Choosing the three hundred: (Judges 7:4-8)

God still thinks that ten thousand men is too many. The idea is to leave Gideon with such a small number of soldiers that it is obvious that victory would only be possible if it was granted by Him. They go down to the spring and there, God gives Gideon the criterion to decide who would be chosen.

The test shows him who is brave and who is not. Anyone who bows to his need is set aside.

An act that is apparently unrelated to war (the manner in which one drinks water from a spring), shows what the thought pattern of those men was. Only three hundred men drink water in the right manner and prove to be brave. The 9,700 men who were unaware of their own fears are sent back.

The problem with hidden fear is that it reveals itself in battle. God knew that they would inevitably be in trouble in the future. Gideon’s choice must not have been very popular, but he was no longer afraid of what others would think.