Unannounced Tests
Devotions for Growing Christians
Unannounced Tests
Judges 7:4 - Then the Lord said to Gideon, "The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there."
Read all of Judges 6 and 7.
[This devotion was written in the early 1970s, primarily for college students.]
September - and school is here again. It's hard to believe, but it won't be long before midterm exams are upon us! This is not a pleasant thought, but at least you can prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for an exam. What really hurts are those unannounced tests that teachers spring on you - the so-called "pop quizzes" that can be devastating.
From the teacher's perspective, however, those unannounced tests are very revealing. They certainly separate the dedicated students from last-minute crammers! And they invariably point out the difference in attitudes that students have towards their studies - and their teachers! Unannounced tests are very indicative of where a student is coming from - and where a student is at. Unannounced tests cause the students’ masks to come off!
Every growing Christian is a student in the school of God, and the Teacher has the policy of giving unannounced tests. God gives unannounced tests to measure our faith. Sometimes they’re small quizzes and other times they are very big. They can be administered anywhere, and in any of our everyday situations. These tests are so unannounced that many times we don't even know that we're being tested. But God knows, and He's watching to see how we do. He's interested in our attitudes toward Him and our whole approach to studies in His school.
Background
Judges 7 is the account of some unannounced tests that God gave during the days of the judges. Judges were the rulers in Israel before the time of the kings. Gideon was one of the judges whom God used to deliver Israel from the Midianites. Midian was located on the east side of the Jordan River, and it was an enemy of Israel. The Midianites method for keeping Israel in subjection was unique. Every year at harvest time hordes of camel-riding Midianites would swarm across the Jordan into Israeli territory - taking whatever crops they wanted, and ravaging and destroying the rest! They took every sheep, ox and donkey they saw.
These marauding raids had gone on for seven straight years No wonder many Israelites hid in mountain dens and caves as the Midianites approached! And no wonder they finally cried to the Lord. (See this background in Judges 6:1-6.) You see, Israel had sinned, so the Lord permitted them to be defeated by the Midianites. Finally, after seven long years of privation and discipline, Israel got the message and turned again to the Lord. Just as in Gudeon’s day, God's discipline for His people today is always programmed to turn wayward hearts back to Him. (See Hebrews 12:3-11.)
Who Will Answer?
The first unannounced test that God gave His people was the "Who Will Answer?" test. The Midianites had swept across the Jordan for the eighth straight year of harvest looting (6:33). In the power of the Spirit of the Lord, Gideon sent out a call to the people of Israel to gather and fight the enemy. This summons was the call of God.
The appeal went out first to Gideon's family; then to his own tribe, Manasseh; then finally to the surrounding tribes of Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali (6:34-35). Many responded to the call - but not everyone. 33,000 men responded to God's call, but there were certainly more than that in the combined tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali (7:5). There were probably many good reasons - as well as obvious excuses - for refusing the call. "A hopeless cause!" "Why should I submit to Gideon?" "Let the other tribestake their fair share of the load!" "I'm busy reinforcing my mountain hideout!"
The "Who Will Answer" test is still being given to God's people today. The enemy of our souls is "ravaging the land" all around us. Satan is at work in your schools and at your job. Moral standards and truth are up for grabs. God's call goes out to every growing Christian to join in the battle. The call is not just for foreign missionaries or "those in the ministry,” but for all of us. What are we doing to fight the enemy right where we are? Are we helping out with the thrust of Christian witness on campus - or are we running to the hideouts of delay and indecision? Have we joined the Bible study that a "Gideon" is starting where we work - or are we watching the effort fizzle from the security of our non-committed caves? If we refuse to respond to the call, the enemy will continue his devastating work, and we will fail God's unannounced test.
Who is Afraid?
A second unannounced test was given to Gideon and his followers in Judges 7:1-3. Let's call this the "Who Is Afraid?" test. This test came when Gideon brought his recruits to the Valley of Jezreel, where the enemy armies were camped. Looking down from the hills bordering the southern edge of this large valley, the Midianite camp could be seen stretched out below. There were so many enemy troops that they looked like locusts covering the land - as “numerous as the sand on the seashore” (7:12)! Imagine yourself as one of the Israeli enlistees, getting your first glimpse of the enemy. "What have I gotten myself into?" "I never realized what I was being called to do!" "I'm all for coming out of the caves - but not now!" "I'm going AWOL the first chance I get!"
Well, Gideon's men didn't have to wait very long before they got the chance to drop out and run home. The Lord said that anyone who was afraid could bail out immediately - and more than two-thirds of Gideon's army ran for home! Little did they realize that they had just failed an unannounced test!
The Lord still administers the "Who Is Afraid?" test as a measure of our faith. He never forces us to fight if we want to run for shelter, but He does test us. Are we willing to stand up for the Lord when confronted with the enemy? Do we stand up (maybe alone) for the truth of the Bible in our classes - even if it means a lower grade? Do we stand up for the absolute moral values of Scripture in the dorm, or on the job - even though everyone else is running? This takes guts. It takes a tested faith.
Who is Alert?
The third unannounced test for Gideon's followers was the "Who Is Alert?" test. It was given to the 10,000 brave soldiers who still hung in there (7:4-7). This third test was administered at the water spring where they camped. Gideon's men never dreamed that they were being tested by the way they got a drink of water, but the way they quenched their thirst was very significant. It indicated whether or not they were watchful and alert to the enemy. If they carelessly got down on all fours and immersed their faces in the cool water, it was obvious that they were more concerned about meeting their own needs than watching for the enemy, or getting on with the battle. But if they took water up in their cupped hands and lapped it so that they could still keep their eye out for the enemy, that showed they were alert and ready for battle. Only 300 men passed this test - only 3 percent!
Only a small percentage of Christians pass the "Who Is Alert?" test today. We're more concerned about ourselves and our needs than with fighting the battles of the Lord. Ephesians 6:10-18 warns us that we are in a spiritual battle, and we must not fail to be alert. We’re not alert if we’re more concerned about our physical comfort than about our spiritual condition. We’re not alert if we’re more concerned about our success in this world than about enemy advances in our family or fellowship. Good intentions have never yet won a battle - or passed an unannounced test! As in Gideon's day, the way we go about meeting our basic needs is a good indication of where we are spiritually, and whether or not we're passing the "Who Is Alert?" test.
Gideon's 300 men who passed all three tests were a pitifully small army - much less than 1 percent of the enemy's 135,000 men (8:10)! Imagine Gideon's shock as God whittled his army down to a mere handful - and how much faith he needed to keep moving ahead to the battle! Gideon probably breathed a sigh of relief when God finally stopped saying, "You have too many people!" But how could a band of 300 men with trumpets and torches defeat 135,000 well-equipped men? No problem! Just one tested soldier - plus God - is always a majority! Read the rest of Judges 7 and see how the Lord pulled off the victory with the 300 men passed the faith test!
This is always God's way. The “Special Forces” in God’s army are the soldiers whose faith has been demonstrated by passing His unannounced tests!
- Dave Reid