The previous judges, Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar, obeyed the Lord’s call without question. Barak was the first to place a stipulation on going—that Deborah would go with him. Gideon was an even more reluctant judge, not content with the assurance that the Lord himself would go with him. Gideon does not realize that in the Lord’s work, it does not matter what one’s social position is. For if God is with you, that is all you really need.
15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”