God Chooses the Unlikely

Unlikely Heroes of Long Ago

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Paul told the Corinthians that God chose the foolish, the weak and the nobodies of the world (1 Corinthians 1:27-28). This was not new. God had been doing it all through the Old Testament.

Gideon hiding. When the Angel of the Lord came to Gideon, he was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites (Judges 6:11). A winepress was a pit for crushing grapes. Gideon was scared.

A surprising greeting. The Angel said, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” (Judges 6:12). God saw what Gideon could become with Him.

The least. Gideon answered, “Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” (Judges 6:15).

Gideon’s question. Gideon asked, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel?” (Judges 6:15). God did not hand him a list of his strengths. He gave him a promise.

God’s promise. The Lord said, “Surely I will be with you” (Judges 6:16). Gideon’s strength would come from God being with him.

Too many. Gideon gathered an army, but God said, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me” (Judges 7:2).

Three hundred. God cut the army down to three hundred men (Judges 7:7). When they won, everyone knew God had done it.

The youngest son. When Samuel came to anoint a new king, Jesse did not even call David in. He was the youngest, out keeping the sheep (1 Samuel 16:11).

God sees the heart. “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

A boy and a giant. King Saul told David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth” (1 Samuel 17:33).

The battle is the Lord’s. David said, “The Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Samuel 17:47). David won because he trusted God.

Too young. When God called Jeremiah, he said, “Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” God answered, “Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you” (Jeremiah 1:6, 8).

Out of weakness. The book of Hebrews remembers people like Gideon and David, who “out of weakness were made strong” (Hebrews 11:34).

What we learn. God does not wait for strong people. He makes weak people strong when they trust Him.

What to do. Think of something you feel too small or too scared to do for God. Tell Him about it, and ask Him to be with you.

1 Corinthians 1:26-28 describes a pattern God has followed from the beginning. He chooses people the world overlooks, so that His power is plain and the glory is His.

Gideon (Judges 6:11-16). Gideon was hiding his grain in a winepress because of Midianite raiders. The Angel called him a “mighty man of valor” before he had done anything brave. God named him by what God would do through him.

The weakest clan. Gideon’s objection was honest: his clan was the weakest and he was the least. God did not argue with the facts. He answered with His presence: “Surely I will be with you” (Judges 6:16).

Glory guarded (Judges 7:2). God reduced the army so Israel could not say, “My own hand has saved me.” That is the same concern as 1 Corinthians 1:29: “that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

David (1 Samuel 16). Jesse made seven sons pass before Samuel, and David was not even invited. The Hebrew word for youngest, haqqatan (say: hak-kah-TAHN), also means the smallest. God chose the son his own family left in the field.

Outward and inward. 1 Samuel 16:7 explains God’s choice: “man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Eliab looked like a king. David had a heart that trusted God.

Goliath (1 Samuel 17:45-47). David came “in the name of the Lord of hosts.” Lord of hosts means the Lord who commands the armies of heaven. The victory was meant to teach all Israel “that the Lord does not save with sword and spear.”

Jeremiah 1:6-8. Jeremiah’s excuse, “I am a youth,” named a real weakness. God did not make him older. He gave him His word and His presence: “For I am with you to deliver you.”

Hebrews 11:32-34. The list of faithful people includes Gideon, Barak, Samson and David, people with real failures. What joined them together was faith, and “out of weakness were made strong.”

Isaiah 40:29. “He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.” Weakness is the very place where God’s strength shows.

Application. Your weakness is not a reason God cannot use you. Bring it to Him honestly, as Gideon and Jeremiah did, and trust His promise to be with you.

The People Jesus Chose

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When Jesus came to earth, He followed the same pattern. He chose ordinary people, and He Himself came in a humble way.

A little town. Long before, God promised a Ruler from Bethlehem, “Though you are little among the thousands of Judah” (Micah 5:2).

A manger. Mary “laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). The King of heaven was born in a place for animals.

Mary’s song. Mary sang, “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly” (Luke 1:52). Lowly means humble and not important.

Fishermen. Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee and saw Peter and Andrew, “for they were fishermen” (Matthew 4:18).

The call. “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). They left their nets and followed Him.

Left everything. James and John were fixing nets with their father. When Jesus called, “immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him” (Matthew 4:22). Following Jesus mattered more than anything else.

A sinful man. Peter once fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8). Jesus did not leave him. He said, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 5:10).

A doctor for the sick. Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:32).

Children. “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14).

Untrained men. Later, the leaders in Jerusalem saw that Peter and John “were uneducated and untrained men.” Then “they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

Gentle and lowly. Jesus said, “Learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). The Lord who chooses humble people is humble Himself.

What we learn. Jesus was not looking for impressive people. He was looking for people who would follow Him.

What to do. Being with Jesus is what made Peter and John bold. Spend time with Jesus this week. Read one of His stories each day and talk to Him in prayer.

The Gospels show 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 in action. God’s Son came into the world in a humble way and built His church from people the world passed over.

Micah 5:2. Bethlehem was “little among the thousands of Judah,” yet from it came “The One to be Ruler in Israel.” God’s King came from a small town.

Luke 1:48-52. Mary praised God because “He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant.” Her song describes the same reversal Paul teaches: “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.”

Luke 2:7-12. A manger is a feeding trough for animals. The sign given to the shepherds was “a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).

Fishermen (Matthew 4:18-22). Fishing was hard, ordinary work. Jesus did not choose His first disciples from the teachers of the law. He called men who were casting and mending nets, and He promised to make them “fishers of men.”

Matthew 4:21-22. James and John were mending nets with their father Zebedee, and they left the family business at once. The call of Jesus was worth more than the safety of the family boat.

Peter at Jesus’ knees (Luke 5:8-10). Peter felt his sin in the presence of Jesus’ power. Jesus answered, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men,” and turned Peter’s unworthiness into a calling.

Acts 4:13. The council saw that Peter and John were agrammatoi (say: ah-GRAH-mah-toy), men without formal schooling. What explained their boldness was that “they had been with Jesus.”

Luke 5:31-32. Jesus called Himself a physician who came for the sick. The people who knew they needed Him were the ones who came to Him.

Matthew 11:29. Jesus called Himself “gentle and lowly in heart.” The Lord who chooses the lowly is lowly Himself.

Matthew 18:3. “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” A small child depends on others for everything. God welcomes that kind of trust.

Why God works this way. 1 Corinthians 1:29 gives the reason: “that no flesh should glory in His presence.” When fishermen carry the gospel to the world, no one can give the fishermen the credit.

Application. You do not need a title, a following or a perfect record to serve Jesus. You need to be with Him. Read His words, talk with Him, and do what He says.

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