A New Identity

Judges 6:11-16

11Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. 12The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.” 13Gideon answered him, “But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.” 15He responded, “But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 16The Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them.”

Historical Context

In the Bible, a given name is often synonymous with a God-ordained identity or destiny. The name Gideon means ‘cutter down’ or ‘destroyer’, and Gideon is destined to be a leader who, with God’s help, overthrows Israel’s powerful enemy. Gideon’s hometown was Ophrah, in the Valley of Jezreel. His father was Joash from the tribe of Manasseh. In his life, Gideon worked as a farmer, military commander, and judge over Israel for 40 years.

Theme: A New Identity

One guideline from Gideon’s life is to accept what God says about your identity. God calls Gideon, “mighty warrior!” This proclamation is amazing because Gideon was not a mighty warrior at the time of God’s declaration. He was living in a spiritually backslidden nation and family. God instructed him to tear down his family’s altar to Baal and the Asherah poles. He threshed wheat while hiding in a wine press so that the Midianites would not see him and take the wheat. Listen to Gideon’s own description of himself: “My clan is the weakest of all the clans in Manasseh and I am the least of my family!” (6:15).

Gideon was a small man from a little clan living in fear and disobedience. God declares who and what we are by His power, not by what we have done in the past or our present circumstances. He sees beyond faults, failures, and limits. God prophesies over Gideon a new identity. He is a mighty warrior because God says so, regardless what his family says or other tribes say, or what the enemy says.

God called Abraham the father of many nations, even though he did not have any children. God called Moses the deliverer of Israel, even though he was on the backside of the desert hiding from a manslaughter charge. Jesus called Peter, who was the least consistent of all the disciples, a rock upon which He would build His kingdom.

God’s purpose for our lives is not our own good idea of what we would like to be or do; it is His plan for us.