Weekly Shepherd to Sheep by Pastor Tim

Sunday, July 18, 2010

"And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him (Gideon), and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!"      Judges 6:12

Who was this "mighty man of valor" and what was he doing when the Angel of the Lord (God, the Son) referred to him as in this way? Well, he was, in his own words, "the weakest member of the weakest family in the tribe of Manasseh". What was he doing? Well, he was threshing wheat. That is not too unusual except for the fact that he was threshing this wheat in a winepress. Wheat was usually threshed on a hill top or open field so the wind could carry away the chaff. He was hiding in a winepress so the enemy would not take his wheat. Not what you would call heroic activity. However, God referred to him as a "mighty man of valor". How was this to be true? It was true because of the first statement, "The Lord is with you!". If the Lord is with you nothing else matters. He will win the victory. What challenges are you facing? You can be victorious if the Lord is with you.