Hi Parents:
Because of the retreat this past weekend, we took a break from the Sunday School schedule, and are reconvening this week with Lesson #5. For the months of October and November, Thomas will be the teaching. Below is the teacher devotion for the upcoming lesson.
While reviewing the devotion, Pastor Ethan's message a couple weeks back (Decide:Least Likely) came to mind. How unlikely a hero of faith Gideon would be, similar to how unlikely Ehud would be called to be a Judge that would deliver Israel out of distress. I was also struck by the impossibility of the task that Gideon had to face in human terms. To battle 135,000 Midianite soldiers with an army of 300! Come on! Yet he had faith, and he did not let fear and doubt prevent him from choosing to respond in obedience and faith to God's specific calling. If you have not had a chance to listen to last weekend's sermon from Guest Speaker Pastor Stephen Barr (Life Beyond Imagination: Stuck), it discussed the events of Numbers 13-14, and how fear and doubt operate to undermine our faith. Pastor Stephen made an impassioned plea for followers of Christ to reimagine faith/calling, tear down the walls of the "fortress of the familiar" and go out where God calls us to go by faith. In many ways, the calling that we may have is not all that different from these ordinary men we are reading about in Judges.
Hope you all have a blessed week!
Brian
Teacher Preparation
Scriptural Background
As you begin to prepare for your lesson this week, please prepare your heart and mind by reading Judges 6–8. The recurring cycle of Israel’s history during the time of the Judges continued for the 300-year period. This cycle included the Israelites’ disobedience and idolatry, God’s judgment on them through neighboring nations, their cry to God that He would deliver them, God’s mercy and compassion in raising up judges to deliver them, and f nally Israel’s fall back into disobedience. In Judges 6 we find that because the Israelites were once again doing evil in the sight of the Lord, God allowed them to be oppressed by the Midianites. They were now crying out to Him for help (Judges 6:6). The Lord was to provide an unlikely hero for them through Gideon.
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon—who was threshing wheat in secret so that the raiding Midianites would not take it (not a very valiant act)—and called Gideon a “mighty man of valor.” He told Gideon that he would lead Israel to defeat its current oppressors, the Midianites. Gideon revealed his fear and lack of trust in the Lord as he responded that he was weak and of the weakest clan of Israel (Judges 6:15). But the Lord responded with confidence, explaining that He Himself would be with him. In Judges 6:14, the Lord told Gideon to “Go in this might of yours,” but God also clearly told him the source of that might: “Have I not sent you?” And in verse 34, as Gideon gathered men for battle, it was because “the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon.” Scripture is clear that it was the Lord moving in these events, using Gideon; it was not Gideon’s own strength or ability that won the victory.
We see, as the account unfolds, that God wanted His power alone to be demonstrated.In Judges 7, a substantial number of men had rallied to Gideon (though they would still have been out-numbered by the Midianites). In Judges 7:2–8, God gave Gideon orders to reduce the number of men who would participate in the battle. First, any who were fearful were commanded to leave. Next, God directed Gideon to accept only those who drank by lapping the water from their hands. Thus, the fighting force was reduced to a mere three hundred to face the Midianite army of 135,000. God wanted the victory of this battle to point to Him alone as deliverer. He did not want the Israelites to think for a minute that this victory was theirs. “And the Lord said to Gideon, ‘The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, “My own hand has saved me” (Judges 7:2).
The account of the battle is dramatic and noble. Gideon’s three hundred men stealthily approached the Midianites with covered lamps. Then suddenly, at Gideon’s signal, they broke the jars that covered them and shouted, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon,” inciting panic among the Midianites (Judges 7:20–21). In the midst of this panic, God ordained that the Midianites
would turn their swords on each other—this was God’s battle, and the victory was accomplished by His power, working through Gideon’s obedience (Judges 7:22).
God used Gideon, a simple man, to accomplish a great victory against a fearful opponent. Gideon was obedient and proved to be strong, due to the Lord’s strength in him. Gideon was the fifth and one of the greatest judges of Israel. Because of his faith in the Lord, he is mentioned with the great and faithful saints listed in Hebrews 11:32.
As stated before, the victory for this battle was the Lord’s. It could only have been the Lord who would allow 300 men to defeat the Midianite army. Gideon realized this. The people were quick to forget as evidenced when they requested that Gideon rule over them (Judges 8:22). Gideon’s loyalty to God shone bright as he turned down this honor and reminded the people of God’s sovereignty in His rule over them (Judges 8:23).
Sadly, Gideon compromised his faith by requesting and accepting offerings of gold, plundered by Israel from their enemies, and he used the gold to make an ephod (a kind of ceremonial breastplate). This ephod, set up in Gideon’s city of Ophrah, became a snare to Gideon and to his family (Judges 8:27).
Historical/Apologetics Background
Gideon acted faithfully and courageously in battle, but God desires to be the object of His people’s worship and gratitude, and He will not share that worship: “My glory I will not give to another” (Isaiah 42:8). God used people all through history and continues to use people today to accomplish His will. But He makes it clear that even when He does so, it is He who always ultimately deserves the credit: “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure”(Philippians 2:13). Both the desire and the ability to obey God are the results of God working in us.
In Judges 8, we find that the men of Ephraim wanted to share the credit that belonged to God for the battle won. We then find that the men of Succoth and Penuel would not credit God (or anyone) without proof of a certain outcome. And finally, we see that Israel, rather than giving credit to God for using Gideon, gave Gideon credit instead of God.
This inclination to overlook and disbelieve that it actually was God who orchestrated the victory was at the root of Israel’s tendency to fall back into sin, even after a deliverance such as this. God uses His people to accomplish His perfect plans. But when the plans are accomplished, we must not forget that we are His workmanship created to do the good works He has prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). To Him be the glory forever (Romans 11:36).
Before the Throne
Awesome God, you encourage me. I delight in your Word and am amazed at how you use simple and foolish people to accomplish your purposes. Even though Gideon was close to despair as he focused on the Midianites, you came to him and gave him hope and victory. Lord, help me to walk by faith in you and not to despair when my circumstances overwhelm me. Help me to model that kind of faith walk to my students. Cement your Word in our minds that we might not sin against you, and that we might be light and life to the dark world around us.
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