“And the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?’ And he said to him, ‘Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.’” (Judges 6:14-15)
Remarkably, the angel of the Lord does not argue with Gideon. Gideon doesn’t believe that God is with the people, because he has not experienced anything like that. In response to this reproach, the Lord does not give him theological arguments, but a command. He does not refute Gideon’s skeptical thoughts, but will show by actions that He is indeed involved with His people.
But even now Gideon responds negatively. He does not see himself as a “mighty warrior” at all. He has no important position within his family and certainly not within the people as a whole. Therefore, he considers himself unfit to redeem Israel. Someone else should do the job! The fact that God gives him this task is not decisive for Gideon. His own reservations are more important.
Gideon is not the only one who rejects a commission from God. When Jeremiah was called as a prophet, he protested, “I am too young!” When Saul was appointed king, he hid. He too considered himself and his family not important enough. When Moses was appointed leader of Israel, he objected, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
Can you understand why these men protested God’s command? Was their response right? What would your reaction be if you were called or asked for a particular task?