Jerry Taylor, "Surviving the Hand of Midian (Judges 6:11-24)"

The story of Gideon unfolds in a time of devastation. Midian had come like a relentless storm, sweeping over Israel, stripping the land bare, leaving hunger where there had been plenty, and fear where there had been strength. The people, once free, now hid in mountain clefts and caves, their lives reduced to survival, their hope nearly extinguished. Midian had not just taken their resources; Midian had taken their spirit. And so, in the depth of their suffering, Israel cried out to the Lord. In this season of fear, God’s messenger does not appear in a palace or a temple, but beside a man hiding in a winepress, threshing wheat in secret, afraid to lose what little remains. If God is truly with them, then why is everything falling apart? Where are the miracles their ancestors spoke of? Where is the God who split seas and delivered nations? The question is no longer where God is, but rather what we will do with the call he has placed upon us.