Times were very hard. Because of the oppression they were experiencing, many people saw no alternative but to leave their homes. They sought refuge in deep rural areas in the hope that they would be left alone. Not only was there fear of attack from the enemy but from one's own countrymen as well. If a family dared attempt to raise a small crop of vegetables, they faced vandalism or even outright theft. Because of this, food was scarce. The economy was in a shambles, jobs nearly non-existent, and a general state of immorality had prevailed for some time.

As he gazed over his once-fertile fields, the smoke from last night's raid rose to stung his eyes. All his crops were destroyed now, and this was the season's last chance for a harvest. His only solace, as he turned back toward what was left of his home, was that he had managed to gather an armful of wheat stalks when he saw the sand cloud moving toward his homestead shortly before dusk. It was all he could save in the dash to get his family to safety, and it would feed them for only a few days.

He crept cautiously to the winepress where he had hidden the wheat. He was going to carry it to the threshing floor but then decided not to attract the enemy's attention. Climbing down into the winepress, he began to beat out the wheat. He tried not to think about what to do next, where he would take his family, how they would survive the winter.

When the attacks started seven years ago, many of the men of his town were not afraid to stand up to their oppressors. But as time went on, the enemy became more and more bold. Now it seemed foolish to fight back. Drawing attention to yourself only meant more frequent attacks. It was better to keep a low profile. He continued to beat the wheat, but his energetic thrashing was now more a way to vent his anger than a means to separate the chaff.

"Then the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, 'The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.'" Judges 6:11-12

Throughout the Scripture God calls men to be leaders, but this passage is quite unique. Nothing in Gideon's background suggests that he should be considered for leadership. He was from an insignificant family and he was the youngest of his brothers (v. 15). It is unlikely he had held any positions of leadership before. He was hiding when the angel of the Lord appeared to him, and he needed a lot of divine confirmation before he stepped out (vv. 20-22). When he did finally act, he did so under cover of night for fear of his father's own household (v. 27).

Gideon was called at a time when Israel was experiencing judgment for having done evil in the sight of the Lord. We do not know the full extent of Israel's sin, but it certainly involved idolatry, the worship of false gods. We know this because the first task God gave Gideon was to tear down his family's altar to Baal (v. 25). However, idolatry is always accompanied by other evils. Once a society abandons the one true God, there no longer remains a constraint against sin.

Deuteronomy 12:31 warns God's people not to follow after the gods of their contemporaries: "... for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods." Because of Israel's idolatry and the accompanying evils, God raised up another nation to wreak havoc upon them. God's judgment took the form of economic hardship. Whenever crops were sown, the enemy would rise up and destroy them. Livestock were destroyed as well. Many families left their homes and lived in dens and caves in the mountains. Their condition was summed up by the words, "So Israel was brought very low" (Judges 6:6).

There are parallels between Israel's situation at the time of Gideon and our own times. Economic hardship plagues our nation, even our world. Idolatry, specifically the worship of money and possessions, is at the heart of our culture. If you don't believe this, look back to the recent national elections. What was the driving force behind every successful campaign? Economics. "Get the country back to prosperity and forget about morality" seemed to be the nation's heart cry.

In fact, this unwillingness to distinguish right from wrong has permeated our times. It is no longer safe to mention issues of morality in casual conversation. Why is that? Is it not because we have abandoned the one true God in whose character are found absolute right and wrong? So we no longer have a basis for making moral judgments. Consider bringing up the issue of abortion in the lunch room at your place of employment and you will immediately see this dramatized. If you're lucky, you will merely be ignored. Chances are you will be laid waste by criticism. You will be challenged for your attempt to "legislate morality", and you may be left wondering if word spread about your views will affect your next Performance and Salary Review.

Such is the climate we share with Israel at the time Gideon was called. It seems far better to keep our mouths shut than to risk attack. We tend to hide out in dens and caves, socially speaking, by not being involved in the world system around us. We take our children out of the state-run schools, we don't go to company Christmas parties, we try to move away from the cities. We dare not air our true views lest we find ourselves devastated by a barrage of criticism for our lack of "political correctness".

It was in such an environment as this that God came down and spoke to a solitary man hiding in a winepress attempting simply to meet the needs of his family.

God calls men to leadership in our day, and as with Gideon, few of us are obvious leaders. In fact, when we find ourselves under attack by a culture that defies God's authority, we are tempted to throw up our hands in the face of the battle. We retreat, sure that we are only capable of caring for our own families. All the while our nation is slowly being starved out spiritually.

What was God's call to Gideon? "The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior". How we need to recognize what God is saying to us. We may not "feel" like leaders, but we must not miss this vital truth: the Lord is with us! We must move past our feelings and accept this truth by faith. When we begin to see with vision enlightened by the truth of Scripture, we see that we are not left to ourselves. Not only is God with us, he is also for us! "What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?" (Romans 8:31). Perhaps the most important truth is that He is also in us: "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (I John 4:4).

What did the angel mean when he pronounced the hiding, indecisive Gideon a "valiant warrior"? I believe God, who sees all things past, present, and future, saw Gideon as he really was under His gracious call. "So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy" (Romans 9:16). The apostle Paul makes a bold statement when he says, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13). The key to understanding the angel's seemingly premature announcement is to grasp the nature of God's call. "Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass" (1 Thess. 5:24). When God tells a man to do something, He gives the grace necessary to get the job done.

What, then, must be our response as men to God's call to leadership? Gideon's first task was to tear down the family idol. If Israel was to be set right again, they needed to submit to the authority of the one true God. We, too, must have no other gods but God. When we begin to regard God's word as our only authority in all areas of life, we will begin to step into the leadership for which we were called.

God's call to Gideon is a challenge for all Christian men today. The Lord is with you, and he pronounces you to be a valiant warrior. Let us rise up, renew our loyalty to God and His Word, and face that battle we are called to win.