We now come to the famous incident where the Lord reduces the size of Gideon's army from over thirty thousand down to three hundred. The men were not feeling overly confident at the outset, yet the Lord reduced the size of the army drastically. Victory does not depend upon numbers, but upon the Lord. Moreover, the people needed to realise that it was the Lord who gave them victory. We have a terrible habit of claiming we have achieved things purely by our own efforts.
The first lot to go were any who were full of fear, and this accounted for about a two-thirds of the army. This was still too many, so they were further whittled down to 300. This time the criterion was how they drank the water.If they lapped it up with their hands they were in. This indicated that they were always ready for action. So now the army was chosen.
During the night God took Gideon down to the enemy camp. He knew that fear probably still resided in Gideon, and He took account of this. He showed Gideon that the Midianites were even more scared of Israel. The enemy knew that defeat was inevitable. In the same way the devil knows that in Christ we can defeat him every time.
So Gideon was encouraged and was ready to lead the men in battle. To be good leaders we need to be convinced of the victory ourselves, only then can we effectively lead others. And victory was theirs.
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