Gideon (Part 1)
Junior Level
Today we will continue our study in the book of Judges. We will learn about a man named Gideon that God chose to deliver Israel once again from oppression due to their sin. God is faithful even when we are not. Praise HIS HOLY NAME!
Handout: Gideon
Teacher's Guide: Gideon
Last week we finished up a two part series about Daughters of God. We learned about a prophetess whose name was Deborah in the book of Judges, chapter 4. God called her to be a judge of Israel, we learned that Israel had sinned against God for many years and so they had been overtaken by King Jabin. Israel began to cry out to the LORD for deliverance and so God gave Deborah a message for a man named Barak to lead an army against Jabin, the King of Caanan who had oppressed Israel for many years. The LORD said that He would deliver them into the hands of the Israelites if they would go up against Sisera who was the Captain over King Jabin’s army. When Barak refused to go unless Deborah went with him, the LORD said that he would receive no honor and that Israel would be delivered at the hands of a woman. That woman was Jael. We read that the Lord caused Sisera and all his men to panic as Barak and the Army of Israel attacked and Sisera jumped off his horse and ran away to hide in Jael’s tent. He fell asleep and while he was sleeping Jael drove a tent peg into his temple and killed him. In chapter 5 of the book of Judges we read the song of victory that Deborah sang. At the end of that chapter we see that the land after that victory had rest or peace, for forty years. This takes us to Judges Chapter 6, and our first point of this lesson.
1. God is faithful even when we are not.
1 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, 2 and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains. 3 So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it. 6 So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.
Notice the pattern? Israel sins and breaks covenant, and then they are overtaken by evil. Remember the covenant God made with Abraham and the agreement with Israel that they all agreed to in the day of Moses?
Exodus 19:3-8 “ 3And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. 5Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. 7And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
Israel, Israel when will you learn? In saying that I have to say to myself, Cindy, Cindy when will you learn? If you are honest you will have said that to yourself at one point in time, if not daily! Thank God for grace, we just can’t keep ourselves or the law. Reading on, go to Judges 6 beginning with verse 7.
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD because of the Midianites, 8 that the LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage; 9 and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 Also I said to you, “I am the LORD your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My voice.”
The Israelites are calling out to God for deliverance and God sends a prophet with a message to remind them that they are the ones that broke covenant and disobeyed. They have brought this upon themselves. Can you imagine the horror they felt? They knew they had done, they had sinned against God, they KNEW he was the only true God and their only hope, and now what were they going to have to own up that they had brought this on themselves. Thank God that He is faithful and that even when we mess up, He understands that we are frail and weak and that we are dust and He comes to our rescue when we humble ourselves before Him and seek His face. Keep in mind though that we cannot just sin against God and take advantage of His faithfulness, 1 John 5:15 tells us that there is a sin unto death. God’s word also teaches that we reap what we sow and we will have to endure the chastening of God and the consequences of our sin.
Galatians 6:7 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”
Romans 6:16 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
It is wise to always be obedient to the LORD and keep His commandments and when we slip to ask Him to forgive us RIGHT THEN, do not wait, and keep doing our best for Him. There are many benefits to being an obedient servant.
Psalm 103:2 “Bless the LORD, o my soul, and forget not all HIS benefits.”
Even though Israel sinned against God, God did not forget them. God is faithful even when we are not! Praise YOU FATHER!
11 Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
13 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
14 Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”
15 So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
16 And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”
17 Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. 18 Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.”
And He said, “I will wait until you come back.”
19 So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them. 20 The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so.
21 Then the Angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
22 Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.”
23 Then the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it The-LORD-Is-Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
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The Lord has told Gideon that He has chosen him to lead Israel to deliverance. Gideon said but Lord why me? The clan of my family is least of all, and I am the least one in my family? Gideon didn’t understand that God chooses the weak things to overcome the strong because God wants to show His power! He chose a shepherd boy to be King, a woman to deliver Israel from Sisera, and a young virgin girl to bring His only begotten son into the world in a stable! God is AWESOME!
25 Now it came to pass the same night that the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that isbeside it; 26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the LORD had said to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.
Joash said would you defend Baal and have to save him? If he is a real god he should be able to save himself. They knew deep down that JEHOVAH was the only true God. So do we but many times we will place things as idols in our lives. Not necessarily a statue but what about our addictions? Cigarettes, watching too much TV, addictions to the internet, overeating addictions, alcohol addictions, sexual addictions, addictions to people and relationships. Anything we place before God, and anything we go to for comfort in place of God is an idol. We must tear it down! God is a jealous God and He will not share our praise!
Exodus 34:13 “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:”
I love it that God is jealous. His jealousy isn’t like ours. Ours is sinful. His is Holy! He has a righteous Jealousy. He wants my praise and does not want to share it! I love that! He is the lover of my soul, that makes me feel so special! You should feel that too, it’s His way of romancing our souls.
3. You and I are placed into authority by the Power of the Holy Spirit of God when He calls us to do something.
I’m sure that was hard for Gideon to go and rip those alters down, but he trusted God and he knew that God called him so he had authority given by God to do what God told him to do! Dear one the Lord may be calling you into a ministry, or calling you into a special mission and you are afraid and wonder why He is calling you because you feel so unworthy or you feel that you are not capable. Let me tell you now, you are not capable on your own, but GOD ALWAYS QUALIFIES THE CALLED! With Christ You can do ALL things! He wants to do the work through you. He wants the glory that is due to His name and He has chosen you to be a part of that if you will surrender to Him and obey! What an honor and privilege! Don’t you know that David when he went up against Goliath, it seemed as if he would fail??? However God was with him and He was with Gideon as we will learn and Dear one He is with you. If He has called you, answer that call and stand back and see the wanders God will do through your life! Praise His name!
We will continue the study of Gideon if it’s the LORD’S will next week. Stay in prayer with the LORD and do not be afraid. If God has called you to it, He will bring you through it! You have authority by the Only Living God MOST HIGH and He will enable you to do that which He has called for you to do! Praise HIM!
Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Dear Righteous Father…
Thank You for Your Mercy and that You are faithful even when we are not. Lord I really want to be obedient to You and to Your will and I never want to take Your faithfulness for granted and just do whatever I please because of it. I do not want to sin against You because I love You and You are so good. I understand that I reap the consequences of my sin and I am so thankful that You chasten me because You love me. Help me to always answer Your call and do as You would have me to do. Thank You that You take the weak things to overcome the strong and you take the foolish things and confound the wise. You are truly a Unique and AWESOME God and I praise You today with all of my heart. Thank You for mercy, grace, and love. I love you and will ever worship You. You have my heart, now, forever, and always. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
~*Cindygirl*~
June 13, 2010
