In Judges 7, Gideon is preparing to fight the Midianites. From a human perspective, Gideon needs as many soldiers as possible because the Midianite army is enormous. But God looks at Gideon's army and tells him something unexpected: he has too many men. Gideon begins with 32,000 men, but God reduces the army to 10,000 and eventually reduces it again to only 300.

God was intentionally changing the numbers because He did not want Israel to believe they had won the battle through their own strength. He wanted there to be no question that the victory came from Him. But God did not only deal with the number of people surrounding Gideon. He also dealt with the fear inside Gideon. God allowed Gideon to overhear a conversation in the enemy's camp that confirmed that God had already given the Midianites into his hands.

Then God gave Gideon a strategy. The 300 men were divided into three groups and used trumpets, jars, and torches to defeat an army much larger than themselves. Throughout Judges 7, we see God's math at work. He subtracts before He multiplies. He subtracts fear and adds faith. Then He divides and designs a strategy to solve the problem.