Gideon Defeats the Midianites
1280 BC
📂 BIBLICAL
📖 About This Event
Gideon's defeat of the Midianites is one of the most extraordinary military victories in Scripture. When the Midianites raided Israel, the people hid in caves and clefts of the rocks. An angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon while he was threshing wheat in secret, calling him a 'mighty man of valor.' Gideon doubted himself: 'My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.' But God assured him: 'I will be with you.'
Before the battle, God repeatedly reduced Gideon's army to demonstrate that the victory would be His, not Israel's. First, he dismissed all who were fearful (22,000 left). Then God reduced the army from 10,000 to just 300 men—those who lapped water from the stream with their tongues. With these 300 men, equipped only with trumpets, empty jars, and torches, Gideon surrounded the Midianite camp at midnight, blew the trumpets, shattered the jars, and shouted, 'A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!' The Midianite army panicked and turned on each other, with 120,000 slain.
The Catholic Church sees in Gideon's story the principle that God's power is made perfect in weakness. Despite Gideon's initial fear and God's seemingly foolish strategy, the victory was complete. Key Scripture: Judges 6-8; Hebrews 11:32; CCC 37
📜 Key Facts
Date
1280 BC
Category
Biblical
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