What does Judges 7:2 mean?
When the Lord's Spirit "clothed" Gideon with God's power, he sent out the call to the people of his own tribe Manasseh and the people of the surrounding tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. Volunteers poured in (Judges 6:34–35). Gideon found himself surrounded by a considerable number of men willing—if not eager—to fight the Midianites with him (Judges 6:3). The Israelites are still outnumbered four-to-one (Judges 8:10), but still a sizable group.In a statement Gideon was likely not expecting, the Lord says Gideon's army is too large. He doesn't want the people of Israel to think they saved themselves without divine help. He wants His people to know—for certain—that it was God who delivered them from their enemy once more. He will command Gideon to reduce the size of the force taken into battle.