THE FEW WHO HELD THE TORCH: GIDEON'S UNLIKELY VICTORY
The air in the Valley of Jezreel tasted of dust and despair. Before me, the Midianite army sprawled like a locust swarm—countless tents, a forest of spears, the low thunder of 135,000 men preparing for war. And behind me? My army. Or what was left of it.
Just yesterday, I had 32,000 Israelites. Fearful, yes. Poorly equipped, certainly. But numbers, at least, offered the illusion of strength. Then came the strange command from the Lord: "Tell those who are afraid to go home." I watched, my heart sinking like a stone in the chest, as 22,000 men turned their backs on the valley and walked away. Leaders don't admit terror; they simply leave.
My remaining 10,000 men shifted uneasily. I, Gideon, son of Joash the farmer, felt the weight of their questioning stares. What kind of leader sends his own army away? The lesson was already etching itself upon my soul: A leader must first separate the willing from the merely present. Fear is contagious, but so is courage. It’s better to have a few committed than a multitude of reluctant.
But the winnowing wasn’t finished.
"Bring them down to the water," came the next instruction. I watched my men drink. Most fell to their knees, plunging their faces into the current, gulping desperately. A few, however—a mere 300—scooped water in their hands, lapping it up quickly, eyes never leaving the horizon, bodies coiled and ready.
I understood. The 300 saw the water as necessity. The 9,700 saw it as relief. The lesson seized me: True readiness is a state of mind. The best followers, and thus the greatest leaders, remain vigilant even in moments of respite. They never fully drop their guard.
Three hundred. Against an ocean.
We armed ourselves not with more swords, but with trumpets, empty jars, and torches. Madness. Yet, in that madness, another truth crystallized: Conventional strength invites conventional battle. To overcome impossible odds, you must rewrite the rules of engagement. Our weapons would be noise, light, and the paralysis of confusion—targeting not flesh, but spirit.
At the dead of night, we descended upon the camp in three companies. The silence was thick enough to choke on. Then, my signal—a shattered jar.
The night exploded.
Three hundred trumpets blared. Three hundred voices roared, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" Three hundred torches pierced the darkness, held high in our left hands while our right hands held… nothing but sound and fury.
In the Midianite camp, the chaos was immediate and total. The sudden cacophony from all sides, the ring of fire in the darkness—their minds conjured an army of countless thousands. In their terror, they turned their swords on each other. The lesson burned as bright as our torches: Perception can be a more powerful weapon than force. A unified few, acting with precise timing and shared conviction, can create the impact of a multitude.
We didn’t even draw our swords that night. We simply held the light and watched the enemy unravel from within.
By dawn, the mighty swarm was shattered, fleeing in disarray. The victory belonged to the 300, but more, it belonged to the principles we had stumbled upon, divine wisdom written in the grit of human experience.
They called it a miracle. And it was. But woven into the miracle were threads of leadership for any who would see:
1. Quality over Quantity. Build your core with the vigilant and committed.
2. Vigilance is Non-negotiable. The true test of readiness is in the mundane moment.
3. Innovate, Don’t Imitate. Fight your battle with your unique assets, not the enemy’s template.
4. Unity and Timing are Force Multipliers. A coordinated few can create overwhelming presence.
5. Sometimes, Holding the Light is Enough. Your role is not always to fight directly, but to illuminate, to signal, and to let confusion defeat the enemy.
I, Gideon, the reluctant farmer-leader, learned the hardest and finest lesson: True leadership isn’t about assembling the largest army. It’s about discerning the right few, equipping them not with what is expected, but with what is necessary, and having the faith to shatter the jar, letting your shared light break the darkness.
The torch is never held in the crowd. It is always held in the hand of the willing few.
© Saturday December 20th, 2025
Pastor Emmanuel Obu
The Apostle of Joy
