In our study today, we are going to look at chapter 6 and the calling of gideon. The text of judges gives no indication as to who wrote the book, but jewish tradition names the prophet samuel as the author. Jan 02, 2020 though gideon was a willing servant of god, he needed assurance that it was, in fact, god calling him to this divine service vs. Judges bridges the period of time when the people had settled into their inheritance but before they were given a king. Beginning his commentary with an introduction and historical sketch of israel during the time of the judges, lang outlines practically what life was like for israel during the period of the judges. The only prophet save deborah in the book of judges. The burden of the book is that the nation is a mess, awash. Book of judges overview insight for living ministries. Gideon was a former judge of israel who ruled the people after he led a small army to defeat the midianites. The book of judges depicts the life of israel in the promised land from the death of joshua to the rise of the monarchy. In the christian bible, the book of judges provides insight into exactly what the title states. There is more written about gideon in the book of judges than any other of the judges of israel. In the narrative of the hebrew bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the book of joshua and the establishment of a kingdom in the books of samuel, during which biblical judges served as temporary leaders.
If the book was written for king saul, then he is one who is being raised up during a particular generation to do battle with evil and is thus being warned about evil battle before him. Gideon or gedeon, also named jerubbaal and jerubbesheth, was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the midianites are recounted in chapters 6 to 8 of the book of judges in the hebrew bible. G ideon was the fifth judge over israel in the book of judges. Tragedy and hope in the book of judges bibleproject. Judges chapter 7 kjv king james version 1 then jerubbaal, who is gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of harod.
He grows to become one of israels greatest deliverers, despite his persistent spiritual reluctance. Three chapters and 100 verses tell us the story of how god worked in gideons life and used him. Gideon was the fifth judge over israel in the book of judges. The weakness of gideon for the glory of god judges 6. The lesson was prepared for older students and can be adapted for your needs. Judges of the theocracy series on the life of gideon. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. Those that remain behind turn israel toward the worship of their idol gods not those gods. An angel came to him and asked him to take on the task of overthrowing the midianites. The judges failure of leadership judges 916 bible commentary produced by tow project gideons failures are intensified in the judges who follow.
Almighty god, your old covenant people suffered in the cycles of sin and apostasy as they repeatedly broke the commandment to serve and worship you alone. Then the children of israel did evil in the sight of the lord. The author apparently juxtaposed two traditional accounts from his sources in order to emphasize israels monotheism and its duty to destroy idolatry. Discussion questions gideon read judges 67 who is gideon. Examines the storys context in the period of the judges, the conquest of canaan, gideon s victory over the midianites and amalakites, and his final setting up of a gold ephod which became a snare to the israelites and his own family. Our lesson text comes from pauls sermon at the synagogue at pisidian antioch. A study of the life of gideon from the standpoint of lessons of faith for disciples. Nov, 20 for the fall of 20 redeemer church miami will be walking through the book of judges and ruth on its way to christmas and we invite you to join with us on that journey. In accomplishing the mission set before him by god, gideon proves himself to be faithful, a mighty warrior, a strong leader of. There is some evidence which points to a time of writing early in the monarchy, perhaps shortly after. The wars against israels enemies the central campaign of the judge gideon previous judges lessons list next almighty god, your old covenant people suffered in the cycles of sin and apostasy as they repeatedly broke the commandment to serve and worship you alone. Consider the environment from which gideon emerged. Gideon, along with samson and deborah, rounds out the big three of the judges. The biblical judges are described in the hebrew bible, and mostly in the book of judges, as people who served roles as military leaders in times of crisis, in the period before an israelite monarchy was established.
There are no specific allusions to samuel in the book c. That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers. The book of judges the argument albeit there is nothing that more provoketh gods wrath, than mans ingratitude, yet is there nothing so displeasant and heinous that can turn back gods love from his church. Book of judges bible study commentary the message of judges chapter six gideon and the power of weakness part 1 by i gordon. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. Gideon judge in israel amazing bible timeline with world. It covers a period of about 300 years until the death of samson in 1070 b. Judges 6 gnt gideon once again the people of bible. What was gideons sin from the book judges of the bible. Book of judges, an old testament book that, along with deuteronomy, joshua, i and ii samuel, and i and ii kings, belongs to a specific historical tradition deuteronomic history that was first committed to writing about 550 bc, during the babylonian exile. Listen to chuck swindoll s overview of judges in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork. So the lord delivered them into the hand of midian for. Because of this, the lord left them in the hands of the destructive midianites for seven years. Gideon 5th judge of israel ruled israel between 1191bc1151bc for about 40 years.
Its an interesting account, which were going to go back and we were going ask what lessons we can learn. Seemingly, they had all they needed without gods supernatural intervention. Discipleship lessons from the bronze age handouts for group participants if youre working with a class or small group, feel free to duplicate the following handouts in this appendix at no additional charge. Contemporary lessons from the book of judges bible charts. In our last study, we looked at chapter 5 of judges and the victory song of deborah and barak after their incredible victory over king jabin the.
Gideons son abimelech unites the people around him, but only by killing his seventy brothers standing in his way judges 9. Judges 6 the weakness of gideon for the glory of god. These judges start off fairly well othniel, ehud, deborah but become increasingly worse gideon, jephthah, samson. The book of judges begins with two introductory passages. The tradition is that the prophet samuel was the author of judges. As students continue a study in judges they will discover how gideon responds to gods call. Gideons story begins with the israelites not obeying god. Gideon was of the tribe of manasseh and was used by god to achieve a mighty victory over the midianites who had been oppressing israel. These men had come a considerable distance, and distance will vanquish the strongest in the end, if there is not adequate renewal of the strength by food and rest. Gideon is a popular subject for sunday school stories, but ive never seen any curriculum that tells the entire story, warts and all.
Gideon was the son of joash, from the abiezrite clan in the tribe of manasseh and lived in ephra ophrah. It is considered part of the deuteronomic history that begins in the last book of the torah and ends with the second book of kings. Though gideon was a willing servant of god, he needed assurance that it was, in fact, god calling him to this divine service vs. Judges bridges the period of time when the people had. Gideon judge in israel gideon was a former judge of israel who ruled the people after he led a small army to defeat the midianites. The talmud identifies the author of judges and samuel as the prophet samuel1 b. The namesake of 1 and 2 samuel, samuel was the last of the judges, one of the special leaders whom god. He is placed on the biblical timeline chart at around 1179 1154 bc. The biblical judges are described in the hebrew bible, and mostly in the book of judges, as people who served roles as military leaders in times of crisis, in the period before an. The wars against israels enemies the central campaign of the judge gideon previous judges lessons list next. Visited by an angel as a young man, he nevertheless doubts both himself and the lords power. The israelites were not perfect people, and they constantly wandered away from. Th story starts out by proclaiming that the lord was angry with the israelites for falling into sin again and worshipping false gods and idols. On the one hand, it is an account of frequent apostasy, provoking divine chastening.
Gideon responds to gods call judges 68 by kelly henderson. For now when the israelites were entered into the land of canaan, and saw the truth of gods promise performed. He is introduced in chapter 6 of the book while he was harvesting wheat and hiding from the midianites. An angel came to him and called upon him to save israel from the hand of midian. He is introduced in chapter 6 of the book while he was collecting wheat and hiding it from the enemy. Discipleship lessons from the bronze age handouts for. The nation of israel was happy to reward gideon in this manner, and they had no idea at all what he was going to do with the gifts. Watch our overview video on the book of judges, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. May 03, 2012 gideon was a former judge of israel who ruled the people after he led a small army to defeat the midianites. A study historical and practical is a practical exposition on the life of gideon and the judges of israel. When writing on judges, the specifics of the book is focused on and our writers explicate judges through the eyes of a biblical theologian.
They worshipped the gods of the local people gods that didnt require them to conform to a life of sacrificial obedience. Gideon, also spelled gedeon, also called jerubbaal, or jerobaal, a judge and heroliberator of israel whose deeds are described in the book of judges. The book of judges was likely written between 1045 and b. This would make the book of judges a complete list but with a theological theme. Texas 47 years one of most formidable moments with my mom came the day my parents. According to the biblical narrative these judges led israel from the end of the conquest of canaan until the beginning of the monarchy. The book of judges does not specifically name its author. Internal evidence indicates that the author of judges lived shortly after the period of the judges. Lessons from gideon 1 lessons from gideon roger kendalljanuary 14, 2012 lets turn to the book of judges, chapters six and seven, which contains the account of gideon going against the army of the midianites.
In accomplishing the mission set before him by god, gideon proves himself to be faithful, a mighty warrior, a strong leader of men judges 7. The book of judges is the second book in neviim prophets, the second section of the tanach hebrew bible. Tom constables expository notes on judges this is also available in the net. The study of the bible as a political teaching has undergone a considerable revival in the past decades. He wonders, if the lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us. For now when the israelites were entered into the land of. That breaks israels covenant not to mention hurts gods feelings.
The book of judges, sefer shoftim is the seventh book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. There are twelve judges or othniel, ehud, shamgar, deborah, gideon, tola, jair, jephthah, ibzan, elon, abdon, and samson. Israel continues to conquer canaan after the death of joshua, but fails to completely drive out the canaanites as god commanded. Book of judges contemporary lessons from the book o judges 2 the judges were ehud and shamgar. Book of judges bible study chapter 6 gideon and the power.
Youre going to be reading into the thick of the book of judges this week, and its one of the most violent and bloody books in the bible. Judges 6 1 again the israelites did evil in the eyes of the lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the midianites. They will learn that it is important to obey god and trust him to help us do what he calls us to do. It follows joshua chronologically beginning with the death of joshua at 70 b. The process is reflected in the book of judges, both in the references shifting away from identifying people purely on tribal lines to also identifying them on territorial ones, as, for example, the people of gilead, or judges as first and foremost coming from particular townships within tribes. These books tell of the israelites reign over the land of canaan and have a heavy focus on divine reward and punishment. Judges intro to judges biblica the international bible society. Jan 14, 2012 lessons from gideon 1 lessons from gideon roger kendalljanuary 14, 2012 lets turn to the book of judges, chapters six and seven, which contains the account of gideon going against the army of the midianites. Gideon, whose name means cutter or cutter of trees, belonged to an undistinguished family of the abiezrites, but from the angels greeting we can assume that gideon had already proved to be a mighty warrior judges 6.