debs4jc

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). If there is a conflict between what our parent(s) would want us to do and what God has clearly told us to do, then we must follow God first. Gideon put God first and was right in doing so. He showed that he loved God more than his father. It sounds like his father was completely surprised by Gideon's actions--that Gideons didn't discuss what he did/was going to do with him. Either there wasn't time or Gideon didn't out of fear. It may have upset his father to be in the dark. Thankfully in this situation the father wised up and realized that God was the one they should be giving honor too. His son's action must have put him to shame once he realized how he had endangered his family by disobeying God. It doesn't always happen that way though, and we must be prepared to put God first no matter what--even if our family disowns us and never speaks to us again.

Why does God tell Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and Asherah pole? (6:25) What positive thing is he to do in their place? (6:26) 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) You all explained well why God told Gideon to tear down the Baal altar and build an altar to the Lord in it's place. It was also like a test of faith, a smaller step on the road to the bigger things God would ask Gideon to do. And God wanted to make the point that He wasn't ignoring the Israelite's plight, they were the one's who were ignoring Him. He could and would act, even through an insignificant person like Gideon. Gideon risked his life to follow the Lord's commands. I think doing it at night was a compromise on his part. If he had boldly done what the Lord commanded in the daytime God would have protected him and it would have made an even bolder statement to the community. As it was, God rewarded his "baby step" of faith and did accomplish His purposes. The community was forced to take sides on this issue. Gideon now knew who would stand with him and who would stand against him. And what a relief and blessing to him to find his father standing with him. I can certainly relate to Gideon. Often when God puts it in my mind to do something I procrastinate or do it in a way that will put me at the least amount of risk. Doing it is the important thing, of course, but perhaps we may miss out on something if we put it off or do it halfway.

What is God's answer to Gideon's self-image? (6:16) Does this spiritual principle apply to our lives as Christians? Can you recall any New Testament passages that teach the same principle? What is an appropriate prayer to pray in light of what God has taught you from this passage? God's anwer is to tell Gideon that He will be with Him and that Gideon WILL triumph over the Midianites. God keeps focusing on what Gideon will be and what He will do, keeping Gideon from focusing on who he has been and what he has done. Of course this applies to our lives as well. We are citizens of heaven and God already can see us as the glorious creations He is transforming us into. I greatly enjoyed reading all of your posts, all the comments and scriptures shared were so uplifting. Here is one to add: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself." Col. 3: 20-21. Heavenly Father, I am so grateful for the favor you have shown me in choosing me to be your child. Help me to see myself as you see me and be bolder because of it. Help me also to see my brothers and sisters in the same way.

How did God see Gideon? (6:12) How did Gideon see himself? (6:15). Whose self-perception is most accurate? How can our own self-perception prevent us from becoming what God has made us to be? God saw Gideon as the mighty warrior that he would become. Gideon saw himself as someone trapped by his circumstances--as the least important person in the least important clan of Israel. I wonder if that is what other people had called him as in insult. I can imagine years of being taunted by such a remark which would have resulted in Gideon coming to see himself that way. Of course God's perception is most accurate. Our own self perception can keep us trapped in the mindset that we will never be able to do great things for God. Praise God, He can replace that mindset with His perceptions and free us from that trap. He want us to become the "mighty warriors" He created us to be, not the defeated prisoners that Satan and the world want us to be.

The prophet reminded them of all that the Lord had done for them and what He had commanded them to do. They had forgotten what God had done for them in the past and were not obeying Him any more. They had developed a self sufficient attitude of "we don't need God anymore, we can do it on our own". This is why God allowed the oppression. They broke the commandment "Thou shall have no other God's before me" as well as the warnings at the end of Deuteronomy. God clearly spelled out what would happen when the people forsook Him. Also, in Joshua 24 the people renew the covenant--even though God warns them what will happen when the break it. "But Joshua said to the people, 'You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a Holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, the He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.' . And the people said to Joshua, "NO, but we will serve the Lord!". (Josh. 24 19-21). So they had pretty much sealed their own fate.

Gideon's response centers on the circumstances that he and his people are going through. He seems to have been wallowing in self pity--why was I born in this crummy time when our enemies are oppressing us? Even if He himself was living righteously (which he probably was, else God wouldn't have chosen him) he had to suffer the consequences of everyon elses sin. That can certainly make it hard to have a good attitude--why to I have to suffer for everyone else's sins if I'm being good? Gideon's assessment is, as so many of you pointed out, not entirely accurate--God has not forsaken them. God often uses times of suffering to chastize us so that we will turn away from sin. God ALWAYS has our best interests at heart. I want to disagree with some of you who seemed to say that suffering is always the result of our sin or disobedience. I think that sometimese suffering is just a natural result of our fallen human condition. We may not have sinned and caused something bad to happen--Jesus didn't sin and yet He went through plenty of suffering and hardship. If Jesus learned obedience through suffering (Hebrews, I believe) than we should not expect our lives to be picture perfect as Christians. We do blame God wrongly at times though. Clearly there are times, as in this story, where our own actions (or at least our neighbors actions) have brought hardship upon us. Pride often keeps us from acknowledging our own part in contributing to the problem. God is always in control but He is also always looking out for our best interests. He can and does intend to work everything out for our good. Let us always trust in him. I enjoyed reading all of your responses. This looks like it's going to be a great study.

It says Simeon was waiting for the "Consolation of Israel"--I'm not sure what this means. It seems to be an unsual title for the Messiah they were expecting--espcially as most people were wanting a military type hero. It makes me think more of a leader who will speak words that will comfort, encourage and help the nation through hard times. Simeon also understood and spoke of the Messiah's salvation being for all people. It would shine as a revealing light to the gentiles, showing them their sins and need of a savior. It would be the glory of Israel--that they would be chosen to provide this salvation. Anna's views are laid out buy she did recognize Jesus for who He was and share this news with those who looked forward to the "redemption in Jerusalem". So they knew that they needed to be redeemed and they expected this to occur in Jerusalem. Jesus offers us salvation from our sins and from the penalty of death that those sins give us. We are saved from death and given life. We are also saved from ourselves--from our sin nature that makes it impossible for us to be always good no matter how hard we try. Once Jesus has completed His work of salvation in us we will have complete victory over sin.

Simeon is described as just and devout, the text doesn't indicate how much time he spent on prayer and worship but to develop such a reputation it must have been a significant amount. And when he offered his "psalm" of praise to God it flowed out of him so naturally which indicates he was no stranger to praising God. Anna is remarkable--she "did not depart from the temple but Served God with fasting and prayers night and day". Certainly prayer was no waste of time for her. This lifestyle is not for everyone, certainly the special circumstances of her life led her to this type of service, but it challenges all of us to think of how we could devote more of ourselves to God. I also identify with Anna as a single person--without the demands of family she had the freedom to devote her time to God in this way. I can also use my time as a single person to devote myself more to God--though it's not easy. Today far too many other things strive for my time and attention.

They both had dedicated their lives to the Lord and showed this by their actions and words. God blessed them with a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It wasn't neccesarily because they had "earned" it by their actions, but God chose them. They recogonized His voice when He spoke to Him and had faith in the revelations that they were given. One reason we may not be able to hear God is simply the amount of time we spend with Him. If you don't spend time talking and listening to someone a lot you don't necessarily recognize their voice when they call you. I know good friends that I can instantly recognize when I hear them on the phone--but more distant acquaintances I'll mistake for someone else. I feel convicted myself here-- the amount of time I spend thinking about God, studying His word and praying to Him is far too little.

If they had never seen the Messiah their devotion to God would have still been a witness to their community. Their lives of righteousness and their devoutness stood out as an example. They had developed reputations because of their lives, this would have inspired others to live lives of righteousness and devoutness as well. And their fasting and intercessory prayer would also have had an impact that only God may have truly known. Our lives are important to God, our actions and words and example to others may touch them in ways only He truly knows. An elderly woman at church yesterday encouraged us by saying that she often gets comments from people who say that something she did or said years ago touched them. Often she doesn't even remember the instance but they did. So she encouraged us to remain faithful and to continue to try to be good witnesses to others.

It is an example of obedience to God's revealed commands in the law. So we should follow their example by faithfully following God's commands as given in the Bible. They were also acknowledging God as the one who had given them the gift of their son, and that their son in fact belonged to God. It is also an example of Godly parenting, they were taking on the responsibility of raising their son up in the Lord. Parents can follow their example by consciously dedicating themselves and their children to the service of the Lord.