The title, apart from being a paradox, is a truth we find in the Bible. We even have a song about it, ‘Let the weak say I am strong’. But is that true? If you want a strong Olympic team you don’t pick the weak. Typically, the strong beat up the weak. History is full of stories showcasing the power of the strong. But is overpowering someone a true indication of strength? When you take a closer look, the opposite begins to be true. True strength seems to be found in the one who endures the abuse (the weak) not the one handing it out. In showing off your strength you may actually be showing weakness instead!
Consider the mighty Roman Empire around 2000 years ago. It was strong, conquering the weaker nations. Israel was under Roman oppression. But it was at this time of weakness, that God sent the Saviour. For years they had read about Him and were aware that one day soon He would appear. They expected the Messiah to be strong and mighty, to liberate them from the power of Rome. Finally, the time had arrived. He was here. In 30 AD He opened His first major public address with these words:
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God (Matthew 5:3-9 NAS).
I can imagine people saying, ‘Come on Jesus, what’s this “weak” talk? We want a kingdom of our own. You talk of a “Kingdom” but why would peace-making, poor, gentle, merciful people get it? They are the weak ones! It’s the strong who rule and conquer’. Jesus wasn’t what they expected but then, neither was Gideon. Earlier in their history (1000 BC) the Israelites were suffering under oppression and about to be wiped out by two foreign armies, the Midianites and the Amalekites. ‘Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the East were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts: and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore (Judges 7)’. To fight this mighty army, God picked a weakling, Gideon.
Gideon was no strong warrior. He was actually in the cowardly process of hiding things from the Midianites when the word of the Lord came to him. Verse 14 says, ‘Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?’ The strength God was referring to was his weakness. Gideon started with an army of 32,000. That’s not bad but it was nothing compared with ‘numerous as locusts’. So what did God do? He cut the numbers back to 10,000, but this still wasn’t weak enough! So through a simple test at the river He finally reduced it to 300 men. This battle plan reminds me of 2 Corinthians 12:9, ‘My power is perfected in weakness’.
God then took away their swords and shields and gave them each a torch and a trumpet instead. To our human minds it seems quite foolish. Let’s face it, a trumpet is probably not the best weapon for hand-to-hand combat, maybe if it was played really badly it might put someone off their swing, but that is hardly a sensible battle plan. As a weapon it is totally inadequate, but to God it guaranteed His strength could be perfected. Gideon’s army was now ready to fight the battle and defeat the enemy God’s way, totally depending on His strength.
The story of how God defeated Gideon’s enemies was all about freedom from oppression, about a battle for power. And this was exactly what Israel was expecting Jesus, the Messiah, to do - raise an army and free them from the Romans and establish their kingdom. Jesus did come for a kingdom, and He did come for a war, and He did come in power to conquer; but the kingdom was the Kingdom of God, and the war was for the souls of mankind, and the power was to overcome sin and death.
Weakness is your greatest strength! You can’t get strong or grow unless you are weak. Does an athlete gain endurance from the first five kms or the last five? Do you gain strength and muscle from the first ten arm curls or the last ten? At which point are you the weakest? Your opportunity to grow, develop endurance, get stronger is only ever when you are weak. If you give in when you feel weak you waste all the work you’ve done to get there. You don’t change or grow when it is easy and you are comfortable. This law of weakness applies to every area of life, especially the spiritual things like building your character and conquering bad habits.
I Corinthians 1:25 says, ‘Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men’. Verse 27, ‘But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things that are strong.’ Is God really foolish? Maybe that line could be explained by saying, ‘His ways are not our ways’. The story how God prepared Gideon’s army certainly seems foolish. But weak? When was God weak? Maybe it was when He was on that cross. The God of the universe was pinned by metal spikes to a rough wooden cross, wearing a crown of thorns and dying at the hands of His own creation. No scene of weakness could ever be greater, but it was there God was at His strongest.
It was there, in that weak state, Christ won the biggest battle, a battle that changed the course of eternity for you and me. Do you realise the power of sin and death were conquered that day by a battered Man nailed to a cross? Certainly sounds foolish. Yet, weakness to us is strength to God. ‘My grace is sufficient for you, FOR POWER IS PERFECTED IN WEAKNESS. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weakness, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; FOR WHEN I AM WEAK THEN I AM STRONG’ (emphasis mine, 2 Corinthians 12:9 NAS).