Original Entry:
December 30, 2008
McMinnville, OR
The
angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to
Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to
keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he
said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." Judges 6:11-12
Several years ago I
set out to make the 22 mile round trip hike up Mt Whitney in a day. I am not a mountaineer so climbing a mountain
was a new and great challenge. Mt.
Whitney is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States at 14, 505 feet
tall. Beginning my hike at 8,600 feet
would still require over 6000 feet in elevation gain.
Knowing I needed a
partner I was shocked at the men who said no.
One great mountaineer who later followed my tracks to the top of Whitney
and ultimately made (but failed) an attempt at Mt. Everest called me
crazy! I was taken back by the fear
displayed in normally courageous men. It wasn’t until I encountered Jared who,
like me, was ignorant enough to say, “Yes!”
The first step on our
climb to the summit Mt. Whitney was stepping over fear. Gideon’s first step as
a “mighty warrior” was out of the wine press.
When the angel of the Lord visited him Gideon was threshing wheat in a
wine press. A wine press was a stone
structure about two to three feet tall and at most about six feet in
diameter. Threshing was a fairly
aggressive movement and must have taken great effort of Gideon’s part to thresh
wheat while bent over hiding! By Gideon’s admission he was the weakest man in
the weakest family of the weakest of the tribes of Israel.
Gideon was the
weakest of the weak, wimpiest of all wimps, and at the bottom of the food
chain.
"The
LORD is with you (Gideon), mighty warrior" (Judges 6:12).
What!
Isn’t he hiding in
there?
Yes, but God sees
beyond the wine press. God sees the His divine intent for a man who is willing
to take the first step out of the wine press. Gideon was the weakest of the
weak but he will be remembered as a mighty warrior because he had the courage
to take a step of faith over the wall of fear.
What winepress is
holding you back today?
