Judges 6:11,15 (NKJV) Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites…So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
Israel was being attacked by the Midianites because Israel had violated their covenant with God. However, God responded to their cry and delivered them from the Midianites by raising up Gideon.
As God’s chosen people, the Israelites were in a covenant relationship with Him. Unfortunately, the law of Moses only served to show them what sin was and that it could never make them righteous before God. No matter how hard they tried, they still fell short of God’s expectation, and their self-righteousness was like filthy rags before God. Therefore, many of them did not dare think that they could do great exploits for God unless they knew of the covenant obligations and knew God personally. Gideon had heard about God from his forefathers and their experiences of leaving Egypt and crossing the Red Sea, but he didn’t know God personally.
Our self-image is influenced by the words and actions of the people in our lives and our life circumstances. They mould our thinking and how we behave in life. Many of us have developed our identity based on our sense of self-worth, which is based on our achievements. By doing that, we have allowed the world to determine our worth—this is how we identify ourselves in the “old man”. Sadly, because we live in a broken and fallen world, people will only cheer for us when we are at the prime of our lives because the world operates on conditional love.
Self-image has two extremes: strong self-ego and under confidence. Gideon belongs to the latter category. He looked at himself as coming from the weakest clan and the least looked upon in his father’s house. Gideon likely allowed the wrong voices to mould his thinking and self-worth, and they have created a wrong identity for him. His self-image explains why he was hiding in fear and threshing wheat at the winepress.
Judges 6:12 (NKJV) And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour!”
However, Gideon had a dramatic change in his life after he knew and accepted how God looked at him and believed the promises that God gave him. Likewise, we need to have our identity in Christ and choose to see ourselves based on how God sees us. This way, we will be able to overcome every situation, and come to a position of rest where we can cease from seeking man’s approval.
Sermon Series: How to Do Well in Your New Identity?
祂说你是谁 你就是谁
士师记6:11，15 耶和华的使者到了俄弗拉，坐在亚比以谢族人约阿施的橡树下。约阿施的儿子基甸正在酒榨那里打麦子，为要防备米甸人。…基甸说：“主啊，我有何能拯救以色列人呢？我家在玛拿西支派中是至贫穷的，我在我父家是至微小的。”
以色列当时被米甸人攻击是因为以色列人违背了跟神所立的盟约。但是神还是回应了他们的呼求，兴起了基甸拯救以色列免遭米甸人的毒手。
作为神的选民，以色列人与神是有着盟约的关系的，可惜摩西的律法只表明了罪是什么但永远不能够让他们在神面前称义。无论他们如何努力，他们依旧达不到上帝的期望。他们的自义在神面前就像肮脏的抹布。因此，他们很多人都不敢想象自己能为神成就大事，除非他们知道盟约的义务，并且亲自认识神。基甸也从他祖先哪里得知道神以及他们出埃及和过红海的经历，但是他本人并不认识神。
我们的自我形象会受周遭人们的言行以及我们自己的生活环境的影响。这些因素塑造我们的思维以及我们生活中的行为。我们许多人是按照因成就而来的自我价值感而发展了自己的身份。这么做，其实我们是允许世界来决定我们的价值—这就是我们还是老我的时候定义自我的方式。悲哀的是，因为我们生存在一个破碎堕落的世界，人只会在春风得意时才会为我们喝彩。因为这个世界是在有条件的爱之下运行的。
自我形象有两个极端： 强烈自我和缺乏自信。 基甸属于第二类。他看自己是各支派中至贫穷的，在他父家是至微小的。基甸应该是允许了错误的声音来塑造他的思维和自我价值，这些都为他制造了一个错误的身份。他这个错误的自我形象解释了为什么他吓得躲进酒榨里面打麦子。
士师记 6:12 耶和华的使者向基甸显现，对他说：“大能的勇士啊，耶和华与你同在！”
然而，当他知道并接受上帝对他的看法，并且相信上帝所给他的应许之后，他的生命就有了戏剧性的变化。同样地，我们要在基督里拥有正确的身份，按照神看我们的眼光来看自己。这样，我们就能够来到安息之处，在那里，我们不再寻求人的认可。
讲章系列：如何演绎好你的新身份?