The second movement is the most familiar to the reader of Judges. A man rises and defeats the opposing force despite some long odds. For Deborah and Barak, it was the lack of chariots. For Shamgar, it was the lack of support from the Israelite nation. For Ehud, it was the lack of trust generated by his anatomy. For Othniel, it was the failure of the people to follow through with the conquest of the Promised Land. For Gideon, it is lack of numbers. The Lord shrinks his force down to just 300 (Judges7:8) to fight over 100,000.
The second movement reminds us that God delivers success, not the Judge. In the story of Gideon, God has sent premonitions and dreams that cause distrust among the coalition and fear of Gideon who has the high ground and the water source for the impending battle. So when Gideon sneaks up on the camp in the middle of the night and makes his numbers seem nearly 1000 times as large the camp both turns on itself and flees. This allows Gideon to call upon the other tribes of Israel to assist in the clean-up.
So how does the second movement tie into the greater arc of the story of Gideon (God remembers that which we do not)? What we forget is that to have a force so large as the Midianites is that it has to be a coalition of people just like Israel is made up of twelve tribes. How well have the Israelites fought together even though they have a unifying deity? Not so well, hence repeatedly getting conquered. The other thing we are forgetting is that the Midianites are actually well-versed in the power of God.
Moses’s father-in-law is a Midianite. His wife understands the Abrahamic covenant of circumcision (Exodus 4:21-26). The Midianite people would be especially sensitive to God supporting the people of Israel again. Even whispers would be enough to make them doubt because they have been able to watch what God has done with His people, good and bad. So when God starts allowing for dreams to come into the camp of Midian, it rightly freaks them out. God is able to use all this to his advantage, and He generates a victory in a unique manner that can only be explained by His power.
So what is the second movement communicate about God? He remember’s His promises. God promised the people of Israel that He would take care of them. He lives up to that word. That is what is special about the Jewish people who have been through more extinction events than any other people and still exist fully intact because of the promises God made Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and then to the people under Moses. You see while we might think that is a big deal for God to remember promises from nearly 4000 years ago. Can you remember the promises you made God, your boss, co-workers, spouse or kids today? We need to remember that God remembers, and He is good to his word even thousands of years later.