Gideon (Part 2)
Junior Level
This week we will finish our study on the life of Gideon, a servant of the LORD that was chosen by God to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Midianites and the Amalekites. We can learn so much from the life of Gideon and see how when he obeyed God even when he did not understand and even when he was afraid, God still used him in a mighty way because he was obedient and trusted the Lord. The same God that was with Gideon is with you and I if we are born again through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Please read this lesson and know that if God is calling you to do something, it is because you were designed for that purpose and even if you are afraid, if you will trust God and obey His voice, He will deliver you and you can step into the destiny that He has had for you since before the foundations of the world, for His glory! Praise You FATHER!
Handout: Gideon
Teacher's Guide: Gideon
Last week we learned that Israel had turned from God and was worshipping false gods and doing whatever they saw right in their own eyes. God had given them over to the enemy and they were so hard oppressed that they finally began to call out to God for deliverance. God is so faithful that He chose Gideon to be the answer to the cries of Israel. Gideon did not understand why God had chosen him, his clan was the least in all of Israel and he was the least in his family. Gideon would learn to trust and obey even when he was afraid and he would see the MIGHTY WARRIOR that is our God at work! If you trust and obey the LORD then so can you. Be encouraged today as you read for your good and God’s glory and honor! We will begin with point one of this lesson, which is:
Judges 6:33-40 “Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel. But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.”
I can totally relate to Gideon on this because there have been so many times when I have been so afraid that I was going to get in God’s way and prevent His work. Can you relate to that as well? There have been many times as well that I have been so afraid that I would miss God’s will or that I would make a mistake and ruin all of the plans God has. I can almost visibly see Him smile and even chuckle to Himself, as He reminds me, Dear Child, you give yourself a lot of credit! You seem to forget that I know all. I knew every mistake you would make before you were even born! You cannot hinder my plans I will do what I will do. If you stay in obedience, even if you fail, I will still bring you into the destiny I have for you and I will accomplish all the things that I created you for. It is the same for you as well Dear One. When you are doing your best to follow the LORD and to obey HIM, even if you make a mistake or fail, He can take that mistake and turn it into something for your good and His glory. He knows you, He knew you before the foundations of the earth! He will do and finish the good work He has begun in you. You and I can ALWAYS TRUST HIM!
So many people make the mistake of thinking that one day God will just suddenly call them to do something, and yes that happens, but most of the time, we find God’s will for our lives gradually while we are being obedient to little things. Several years ago I began getting in God’s word to learn for myself and I had no idea that God was calling me into a teaching ministry. Later I began to write, God would place things on my heart in times of pain and He would lead me to write them down, it was in the everyday obedience that God showed me what He wanted me to do and made it come to pass. Little by little He has brought me into a teaching/writing ministry for His glory. He is amazing. Whatever He has called you to do know that He will accomplish it in you when you obey Him.
Judges 7:1-16 “Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.
And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.
So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley. And it came to pass the same night that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.
And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.
And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
Gideon asked the Lord when He first appeared to him, Why have you chosen me? I am in the least clan of all of Israel and I am the least one in my family! The angel said to him, The LORD is with you mighty man of valor! Wow can you imagine hearing those very words audibly from an angel of the LORD? Gideon was focused on what he was then, God was focused on what He could mold and make of Gideon. God called Gideon what he was before he had even accomplished it! That blesses my heart so much! Gideon was trembling with fear and questioning why him, and God was calling him a MIGHY MAN OF VALOR or MIGHTY WARRIOR!
Beloved, you may be feeling God calling you to do a work, you may be cowering in the corner with fear overtaking you. You may be terrified with tears of question running down your face, but God is holding out His hand to you, and He is saying, Do not be afraid, I am with you Mighty Warrior! I am with you Mighty Woman of Valor! I have called you and I will do the work through you. Remember Joshua 1:9 God told Joshua do not be afraid for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. Several times in that chapter we find God telling Joshua not to be afraid. You do not repeat do not be afraid to someone who is fearless. Joshua had been called to take the place of Moses and I believe he was terrified and just like Gideon was wondering why God had chosen him. You may be wondering why God has chosen you, but do not fret yourself, God is with you and He has called you because you are the man, woman, boy, or girl that He has chosen for this special work and this special victory! Go and obey and see the salvation of the LORD! HE WILL NOT FORSAKE YOU OR FAIL YOU! God had taken Gideon’s army of about thirty-two thousand men down to three hundred men. God wanted them to know for certain that HE had fought this battle and delivered Israel by His own hand. Can you imagine how each of those three hundred men felt? Also, Remember the dream that enemy soldier had about the cake of barley? Barley grain was only half as valuable as wheat. Therefore the bread made from barley was considered inferior. In the same way Israel’s army of three hundred men compared to the MULTITUDE of men in the enemy’s army was considered inferior however, they had THE MOST HIGH fighting for them! They were not inferior at all!
Romans 8:31 “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”
When Gideon heard the dream and interpretation, The Word of God says he worshipped. Now remember he was standing just outside the enemy camp. Loud praise would have announced his presence o the enemy, therefore Gideon’s praise and worship must have been silent. This teaches us that worship is not limited to a particular form or building. We can worship anywhere. There are times when we worship loud and times when we worship silently but God inhabits our praise however we worship! True worship begins with an attitude humbled unto the LORD and lifting up His name with thanksgiving. God is so good and so worthy of all praise and worship!
Judges 7:16-23 “ 16And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
17And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. 18When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.19So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.
20And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.21And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. 22And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath. 23And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.
4. God wants Sons and Daughters that will obey Him!
God was looking for men who would obey Him. He was going to fight the battle but first the army had to do what was commanded of them. I believe out of those three hundred men God chose men who He knew would be obedient. When the men did as Gideon commanded them, they blew their trumpets, broke their pitchers and cried “THE SWORD OF THE LORD AND OF GIDEON!!!” When they did as they were commanded, God used their act of obedience and greatly multiplied the effect thereof. The enemy was so terrified and confused that they began to panic, cry out, and run as well as fight with each other. Gideon and his small army did not even have to raise a sword, all they did was sit back and watch as the LORD fought and won the battle for them. Can you imagine the thankfulness in their hearts because they knew that there was no way they could ever have had such a victory using their own strength and merit. THIS WAS MOST DEFINITLY GOD ALMIGHTY AT WORK! Thank You LORD!
You may feel like you are too small, or inferior to do that which God is calling you to do. Dear One I encourage you to learn from the life of Gideon. It does not matter how strong, big, or educated you are if God has called you to do a work, be obedient because He is going to do the thing for you, He just wants your act of obedience! Just like Gideon and the three hundred man army. Please understand that God DID NOT need Gideon or those three hundred men. He could have just spoke one word and zapped the whole army of the enemy off the face of the earth, but God wanted His people to obey and see His great works and love for them, and for them to be thankful and turn their hearts in worship to Him. God wants our love, our trust, our praise, and for us to obey Him. When we truly love The Lord, the others will fall into place. No matter how afraid or worried you are, just purpose in your heart that you will obey God and He will do the rest. Know that God loves you just as much as He loved Gideon and He is the same yesterday, today and forever and just as He delivered Israel, He will deliver and fight the battle for you as well when you trust and obey! Give HIM PRAISE! :O))
Dear Righteous, Heavenly Father,
Thank You for being the MOST MIGHTY WARRIOR! How amazing it must have been for Gideon and those three hundred chosen soldiers to stand back and watch the confusion and fear you caused to come upon the enemy that day! Father it makes my heart jump up and down with excitement because of how powerful You are! I know that You are the same today, yesterday, and will be forever and You can confuse my enemies and make them turn on one another when I live in trust and obedience to You. You are my protector, My shield, You are my HERO! My heart swoons over You LORD. I see You with spiritual eyes, as You ride the wings of the wind to my rescue. You take my breath away and there is none like You Dear Lover of my Soul! Help me to always obey You and do as You call me no matter what happens. Help me to do it afraid at first if I have to and give me courage as I go. Father thank You for planning my life and having a purpose for me. Thank You for calling me into the things You have and for qualifying and giving me the authority to do them in the name of Jesus! I ask today that You give special strength and courage to the ones You have called to do a special work. Help them to be encouraged by this lesson and to know that just as You were with Gideon, You are with them as well and You are greater than all. Thank You that when You open doors, no one can shut them, and when you shut doors, no one can open them. You are all powerful, all Holy and Almighty! I love You Lord. Thank You for all the blessings You give to us everyday. Help us to be strong, mighty warriors for Your glory always in obedience to You. In the Mighty name of Lovely Jesus we pray. Amen.
~*Cindygirl*~
June 20, 2010
