Everybody loves a winner. Almost immediately after the victory is won, everyone wants to be part of the winning side. That is human nature and that is exhibited daily in too many ways to describe them all. After a team wins the Super Bowl, all their fans began to say, “We won the Super Bowl.” People who never wore a uniform say, “We won the war.” God knows humanity; he created us. He knew that after the Midianites were defeated, Israel would say, “We won the battle.” He had a problem with that. Most of Israel was not godly, and most Israelites were the source of the conflict not the source of the victory. So, He had Gideon send 97% of his troops home. God wanted there to be no doubt that the victory was His.

However, we are left with a very serious question. Would God have given Israel victory if the 97% had not shown up in the first place? Scripture says that the seven years of oppression happened because the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but God responded when the Israelites cried out to Him for deliverance. However the question remains, “Would He have delivered them if they had refused to respond to the call to battle?” Would Gideon’s obedience have been enough if no one else had responded? I am convinced, beyond a doubt, that if the 97% had stayed home, God would have stayed home as well.

God gave victory to Gideon and 300 men, but he did not give them complete victory. After the night time battle, the remaining Midianites fled in terror. There were still enough that once they crossed the Jordan they would have regrouped and returned. God and Gideon did not give them a chance. They called out all the men of Israel. The 97% were now joined by their fellow Israelites, and they secured the victory that God had given them. They learned a truth, “Without God, we cannot; without us, God will not.”