It is usually the case that when we hear the word of God or his promise, the inclination is to act on it according to our own understanding and way of doing things. But we must consider that usually God may have a plan, a method, and time frame in which he desires to accomplish his word and promises.
For instance God commanded King Saul of Israel to wage war on their enemies and to destroy all that they had. (1 Samuel 15:2-3). But Saul and the people did not follow God’s instruction and method; they speared the king and the best sheep and cattle and all that was good. And when Samuel asked why he did not destroy everything as God instructed he said he saved some to offer sacrifice unto the Lord.
But Samuel said to him, “behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” He considered that walking against the plan of God was “rebellion [which] is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry”. And the price for rejecting the word of the LORD was a rejection of Saul from being King (1 Samuel 15:21-23).
In the case of Gideon, even though God had promised that Gideon would save Israel from the midianites, He also desired that Gideon relied on His methods for bringing this to pass. Thus, when Gideon recruited a multitude of his brethren to come against the midianites, God gave instructions asking him to reduce the number of fighting men by specific methods. (Judges 7:4).
The method of selecting the men of war not by their physical ability to fight but by whether they were “fearful and afraid” or that men “bowed down upon their knees to drink water, or “lappeth of the water with [their] tongue, as a dog lappeth” would not have made any sense to Gideon. Yet, he followed God’s instructions and method. (Judges 7:3-7).
One would think that Israel would need a multitude of men to match the fighting men of the enemies who were “as the sand by the sea side for multitude”. But God’s method of winning does not always involve physical might. Therefore, he purposely asked Gideon to reduce the number of the fighting men ” lest Israel [boast] themselves against [God], saying, [their] own hand hath saved [them]”. (Judges 7:2).
It is useful to follow the example of Gideon to seek God to give us signs to encourage us or guide us, as we desire to walk in his ways. He desired God to give him a sign to prove that he had spoken to him and that he would indeed deliver Israel by his hand and God did as he required. (Judges 6:17 & 36-40)
Similarly, when God told Gideon that he had delivered the host of the enemies into his hand, He asked him to go down to the enemies’ camp and “hear what they say; and afterward shall [Gideon’s] hands be strengthened to go down unto the host”. When Gideon came to the host he overheard a man explain a dream and the interpretation thereof to mean that God has delivered the Midianites, and all the host on to “the sword of Gideon… a man of Israel”. Upon hearing this, Gideon worshiped God , and returned and told Israel that God had delivered the midianites into their hands. Gideon and his men defeated their enemies with the words “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon”. (Judges 7:15-21)
