Christopher Smith

Others have said it so well - the testimony of others to God's faithfulness is the greatest encouragement to us in the face of persecution. As we hear of others' willingness to be witnesses, we gain courage to persevere and lay down our own lives. I was so pleased to read the last part of this question asked as a corollary: "Why are we more courageous as witnesses when we're in persecution?" I don't know. "Well, when we're not being persecuted, why are we more cowardly?" Ah! Well, we're more cowardly because, as others have written, we are afraid of being separated out as different. We want to fit in, to have friends. Worse yet, we even justify our failure to be a witness; we say we want to fit in, in order later to be "more effective witnesses"! I face this dilemma in a magnified sense because I'm a missionary. Do I fit in so I can build friendships and share the Gospel, or do I behave as salt and light in a culture of darkness and bland lack of interest in God? It appears that we should be friendly and reach out, but we must be wierd and different from the perspective of the worldly people around us!

I'm from the East Coast of USA, and have lived in Spain for a year. This is my second study with Pastor Ralph, and I'm doing it because I got a lot out of the Gideon study. I'm not sure about studying Revelation right now, either, but I figure God may have some surprises for all of us! I've avoided it for its obtuseness, but I'm excited about what we will uncover in Revelation!

Gideon judges righteously and keeps the Lord God at the center of Israel's culture. Because the people wait to raise up an idol as their god until Gideon dies, it is apparent that his rule is a restraint on the people's sinfulness. But as long as the Israelites worship God, they live in peace with their neighbors. Gideon is blessed with many children; he is not perfect, but it is apparent that God's hand of blessing is upon him.

Spiritual unfaithfulness is considered adultery by God, because God is truly all that we need in every aspect of our lives. When we pursue other things as our fulfillment, we are being unfaithful to God, our lover. He gave His life for those He loves, setting the example for sacrificial servanthood.

A snare is a trap which entices people until they sin. Gideon's family and the people of Israel had a tendency to worship objects rather than the living God. Gideon's ephod was beautiful and "spiritual" in that it was (a replica of) a sacred object. To be precise, the ephod wasn't a sin, but people's worship of it was sinful. They committed the sin of idolatry, revering the ephod rather than God. Gideon's sin was a series of breakdowns in seeking God's guidance: not seeking God before building the ephod not seeking God before putting it out where others could see it and be tempted to worship it (most importantly) not removing it (and maybe destroying it) as soon as he saw the people being caused to stumble by it.

The commentaries I have read indicate an ephod is a vest like the one for the Tabernacle. With the spoils from these battles, Gideon's ephod would probably have been quite beautiful, but why did he make such a strange object? The only purpose of the ephod was as part of priestly garments. As Gideon wasn't a priest, why did he need an ephod? The ephod also held the Urim and Thummim, but it doesn't seem that he made these as well. Perhaps what he made wasn't a vest at all, but something else. Whatever it was, it was a stumbling block to the Israelites, and therefore a great leader should have done something about that. Gideon should at least have noticed the people's increasing interest in it, and tendency to revere and worship it, and removed it or destroyed it. A great leader would do anything to keep his followers from stumbling.

Gideon asked for a share of the spoils of war, which was his due as their successful leader. However, the sin began when he made the gold into an ephod. He should have known better than to make such a sacred object that the Israelites might worship. If he had asked God, the Lord could have told him this wasn't a good idea, even if his heart was correct. God could have appreciated his heart to give glory to Him while encouraging him not to put it where the people would worship it.

Gideon refuses to be king because he recognizes that God is their king, therefore he would be usurping the throne if he accepted it. The Israelites did not see that bestowing kingship on Gideon would be treason, because they didn't see God as their king. Just as we do today, they had lost sight of God because He is invisible. He was and is someone to turn to in times of trouble, but is easily missed during times of blessing, even though He is the source of all blessing. They had some excuse, because they couldn't receive guidance from God without going through an intermediary; they were used to intermediaries and wanted Gideon to be a ruler to whom they could go for guidance and direction. We have no excuse, because we can communicate with God directly; as our relationship is one-to-one, there is no excuse for forgetting His presence!

Gideon slays Zebah and Zalmunna because this is his responsibility. God has charged him with removing the thorn of the Midianites from Israel, and this is the necessary final step in defeating the Midianites. Zebah and Zalmunna were the leaders of the Midianites, and therefore they bear the full responsibility for the sins of the Midianites. If they had not led the Midianites to attack the Israelites, there would not have been a war. Unfortunately, in modern warfare, those with the most blood on their hands are those who suffer the least punishment (Marcos, Noriega, Amin, Mobutu, Hussein). In our era, the example of Ceaucescu is a sobering contrast. In this case, the believers of Rumania, through prayer and demonstrations, toppled the Communist regime of their cruel dictator. But on Christmas Day, some of that nation hanged the filthy man and his wife (who was even more bloodthirsty). While it made everyone feel so much better, it removed from the earth two people who incarnated evil because their minds were blinded to the truth. While it would have offended our sense of justice, their conversion and redemption by Christ would have brought dramatic glory to God. In fact, from God's perspective, our sense of justice stems from our pride. It is true that we are called to love righteousness and hate iniquity, but when we decide that some should be firmly punished while we are forgiven, we're showing our pride. [embarrassed] Romans prohibits Christians from taking vengeance because we live under the New Covenant. Christ has paid for our sins with His own blood, showing that we are as guilty of offense against God as our flesh-and-blood enemies are. Under this new revelation of truth, we understand that all people are enslaved in their thoughts by the deceptions of the enemy of mankind. Our "enemies" will not commit offense against us once they are freed of the enemy's deceptions, so we leave revenge to God. He is the better Judge, like a teacher in a nursery school. We are mere toddlers bearing the offenses of other toddlers; He can see the truth and knows when to punish a toddler (and on a given day, it may be we who need the punishment.

Q4. Why do the cities of Succoth and Peniel refuse aid to Gideon's army? (8:4-9) Why does Gideon punish these cities later? What is their sin? Is Gideon just? Can you think of a circumstance when a Christian might be guilty of the sin of Succoth and Peniel? (8:13-17) The cities of Succoth and Peniel refused to aid Gideon's army because they didn't see results. They wanted to see the Midianites vanquished before they were willing to feed Gideon's army. In this, they violated serious rules of their culture. The Pentateuch is full of stories involving hospitality of a far more serious kind than practiced today. A traveller was preferred over one's own children, for example. Unfortunately, Gideon cannot be called "just" in this situation. He is avenging offenses against him and his troops, not against God. God rejoiced when the Israelites defended God's honor, but defense of their own honor appears petty and childish in the light of the written Word. (Lu 12.11-12 It is God's job to defend us.) There are many, unfortunately, in the Body of Christ who fail to support the frontline troops. There are two examples: When a missionary is on the field, many do not want to devote a portion of their earnings to help him perform the task God has given him. When he returns from the field, they are happy to rejoice with him over the growth in the Kingdom where the missionary works. When a pastor is struggling, many will turn their backs on him and will even be quick to join those who criticize. When a pastor is doing well, his supporters will be numerous. The latter example can be found in many forms, and I/we must carefully assess our words and our support for our brothers and sisters in Christ. It's so easy to slip into a critical attitude. We must constantly remind ourselves to be supportive and edifying!

This is one of my pet peeves. In films, the good guy always knocks out the bad guy, but doesn't ensure he's dealt a death blow. So, of course the bad guy returns for additional battles. In the early 1990s, George Bush Sr failed to follow through on the Gulf War, making it necessary for his son to complete the work of removing Sadaam Hussein from power. When we leave an enemy moaning in pain and humiliation, we double his resolve to avenge himself. And in our spiritual walk, when we fail to utterly destroy a sin in our lives, it will return to tempt us again. Gideon ensures that the Midianites are completely defeated. While he doesn't kill every single Midianite soldier, he does remove their leaders from power and makes sure, by killing them, that they will not later return to power. I am sure that Gideon was following God's directions in determining who needed to be killed, and limited his slaughter to those few.

What does Gideon ask the Ephraimites to do? Why are they so angry? What do you learn from Gideon's approach to the Ephraimites' arrogance? (7:24-8:3) Gideon asks the Ephraimites to assist in preventing the escape of the Midianites, as they flee for a Jordan crossing. Because the men of Ephraim were numerous, Gideon wants them to cover the long bank of the Jordan. They are angry at not being included in the battle previously. Apparently, the Ephraimites relished warfare, and their bloodlust may have been a reason for Gideon's not including them earlier. Gideon proves he can think on his feet and tell people what they want to hear. In the face of bloodthirsty warriors, Gideon shows humility and gives them profuse honor for their part in the battle. Thanks are inexpensive, so it is good to be generous with them, as long as you can convey (and feel) sincerity.

I believe that Gideon divided his troops into three companies in order to make them more manageable. In delicate night operations, smaller groups of soldiers are needed in order that commands need not travel as far, and men can keep track of their comrades more easily. Leadership is not just about being the top banana, but being responsible to play one's part as commander of those below one, and servant of those above one; these roles are executed simultaneously. Gideon is simply following good military strategy by setting up a chain of command, not falling for the deceit that he can directly command 'such a small army' of only 300.

The barley loaf dream is miraculously there in order to give Gideon the confidence in his God to proceed with an attack. God's use of the barley loaf is very interesting. It is a common thing, therefore unregarded. It is small and lightweight, therefore weak. It doesn't even achieve mobility by its own strength, but simply rolls under the influence of a massive force beyond itself. Long before Sir Isaac Newton and Galileo, the Lord knew of gravity (having created it), and He included it in this episode from history. This passage has great meaning to me personally, because when I was a middle-schooler, I participated in a Bible study calling itself the Barley Loaf Group, because our offering was collected in a cigar box padded on the lid and wrapped in Kraft paper to look somewhat like a loaf of bread. (As uninformed Americans in the 1970s, we thought of bread as rectangular, though ) Aside from study of the Word, our purpose was prayer, and so to me this story symbolizes the immense power which prayer has!

I have respected and preferred the New Revised Standard Version since I was introduced to it by Urbana 2000, as it is a good authoritative translation but is also readable. As it attributes drinking from the cupped hands to those who knelt (lay down with faces in the water?) rather than to those who remained alert, I am unable to stake an astute commentary on the manner of drinking. I attended a primary school run by an Episcopal church, and we were taught that the 300 remained vigilant while the others were careless, making poor choices as soldiers. The NRSV eliminates that explanation. I tend to agree with Dr Wilson in saying that the Lord simply divided out 300 men who could witness His miraculous deliverance. I find it more significant that those who knelt "as in worship" were the ones separated out to be sent home, for their worship (that of the Israelites as a whole) had been toward idols rather than the Living God.

Q4. Why do we demand that God's directions make sense to us before we'll follow them? What's the spiritual danger here? We're afraid of being -- or being perceived as -- religious kooks. How can we balance blind obedience with getting confirmation through spiritual people whose discernment we trust? The Lord tells us that His thoughts are higher than ours (not just unlike ours, but superior to them), and we know from Christian history that God's plans and commands exhibit varying degrees of foolishness, when viewed from our earthly perspective. If we force God's commands into the shoebox of reasonableness, we will miss many of the things God instructs us to do. We must escape the fear of being labelled kooks, because we are kooks! Our fear will only hold us back from obedience, and our love for our Savior is best displayed through obedience. I agree that we should get confirmation from others; God wants us to be in fellowship, and that accountability keeps us balanced and motivated as well. But we must choose our friends carefully. Just as it is easy to become lazy in our Christian walk, it is easy for our circle of friends to lose their fire. The Word tells us to "provoke one another to love and good deeds" (Heb 10.24 NRSV) so we mustn't neglect the process of reevaluating ourselves and exhorting our friends to renew the fire (and the kookiness ).

Q3. Why did God feel Gideon's army was too large? Why was shrinking the army's size to a tiny band essential in restoring Israel's faith and allegiance? What kinds of pressures would Gideon be feeling NOT to obey God in shrinking his army? How was Gideon able to obey God fully in this? The manner in which the battle played out could only have been a miracle. Three hundred men do not defeat 135,000 in conventional (non-NBC) war, except by the hand of God! A large army would not only have reduced the honor given to God, but because of its inferior numbers to those of the Midianites, Gideon's army would have been applauded for their bravery and superior warfare skills. Gideon could have evaluated the numbers of his forces and, noting they were smaller than those of the Midianites, may have seen his forces as small enough to give credit to God, but not small enough for him to be a fool to lead them into a preemptive strike. Gideon could have perceived God's goals, and considered his own tinkering with God's plan as acceptable behavior as long as he made sure God's goals were met. Instead of this, Gideon did not try to manage God's plan and make his own contributions/alterations. God helped Gideon obey fully in this, by giving him specific steps to take. Rather than acting on decisions from his vain ponderings, Gideon acted on the specific steps, ordering his men to drink and acting on God's judgements of this drinking. Basically, God kept Gideon's mind off the larger picture and focused him on actions within his capability.

Q2. When, if ever, should we ask God to confirm his direction with a sign? What is the danger of demanding a sign? This is a very difficult question; many believers really struggle with knowing God's will. I have found that God does confirm His direction with signs, without my asking, in big decisions (e.g. my decision to go overseas as a missionary). I ask for confirmation, or especially that He will conform my desires to His, but I usually don't ask for a sign. But we should ask God for a sign when we know we will need to be able to banish doubts in the future. A sign will become a signpost ("building an altar") to which we can mentally return months or years down the road when we're not so sure God really wanted us to come to Sudan as a missionary, for example! It's more difficult to prove to yourself (during the latter doubts) that you really heard His voice, but you can point to that "real world" event or sign when you doubt. The dangers of demanding a sign are two: Bad attitudes may creep into your heart, and you may be expressing doubts in a belligerent way, not in an honest and innocent way. You may be unwilling to obey, and demanding a sign is simply a way of deferring obedience by asking for something you know He won't want to do (putting a stumbling block or trap in God's way--oooh, not a good idea! The Pharisees tried this on Jesus; He never fell for one!).

Gideon does put God to the test. However, I think the difference between Gideon's fleece and the tests which God abhors (and judges!) is the state of the heart. When we ask God to prove Himself with a curled upper lip, as it were, i.e. with an attitude of scorn toward God, we should expect to be judged. But when we ask in innocent child-like desire for His work in our hearts (as Dr Wilson puts it, "to help [him] anchor his full faith in the Lord"), God honors that. Maybe He's not always happy with our lack of maturity, but He loves us. He would rather we ask in humility for His growth in our lives than persist in our immaturity and grow increasingly distant from Him.

It is the Spirit of God who puts breath into (inspires) Gideon, puts courage into him, and animates him to blow the shofar as a call to battle. Gideon is, like all of us, a weak vessel but God's Spirit infuses him and uses his hands, feet, and mouth to perform the Lord's business.

Joash was certainly not much of a leader, for he hadn't the integrity to stand up against the wishes of the people. Rather than leading by principle, and drawing the people toward obedience to God, he probably led "democratically," following the polls as it were. This explains "his" altar to Baal and "his" Asherah pole. As discussed earlier, Gideon's actions put "dishonor" on his father, for the townspeople don't attack Gideon directly, but demand an explanation from Joash, holding him responsible as the patriarch of his family. Joash is a follower of God now, because the successful destruction of Baal's altar proves to him the powerlessness of the god, while at the same time his son's courage reminds him of his proper loyalty.

I don't believe that in theory a disciple can be disobedient and still be fulfilling the requirements of discipleship. Obviously, in practice a disciple may have times of disobedience but this is certainly not desireable. "Disobedient discipleship" should be something which, like "divorce," we keep out of our vocabulary and off our radar. We must aim for obedience even if we occasionally fall short. Gideon had a choice whether to tear down the Asherah pole and the altar. As to whether he had a choice to lead the Israelites into battle, I think that God had seen Gideon take the initial steps of yieldedness, and He saw that Gideon wanted to be obedient, so "the spirit of the LORD took possession of Gideon" and he appeared courageous. We do indeed have choices. Many times each day we have opportunities to choose the path of righteousness or the "seems right" path.

Gideon is commanded to tear down the two evidences of worship of foreign gods, and replace them with an altar to God and a sacrifice to Him. I agree with others that carrying out these actions at night were a practical way of obeying, and avoided interference from townspeople and possibly from family. Also, the destruction of a "loser" god's altar or idol at night takes the attention off the person carrying out the destruction, and signifies to people upon discovery that God has performed the destruction. If Gideon had torn down the pole and altar in daylight, if they allowed him to do so, he would have been watched in amazement/horror as he did it. Because the altar is torn down at night, the townspeople awaken to find their god's altar destroyed, and it has greater impact. They are more inclined to focus their attention on their god and his weakness.

Gideon, in order to honor his father, must take courage and do the very thing which would seem to bring dishonor to his father. Tearing down the Asherah pole and the altar to Baal which Joash had apparently endorsed, would be "disobedient" and "disrespectful." And in that culture, doing something so unpopular in the town would also bring the disapprobation of the entire city, and shame on the head of Joash. However, Gideon focused on pleasing God rather than man (either father or townspeople), and became the mature one in his family, challenging Joash to behave honorably as Gideon's actions drew out the godly man which Gideon knew dwelt inside Joash.

God tells Gideon,