Magyar Egyház, 1994 (73. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1994 / 1. szám
12. oldal MAGYAR EGYHÁZ REFLECTIONS ON GIDEON Judges 7:33-40 We like to think of our heroes as strong, selfconfident and resolute. Aware of our own doubts and weaknesses, we like to fantasize about Leaders whose will and vision will keep us secure and take us where we want to go. In our century, dictators like Hitler and Stalin have offered themselves to their countrymen as such fantasy heroes, and used techniques of terror to reinforce their image of omnipotence. But democratic societies have their share of fantasy heroes as well: rugged movie stars like John Wayne, or handsome presidents like John Kennedy. Surprisingly, such heroes are in short supply in the Bible. We read of Moses, fleeing Egypt to escape prosecution for murder, then meeting God at the burning bush and receiving his orders to return to Egypt to lead his people out of slavery. Moses responds by using every argument he can think of to persuade God of his incompetence and inadequacy. God doesn’t deny that Moses has the weaknesses he says he has. He simply reassures him that He will supply every need, and repeats his order. We read of Barak, the Israelite general, called by Deborah to gather his forces against the Canaanite oppressor Sisera. He agrees to go only if Deborah will go with him. And we read of Gideon, keeping a low profile to escape the attention of the Midianite raiders who are ravaging the land, called by God to lead the Israelite resistance. Gideon protests that is far too weak and insignificant to attempt any such thing, and agrees to go ahead only after requesting and receiving one reassurance after another that God is really with him. As the battle nears, God takes steps to insure that Gideon does not forget his own weakness, and his reliance on God’s strength. He commands Gideon, who assembled a force of thousands, to send home all hut three hundred. With these three hundred, he utterly routs the vast hordes of the Midianites. And, with his nation free, Gideon refuses the offer of kingship, and seeks only a comfortable retirement, knowing that Israel’s safety lies in the knowledge that God is their king. The story has an unhappy sequel. Gideon’s illegitimate son Abimelech murders his brothers and sets himself up as king in Shechem, bringing misery to his country and a shameful early death to himself. Perhaps the only thing more dangerous than the temptation to idol-worship is the temptation to make oneself into an idol for others to worship. We may think that we have enough insecurities, enough awareness of our own limitations, to be safe from that temptation. But sincere Christians may at times become confused as to whether they are relying on Christ’s strength, or Christ is relying on theirs. We may think that it is incumbent on us as Christians to exhibit a stronger faith than did Moses on Barak or Gideon; to be less hesitant, and offer fewer excuses when saddled with tasks which seem beyond our power. As Protestants, we reject worksrighteousness. We don’t expect to earn our salvation by impressing God with our marvelous accomplishments. We believe in salvation by faith, which ought to mean we trust in God’s strength rather than our own. But it sometimes seems to mean that we must try to win salvation by impressing God with the strength of our marvelous faith. In the Bible, God makes frequent use of agents who are plagued by an awareness of their own inadequacies and failures. This seems strange, particularly in a culture like that of America, with its bias toward optimistic individualism. The favored doctrine in America is that men (or women) can accomplish anything they set their minds to. Selfconfidence is applauded, even in the absence of achievement. Self-douhts are frowned upon, even if they are entirely realistic. This is not the message of the Bible. There are many goals we can set our minds to that will lead only to disappointment and disaster. The goals we can achieve, despite our weakness, are those that God sets for us, and gives us the grace to follow. Faith, if by that word we merely mean self-confidence, is a weak reed that will not sustain us. Our strength lies not in our supposed possession of an invincible faith, but in our awareness that we serve an invincible God. In serving him, and dealing with him, the first requirement is honesty. Job bitterly complained to God of injustice, rather than follow his friends’ advice to make false confession of sins of which he was unaware. And it was Job, rather than his friends, who was justified. Learning to be honest with God, and thus with ourselves, involves facing our weaknesses as well as our strengths, our doubts as well as our certainties. If we are honest to God, like Moses and Gideon, we will find him prepared to supply what we lack. If we try to pose for him as more impressive than we really are, he is likely to look elsewhere for his servants. Rev. Edwin Stern
