This week, we shall continue the
study of the Book of Judges of the Old Testament.
(1) Many scholars consider 40 years as a generation in the Old Testament and so it appears that the Israelites had a hard time passing their faith to the next generation. How can we ensure that the next generation would follow The Lord?
(2) How unique or unusual was their plight under the Midianites compared with what they experienced before? How does their plight resemble the life of a wayward Christian who can never have rest as he depends on his own effort apart from the Lord?
(3) Have you ever tasted a similar experience?
(4) Before giving them a deliverer, God made sure that they knew the reason for their demise. Though the rebuke is quite familiar, it’s worth reflecting upon: See if these words of rebuke have any contemporary meaning to our generation, including yourselves.
(5) How long did they wait this time before they cried out to the Lord and what was the reason given?
(6) How does the fact that they still had a prophet among them speak to their spiritual condition?
(7) Pause and reflect on the main message to you today. How may you apply it to your life?
“Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country.” (Jdg. 6:3)
This vicious cycle of rebellion against the Lord continued after the death of Deborah, and the generation under Deborah again failed to pass on their faith in Yahweh to their descendants.
Although there was still at least a prophet among them whom God could use to be His messenger, it appeared that not only the people in general but their leaders had taken the lead to rebel against the Lord. A case in point was the father of Gideon, Joash, who should be saddling between the former generation under Deborah and the current generation that blatantly turned away from God to idols. It was Joash, not Gideon, who built an altar to Baal (6:25). Joash could not claim that he did not hear of the mighty deed of deliverance by God under Deborah, although he might be a young lad at the time of the miraculous defeat of the Moabites.
The punishment by the Lord this time was rather unique. Instead of total domination by the Midianites and the “eastern peoples”, these enemies chose not to possess their land, but to raid them at the most inopportune time—the time when the Israelites planted their crops. In other words, all that had gone into their labor was totally wasted. But this is a most fitting picture for a people who belong to the Lord and yet have chosen to turn away from Him. We, Christians, should understand this perfectly.
Like a broken cistern (Jer. 2:13), all our own toil and labor, plans and energy could not give us any success. It appears that God is against us at every turn. Worse, the joy and peace we once knew has changed into unrest and anxiety. All because we have chosen to disobey God and His will. Frankly, it is grace. If things all work out for us, in spite of our lack of peace, our consciences will be so seared that we will walk farther and farther away from the Lord.
And so, the Israelites were “so impoverished” that they cried out to the Lord for help (6:6). Amazingly, the God of grace, once again, listened to their cry and gave them yet another chance. For some of us, it is time for us to cry out to the Lord and return to Him and His will.
(1) Where normally did people in Israel thresh their wheat? (See Ruth 3:2)
(2) Why did Gideon thresh his in the wine press?
(3) How did the angel of the Lord address Gideon?
(4) How unusual was Gideon's reply? What does it tell you about Gideon’s state of mind?
(5) Were his doubts and complaints justified? Why or why not?
(6) Compare carefully v. 11 and v. 14. Who then is this angel of The Lord?
(7) How did The Lord frame His “calling” in v. 14?
(8) If you were Gideon, what might be your immediate response?
(9) How different is your “would-be” response from Gideon's?
(10) Compare Gideon’s response to say, Saul’s (1 Sam. 9:21). Were they genuine? Were they justified?
(11) God’s calling and His promised presence always go hand-in-hand. How does this fact speak to you?
(12) What did Gideon’s question and his action (in vv. 17-18) signify?
(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
Threshing floors were often on hills where the night wind could more easily blow away the chaff, while a winepress was a hole in the ground.
“(I)f the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us…But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.” (Jdg. 6:13)
As the angel of the Lord (who is the Lord Himself which v. 14 makes clear) called Gideon to be the next deliverer of Israel, He was met with a barrage of questions that bordered on blasphemy:
“(I)f the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian” (6:13).
These words of complaints and doubts followed the rebuke of the prophet which, I believe, everyone in Israel would have heard. How dare anyone, including Gideon put the blame on God for their own demise!
However, the response of the Lord was one of understanding, patience and encouragement. Why?
I believe it was because the Lord knew that Gideon had lived under a household that did not fear Him, and as a total stranger to the Lord, these questions, though wrong in themselves, were understandable. If Gideon still asked such questions after his personal encounter with the Lord, it would have been a different story.
Such is the case with the people of this Post-Christian era. I have heard over and over again similar challenges by non-Christians as I seek to introduce Christ to them: “If there is a God, why is the world so full of pain and sufferings?” Then they will cite famine in Africa, genocides, diseases and tsunamis as examples.
We should not be offended by their challenges, because they have yet to know the love of God personally. However, if similar complaints and doubts are expressed by Christians who have tasted the goodness of the Lord in His salvation, it is certainly a different matter.
I have heard personally a leader in a Christian community encourage other Christians to vent their frustrations and angers towards the Lord, saying that “He can take it.” At the time, I feared for her, because there is no way the children of God can take their heavenly Father so lightly, casually and disrespectfully. As much as He is our heavenly Father, He remains the holy and awesome God. As it turned out, some years later, it was reported in the news that she had a fight with her husband and both ended up in the hospital. Not being able to control one’s anger is one thing, to teach others that it is okay to vent their anger against God is another. Certainly, God cannot be taken lightly!
(1) What did Gideon’s action in vv. 17-19 signify as far as his recognition of who this messenger of the Lord was?
(2) What did the action of the “angel” show in vv. 20-21?
(3) What did this action mean to Gideon judging both from his fear and the building of an altar?
(4) Do you think that with this experience or encounter, Gideon was ready to carry the commission of the Lord? Why or why not?
(5) Before the act of deliverance, what did God instruct Gideon to do the same night?
(6) What was the significance of (a) the tearing down of the Asherah pole, (b) the building of a proper altar, and (c) the altar belonging to Gideon’s father or household?
(7) How did Gideon carry out this order of the Lord and why?
(8) What does it tell you about Gideon and his relationship with the Lord at this time?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Take down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it…” (Jdg. 6:25)
We often think of the judges in Israel as mere heroes with brute force, and in the case of Samson, it certainly was true. But as we consider the many other judges whom God raised up, there was often a deeper spiritual dimension to these individuals. The way God chose to deal with them while raising them up as judges also shows that God was interested in both the restoration of the nation back to Himself and the bringing of the persons He raised to a personal relationship with Him.
In the case of Gideon, He could have just allowed His Spirit to come upon him one day and have him gather the people around him and rout the enemies who had been terrorizing them. But we see that God patiently carried out His plan in bringing Gideon to a personal relationship with Him:
- The appearing to him in the winepress was a personal invitation—a sign of Him extending His friendship to Gideon.
- Allowing Gideon to vent his frustrations and doubts towards Him was a great way to help Gideon to know himself and to express his passion for his people.
- The miraculous burning of the meat and the bread was not only an epiphany that proved who He is, and but also showed His acceptance of Gideon and his offering.
Now, it was time for Gideon to make a decision, not so much in terms of taking on the calling as the deliverer of Israel, but to make the Lord his God. The building of an altar to the Lord was a sign that he acknowledged the Lord as God, but God could not co-exist in his household with other idols. To truly make the Lord his God, he had to get rid of all the gods and idols he used to worship. Perhaps, in all the tests that God had given Gideon, this was the toughest, because the altar of Baal and the Asherah pole were not his, but his father’s (presumably Joash was the clan’s leader; these then were also the shrines for the whole town). Without any argument and without any delay, Gideon demolished all these shrines. He had truly made the Lord his God.
Some of the early missionaries to China have been criticized for being insensitive to Chinese culture and heritage as they forced the new converts to destroy their idols. The example of Gideon is a very clear answer to these criticisms. On the contrary, the continued practice of “Vo-dou” in Haiti by so-called Christians/Catholics is a sad testimony of so-called culturally sensitive evangelism.
(1) What does the reaction of the people of the town tell us about the spiritual condition of the Israelites in general at the time?
(2) How does it speak to the action taken by Gideon?
(3) What was the response by Gideon’s father? Are you surprised by this response? Why or why not?
(4) In the course of the people’s investigation (v. 29), I am sure that Gideon’s father must have done his own investigation and heard from Gideon directly. What then did Joash show with his defense of his son who tore down “his” altar to Baal?
(5) Gideon belonged to the tribe of Manasseh. Can you remember the tribes from which the previous judges came?
(6) As much as Gideon had the clear calling of the Lord to deliver his people, what was the key to his act of deliverance and the timing?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Then, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.” (Jdg. 6:34)
Of all the Judges, I really like Gideon—he would not do anything unless clearly directed by the Lord. Yes, he might seem hesitant at times (and he probably was), but I would rather err on the side of slowness than presumptuousness.
If I had seen the Lord face to face, heard His calling as clear as daylight, witnessed the miraculous burning of my offering (not many in biblical history had witnessed such a sight), continued to be spoken to by the Lord either in dreams or in person, had taken the steps to destroy the altar of Baal and the Asherah pole, and even now see my father repent of his idol-worship, I would be ready to take on the world, and in the words of the Lord, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel…” (6:14).
From day one, Gideon had no illusion that by his own strength he could save Israel. He knew from the beginning that he by himself could not do it, and what he said in v. 15 was not words of false humility: “My clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least in my family.” All these subsequent miraculous events did increase his faith in God, but not in himself. How precious!
He would not do it on his own or his own timing. But once the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he blew the first trumpet to have the people follow him (6:34).
The Spirit of the Lord was not moving only in the time of Judges, He moves among us just the same today. We need to learn from Gideon in relying on God’s Spirit and His timing.
(1) Gideon had seen the Lord, heard His voice, saw His miraculous reception of his offering; he had the courage to tear down his father’s altar for Baal and witnessed the subsequent result; now the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he recruited a huge army. Why then did he still need further proof of God’s promised deliverance?
(2) Was the Lord mad or impatient with his request? Why?
(3) What was his first request?
(4) What was the result of his first test?
(5) Why was he not satisfied?
(6) What was his next request?
(7) Do you think Gideon planned the two tests as one?
(8) Was the Lord mad or impatient with his further request? Why?
(9) Can we test the Lord like Gideon? Why or why not?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised…” (Jdg. 6:36)
Gideon’s testing of the Lord with the fleece is quite hilarious when you think about it. He has already blown his trumpet and seen these northern tribes respond in droves. He had gathered them to face their enemies, and now he chose to test the Lord one more time. What if, just what if, God failed the test? Or rather, what if he heard God incorrectly? What was he to do?!
But if we read his request to the Lord carefully—he was not testing to see if God would honor His promise to save Israel, he was testing to see if God would save Israel through him! He wanted to make unmistakably clear that he did not act presumptuously, because it was not only his life and his reputation at stake, but the entire nation's, and for that matter, God’s too!
And he dictated the test too—and I believe he planned the two tests as a set, well in advance. Perhaps, as some opine, the fleece represented Gideon himself—so little a thing on the threshing ground—but if God cared enough to make the little fleece happen as Gideon wished—be it dry or wet, He would care enough to use him in all situations!
And he did it reverently, in fear and trembling, asking God, “do not be angry with me”, because he revered the Lord.
Many have argued whether it is fitting for us to test the Lord as Gideon did. Drawing from the above thoughts, I think it is far more important for us to emulate Gideon’s attitude than his testing of the Lord in that we need to be very careful that we are doing God’s will and not out of presumption. We need to be mindful of God’s reputation not ours, and we need to fear God as the Holy One and the Sovereign One. If our attitude is right, our action will be pleasing to Him. I believe Gideon pleased God with the testing of the fleece.
(1) What does “Jerub-Baal” mean? What effect would it have on Gideon being called this name all the time? (Put yourself in his shoes.)
(2) Why did God want to trim Gideon’s army?
(3) What might it mean to Gideon?
(4) What excuse did God allow these Israelite “volunteers” have?
(5) How many took this opportunity to back out of the battle?
(6) What might be the message(s) to us today (a) as followers of Jesus Christ, and (b) in calling others to follow Christ and serve in His cause?
(7) What did this mean to Gideon who, not long ago, struggled with his trust in God’s promise?
(8) How many were left to follow Gideon and how many did God want to trim the army down to?
(9) What was the second means that God used to trim the army?
(10) What might be the difference between kneeling down to drink and lapping water from their cupped hands to their mouths?
(11) In essence, with the two eliminations, what kind of men did God want to have in His army? What kind of people did He not want?
(12) What is its implication to us as disciples of Jesus Christ?
(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“There are still too many men…I will sift them for you there.” (Jdg. 7:4)
We have considered Gideon’s test of the Lord with the fleece. I wonder who was really testing whom!
When the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, his trumpet call resulted in 32,000 men joining him to fight against the formidable allied army of the Midianites. It must have been a great morale booster, not only for Gideon, but for all of Israel! But wait, it was not a morale booster for God, it was just the opposite. He did not consider most of these men fit for His battle. Simply being skilled warriors was not good enough for Him. The two cuts that He ordered Gideon to make reflect God’s desire for the kind of people who could join His army.
Firstly, He does not want those who join His army simply because other people joined. In other words, they may not truly have a passion or a sense of mission to fight for the Lord. They may not be willing to risk their lives, to forsake their families or to put an interruption to their normal pursuit of life. They joined only because others joined and they did not want to look bad. But now, officially, you had a choice to back out: 22,000 of them—more than two-thirds of them, withdrew right away. Did they really leave because they “tremble[d] with fear”? I doubt it very much, because as warriors, the last thing you want is to be laughed at. But, since there was no real passion or sense of mission, it was the best opportunity to back out!
Then, the Lord does not want those who are not alert and disciplined for warfare to join. They may have a heart and desire to be part of God’s warfare, but their lives are such that they have never been prepared. The difference between drinking with their knees down and lapping water from their cupped hands to their mouths was about alertness and disciplined. The former drank in such a way that their focus was on the quenching of their thirst and not on being aware of possible enemy attack. The latter demonstrated their alertness and discipline as soldiers.
Both are such important criteria for us today as soldiers of the Lord. The Lord demands that we follow Him with a clear sense of mission to the point that we are willing to forsake even those who are dearest and closest to us and to carry our cross and follow Him (Lk. 14:26-27). And so He says, “any one of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciples” (Lk. 14:33).
Equally important is to live a life of discipline and alertness as the Apostle Paul reminds us, “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber…the night is nearly over, the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexually immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy…” (Rom. 13:11-13).
If we think we can serve the Lord while slumbering in our spirit, we are not fit to be part of the army of the Lord.
(1) We read of many lively exchanges between Gideon and the Lord in the previous chapter. Did Gideon say anything to the Lord during the elimination process? What does this say about Gideon?
(2) What does it tell you about the training process that a person needs to go through before being greatly used by the Lord?
(3) How does the Bible describe the Midianite army?
(4) As much as Gideon appeared to have progressed quite a bit in his faith, how did God provide him with further encouragement and why?
(5) How might the dream affect the Midianite army and why did God use a “barley loaf” to denote the sword of Gideon?
(6) What did Gideon do upon hearing the dream? What does “worship” mean in this context?
(7) Have you ever worshipped God out of a similar experience? What does “worship” mean to you every Sunday?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshipped God.” (Jdg. 7:15)
Before God can greatly use a person, there usually is a long process of molding and training. It speaks to our need for transformation and also to the patience of God. And in the case of the molding and transformation of Gideon, it appears that it reached its climax in 7:15.
We are familiar with the calling of Gideon—the personal appearance of the Lord as the “angel of the Lord”; the clear words of calling; and the miraculous consuming of his offering that was only paralleled by the experience of Abraham before him (Gen. 15).
His calling was necessarily accompanied by true repentance—the breaking of idols, even those of his father.
Then Gideon experienced for the first time in his life, the coming upon him of the Spirit of the Lord which gave him great courage in assembling a sizeable army from the northern tribes of Israel—32,000 people strong.
The ultimate test of faith and obedience followed, as the Lord cut the army down to merely 300 people strong. I wonder if this was a greater test for Gideon or for the 300 who would still follow. I guess it was for all of them!
Gideon had certainly grown in his faith — while there was no lively exchange between him and the Lord, there was certainly no words of doubts. Gideon remained silent. But inwardly, he was only human, and the Lord knew that beneath this sea of calm, there were still under-currents of fear. The Lord was certainly very, very understanding, and he gave one more opportunity for Gideon to be assured of His presence and His victory.
The dream that he heard from the man (likely a soldier in the enemy’s camp) gave him the assurance he needed, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon, son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands” (7:14).
And with great amazement and emotion I read the next verse in the Scripture, “When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshipped God” (7:15). I was expecting responses by Gideon like, “he thanked the Lord”, or “he trusted in the Lord”, but not “he worshipped God”!
It means that Gideon had come to “totally surrender himself to God”—that is the true meaning of worship. The act of worship, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, is often in the form of prostrating oneself before the Lord. Such a posture can mean nothing other than the total surrender of a person before God. That was exactly what Gideon did!
Such an act of worship embodies his repentance—he now repented from his doubts if God would use him to save the people; his total trust — even with only 300 men, he knew it was more than enough because God has promised; and his total surrender to God — he now saw more than his sin, but his smallness and his insignificance, but more than that, the holiness, the greatness and majesty of this God of the universe! The only response he could have was to prostrate before Him and worship Him. His transformation, in a sense, was complete!