sahala p.s.

Gideon must vanquish the Midianite force of 15,000 men in Karkor because if the Midianite force is let flee, they will come back and attack Israel again The danger that we face when we deal with problems only half-way is the problems will appear again and we will deal with them again, but they will be more complex or more difficult to solve.

Gideon asks the Ephraimites to capture and destroy the remaining Midianites and seize the fords of the Jordan River They are so angry because Gideon did not call them earlier to fight Midianite That I learn from Gideon's approach to the Ephraimites' arrogance is although his achievements is greater than their, he does not try argue for it to but he humbly compliments them on their achievement

Gideon divides his army into three companies because with these three companies that are located in three separated place in the edge of Midianite camp and that the men in it line the edge with a few hundreds feet apart, the enemy will feel like they are being attacked from all sides The strategy with the trumpets is when the enemy hears the trumpet from 300 different directions they imagine that a huge army is attacking them. The strategy with the empty jars is first, they hide the lights of the torches until the right time; and second, when broken and shattered they create a great deal of noise in order to shock and upset the enemy The strategy with the torches is when the jars are broken and then the torches are raised the torch lights appeared suddenly all around the Midianite camp. This condition underscores the impression of being surrounded and induces panic This strategy worked because God was in it and Gideon

During his life Israel Gideon did a role as judge of Israel with good leadership through which God blessed Israel The positive continuing effect of his leadership as judge is Israel had a strong-enough spiritual and military condition so that they enjoyed peace forty years.

A snare is a situation which seems attractive but is unpleasant and difficult to escape from. Gideon's ephod ensnare his family and the people of Israel in a way that, for his family, divert their focus on caring for the golden ephod rather than serving the invisible God, and for the people of Israel, divert their focus on worshiping it as an idol rather than worshiping the invisible God Although we don

Spiritual unfaithfulness is looked at as prostitution or adultery because people who commit to being God

That Gideon asks for his reward is an earring from the Israelites

Gideon refuses to be king over Israel because he understands that God is Israel

In the Midianite's dream the rolling barley loaf means Gideon

I think the selecting the "lappers" from the "kneelers" is the selecting that is not related with the matter of virtue, but it is a God

God felt Gideon's army was too large because in that number Israel might boast against him that their own strength had saved them. Shrinking the army's size to a tiny band was essential in restoring Israel's faith and allegiance because in a tiny band, which it seemed to be impossible to defeat his enemy, Israel would rely on God to get help and they would see and have by themselves how God helped them The pressures Gideon would be feeling not to obey God in shrinking his army are ones of being tempted to boast themselves, to depend on themselves, not to rely on God Gideon was able to obey God fully in this by reducing the number of his army in the ways that God said

Gideon puts out a fleece before the Lord because he wants to make sure that what God has promised that God will save Israel by his hand is true This is not a sign of unbelief, but the establishing faith No, this doesn

Gideon puts out a fleece before the Lord because he wants to make sure that what God has promised that God will save Israel by his hand is true This is not a sign of unbelief, but the establishing faith No, this doesn

That inspired Gideon to blow the battle horn and summon and army against the Midianities is the Spirit of the Lord which come upon him That Gideon has in common with judges and leaders of his era is power and wisdom that come from the Spirit

The strategic significance of God

God saw Gideon a person who have strength to save Israel out of Midian

Gideon blames God for his trubles in a way that feels that Lord has abandoned him and put Israelities into the hand of Midian. No, Gideon

Yes, Jesus requires obedience of his disciples. According to John 15:14, to be considered as his friends he require that we do what he commands. No, there is not a kind of true Christian who believes, but does not obey. A true Christian will practice Jesus

It is possible to deceive myself, so that I presume that I am "doing" when I am only "hearing," in a way that does not practice what the Word of God says that I have known or have been familiar, that I have got from the bible studies that I have been involved, from the sermons that I have heard. It is be possible to prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus' name and not enter the Kingdom of heaven in a way that does not do the will of God, does not be obedient to Christ himself. God may give us some

The kinds of "fruit" might be clues to a false prophet are firstly, bad fruit, that is, he/she has bad character, his/her character does not conform to what God

If Jesus' teaching about the narrow gate and the narrow road to life is to be believed, the change that it would makes in how I conduct my life is that I recomitted to follow him, to follow wherever he leads me, and to keep following him though I am scorned, alone, solotary. The difference that it would makes is that it motivates me to witness to my neighbors more than before. I refuse Universalism, because not all people will be saved, only those who enter the narrow gate, that is, those who follow Jesus.

The "Golden Rule" capsulizes the message of the law and the prophets in this way, that is, we should treat others in the way we would like to be treated. The "summary" of the law and the prophets in Matthew 7:12 and of the one that Jesus indicated in Matthew 22:37-39 are the same, not different. Matthew 7:12 talk about how we should act to others, how we should treat others. It is part of how we love our neighbor as indicated in Matthew 22:37-39. To treat others in the way we would like to be treated in Matthew 7:12 is a way of how to love our neighbor as yourself in Matthew 22:37-39.