Judges

Lesson 4Gideon

In the book of Judges, Gideon was the most written-about Judge; only Samson comes close as the second. In this lesson, our study of Gideon will show us what we can accomplish with just a small amount of faith; and we will see how faithful God is in watching over His own.

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Also on display in this lesson is the patience God, and how tolerant He is of our doubts, fears, and weaknesses. Perhaps most of all, we see the great things that God can accomplish in ways again that we would never expect.

God takes a man of faith (who has doubts about his own abilities) and a handful of committed warriors to defeat one of the most oppressive governments that Israel ever suffered under.

Our lesson covers Judges Chapters 6 through 8, which presents a single story. Read this story through and consider the following:

  1. What happened after the forty years of peace during Deborah’s judgeship? (Judges 6:1)
  2. For seven years, the Midianites caused Israel to do what? (Judges 6:2-6)
  3. Who were the Midianites descendants of? (Genesis 25:1-2)
  4. What did the Lord do in response to the Israelites’ cry for help? (Judges 6:7-14)
  5. How did Gideon respond? (Judges 6:15-19)
  6. How did God respond? (Judges 6:20-23)
  7. What was the first thing that Gideon had to do in order to save his people? (Judges 6:24-32)
  8. Whose idol was it that Gideon destroyed? (Judges 6:25)
  9. To ensure God’s will and backing in the coming battle that Gideon was told by God to lead, Gideon asked God for a sign. What did God do when Gideon asked for a sign? How many signs did Gideon ask for?
  10. How many men had the Midianites, Amalekites, and their allies gathered as an army? (Judges 8:10)
  11. How many men had Gideon gathered as an army? (Judges 7:3)
  12. What did God say to Gideon regarding the size of Gideon’s army going against the size of the armies comprising the Midianite alliance? (Judges 7:2)
  13. When God was done sifting out the size of Gideon’s army, how big was it? (Judges 7:2-18)
  14. Did God ask Gideon to do something that he knew Gideon was incapable of accomplishing? How did God prepare Gideon for the battle? (Judges 7:9-15)
  15. What types of weapons did Gideon’s men use to displace the Midianite army? (Judges 7:16-25)
  16. How many men did Gideon’s army of 300 kill? (Judges 8:1-12)
  17. When the enemies of Israel were defeated, Israel asked Gideon to rule over them. What was his response? (Judges 8:22-23)
  18. What did Israel do upon Gideon’s death? (Judges 8:33-35)

Again, so many lessons from this story can be applied in our lives today. We see that God is sovereign over all His creation; and that He can, and does, accomplish anything He desires. Nothing can defeat us, as long as God is for us – nothing. Correspondingly, we should ensure that God gets the glory, not man. So, as God works out his plan in our lives and blesses us, we should reflect His glory and not our own.

Even if we are faithful to God in small things, He will honor it in our lives. God understands our weaknesses and is willing to allow us to argue and even disagree with Him at times. And yet, His great grace and love for us is never-ending. With love He will lift us up and equip us for the task at hand. Never asking us to do anything on "blind" faith, He wants His presence with us known and felt in our lives every step of the way.

Finally, this story teaches to us that we should never feel as though God is demanding more of us than we are capable of. Whatever God calls you to do, He will be faithful to equip you and walk with you every step of the way.

May He continue to richly bless you as you continue to faithfully study His Holy Word.

Yours in Christ,

Wes

[2004]

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