“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘ “I will never leave you nor forsake you” ‘ ” (Hebrews 13:5).
Heavenly Father, hallowed be Your name. Today we enter Your courts with praise and thanksgiving because You have been so good to us! May we never lose sight of Your goodness and Your Presence among us. We pray this in the blessed name of Jesus Christ! Amen.
In the verse we have been studying, we find these words, be content with such things as you have. Why do you believe God may have said something like this to Gideon? I believe simply because He had been with His people all along, and in spite of all they were going through, God had provided for their needs! Now that the time was right, and He had found the right person to do what needed to be done, God could say, just be contented. I have got this! We really have nothing to fear, if we are doing things God’s way!
Let us see what else God had planned for His people. And let us observe how God accepts and delights in open and honest conversation with His children!
“[Then Gideon said to God], ‘ “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. [I will begin the test]. Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You” [And God replied], “I will wait until you come back” (Judges 6:17-18, emphasis supplied).
You may ask, if Gideon trusted God that much, and believed the message was coming from Him, why does he ask for a sign? Before attempting to answer that question, let me make this statement: Perhaps that is what Eve and Adam should have done after speaking to that lying messenger! Especially, after receiving a message that was contrary to what God had told them. But that is another story!
“Gideon’s quest for a sign is obviously one of verification, not necessarily, a lack of faith! His quest is evidence of his genuine humility! His commission is a large task for a little human being. He reasoned, “I need the assurance of the Great God, that it is He who speaks, and that He will be with me!”
Gideon obviously knew that when an offering was acceptable to God, God showed His approval by consuming it. And God did! Now he was sure that the Almighty would be with him, even though he was among the least of these.
Something else that we should not lose sight of, is the fact that when the Lord appeared to Gideon, he was not aware that it was Jesus he was speaking to. However, he did recognize him as some special being that the Lord had sent with a message for him.
To be sure of this, I went to the root word used in Scripture to describe the angel, “malak ; from an unused root meaning to dispatch as a deputy; a messenger, specifically of God, i.e an angel’ ” (Old Testament Dictionary).
“Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14)? But the Adversary also disguses himself, “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Therefore, it is always good to be sure who is the source of your message.
After his offering is visibly accepted (consumed before his very eyes)! He realizes that he has seen God and now fears for His life. But God assured him that he would not die. After all, God had work for him to do!
This conversation will continue!