It has been a human condition and recurring theme or cycle for quite some time - disobedience and abandoning the faith; oppression; cries of distress; divine deliverance. In this cycle, God takes the weak and makes them strong. He leads us to rely on Him, rather than ourselves because it is only through faith in Christ Jesus that we will have a saving relationship with God. In today's message, we see how God used Gideon in just this way, "so that Israel may not boast."