You Have Too Many Men

The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many men. Judges 7:2

Twice God told Gideon to reduce the number of men in his forces. And this was before a great battle. Quality, not quantity, was what He wanted. Doing great things with small numbers gives the glory to God.

Many years ago I heard a sermon called "Christians Don't Count". At the time I was struck by the idea that numbers are so often mentioned in the Old Testament, and so seldom in the New. There is no comparable book there to "Numbers".

A few times in Acts of the Apostles, numbers are mentioned, but as early as the Gospels we hear of Jesus alone in the garden. It was mobs that mocked and killed Him. Nothing like a mega church existed . He had a band of twelve disciples and one of them betrayed Him. He spoke of His followers as a "little flock", and that, in a future tense.

Jack Hyles wrote a book on how to have a bus ministry. Numbers mean a lot in this age though. Ever known a person with a great number of friends, yet who did not have one close friend?

The "heroes of the faith", Hebrews chapter 11, are composed of individuals, though a great "crowd of witnesses". Such a comfort to be loved by God, who sees each sparrow fall.