David Maher

What does the rolling barley loaf mean in the Midianite's dream? Judg 7:14 14 His friend responded, "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." (from New International Version) The barley loaf represents the sword of Gideon. Why does the Lord show Gideon this dream? To encourage Gideon and increase his faith.

What significance, if any, do you see in selecting the "lappers" from the "kneelers"? Based on the commentaries I have had a chance to read, I believe that the lappers were more alert and probably more fearful. Based on this assumption, I think this fits the Lord's plan . . . He wants there to make sure that any victory is seen as the Lord's victory, not man's victory. By choosing those more fearful, this is possible.

Why did God feel Gideon's army was too large? There were too many men in the army to give God the glory. The numbers would have given Israel the potential to boast that they saved themselves through their own strength. Why was shrinking the army's size to a tiny band essential in restoring Israel's faith and allegiance? God wanted to make sure that Israel knew for sure that their deliverance was from the Lord. By reducing the size of the army to a size that would have been totally against all odds of survival was God able to show that He was the reason thay were delivered. What kinds of pressures would Gideon be feeling NOT to obey God in shrinking his army? He would probably be concerned about how others saw him as a leader. It was a bold move to call the army together, and a large army came together because of his charisma. What will people think? How was Gideon able to obey God fully in this? He knew that this is the Lord's plan. He was listened and was obedient to the Lord. The Lord said that he will help Gideon know who should go and who will stay and be a part of the army. Judg 7:4-6 4 But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go." 5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." 6 Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. (from New International Version)

When, if ever, should we ask God to confirm his direction with a sign? I believe the Lord provides signs for us in many ways. We have an advantage over Gideon, since we have the Bible, the inspired word of God. I don't believe we should have to ask for signs, we can find what we need through Bible study and prayer. Many times what we ask for is just to confirm what we already know to be true. 2 Tim 3:15-17 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (from New International Version) What is the danger of demanding a sign? A couple of things came to mind, angering God and wasting time. Gideon was aware of the possibility of angering God: Judg 6:39 9 Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. . ." (from New International Version) He also wasted 2 days waiting for the signs he requested. In his case, it did not make a difference, but I expect there are times where we miss all that God has for us because we wait for signs. I think it is possible that God will find someone else to serve his purpose if we are too hesitant and lacking faith.

Why does Gideon put out a fleece before the Lord -- twice? I believe Gideon is looking for assurance that this is of the Lord. Judg 6:36-38 Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised- 37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." (from New International Version) The second test was probably because the first test was inconclusive. Wool is very absorbant and may have absorbed moisture from the air that did not result in dew, or the dew may have been so light it had evaporated before Gideon arose. The second test was more conclusive because there was no doubt that it was a miracle. Is this a sign of unbelief or of belief? I believe Gideon was being human, he wanted to be sure. I think he was looking at this task from the human perspective. It is completely beyond Gideon's abilities, but completely within the Lord's ability to carry it out. This is a "testing" of God? How does it differ from the sinful testings of God the scripture warns against? Gideon was not testing God to get something for himself, like the other situations in the references. He was giving credit to God working through him, not trying to manipulate God to provide for Gideon's personal desires.

What kind of leader has Gideon's father Joash been up to this point? I think he tried to be a good father. He also was trying to please others in his community. This caused him to be less than he could have been, if he had been obedient to the Lord all along. How does Gideon's action affect his father? Gideon's actions had several ramifications for his father. First, the act of tearing down the Asherah pole and the alter to Baal must have had an impact on his father's standing in the community. Secondly, he lost the value of the bull that was sacrificed. Third, it forced him to get off the fence and make a choice, in this case it was a good one, for the Lord. Shouldn't Gideon have considered the impact on his father? Why should he? He was following the Lord. I think trying to consider the feelings of others all the time probably keeps us from following God like we should. We decide to hold back because we might lose a friend, alienate a family member, etc. How should this have affected Gideon's action? I don't think it should have. In what sense is Joash a follower of Yahweh now? He is now more in line with the Lord's plan. It is interesting how much impact our children may have on us in our faith walk. He had to take a public stand.

Can a person be a "disobedient disciple"? Good question. As I was pondering this question, I thought it would help to have a definition of disciple, which is: DISCIPLE. This term occurs in the OT as the rendering of Heb. limmud, one "instructed," Isa 8:16; 50:4; rendered "taught" in 54:13. In the NT it is the rendering of the Grk. mathetes, "learner," and occurs frequently. The meaning applies to one who professes to have learned certain principles from another and maintains them on that other's authority. It is applied principally to the followers of Jesus (Matt 5:1; 8:21; etc.); sometimes to those of John the Baptist (9:14) and of the Pharisees (22:16). It is used in a special manner to indicate the twelve (10:1; 11:1; 20:17). (from The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright © 1988.) Based on the above definition, I think it is possible to be a "disobedient disciple." I know, for myself, I want to be an obedient disciple of Jesus, but there are times, all too often, where I, in my human nature, fall short and I end up in disobedience or sin. Through God's grace, I have also learned lessons that help me be more obedient in the future. I do not suggest that we be disobedient in order to learn obedience, because there is a cost to the disobedience. I thank the Lord for the precious gift of His Son, Jesus and the forgivness of my sin, thank you Lord, Amen. Rom 6:19-23 19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (from New International Version) Doesn't that represent an oxymoron? Yes and no. I believe that disobedience is part of our human condition. We are not perfect in ourselves. We are perfected through Jesus. On the other hand, if we willfully chose to be disobedient, are we able to be a disciple, based on the above definition? Probably not because we are not maintaining the principles that we learned. Did Gideon have a choice here? Yes. He could have chosen not to act for personal safety or other reasons. He could have put his family or community before the Lord. He chose to follow God. Do we have choices? Yes, we have choices, many each day.

How are we to obey the commandment to "Honor your father and your mother" in the kind of situation Gideon finds himself? What justification does Gideon have for his action? (Matthew 10:37). The Lord commands us to put Him first. This is over any other relationships. What better way is there to honor your father and mother than to be obedient to the Lord? Gideon's father was not following the Lord at the time either. It is through Gideon's actions that his father was reminded of the Lord's commands. Gideon's justification was that he was being obedient to the Lord.

Why does God tell Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? (6:25) I think there may be a couple of reasons. First, as a test of Gideon's faith and committment. Secondly, to remind the Israelites that they are not following the earlier commands of God. Judg 6:9-10 10 I said to you, 'I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me." (from New International Version) What positive thing is he to do in their place? (6:26) Build a proper alter to the Lord God. What risks are involved in this action. Why does Gideon do this at night? Is the night mission a sign of weakness or faith? (6:27) Retaliation from the people who worship these gods is an immediate risk, including physical harm or death. I do not believe it is a sign of weakness. I believe Gideon's obedience is a definite sign of faith. I believe he had a healthy fear (awareness) of what the possible ramifications might be, so he chose to complete the task under the cover of night. I do not see any specific direction from God about the time of day that this should be done. I believe we need to consider the risks and take appropriate actions to minimize them, unless this would be disobedience. I believe if God had told Gideon to do this in daylight, he would have.

What is God's answer to Gideon's self-image? God says that He will be with Gideon and that they will work together to strike down the Midianites. Does this spiritual principle apply to our lives as Christians? Yes. Can you recall any New Testament passages that teach the same principle? Matthew 18:20 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (from New International Version) John 14:15-21 15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." (from New International Version) Matthew 19:26 26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (from New International Version) Mark 9:23 23 "'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." (from New International Version) Mark 10:27 27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." (from New International Version) Luke 18:27 27 Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." (from New International Version) What is an appropriate prayer to pray in light of what God has taught you from this passage? Oh Lord, I praise you for your awesome power. Thank you for seeing me better than I see myself. Help me to have the wisdom to better understand how you see me and to have the strength to step out in faith to do your work, knowing that you will work through me to accomplish your will. All praise and glory to you Lord. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

How did God see Gideon? God saw Gideon as a mighty warrior. How did Gideon see himself? Gideon saw himself as the weakest of the least. I believe he was feeling very unworthy. Whose self-perception is most accurate? I believe God's perception is most accurate, since God is all knowing. How can our own self-perception prevent us from becoming what God has made us to be? Our self-perception is what makes our reality for us. I think we take what feels comfortable to us as the perception of who we are. This limits us compared to God's perception of who we are. I believe it is hard for us to accept the Lord's view of who we are, because we do not feel worthy, maybe we have been beaten down by circumstances or people around us. These bad experiences make it hard for us to imagine, much less see, ourselves as God sees us and wants us to be.

According to the prophet in 6:7-10, what is the reason for Israel's oppressed state? They did not listen to the Lord. What commandment did they break? "You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3) In what way hadn't they "listened"? After the Lord delivered them out of Egypt the land of slavery, He said to them, "I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live." (Judges 6:10). They had been worshiping those gods. How does this affect Christians today? We tend to have our own gods that we worship today as well; money, power, fame, other people, etc. These are the gods of the land we live in. These gods keep us from putting the Lord first. We do and will pay consequences for our actions, as Gideon's people did.

In verse 13, Gideon places the blame on the Lord, ". . . But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian" (Judges 6:13). Gideon's assessment is not accurate. Gideon fails to acknowledge that the trouble was brought on the people by their own actions. The prophet told them what they were doing wrong, if only they would have really listened and reflected on what was said. They would have realized the fact that they had been disobedient and that this was the cause of their struggles. Why do we blame God? That is a good question. I believe we are not willing to accept responsibility for our circumstances. I know that for years, I blamed everyone else for my problems, including God. I praise the Lord for finally showing me the truth. I know, early in my faith walk, that I was taught about the gift of salvation and not a lot about my responsibility as a believer. I believe the danger we face is to not ever experience the wonderful things the Lord has in store for us when we are obedient. Our disobedience seperates us from God. It forces us to work under our own strength and abilities, which are far from the Lord's. I never really knew what it meant to make God the Lord of my life. Now I know that God wants to be first in our lives. I have a relationship with Him daily, even though I still have a way to go to be where I want to be. I have come to understand that I am not perfect and that this is a journey. I desire to have a greater passion for the Lord. In order to stop short of the dangers in the future, I believe it is important for us to have that personal, daily relationship with the Lord. To call on him constantly, not just when we are at the end of our rope. The Lord is there and He wants us to have this kind of relationship with Him.

Hello. I'm David Maher from Cookeville, Tennessee. I am a technology consultant for small businesses. Currently, I am also working on my MBA in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix. I am an active member of The River Community Church. I enjoy getting closer to the Lord through studying His Word. I look forward to our walk together through this study.