It’s one of our favorite stories from the era of the Judges. God’s people are being oppressed by Midian and God has chosen an unlikely man to be their deliverer. Gideon is going to smash the Midianite army, but lest there be any doubt who is ultimately responsible for the victory, the Lord speaks with Gideon: “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.’” (Judges 7:2). Through a strange process, God winnows the army down to a mere 300. These 300 men will face an army of 130,000 and prevail. The story will conclude with these words: “So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon” (Judges 8:28).
What does that military disparity look like? Here’s a new infographic that displays it. (Click the image to see it in higher resolution)
If you’d like to purchase this image in high-resolution suitable for printing or to purchase a printed poster of it, visit VisualTheology.church. It looks really nice printed!
