God Math, Less > More

Insight 105 | Why Gideon? (Pt. 4)

Math can be challenging at times, especially with all the evolving quirks we keep giving it.

You know the ones I mean? Where returning something and getting a refund equates to “making” money according to Girl Math, or how being 5’10 and a half is essentially like being six feet according to Boy Calculations.

While these comments are made tongue-in-cheek, both pale in comparison to the kind of seemingly upside-down math God likes to do. The kind where less is almost always more, the underdog is the preferred candidate, and the first are last, while the last are first. It doesn’t make sense. That’s why it’s beautiful.

Let’s set the stage: Gideon has just earned a name after destroying the local idol altars and stands as a different man, a respected one. He’s no longer the guy from the lowly tribe, but he has moved a step closer to embracing his identity as a man of valor. It is here, after God has grown his courage, that Gideon begins to doubt once more. This is where his faith is strengthened, as we dissected previously. Now, here stands a man primed for the big moment we have all been waiting for: the war.

Gideon has gathered his warriors, about 32,000 in total, and has risen early to set up camp. According to the landmarks mentioned in the text, it is estimated that these men were between 3 and 6 miles away from the Midianites, close enough to see them, but far enough away to delay engagement. Here is where it gets interesting. Gideon's army was already small, about a fourth of the size of that of the Midianites, but right as it seems he is ready to go, the Lord comes knocking: “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’”

The 32,000 are too many? Doesn’t God realize they're up against an army four times their size? Mhm. So what does God do? He whittles down their numbers even more. He instructs Gideon to release those who are afraid, and as a result, 22,000 men leave. With 10,000 left, I bet Gideon was thinking, “Ok, now we are ready,” but God comes again, shakes things up, and says, “The people are still too many.” 😳

Can you imagine the look on Gideon's face, the one of absolute disbelief? The Lord could not be serious now, could He? Oh, God is, and He proceeds to separate the remaining men by a test, instructing Gideon to take the army to get water and only allow those who lap it from their hands instead of kneeling down to drink to stay.

This leaves 300 total soldiers.

It is here that, finally, God responds by proclaiming that “with the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand…” It’s at a 1-to-450-person ratio that God finally says, “Ok, we’re ready.”

Here is what I find fascinating about this narrative. Many of us go about our daily lives asking for more from life, praying for God to increase our productivity, our grind, our output. And yet, time and time again in Scripture, we see God do great things with little despite our desire for more. Our nature tells us we must first be older, smarter, and richer to be any good, while God keeps saying, “That's nice,” but it's not necessary.

Notice, God's strategy has never been ours. While Gideon was thinking of large army-to-army combat, God was thinking of a sneak attack. This is ultimately how the Lord instructs Gideon to defeat the Midianites, and, knowing this, He whittles down their numbers beforehand; otherwise, there would have been no way to approach that camp and make the most of the element of surprise. God knew the plan all along; Gideon and his men only needed to come along for the ride.

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Beyond all this, the true beauty of this type of “God Math” is the clarification the Lord provides at the beginning of the whittling, when He makes clear He is doing all this in order to keep our prideful natures from claiming, “My own hand has saved me.” When we take a moment to consider this, we realize how true it is. How quickly we are to take credit for everything that goes well in our lives while blaming our circumstances for the things that do not. But when things go well despite conventional wisdom, then it's clear who is behind it all.

See, when less is more, it puts us into a position where we must choose to rely on God; there is no other option. Faith does not know the details, but it trusts the credibility of the One giving the instructions. This is why the events in articles two and three of this series were so crucial; they built the backlog of evidence for God's reliability.

Ultimately, less is more when it comes to the way God likes to work. This is by no means a white flag to surrender all your efforts, but rather a message that says, do not become discouraged when you think you don’t have enough. That’s where God likes to work.

- Making The Most Of Being Curious,

Daniel J. Cuesta

Sources:

The Shrinking Of The Army: Judges 7:1–8

God Thoughts Are Not Ours:  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8–9

Other Evidence & Examples Of God Math:

• 1 Samuel 17, David vs. Goliath (God using the unlikely)

• Exodus 14,  Red Sea (God delivering when human strength is insufficient)

• John 6:1–14, Feeding the 5,000 (God multiplying little into much)

• Mark 12:41–44 & Luke 21:1–4, The widow's offering (God valuing little but given in faith)

• 2 Kings 4:1–7 — Widow's oil (God multiplying what seems insufficient)