#Poetry #Poem
GIDEON
by Bill Kochman
11-29-2017
There was once a man from Ophrah,
Gideon was the young lad’s name,
An Angel appeared under an oak,
Then that boy began to complain.
If the Lord GOD really be with us,
As in all the glorious days past,
Then why do Midianites afflict us?
Such was the question he did ask.
You shall indeed smite your enemy,
Thus was the answer he did receive,
But I am the least in my own house,
How am I even supposed to believe?
So the Lord gave the youth a sign,
After a meal for the Angel he made,
A fire then came up out of the rock,
And consumed the food where it laid.
The same night the LORD spoke to him,
Throw down your dad’s altar to Baal,
Build another unto the LORD instead,
And cut down your dad’s grove as well.
Gideon did as he had been commanded,
But the people didn’t like this thing,
They wanted to kill that brave boy,
Joash, your son to us you must bring.
But Dad firmly defended his own son,
Let Baal plead for himself he said,
So the townsfolk then all backed down,
And dear Gideon didn’t lose his head.
But doubts yet lingered in his heart,
So he twice tested with the fleece,
Both times God answered affirmative,
Which gave Gideon’s heart some peace.
Now once he had gathered his armies,
The LORD said there are too many men,
They will take credit for the victory,
We must cut back their numbers again.
The fearful were ordered to go home,
Yet 10,000 soldiers still remained,
But after conducting the water test,
Only 300 fighters had Gideon retained.
Despite the tiny size of Israel’s army,
We know the Midianites were done in,
God is not limited by small numbers,
The Lord of Hosts will always win.
