LESSON 6: Gideon, Part 1
Teacher’s Notes
Text – Judges 6:1-8:21
The story of Gideon is one of the more well known stories among the judges. Possibly that’s because it’s easy for many of us to identify with his lack of self-confidence and his repeated questions regarding his purpose. Even with Gideon’s insecurities and weaknesses, God continued to work on Gideon by teaching him to trust and obey. Ultimately, that’s exactly what Gideon did and became a successful leader.
Note: This week’s text is extremely long. You may or may not want to read all of the text in class. You may want to focus on the text that pertains to the following questions and simply summarize the rest. Conversely, you may find that your class benefits more from the reading aloud of scripture. Find what works best for the direction you want to take your class and do it. Also, in the coming weeks, some future lessons have equally long text. You may want to encourage your class to read ahead so you don’t have to devote as much time to reading in class if you would prefer to go in that direction.
1. As in previous chapters, chapter 6 begins with Israel’s rejection of God. What does this teach us about God’s longsuffering with man?
With each new section within Judges, Israel again displays their stubborn and rebellious ways. However, God loves them too much to allow them to continue in their sinful ways. Like a parent disciplines their child, God too disciplines Israel. He does not give up on them. In order to bring them back to a proper relationship with the Father, God gives them into the hands of the Midianites. They have been suffering for seven years to the point of dwelling in caves and annually loosing their crops (note that Gideon is hiding food from the Midianites when he is called by the Lord in verse 11). This demonstrates just how stubborn they were in their unwillingness to turn away from their idolatry.
We too are so loved by God that when we are rebellious and stubborn in our sinful ways, we are likely to face God’s chastisement (refer to Hebrews 12:1-11). Sometimes we forget that the purpose of our suffering is to bring us closer to our loving God. God’s purpose is not punitive but rather restoration.
2. How does Gideon describe himself in 6:11-16? Is Gideon prepared to take a leadership role? Why would he have questions if God is with him?
a) This is very interesting dialogue between the angel and Gideon. In verses 12, 14, and 16 the angel is trying to convince Gideon that he had been chosen by God to deliver Israel. Notice that the angel called Gideon a mighty warrior when the battle had not yet been waged. The angel also described Gideon as being strong and foretells his eventual victory. Gideon’s response was repeated questions. He asked where was this God that he had heard had delivered Israel from the hands of the Egyptians. He also called his family the weakest in Manasseh and himself as the least in his family. This is probably a reference to his family’s clan being the smallest in Manasseh and to him being the youngest in his family. Like David, it was assumed that one of his older brothers would be chosen to lead Israel; this may have also been the case with Gideon.
b & c) The word sanctification refers to a process in which we are purified and set apart to be made ready for the kingdom. That was certainly true of Gideon, just as it is true of each of us. I have heard people who were facing death say that God was using their illness to teach them more and to prepare them for what they were about to face. None of us will be perfected until we reach heaven. We are all a work in progress. We can see in the story of Gideon how God was shaping and molding Gideon to prepare him for his assigned task. Gideon’s questions of God show us that he was still in need of more preparation. His faith needed strengthening and he needed to learn to rely more on God and less on self, as do each of us.
3. In verses 17, 37, and 39 of chapter 6, Gideon asks God for a sign. What does this tell us about the state of mind of the Israelites at this time? What does it tell us about Gideon? Are we permitted to ask God for a sign?
a & b) Israel was so deeply entrenched in idolatry that was very difficult for them to break free from it. They were accustomed to having a god that could be seen and were in need of visual evidences of deity. In verse 13, Gideon states that there had been no visual evidences like those provided to their forefathers. Gideon’s faith needed to be strengthened and God was willing to do that for him. Remember that when Gideon offered his sacrifice to God, it was a food sacrifice. This was a significant act because they were in a time of famine and Gideon was hiding food when he was called. This shows that Gideon was willing to serve God and he did posses faith. However, his faith needed some work to get him ready for the battle.
c) We are told that we are not to test God (Deut. 6:16, Luke 4:12). Knowing that Gideon was listed among the heroes of faith listed in Hebrews 11, we can safely assume that Gideon was not trying to test God in requesting signs. Gideon was ready to serve God, as seen in his sacrifice and his willingness to take down the idols at his father’s house. Gideon questioned if he was the right man for the job and also sought confirmation to ensure that he fully understood what we was being asked to do. We can see similarity between Gideon’s call and that of Moses. Moses also questioned if he was the right man for the job and sought confirmation. God was very willing to provide both men with the evidence that the sought. If we believe that God is unchanging, we can conclude that he is willing to do the same for us. We must remember however, both men were willing to serve God (maybe somewhat reluctantly, but willing nonetheless) and were simply seeking confirmation. Neither of them were trying to put God to a test.
4. The Israelites have followed Baal so long that they are willing to kill a brother to defend their beliefs in 6:30. What popular social views are Christians in danger of accepting? What backyard altars should concern us?
There is obviously no right or wrong answers to this question. This question was intended to get the members of your class to think about how the story applies to their own lives. Hopefully, it will ignite some healthy discussion.
5. Why would God want Gideon to be outnumbered? In what ways are Christians outnumbered today in our battles? How can we win?
a) If Gideon’s army was larger than the enemy, the soldiers would think that they had been victorious by their own merit. Even if they were fairly and evenly matched, they could still draw the same conclusion. However, if they were greatly outnumbered (approximately 400 to 1), it would force them to acknowledge God’s role in their victory. Notice that in 7:2 God was concerned about their pride. Even though they had suffered severely under the Midianites, they still needed to learn humility and understand that God was in control of their lives. They needed to understand that they were being saved not by their own doing, but by the grace of God – as are we.
b &c) A recurring theme that is seen throughout the book of Judges is dependence on God. Each judge must depend on God in order to be successful. Once they begin to depend on self, they fail, as will be seen in next week’s lesson as well as with Jephthah and Samson. If we learn nothing else from this book, hopefully we can learn that we must depend on God. Unfortunately, too often we want to depend on ourselves or others. This can only lead to failure without God’s involvement. We may think that there is no way for us to win a particular battle, but as with the judges, God’s strength is displayed in the weakness of the judges. Likewise, God’s strength can be displayed in our weakness.
6. In 7:10, God states that Gideon is still afraid. Why is Gideon trying to hide his fear from God? In what ways do we sometimes try to hide our true selves from God?
Gideon may have been frightened or even ashamed to ask God for more strength at that point. He may have questioned his self-confidence and wondered why his faith was still wavering. Gideon was behaving similarly to a small child who is playing peek-a-boo with a parent. If you play pee-a-boo with a small child, typically they will cover their face assuming that they are hidden. They think that if they can’t see you, you can’t see them. Like Gideon, most of us have probably played this same game with God at some point. We think that if we don’t acknowledge a problem to God, that he can’t see it. Gideon may have thought that if he didn’t talk to God about his lingering fears, God wouldn’t know about them, or possibly that they would simply go away. However, God knows us better than we know ourselves. God saw Gideon’s fear and wanted to give him more courage so that he would be ready for the fight. We too should not be afraid to share our true selves with God. We should understand that God already knows us so well that he knows our weaknesses and fears and struggles and we can freely bring them before him and know that he wants to help us to overcome them.
7. Why do you think the Bible spends so much time discussing Gideon’s preparation for the battle and so little time discussing the victory? Despite Gideon’s doubts and fears, how can we know that he possessed true faith (Heb. 11:32/2 Cor. 12:9)?
We should be reminded that the angel had foretold the victory in 6:16. The battle was already won, God just needed to get Gideon ready to participate. The same was true with our last lesson with Barak. He was told that the battle had already been won, he just had to participate. As earlier stated, our lives our lived to prepare us for our ultimate destiny, that being heaven. Each day, God is working in and through our lives to sanctify us in preparation for eternal service to him in heaven. So, it should not come as a surprise that the focus of the story was the preparation of Gideon.