The victories of Gideon, his great services rendered to his country, had won for him the enthusiastic admiration and gratitude of the people whom he had freed from the enemy’s yoke. Nothing was deemed by his countrymen too great a reward for the hero who had delivered them. Let him who had saved Israel become the head of the nation, the first of a dynasty of rulers. The men of Israel said unto Gideon, “Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also; for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.”
But Gideon’s had been the triumph of faith, not the proud struggle of ambition. He desired no crown; he would mount no throne; the Lord God of Hosts alone should be the King of Israel. “I will not rule over you,” said Gideon; “neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.” It is to God alone that belongeth the power and the glory; it was God who had smitten down Midian, and Gideon, great in humility as in his faith, gave the honour to God. Rich was the blessing that followed, as recorded in the page of Scripture, Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
We have seen in the history before us the tree of faith budding, bearing fair blossoms, and then its fruits gradually ripening into perfection. We now see, as it were, those precious fruits gathered and laid as an offering upon the altar of the Lord. The Saviour shall come to be glorified in His saints, and admired in all them that believe; the harvest is His, His servants lay its treasures at His feet.
And what is the practical lesson, my brethren, left on our minds by the record of the perils, the exploits, and the success of Gideon? Can we trace in it any likeness to the experience of our own soul? Have we received the angel’s visit, heard the promise, obeyed the command? Have we thrown down the idolatrous shrine in the spirit breathed in the words of the poet,—
“The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be,
Help me to tear it from its throne,
And worship only Thee.”
Have we trusted to God alone to strengthen us for the conflict with sin by the grace of His Holy Spirit, and with His Word in our hands have we invaded the enemy’s camp, and pursued him with earnest self-denying zeal? Have we fought and conquered our Midianites by the power of living faith?