Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord your God, who teaches you how to succeed, who leads you in the way you should go.

The Lord has chosen Israel and the Lord leads them, shows them the path, what to do, where to go, and how to go. Every detail is given to them, though they are intelligent, powerful and strong in every sense. They are very good but still they are always dependent on God. Whom does God select to use for mighty things? If you read the Bible, you will be shocked. Unlike all the other books in the world, this is special because here the superstars are the zeroes of the world. In front of the whole world, they are zeroes and nothing. However, God made them all heroes because they trusted God and depended on Him.

I am the Lord your God who teaches you. God teaches them and for their own good who leads them the way you should go. If you check everyone or recall every incident from the Bible, you will come to know this. God selected as the first Pope, a fisherman who was illiterate. He is not so diplomatic because he speaks whatever is there in his mind, without thinking twice. Still, God has chosen him. Peter also made many mistakes. He denied Jesus and he is also one of those close followers who ran away after the Jesus was arrested. Yet, God used him. All the other disciples were also not perfect. They were fishermen, tax collectors and zealots. Tax collectors were hated by everyone, while zealots were criminals according to the law of Roma.  Still God selected them. 

So, God always chooses the lowly ones. From the apocryphal books, we know Mother Mary was a child of Joachim and Anna in their old age and when she was almost around three or three years old, she was offered in the temple and she was brought up in the temple. Meanwhile, Joachim and Anna died and she was brought up as an orphan. According to the tradition, Mother Mary, was an ordinary girl, no family of her own. God has chosen this girl to be the mother of the Messiah. So all those who feel that you are good for nothing, you’re useless, you are incapable, then there is a big potential for you to be the next hero. The only thing here that you need to do is trust in the Lord. The Word of God says if you think you are good for nothing, you are useless, you are incapable, then the next thing that you need to do totally depend on God. Then you will see the wonders when you totally surrender to the Lord. At times, you might not be able to make a decision for yourself. God says, “I will lead you, I will show you the path, I will direct you, I will show you the right way to take. You will see and you just need to obey me.” 

This incident from Judges 7: 1 onwards illustrates the importance of how God chooses the weak and strengthens them.

Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the troops who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod, and the camp of Midian was north of them, below^[a] the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

Jerubbaal, also known as Gideon, was the chosen one who was leading Israel’s fight against the enemy nations. The Midianites were encamped and all ready to fight Israel. Let’s recall the incident where Gideon is chosen to become the leader of the Israel army in the previous chapter. 

Judges 6:11- Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

In those days, the Israelites were scared of the Midianites. Their future leader Gideon was also very afraid of the Midianites. So when he wanted to harvest wheat, Gideon went to the wine press and was beating out the wheat in secret. He did this to avoid the Midianites who would take away the grain, if they came to know of it. The incident shows that Gideon was incapable and was trying to carry out his work in secret for fear of the enemies. At this juncture, an Angel of the Lord came to meet Gideon.

Judges 6:12 – The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.”

This is contradictory statement as Gideon is an ordinary man who is so scared that he is secretly beating wheat inside the wine press. The Angel looked at this seemingly fearful man and said, “The Lord is with you.”

My dear brothers and sisters, God calls you not based on who you are or on what is your capacity. That is not the criteria to be selected by God. Rather, God looks forward. God is thinking of you as to what He can make out of you. He has a plan for your future. He does not look at you based on your past and present, but He sees you for what you would become according to His plan. 

Gideon looked at himself, poorly built for a warrior and not at all courageous. He is shocked at the greeting of the Angel. It is important to remember that God looks at your future and calls you. Don’t be ashamed, don’t be hesitant, and don’t be afraid. Get up and believe that you are a mighty warrior. Don’t argue with God and say, “You have come to me. I am guilty. I am only an ordinary man. I’m not a warrior, I’m not a soldier. I have never trained. I never went to this army.”

My dear brothers and sisters, when God selects you, there is a tendency for us to think about our inability and say, “I am useless Lord, don’t select me. Why are you calling me? What is your plan for me? What are you thinking about me?” The Lord says, “Don’t worry about you. Don’t worry about your past, present, I know your future.”

My dear brothers and sisters, we all have a plan about God. We have an idea about God. A God should be like these. Whenever we are in need of some food, God should bring some biryani and whenever we want to go for a journey, God should provide us with a vehicle. When we are ready for marriage, God should bring the spouse. But God says, “I have a plan for you.” This is the big conflict that goes on inside of us. God has a plan. We have a plan, but unfortunately our plans are so limited. God has never imagined a Gideon who is sitting hiding in a wine press beating the wheat. If you go to read what God did for this Gideon, you will be surprised.

Judges 6:13 – Gideon answered him, “But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian.

Many people question God like Gideon and ask, “how can I be hiding here and secretly beating the wheat so that no one should come and attack me. Where is this God? If God is with me, where is he? Where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us?”

Judges 6:14 – Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.”

God said. “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian”. Gideon has got a zeal. He is questioning God, “where are you? We believe in the old history and we have heard in the past you have protected us but now where are you?” Then God says, “Go now, with this zeal inside of you. Though you do not look like a warrior, with this zeal inside of you, go and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. I hereby commission you.”

Judges 6:15- He responded, “But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 

My dear brothers and sisters, we must remember that God always selects the weakest, useless and good for nothing. If anybody thinks that you are like this, remember you have a great potential. God chooses you. God selects you. There is another passage which speaks very clearly about this, when Samuel wanted to select Saul as the first king.

1 Samuel 9:21 – Saul answered, “I am only a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”

See, Saul comes from a weak family. His family history is not so significant. Yet, God has chosen him to be the first king.

Judges 6:16 – The Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them.”

My dear brothers and sisters, if anybody thinks you are good for nothing, you are useless, you are helpless, and you cannot do anything, you are incapable of taking any initiative, the Lord says, “I will be with you.”

Mother Mary said, “How is it possible? How can it be?” Then the Lord said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you.” Anyone who feels you cannot, then you are the right person to be chosen by God. Anyone who feels that they are incapable, then they are the right one to be chosen by God. There is only one thing you need to do. Trust in God and He says, “I will be with you.” Our Lord always wants to be with those people who feel that they are nothing. 

Those who think, “I can do everything, I am able, I am capable, I am intelligent, I am brilliant.”  They don’t need God and God need not be with them unless they also admit that even though I have these things, I still need God.

Judges 7:1&2 – Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the troops who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod, and the camp of Midian was north of them, below^[a] the hill of Moreh, in the valley. The Lord said to Gideon, “The troops with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand. Israel would only take the credit away from me, saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me.’

My dear brothers and sisters, there is a huge army of Midianites that has surrounded the Israelite camp. Around 120,000 were in the enemy camp. Then Gideon chose his army for Israel. He had around 32,000 people from Israel to fight against them.  Gideon went and told God that this is the maximum he could gather, and the enemies had four times as many men ready to fight. Then God said,” The troops with you are too many. If you go and fight the Midianites and defeat them with these 32,000 soldiers, you will say that the victory was due to the army’s competence. You will take credit for the victory. You will never acknowledge that I am in charge, and it was I that gave you this victory.” It is always important to remember that God is in charge. God is the one who is winning all the wars and all the battles for us. Therefore, all the credit and acknowledgement should go to God. 

Judges 7:3 – Now, therefore, proclaim this in the hearing of the troops, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home.’” Thus Gideon sifted them out;^[b] twenty-two thousand returned, and ten thousand remained.

More than 22,000 men, though they seemed to be ready for the battle, opted to go out due to fear. Only 10,000 remained. Then Gideon thought that there were at least 10,000 soldiers left. God has chosen these men so He would be happy with them.

Judges 7:4 – Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The troops are still too many; take them down to the water, and I will sift them out for you there. When I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you, and when I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 

This is how God works. He just needs somebody to say “Yes Lord.” He doesn’t look at muscles, height, knowledge levels, capacity or even numbers. He just needs somebody to say Yes. Mother Mary said Yes. Saul said Yes. Gideon said Yes. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The troops are still too many. Take them down to the water. I will sift them out for you. Out of this 10,000, I’m going to select who goes with you. 

Judges 7:5 –  So he brought the troops down to the water, and the Lord said to Gideon, “All those who lap the water with their tongues, as a dog laps, you shall put to one side; all those who kneel down to drink, putting their hands to their mouths,^[c] you shall put to the other side.”

In this way God divided into two groups. 

Judges 7:6 -The number of those who lapped was three hundred, but all the rest of the troops knelt down to drink water. 

9700 soldiers were kept aside, and the rest 300 were selected. This seemed shocking. The ones who seemed to be decently drinking water were kept aside, whereas the ones who were lapping the water were selected by God for this battle.

Judges 7-7 – Then the Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred who lapped I will deliver you and give the Midianites into your hand. Let all the others go to their homes.

God sent all those 9700 soldiers, all those with seemingly good strength off the battlefield.  He selected the 300. Gideon, their leader, might have been the most terrified person in this group, as his army seems to be reducing by the minute. Yet since he was the leader, he didn’t even have the option of returning home. 

Judges 7:8 – 10 – So the people took provisions in their hands and their trumpets, and he sent all the rest of Israel back to their own tents but retained the three hundred. The camp of Midian was below him in the valley.  That same night the Lord said to him, “Get up; attack the camp, for I have given it into your hand.  But if you fear to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah, 

My dear brothers and sisters, God told Gideon that it was time for you to attack. But if there is still fear within you, take the servant with you and go to the enemy camp. God is asking Gideon to go ahead with his small army to attack the Midianites. It is noteworthy that at this time, God does not send a soldier with Gideon to check the enemy camp. God does not send a mighty warrior with him. Instead God said, “Take your servant with you,” as if he is sending Gideon to fetch some water. 

Judges 7: 11- and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to attack the camp.” Then he went down with his servant Purah to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp.

What does this mean? Gideon is afraid. However, God shows him a sign of victory. Emboldened, the Israelites go into the fight. God grants them a great victory over their enemies. My dear brothers and sisters, more than hundred thousand people were defeated by three hundred useless fellows because God has chosen them. Therefore, don’t look at your past. Your past might be bad.  It might be shameful. Do not even look at your present because you are incapable of standing on your own. You are so afraid you are hiding in this small wine press. You are incapable of doing anything, but God looks at your future which you cannot look at. Though you don’t know your future, God knows every detail.

Job 28:24 – For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens.

My dear brothers and sisters, when God looks at Fr, Joseph, he looks at his past, he looks at his present. He looks at his capacity, his talents, his abilities and also, he looks into his future. God knows the plans he has for each one of us. He looks into your future. He looks to the ends of the earth. So just listen to Him. Nobody knows your future. Only He knows. Therefore, trust Him. Do not trust anyone, any book or any instruction from your friends. Don’t listen to any videos you watch on YouTube who give you some important information. They are all useless for you because they don’t know your future. The only person who knows your future and who you are going to become is our God. Therefore, listen to Him. He Knows.

When you are driving a car, you don’t know what is ahead of you. How many cars or containers are coming against you? Nobody knows. You don’t know if there is a big hole in front of you. Howeaver, a person who is in a helicopter above you can see everything ahead of you, can see what is ahead. Therefore, do not listen to the person who is in the next car. Do not listen to the person who is walking on the roadside, but listen to the one who is directing you from above. He knows your future. He knows what is ahead of you, for He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under Heaven.

Proverbs 15:3 – The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.

The word of God says clearly that God knows and understands everything. God knows every part of your life from your beginning till the end. Nothing will be hidden. The eyes of the Lord are in every place. Even in the darkness, even when you close the room, or when you are alone in your home, He knows. He knows every detail. 

Let us look at another important person chosen by God in the book of Samuel.

1 Samuel 17:4 – 8 – And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was four^[a] cubits and a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.  He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.  The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron, and his shield-bearer went before him. He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose^[b] a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 

So, there was a big announcement. Goliath, a huge giant, was threatening the Israelites and said, “Now you choose one man from your side. If anyone is able to defeat me, then our entire army will surrender to you.” Then, King Saul and the Israelites were searching for a person of the same size as Goliath. They were searching among all the Israelites, but couldn’t find anyone. 

1 Samuel 17: 24 – 25 – All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid.  The Israelites said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel.” 

Then David heard Goliath’s threat. David was a small, young shepherd boy with a stick on one hand and a sling on the other hand.

1 Samuel 17: 26 – 27 – David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

David was angry that Goliath spoke against the God of Israel. David could not keep quiet when Goliath spoke against the living God.  

1 Samuel 17:27 – The people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.

When he was speaking of these things to those around him, his elder brothers heard him ask what they thought were unnecessary questions to these people. 

1 Samuel 17:28 -” When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”

Then he turned away from him toward another and spoke in the same way. Then he continued asking everyone what is this king going to give me if I defeat the Philistine. 

1 Samuel 1:31 – When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul; and he sent for him. 

Then King Saul said to bring David to him. Saul thought that there is a huge man from Israel who has come to defeat Goliath, and was eager to see him. David came and Saul was disappointed to see this small shepherd boy. Then David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. Don’t worry, wipe away your tears and be strong. I am going to defeat this Philistine.”  This small creature boasted in front of King Saul. Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” Initially when Saul called him, Saul had an expectation but the moment he saw David, all his expectations failed. Then Saul pitied this small boy. 

My dear brothers and sisters, remember looking at your size and shape, many will tell you the same thing. They might say. “You are just a boy. They are all educated, brilliant, intelligent from the young days. Why do you want to waste your time?” Don’t listen to those words. Listen to the inner words of God. Somebody told David, “Go! You will be able to destroy this Palestine.” He only listened to this inner voice. Like David, we must also not listen to the negative things that you hear from everybody, even if it is from the leaders. 

1 Samuel 17: 34 – 35 – But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father, and whenever a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth, and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. 

David speaks of killing the lion, as if he is killing a small lizard.

1 Samuel 17: 36 – Your servant has killed both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” 

So, this is why David was very angry, as Goliath dared to speak against God. 

1 Samuel 17: 38 – 39 – Saul clothed David with his armour; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. ³⁹ David strapped Saul’s sword over the armour, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I am not used to them.” So, David removed them.

After being suited up with the armour, David could not make one step forward. He was not used to carrying the sword and shield. He gave those things back to the King.

1 Samuel 17: 40 – 41 – Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 

There are two people. Goliath had a huge shield. Another person came along with him just to carry this shield. 

1 Samuel 17:42 – When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.

David is a small boy- both in age and stature, and so the Philistine was feeling ashamed to even stand in front of him.

1 Samuel 17:43- The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

David comes with just a stick while the Philistine comes with mighty weapons. Goliath looks down at the small boy who came for a fight against him, a mighty warrior with a small stick. So, the Philistine got offended and said, “Am I a dog that you have come against me with a stick.” He was ashamed to stand against this small boy with a simple attire and no weapons.

1 Samuel 17:44 – The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.” 

Goliath was trying to frighten David by threatening him with fearful words.

1 Samuel 17:45 – But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

David knew the moment he had defied the name of God; his protection was gone. Goliath’s protection is gone since he has spoken against the Lord of the Hosts. That was the strength of David. David knew this. Now it was easy for him to defeat this army.

1 Samuel 17 – 46 -48 –  This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head, and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.” When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 

Goliath came closer and closer while David ran quickly in front of the Israelite army. The small boy stood bravely against the huge giant Goliath. 

1 Samuel 17:49-David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

Even before Goliath raised his sword in the fight, David killed him with just a stone. He didn’t even need to use the other four stones that he had with him. This incident reminds us that God wants to use the weak ones mightily.

1 Samuel 17:50-51 – So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

My dear brothers and sisters, the Philistine came to the fight depending on the power of his sword and his weapons, but David came to the fight depending on the living God of Israel. Goliath’s head was cut off with the same sword that he trusted. Meanwhile, David trusted in God. And God made him victorious. 

My dear brothers and sisters, the message we learn here is this. If anybody is worried about your capacity, talents, ability and is complaining to God, God tells you, “Keep quiet and don’t complain. If you think you are useless or incapable, then you need to do only one thing. Trust in me completely. Depend on me with complete surrender and total trust. I’m going to use you. I’m going to lead you. I’m going to lift you up. You will see how I am going to lead you because while you see your past, I see your future.”

Transcribed by Jusfica Lobo