From One Man to an Army: How God Builds a Movement

The Covenant and the Cousins

We’re in Judges 6, towards the end of the chapter, and Gideon is entering a new phase. He has encountered God, offered himself as a burnt offering, done the work of confrontation, faced the murderous wrath of the village, and been protected from an unexpected source — his own father, the keeper of the Baal monument. Now things are going to change exponentially.

Verse 33 tells us the Midianites were the cousins of Israel. They were descended from Abraham himself, and Moses’ father-in-law Jethro was a priest of Midian — a God-fearing man. But the Midianites had departed completely from that religion. Israel would have been in the same place, were it not for God’s covenant with them. And this is our comfort as a covenanted people: not for our merit, but because of his mercy and his covenant, the Lord will remember and will bring us back.

We should also note how the Midianites struck their blow against Israel earlier in the story — through the women of Baal Peor, leading the men into sexual immorality. There is no natural enemy to the covenant people. We are at the top of the food chain, so to speak. If we forget who we are, if we cannot articulate what the covenant is, we are open to precisely this kind of destruction from within.

The Trumpet and What It Means

Verse 34: But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew the trumpet, and the men of his clan gathered behind him.

The first mention of trumpets in scripture is in Exodus 19, just before the giving of the law at Sinai, where God’s voice was like the sound of a loud trumpet. The trumpet therefore carries the presence of God, the power of God, the nearness of God — all wrapped up in the covenant, because it was at Sinai that the covenant of the Ten Commandments was given.

But there is something even more specific. Numbers 10:9 is the key: When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. This is a law of God, and Gideon knew it. He was not blowing the trumpet because it seemed like a good idea. He was obeying the manual. From the moment that shofar sounded, victory was guaranteed — not because of the sound itself, but because God had bound himself by his covenant word.

The Spirit Wore Gideon

The New King James says: The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon. But that is not quite right. The Hebrew word is lavash — the Spirit clothed himself with Gideon. The Spirit put Gideon on like a garment. Who is passive — the garment or the person wearing it? The garment. The Spirit was the active one. Gideon was the instrument the Spirit took up and wore.

This is how God works. It is a mystery — somehow our actions, weak and sinful as we are, are still attributed to us and rewarded by God’s covenant. But here the picture is clear: the Spirit of the Lord put on Gideon. That is why what happened next was so different from the previous seven years. The same people, the same land, the same enemy — but God was now acting.

This is the day of the Lord. This is Anno Domini — the year of our Lord. He is more active now, not less.

The Movement Grows

The trajectory is worth tracing in full. One man alone in the winepress. Then ten men for the altar-tearing operation. Then the men of his own clan — perhaps hundreds or thousands — gathered behind him when he blew the trumpet. Then he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and more gathered. Then Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali came up to meet him.

He didn’t go around grabbing people by the collar. He blew the trumpet and they came. He sent messengers — he delegated immediately, the very second thing he did under the Spirit’s influence — and the movement grew.

We think so individualistically about the faith. Jesus and me in the garden. But Gideon was never alone after that trumpet blast. Who could keep the crowds away from God’s chosen man? How could he even have had peace? It is an analogous situation to Jesus leading twelve disciples through a perpetual crowd. When God’s man is moving in his calling, he is never alone.

Democracy Is Not the Model

We live in a democratic age and have absorbed democratic assumptions into our reading of everything — including the Bible. Well, it’s just me, living in my own world, and it doesn’t really matter what the leader does. But that is not how God’s world works. He appoints leaders. He uses leaders. Jeremiah tells us that without godly leadership, the mighty warrior becomes like a woman. Under their idolatry, the men of Israel were nowhere — defeated, passive, heads down.

But with the courage of one man in his God-given calling, thousands came to life and followed. That is not democracy. That is God’s appointed order. Not all are entrepreneurs. Not all are leaders. But there are leaders and there are those who serve under leaders, and both callings are good and necessary.

Where Were the Others?

Where had Manasseh been for seven years? Where had Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali been? When the altar of Baal was broken down and demonstrated to be nothing — when they had nowhere left to go — they rallied behind the Lord’s man. The disciples said it too: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

As the modern state, with all its messianic pretensions, continues to prove itself useless — as it demonstrates that it cannot deliver what it promises — people who seemed entirely nominal will need somewhere to go. With the right leadership, with God’s appointed man blowing the trumpet, they will come. They did it then. They will do it again.

God bless you. Please follow and share. We’ll see you next time.