Why God Likes the Underdog

One of the reasons why many people like the Bible is because the underdog often comes away as the hero. Classic accounts of David and Goliath, Daniel and the Lion’s Den, or Moses and Pharaoh have been learned and loved by both children and adults. The reason why these accounts are memorable for all ages is because the underdog, the small and insignificant one, is set against the powerful and often ruthless enemy. The underdog comes away as the hero, and that narrative gets seared into the memory banks of the one who reads it. Truthfully, the greatest story of the Bible is about an underdog named Jesus, who humbles Himself to become a lowly man, gets ridiculed and rejected by the religious establishment, and ultimately, His own people condemned Him to death by crucifixion. But … death cannot hold Him; He rises from the grave to defeat all His enemies. Still, the question remains, “Why does God like the underdog?”  We might quickly say, “He likes the underdog because His Son was one of them.” Indeed, this is true, but there is another layer that needs to be uncovered, and that layer is found in the Book of Judges.

The story of Gideon is found in Judges 6-9, but it is the selection of his army for battle against the Midianites where the underdog comes into focus. God had raised up Gideon to help the people achieve victory over their oppressors, the Midianites. In chapter 7, Gideon is headed to the battlefield with an army of 32,000 against 120,000 Midianites. God gives Gideon additional instructions to whittle down the Israeli army. 22,000 men leave because they are fearful, leaving 10,000 to face 120,000 Midianites. Ten thousand is still too many according to God’s standard, so another test is given to the men. Gideon is to observe how these 10,000 men drink from the spring that they are encamped near and subsequently divide them into two groups: the lappers and the kneelers. As a result of this test, 300 men are left! 300 against 120,000, this is an underdog story in the making.
 
Why does God like the underdog, verse 2 explains it loud and clear: If Israel wins the battle with a large number, they will claim it was of their own strength and ability and not the Lord’s. It’s almost like God purposely stacked the deck against Gideon, reminding Him that victory is not of human prowess. He knew Gideon’s prideful tendencies and He is well aware of ours too. Feeling like the deck is stacked against you might be a good thing because, remember, God likes underdogs.