Often it is explained that God heavily reduced Gideon’s army to emphasize God’s ability to deliver whether by many or by few. But while it is true that God can do this, that is not what is going on here. God’s reduction of the army was meant to put Gideon in a position where what is in his heart—fear—would be exposed. Gideon, by his request for signs with the fleece, had hoped to gain some kind of self-assurance that things would turn out well. Even though God granted that request, he immediately follows the signs by putting Gideon in a very vulnerable position. For God wants to dissolve Gideon’s self-assurance, bring him to a moment when all human confidence is stripped away, in order to expose to Gideon his problem—fear.1,2
3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.