. Judges 7:3-8), God is teaching his people that the battle belongs to the Lord. When Gideon and his men finally enter the Midianite camp at night, smashing clay jars, carrying torches, and blowing trumpets, God himself routs the enemies of Israel. The battle always belongs to the Lord and those he chooses. We must honor the heroes of our battle today. However, as we give thanks to them, remember who the real victory comes through!