שופטים, פרק ז׳, פסוק ב׳

Preparing for battle against Midian presents a unique challenge. The Israelite army must actually be reduced in size to guarantee that the upcoming victory is recognized as a divine miracle rather than a standard military success. God makes it clear to Gideon that he has gathered far too many soldiers for the campaign.

The primary approach among commentators is that if such a massive force were to win the war, the outcome would seem entirely natural and logical. Consequently, the Israelites might easily credit their own power for driving away the enemy. This creates a serious risk of arrogance [רש״י], where the people would essentially set themselves up in direct opposition to God [מצודת דוד]. They might claim that their own hands saved them, attributing their survival to the sheer number of warriors rather than to His intervention.

Interestingly, the need to shrink the army has nothing to do with the spiritual standing of the soldiers. Even if there were sinners among the ranks, their presence would not have blocked the salvation. The merit of their ancestors, God's mercy, and the simple fact that the men fulfilled a commandment by listening to Gideon and showing up to fight would have been more than enough to protect them. The sole reason for sending soldiers away is to prevent the destructive trap of false pride [חומת אנך].