I love the story of Gideon and have to admit it has spoken so much to me recently. But I only want to look at one part today. Gideon threshing wheat in the winepress.
To those of us that get our flour from the grocery store and have never seen the process this doesn't seem strange, right? But when you look at the process it's the worst place possible.
The concept is separating the edible grain from the non edible chaff. To do this the wheat is beaten in an open space or threshing floor and usually one with a good breeze so that the heavy grain will fall to the floor and the wind will carry the light chaff away. Makes you appreciate the prebagged flour in the store a little more!!
Anyhow so what's wrong with a wine press? Well for starters it was probably a cave. It would have been damp and cold and instead of a fresh breeze it was probably stale still air. If it wasn't a cave it was a big massive stone hole in the ground with steps leading down, like a stone tank. So this just made the threshing process, an already laborious task, a million times harder.
So why on earth would Gideon chose such a difficult place? He was hiding! The Midianites had invade the land and they would regularly come down to the villages and take what they wanted. Without grain it would be impossible to feed your family. If Gideon had been on the threshing floor it was wide open and he would have been completely exposed to the Midianities attack. In the winepress the walls were high enough that they would never have seen him.
I've heard people preach or teach on the subject of this and have been really hard on Gideon. They've called him stupid or ignorant but they don't understand. Gideon was a bruised reed. Gideon's world was under constant attack. His only focus was on survival for him and his family. He wasn't stupid or ignorant.
He was doing the most necessary thing in the most difficult of situations to survive.
Some of you know what I am talking about it. You have a spiritual Midianite army that attacks randomly, sometimes daily. An emergency repair at the house costs this weeks paycheck and the pantry is empty, the pain of that illness comes back right in the middle of a busy week, that person that gets under your skin just sent that email or made that comment that steals your peace. You know the attacks. Your list and mine are probably different but it's the same enemy.
So fear kicks in. You go into defensive survival mode and you find the nearest cave and hide just to get through the day. Yes you went to work today and got everything done, on autopilot. Yes you took care of your family but on autopilot. And because of this fear you live in a cave and now just getting up in the morning is the most difficult thing in the world. You pick the bills that get paid because there isn't enough to pay them all and then wrestle all day and night with dread. You trying to be part of the conversation and be social but you are counting the seconds till you can go hide in your cave because you don't want one more well meaning comment.
Because right now all you know to do is the necessary in the most difficult place to keep that thing safe from attack.
It's ok! You are ok! And you know why? Wait till you hear what the angel of the Lord said to Gideon when he found him in the winepress threshing wheat!
And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!” (Judges 6:12 NKJV)
Stop! Go back and read that again!!! Yes the angel called him a mighty man of valor!!!! VALOR!
valor1— noun
- boldness or determination in facing great danger, especially in battle; heroic courage; bravery: a medal for valor.
There's two things here. God sees us not in our current condition but as the person He has called us to be. But here's the big thing. Gideon was the youngest in his family so there's probably a whole big family sitting back at the house wishing they had flour. They sat around wondering what to do and complaining about the constant attacks and how horrible it was and how could this possibly happen to them! Sound familiar? We are all guilty!
Gideon showed boldness and determination in great danger and found a way to thresh that wheat. It was harder yes but he was doing it. He was determined to feed his family and not let the Midianites steal this grain.
I don't see Gideon as a fool or wrong nor do I think any of us that find ourselves in the winepress instead of the threshing floor are wrong. Sometimes that is how we get through life. Sometimes it's how we survive.
But did you hear the first part the angel said, 'THE LORD IS WITH YOU!' Now I'm sure Gideon looked at him the way you are looking at me right now. "Really is this winepress the Lord is with me?" YES.
Sometimes He needs to take us to the winepress to make us see who we need to be. So we can set aside our pride and our plans and let God really use us.
God can't use people who know they can do it in their own strength. He wants a people who have determination in facing great danger. Gideon wasn't going to let the constant attacks of the enemy stop him from doing what he had to do. And because he was faithful in such a little task like threshing wheat God chose him to lead his people to victory.
Go back to the definition of Valor, it says 'especially in battle'. You see God knows we are in the battle of our lives even though we don't realize it. The day you became a child of God you stepped onto a battle field whether you knew it or not. It makes me sad that so many Christians aren't told the truth about the gospel. It's a fairy tale story that the whole world is going to be perfect. Yes eventually when this life is over and Christ has the final victory and the New Heaven and New Earth are in place. But hold on tight because until then we live in a fallen state with a real enemy who wants nothing more than to steal, kill and destroy. I had a friend once tell me she doesn't give Satan that much authority in her life. I don't think any child of God does but we are warned he's 'like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8).
So what is this battle all about? Well we are told in Ephesians 6:12 "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." It's not that difficult person in your life, or that mean boss, or that disease, or that debt, or that whatever the flesh-and-blood face of it is. There is a war room in hell where they are scheming every day against you because hell's one objective is to stop every single person being reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus. So if he can constantly hit you and weary your soul maybe you will just give up and die. Sadly this happens to so many Christians that don't even realize they are on a battle field in the first place.
When we wake up and realize this then we can put on the Armor of God and fight. Then one day we say like Paul "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race." (2 Timothy 4:7). God sees your valor even in your winepress because He knows you are on the battle field fighting.
You may well be reacting to what I'm saying like Gideon right now. You maybe asking how on earth is the Lord with me right now and I don't feel all loaded up on valor. But trust me if you are a child of God He is with you. If you can find enough determination to keep going each day one of these days God isn't just going to remove the Midianite army in your life but he's going to use you to lead the charge against them.
So hold on to the promise that He is with you and He sees you for the valiant soldier He is making you into. Now keep threshing that wheat!
God bless!
So hold on to the promise that He is with you and He sees you for the valiant soldier He is making you into. Now keep threshing that wheat!
God bless!
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