Gideon's Staff

by Os Hillman

"With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread" (Judg 6:21).
Gideon was a farmer who threshed wheat for a living using a staff. This was commonly used in his day to beat out fitches and cummin (Isa 28:27), but now it was being used for wheat.

He was busy doing his work when an angel of God appeared to him. The angel told him that he was going to be used to deliver the people of Israel from the Midianites who had been ravaging their land and crops for seven years. God was calling Gideon to do a new type of threshing. Instead of threshing wheat, he was being called to thresh the Midianites.

God often calls men and women when they are in the middle of their workplace activities. Like Moses, Gideon received this word from God with reluctance and feelings of insecurity, citing that his family was of no stature to accomplish such a task. Nevertheless, God addressed Gideon as a "mighty warrior" (Judges 6:12).

God often sees us for what we will become, not what we think we are. Once Gideon determines through a series of fleeces that it truly is God speaking to him he does an interesting thing. He prepares an offering to the Lord of meat and bread. Once this offering is prepared, the angel uses the tip of his staff to consume the offering. Here God uses another symbol of his work to consummate a partnership to accomplish one of God's purposes in the nation of Israel. This time the staff is used to receive the offering presented to the Lord by touching the offering with the tip of his staff. God used the symbol of his work to ignite the fire that consumed the offering.

Be watchful for times when God orchestrates events during the commonplace activity of work. He may be orchestrating something through you for His purposes.