Gideon was from the tribe of Manasseh. He was the eldest son of Joseph, who did not receive the greatest blessing, for that went to Ephraim. (Gen. 48:17-19). Moreover, Gideon came from a family that was the least in this tribe, and he was the youngest in his father’s house. But in Scripture, we see that the birthright does not go to the eldest, but to the younger.
Judges 6
16 And the LORD said to him, “I am with you; therefore you shall strike Midian as one man.”
as one man
God tells Gideon that his lowly birth does not matter; the only thing that matters is that God is with him. The statement that Gideon will strike Midian as one man can be interpreted in several ways. Gideon would defeat the Midianites as a whole; we encounter the expression several times in Scripture (including Num. 14:15; Judg. 20:1,8). The emphasis is on the completeness of the victory: the enemy will be defeated in its entirety, without anyone escaping. A chapter later, we read that the Israelites pursue their enemies and also capture and kill their rulers (7:22-25).
I am with you
But wouldn’t it also point, as one man, to God’s declaration: “I am with you?” Gideon defeats the enemy because it is the One God who is with him. Ultimately, Gideon is a representation of Jesus Christ, of whom the Lord says: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Christ is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). He is the Man through whom God will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). Gideon acts as Israel’s redeemer and is a picture of Christ.
Christ and the ecclesia
Later, we will see that Gideon defeats the enemy with a company of 300 men, and that these men share in the victory that God gives Gideon. They look to Gideon and act like him. They are “one man with Gideon.” This speaks of the unity of Christ and His ecclesia.