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5. How does Gideon influence Israel during his life? (8:28-35) What is the positive continuing effect of his leadership as judge? He keeps Israel strong enough both spiritually and militarily tah they are not troubled by invaders during his lifetime.

4. Why is spiritual unfaithfulness looked at as prostitution or adultery? (8:24-27) What is the concept of God's relationship to his people, which underlies this analogy? What kinds of temptations to spiritual adultery do you face today? (This is not a place to dump on denominations or sects, but to examine your own personal temptations to spiritual adultery.) In the bible Israel is spoken of as Gods wife, like the church is pictured as the bride of Christ. When Gods people worship another god this amounts to spiritual adultery. I face many temptations today, to be like the world and buy into the you must stay young looking, the need for money and the need for a job can draw my focus away from god and allow the devil to pull me down. Of course I need a job but I need to stay careful and not let the worry of it cloud my mind and take my focus off God.

3. What is a snare? In what way does Gideon's ephod ensnare his family and the people of Israel? (8:24-27) How can something be a sin if we don't see it as a sin? What was the essence of the sin the Israelites committed? What is the essence of Gideon's sin? A snare is a trap. The people started to worship the ephod as an idol. His family who used to serve God after Gideon had helped them to chose were now taking care of this golden ephod instead of concentrating on God. The love or need for money or any other thing that takes our mind from the will of God can be a hidden sin. Many cathedrals in Europe have been built from the offerings of worshippers who came to view and pray before the bones and relics of the saints. In the same way as Gideon's ephod, they became the focus of worship rather than the invisible God himself. Maintaining and beautifying a church building has become the focus of many a church's energy rather than real worship and obedience to the Great Commission. Holy things need not be evil in and of themselves. But they can become snares unless we guard against this very real possibility.

2. What is an ephod? (8:24-27) What might the gold ephod have looked like? An ephod was a garment worn by priests over their chests. It was considered holy.

1. What does Gideon ask for his reward? (8:24-27) Was Gideon wrong to take a reward? Where did the sin begin? That each of them gives an earring from their share of the plunder. Gideon should have waited for God to reward and not work out his own worth. The sin began then, right at the very minute that he uttered the words, God would have rewarded him in a way that would have not caused such trouble later on.

1. Why does Gideon refuse to be king over Israel? (8:22-23) In what sense would becoming king be treason? Why didn't the Israelites see bestowing kingship as treason? The people wanted to make Gideon their king but Gideon refused as he said that the Lord was to rule over them. The Israelites said that Gideon had saved them but Gideon put them back on the right track. The people had made God their king at the base of Mt. Sinai and it would be treason for anyone else to take over. However the Israelites had forgotten this and wanted a great man as their leader

Gideon kills Zebah and Zalmunna because they killed his brothers prior to this. He is fulfilling his obligation of the times when murderers were put to death. However this no longer applies as God says we do not take revenge. It is Gods to take revenge on our behalf and dispense judgement.

The cities refuse him aid because they were afraid of the revenge that the Midianites would put on them when Gideon failed. Gideon punishes them later because he needs to concentrate on the problem in hand and kill all the Midianites first. Their sin is to commit a terrible breach of hospitality to their own kinsman and a grave sin against god of the covenant. They showed no faith or respect for God or the man that god had chosen to save them. We need to brave and help others because it is right not because it will benefit us personally. How many times do we walk away and say its up to other people to help. We can do something very powerful we can pray for the situation even if we cannot help financially.

Gideon destroys the Midianite force at Karkor in order to protect his people from future incursions. We must deal with problems 100% to completely defeat them or they will come back against us stronger than ever. We need to be single minded and not be distracted. I am afraid I am very easily distracted and it is one of my huge weaknesses.

Gideon asked the Ephraimites to block waters of Jordan so the Midianites could not get across and to capture any of the left over enemies. They are angry because they have felt left out that Gideon did not ask them to join in all the battle but expected them to do his clean up operation. Gideon is very diplomatic with them and assures them that their contribution was even greater that his own. He smoothes their feathers with praise. Not every job that is important has to be in the front line or highly visible.

Gideon divided his army into three companies in order to trick the army into thinking that they were surrounded on all sides. The trumpets were used in battle to sound different orders. There would be one trumpet per company. When the enemy hears 300 trumpets they think that there is a huge army attacking. The empty jars were to hide the light of the torches until the right time and when they were broken the caused a huge noise that further confused the enemy. When the torches suddenly appeared all around their camp they increased the enemies fear that they were surrounded and caused further panic. The Midianites panicked and killed each other in the dark and the confusion. The rest fled. God was with Gideon and his men.

The rolling barley loaf meant (1) barley was not as valuable as wheat and was considered as inferior, in the same way Israel

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God felt Gideons army was too large in that if they won the fight with all these men they would take all the credit but if they won with only a handful of men they would have to give God the credit as it would not have been humanly possible. This brought their faith wholly on god and have them committed just to Him. Gideon would have been afraid and embarrassed to have to carry out this command. The men would laugh at him and maybe even leave him and treat him as a mad man. He is new to all this and has not had time to prove himself to the men. His pride in wanting to be the main man and march out with a huge army ready to serve him, what a sense of power this must create. Gideon obeyed God fully by learning the two lessons from God (1) God is directing him- the fleeces (2) Gideon obeys even when he does not understand.

Fear often makes us wait until we can make sense out of the plan that God is planning for us. We can start to become self-sufficient and can cause us to believe that we Cn do things for ourselves and that we don

Fear often makes us wait until we can make sense out of the plan that God is planning for us. We can start to become self-sufficient and can cause us to believe that we Cn do things for ourselves and that we don

When, if ever, should we ask God to confirm his direction with a sign? What is the danger of demanding a sign? i feel that it is ok to ask god for a sign when we are facing a decision and we want to go in the way that God wants us. we cannot see the future or know what the outcome of our decisions are going to be. God does and will guide us along and if we earnestly ask him for a 'sign' in which direction He wants us to go He will see our willingness to obey him and to let him be Lord over all of our lives. he is constantly sending our family signs at the moment as we are in the middle of a cash crisis and we have been blessed in that we are getting little reassurances from him that he is looking after us and is watching out for us at all times. you never demand anything from God, demanding seems to mean wanting your own way. two year olds demand and spoilt children not children of God who love their father and know how much He has given us and how much more there is waiting for us in heaven even though we are sinners and unworthy.

Gideon puts a fleece before the Lord twice not to test Gods abilities but to get assurance that what he is about to do is divine will. Gideon believed in God he knew that God was going to save Israel. He knows that he could cause God to be very angry with him but he still asks a second time. this type of testing was different in that it was not trying to manipulate God into doing miracles to ptove himself but by doing these miracles God was helping gideon to anchor his full faith in the lord.

What inspires Gideon to blow the battle horn and summon an army against the Midianites. What does Gideon have in common with other judges and leaders of his era? (Hint: see Deuteronomy 34:9; Judges 3:10; 11:9; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Samuel 11:6.) the spirit of the Lord came down on Gideon and inspires him as happened to many other judges and leaders Othniel, Samson and Jephthah. it expresses a temporary and spontaneous increase of physical, spiritual or mental strength. it was to prepare a person for a special task and even came to Jesus at his baptism

What kind of leader has Gideon's father Joash been up to this point? (6:25b) How does Gideon's action affect his father? (6:30-31) Shouldn't Gideon have considered the impact on his father? How should this have affected Gideon's action? In what sense is Joash a follower of Yahweh now? i think that Joash was a undecisive man who tried to keep everyone happy by keeping his feet in both camps but not committing himself to either 100%. i feel he was a weak leader. he knew the rules but was swayed by society rather than his love for God. gideon's action acts like a wake up call to him and he realises that if his son could stand up to the people he could too. gideon chose and his choice helped his father to choose. i dont think that how his father would be impacted had any bearing on his decision. he had to obey God. when i decided to follow Christ i did not consider how it would affect my family (parents and siblings), when i had to change churches i was worried about the trouble i would get into and the arguments but i still did it as it was what God wanted me to do. Joash now uncompromisingly takes the side of Gideon and Yahweh. He has taken his stand. he has spoken publicly and there is no going back

Can a person be a "disobedient disciple"? Doesn't that represent an oxymoron? Did Gideon have a choice here? Do we have choices? yes a person can be disobedient but this does not mean that it is right. yes our children do bold things and totally disobey at times and it is the wrong thing to do and we need to correct them. we too are children of God and we need to be striving at all times to walk in Christ's footsteps but as Paul said we want to go one direction but end up going in the other. i dont know what oxymoron means yes Gideon did have a choice to follow God or his society. we all have choices even doing this study is a choice we make for God instead of gardening or reading a book or a thousand other things. we have free will and this makes our faithfullness and obedience all the more precious as we give to god of our own free will because we love Him.

. 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) we are told to honor our parents but not if what we are asked to do takes from God Himself. i grew up in an abusive home and this was a great trial to me how to honor my parents while at the same time recognising what they were doing was wrong and not as Christ wanted them to live. we are to love our family as this is Gods law but we must not allow the love to be an excuse not to follow God. What Gideon had to do was against his father but he obeyed his higher Father as was right.

After God called Gideon to be Israel's deliever, he immediately asked him to tear down the alter of the pagan god, Ball. Worshipping Other gods was against God and violated the first two commandments. he had to get them out of the way and destroyed so that the people could see their true God again. Gideon did not leave a blank place in the middle of the destruction instead he built a proper alter to God using the material he had destroyed to burn his offering. Gideon took a great risk. an attack on the a god was often seen as an attack on the local government supporting that god. If he had been caught he could have been assualted and/or imprisoned. Also he was going against his own father as well as the community. i feel that you can look at Gideons night time activities in both a positive and a negative light. in the negative you could say that Gideon was afraid and did not trust God enough to do it by day. However i rather the other side of the coin in that Gideon did what he was told, he did not argue, he did not look for excuses and he had every reason to be afraid and he needed to get the job finished before he was caught. he knew he would be found out sooner or later but he did not run away or hide. he built a new alter and lit the fire for God he did not hide his work either. i feel he acted in faith with wisdom and courage.

God says " i will be with you and you will strike down all the Midianities together" God is a God of promises and He always keeps His word, so when He says I will be with you always that is what He means. We need to hold onto this promise when life gets tough.

God saw Gideon as a mighty warrior. Gideon sees himself as weak and the least in the family. Gods perception is most accurate as God knows what we are capable of. when we see only our limitations and weaknessess we fail to see how God could work through us. this has taught me a very powerful lesson as i never take part in a bible study that i go to i just listen, now i will try and participate. i have felt backward in the past in that i do not know or understand large sections of the bible. it is very easy to feel intimidated by more knowledgeable people especially if you have been shot down in the past.