Judges 7:2-3 “In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, “Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.”
So the Lord has decided to make weak Israel even weaker. Now why would Lord do that? Why does Lord allow times of weakness… even overwhelming odds at times? It is so that we will be more reliant upon Him and through that, He can show us more of Himself, His work on our behalf, and hopefully prevent us from stealing His glory!
The human heart loves to claim credit for any victory or achievement. If Lord had allowed Israel to defeat Midian with only a quarter of the number of Midian’s men, then guess who would have got the credit? That’s right… not our Lord. He may have received a bit of token praise, but probably precious little in the long run… and, it is just slightly possible that you would do the same thing!
These verses of Judges 7 remind me of Deut. 8. It is a very interesting chapter dealing with why God allowed trials of different types to occur when He led Israel through the wilderness. You would do well to read, think, and then read and think again. Especially think about Deut. 8:2-3, 10-14, 15-17. If you find yourself in a current trial or test then always remember the last part of verse 16!
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