Most readers of this blog are familiar with Heb 11:6. It says that God rewards those who diligently seek Him. I was reading an OT passage recently that demonstrates the Lord’s grace in determining who it is that diligently seeks Him. 

It’s likely that most of our readers are also familiar with the story of Gideon. During his day, the people of Israel were oppressed by the Midianites, a nomadic group from the east. They made life miserable for the people of Israel for seven years. At the end of those seven years, the people cried out to the Lord to deliver them from their enemies. 

The reason the Midianites were able to inflict such damage on God’s people is that Israel had done “evil in the sight of the Lord” (Judg 6:1). They had worshiped the idols of the pagans around them. 

But when Israel cried out to God, the people did not mention their sin. They apparently did not realize that their impoverished state was the result of the evil they had done. God was disciplining them. Later, when the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he would ask why the Midianites were able to inflict pain on God’s people (Judg 6:13). 

It is a pathetic picture. We read these verses and wonder how they could have been so blind. How could they not know that their sin was the reason for their troubles? They thought they were being unjustly afflicted and were calling out to God to deliver them from their predicament. Their idea was: “We don’t deserve it!” 

Even though they were blind to what was going on, they sought the Lord. They called out to Him. Even though they didn’t deserve it, He answered. 

The Lord sent a prophet who reminded the people that God had brought them out of Egypt and made a covenant with them. In that covenant, their ancestors had agreed that God would be their God and that they would not worship the false gods of the pagans. The prophet told them point-blank that they had not obeyed the voice of the Lord (6:7-10). That was why they were suffering under the hand of the Midianites.  

Then God raised up Gideon to lead His people to victory in a miraculous way.  

Talk about the Lord’s meeting them more than halfway! How weak their attempt at “seeking the Lord” had been. They were like little kids who deny any wrongdoing. They wondered why the Lord had abandoned them. One would call it “diligently seeking Him” only if  the word diligently were defined very graciously.  

But weak as their effort was, God’s people sought the Lord. They found Him. Rather, He found them. He sent a prophet who told them the problem. He rewarded them by giving them the revelation—the truth—that they desperately needed.  

Of course, this is a clear picture of God’s faithfulness to His people and His love for them. Israel was His chosen people. He had promised that He would answer them if they called out to Him. Even though they did so from a deep well of ignorance, He came to them when they called. 

The application for believers today is crystal clear. The Lord loves us. When we blow it, we come to Him unworthy. We may go to Him in as ignorant a state as the people of Israel in Gideon’s day. But if we seek Him, He will find us.