sandieh

A slave is one who is committed for life. Bought and paid for. A saint is one who has been called, and set apart, consecrated to God. They are saying the same thing in the sense that we as christians have turned over lives over to God to be used as He should choose. Holy, set apart, consecrated to His service

Hi, my name is Sandie, I live in Enid OKla. I have been a christian for 13 years, and I do volunteer ministry at our county jail, and mentor christian women coming out of prison. I attend a great little non-denominational church, and I love the LORD!! This is my second Joyful Heart study, and I am looking forward to participating in it with all of you!! May we all learn and grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, TOGETHER!!

God had singled out Israel, to be a people, set apart, and holy, dedicated to Him and Him alone. They however had a tendency to go after other gods. Influnenced I guess by the nations around them, and just continusly committed spiritual adultery. God is and always has been a jealous God, and has said, Have no other gods before Me! We as humans, that we are, also fall into this trap as your exposition so aptly stated, be it money, power, fame, lusts, we follow after things that take our focus off God and onto self gratification. Oh that I become that person so solely fixed on Jesus, that He is all I should ever need! I've met people like that, and what I see in them, I want to be in me! Jesus Jesus Jesus and More of Him.

Gideon continued to lead the people as their judge, and they continued to follow God. But after his death they again began to follow after pagan gods.

A snare is a trap of some kind. In Gideons case it led to worship of an object rather than to the worship of the invisible God, Jehovah. Israel knew the commandment was to have no other gods before The Lord God, and yet they chose to worship idols, time after time. It is always easier to worship something you can see, and they had their ephod of gold, forgetting that it was just a souviner of the victory and freedom from oppression that God and He alone had given them.

Gideon asked for an earring from each of the defeated foes. This was not a sin, but rather in keeping with the tradition of the time. The sin came when the object he made, became an object of worship. The story tells us that it became a snare for him and his descendants. I guess had he any knowledge of what was happening he could have removed it from his village. But lots of times we don't see the "harm" until it's to late. However God continued to bless Gideon for his faithfulness. That is the goodness of God, because He never forgets, even though we may.

The ephod was a garment, worn by the priests. gideon made this I am sure to honor God for the victory He had brought them. But even so it went on to become the object of worship, rather than the one for whom it was meant to represent. It reminds me, never to put more emphasis on the created, over the creator. People have always had a tendancy to want to worship the "seen" more so than the unseen. Thats is what faith is all about. Blessed are those who haven't seen, but believe....

Gideon refused to become King because he knew that the Lord was God and it was to Him they owed the victory and only God should rule over them. The others though were barely pass the time of worshipping the ashtoreth pole, and had yet to fully grasp the concept of following the Lord God. Especially, one their eyes could not see.

Gideon killed these two kings, because they had killed his brothers, and also to finish off his enemies. At that point in time vengance was to be repaid. Since the coming of Christ, things have changed and everyone is deserving of mercy, should they ask God for it. And vengence belongs to Him and Him alone!

Succooth, and Peneil, were not so sure Gideon was going to be able to finish what he had started. they lacked his faith. Their sin was in not coming to the aid of their brethen, as they should have. Was their punishment just? I think it seemed over harsh, atleast at Peneil. But by this time Gideon was angry and tired and might not have been thinking as clearly as he was with Ephairm. I have been dealing with a struggle much like this myself in recent days, needing the aid of certain fellow christians, that isn't there. But bless God He always sends someone else to make up where others fall short.

It was important for Gideon to finish what he had begun. Leaving the Midinites only partially defeated would be inviting them to regroup and come back. God always commanded his armies to total destroy their enemies. Also it is important that we finish what we start, and not give up or get tired, and quit. God says He will equip us and be with us we just have to be willing to follow through.

Gideon asks Ephraim to go after Oreb and Zeeb. Which they do and victoriously too. They were a much bigger tribe than Mannasah and I think God was thinking in terms of their size, when they weren't first called. However when the time was right, they were where they needed to be. And they were angry, after the fact. Whose to say how they might have responded had they been approached before the fact. Pride was really the root of their anger and as was said, desire for the spoils. But Gideon handled it well, with humility and eloquence.

God told Gideon exactly what to do to have the most effect. The Midinites seemed to be surrounded, the noise and the sudden light and the sounding of the trumpets, all served to startle and frighten the already jittery enemy army.

God wanted Gideon to have a smaller army, so that Israel, could not say that by their own might, they were victorious. The fewer men, the greater Glory for Gods delivering power. I imagin Gideon was some what apprehensive about this, but God sent him to easedrop on the enemy camp and over hear the dream that foretold his victory, thus strenghtening his faith in Gods ability, even if it be with 300 men.

I read all the answers everyone wrote to this one, and they were all good. Yes we do have the MORE SURE WORD, today that Gideon did not. And that would be the first place I would want to look and in fact HAVE recieved confirmation from, many times. Also we have the inward witness of the Holy Spirit, and the soul peace that comes from God. If I have peace after prayer, and scripture to relay on then, That is the only sign I need. There may be extreme siituations where we like Gideon may need a more significant sign, but I trust God will know that, and supply what ever we might need, when we need it most.

Gideon, was under the xircumstances, a little apprehensive as to what God was calling him to do. After all his preception of himself was that he wasn't, what God said he was. So just to be absolutely sure he asks not once but twice, not testing, but confirming God's plan and will for what he was about to do. Oh that I will come to that place when I will be able to just say okay!! And without question, know and follow Gods plan and will for me. Until that then I will be saying God if it's YOU then confirm it one more time. I can see my own self in Gideon in these beginnig stages as I begin to fully participate in what He is doing, in and through me!!

God had already told Gideon, what he would use him to do. But I know if I were Gideon, before taking on such a hugh assignment, I would want to KNOW without any doubt, if I was hearing right. Gideon asked in faith, believing God for the confirmation, yes twice, but how many times I have found myself saying, God is this really you???? If I had been Gideon, I would have asked twice too!! Gideon was not trying to manipulate God but rather looking for assurance, and that was okay, because God understands that we are in need, sometimes of it. Oh that I reach the place where I just know God's leading and trust Him with out ever questioning. A desire I am sure we all have, and others have obtained.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he then blew the trumpet to summon the people. As in all the passages listed, the Spirit of the Lord came upon....and then great things happened. The same is true of us today in that all we do, should be done by the leading and the power of the Holy Spirit. We are blessed that in this later dispensation, that we don't have to wait for the Spirit to come, but that He resides with us and is in us, to lead, guide and direct, and empower for whatever task is at hand!!!!

Yes, one can be a disobiedent dicisple, the first one who pops into my mind, that tried to disobey God and run away is Jonah. But look what happened, he still ended up in Ninevah. Unfortunately this can be true of all of us at some time or another. God gave us the freedom of choice, Choose you this day whom you will serve. I choose this day to follow the Lord!! Even as did Gideon.

Gideon had a choice, honor his father or obey God!! It's evident he chose the later. And as it turned out his father backed him up. Because of Gideons obiedence all of Israel was blessed, because God continued to bless Gideon with victory after victory. Matthew 10: 37 Tells us a man must be ready to leave his father, mother.... if they are going to follow Him

Gideon tore down the altar of Baal, despite his fear of reprisals from other worshipers of Baal, he then in a declartion, of his decision to follow the one true God, built an alter to Him. Did he act out of fear, yes, but he also acted out of faith, because he did do it, at night or not

God saw Gideon as a mighty warrior. Gideon saw himself as the least in his family, not worth very much. His preception was clouded by his own fear of the enemy and the feeling that God wasn't with the nation, as a whole any longer, not realizing that God was punishing Isreal for their rebellion and disobiedence. Sometimes things happen in our lives for the very same reason, or because God is trying to teach us something, to grow us up in Him, and we may precieve that something as BAD when the Bible plainly says ALL things work together (good and bad) for the good of those who love God and are the called acordding to His purposes.

Gideon blames God by asking, Where is He when we need Him? It wasn't God who had left Israel, but the other way around. We have the same tendancy to say Why? to the things that happen to us that are painful and or uncomfortable. As if God is somehow directly responsible for the bad things that happen. In reality, the Bible says If God be for us who can be against us. So either we are going through things for a reason, God is growing us, or there is something in our lives God wants rid of. In Gideons case they were following after other gods. And our God is a jealous God and we shall have no other beside Him. Gideon found out the truth about Gods power and favor, when he tore down the altar to Baal and chose to follow Him. Then Israel was blessed and had victory.

God saw and called Gideon, mighty warrior. Obviously, Gideon didn't see himself as a mighty anything, in fact he was afaird of his enemies and probably rightly so, since their oppression was being allowed by God due to their own disobiedence. They had not forgotten God, because Gireon was able to recall the miracles in times past. But he demonstrated ignorance of his own culpability when he asked "why is this happening?" He needed to step up to the plate so to speak, and when God said, in the strength that you have, he gave Gideon the chance to do that. And set about at that moment to frr them from oppression and bring them back to Himself. I know I struggle with this same perception, myself, as unable to....whatever!! But then when I read this story, I am reminded that it isn't up to me or my own capablities, but it is God who will, Will and do in me of His own good pleasure. And it is God who calls, enables, directs, and equips. Not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit.

After reading what most of the others had to say in the forum on this question, I think, #1 it is very easy to get offtrack. And thats what the Israelites had done, forgotten just how serious God was about having no other gods before Him. Whether deliberatly or not they had lost their focus and bean to be influenced by the nations and the culture around them. Sounds alot like us, if we aren't diligent to keep our eyes on Jesus. Obviously God had been calling them to repentance, but they were so caught up in the oppression of the enemy and in trying to survive they weren't listening. I am so glad that God never gives up in getting our attention, one way or another. Because I sure like His view of us as mighty warriors, better than our own, which without him is as weak and powerless