Joyce Hart

The apostles were disciples, but they disappointed Christ many times. It was only after the death and resurrection of our Lord that they developed the kind of character that Jesus was training them to have when He walked with them daily. Often times, we are not the obedient disciples that Christ wants because we don't have the courage to do what He asks of us. Sometimes, we are so caught up in what we want to do that we even think we are being obedient, but we are only doing what we have decided is the will of God, when sub-consciously, we know it isn't. Yes, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but fortunately, we have a promise in I John that says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God does not force us to do anything. So, yes, Gideon had a choice. and he chose to obey God. Many times, we human Christians do not choose to obey, but we have a choice. If we choose to follow our Lord totally and completely, we will ultimately feel good about what we have done for we know we have been obedient disciples. But, if we choose to disobey, we may be guilt ridden for the rest of our lives; we may have to suffer unfortunate consequences, but we can rejoice in know that God continues to give us opportunities to make wise and godly choices.

2. To honor is to respect, to admire, to value, and to appreciate. I think that Gideon could do all of these things and still give complete obedience to God. The justification that Gideon had for his actions was that God must come first in his life - his total allegiance must be to the one and only true God who had revealed Himself to Gideon.

1. God's first commandment was "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Yet, the Israelites were worshipping other gods and forgetting the one true God to whom all their allegiance was to be bestowed. Therefore, it was essential that anything that represented other gods be destroyed. The positive thing that he was to do was to build a proper altar to God and he was to "take the second bull from your father's herd, the one seven years old. and using the wood of the Asherah pole, offer the second bull as a burnt offering." He takes the risk of angering his father and the people. He did this at night because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town. I think Gideon was like the rest of us human beings. He wanted to please God, but he feared the people; in order to accomplish God's instructions, he chose to work at night.

The Lord told Gideon "I will be with you and you will strike down all the Midianites." Yes, in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gives the promise, "Lo, I am with you until the end of the age." New Testament passages which teach the same principle are: "Everything is possible to Him who believes." Mark 9:23 "Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." Matt. 6:8 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32 "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." Heb. 13:5 "The Lord is my helper. I shall not be afraid." Heb. 13:6 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." I Peter 5:7 "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:19 Prayer: I thank you Lord, that you will fulfill your purpose for me because your love, O Lord, endures forever - I thank you that you will not abandon the works of your hands. Psalm 138:8.

God saw Gideon as a mighty warrior, and according to the angel, God was with Gideon. But Gideon did not believe what the angel said because he saw his clan as the weakest in Manasseh and himself as the least , the weakest or the most incapable person in his family. When Peter took his eyes off Jesus and began to look at himself and his circumstances, he began to sink, whereas he had been walking on water. It is easy for us to take our eyes off the one who calls us and equips us for His service and see only our weaknesses rather than His strengths that make us what He wants us to be. If we can just remember to "Trust int he Lord" "Delight Ourselves in Him" and "commit our way to Him," we will realize that we can and will be the persons God created us to be fit for the tasks He lays before us.

According to God, the Israelites refused to listen to God and broke His commandment "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Children often do the opposite of what their parents tell them because they think they know more than the parents. They don't want to be controlled by someone else. The same was true of the Israelites. They wanted to be in control and wanted to follow their own prideful and arrogant way even if this meant getting lost on the way. We, as Christians, often put our careers,our families, our recreation, and our own ambitions and desires above God's. Although there is nothing wrong with desiring the best, it is important that we put God and His perfect will for our lives above all else. His perfect will for us is that we "Love Him with all our hearts, minds, souls, and our neighbor as ourselves>' for in so doing, we will reap eternal dividends which are far greater than temporal ones.

Gideon recalled how God has brought them up out of Egypt, but he felt that now God had abandoned them and was no longer with them. No, Gideon's assessment was not an accurate one because never abandons His children even when we forget or abandon Him. He may give us some breathing room and a chance to repent and return to Him but He does not abandon. I don't blame God and I do get impatient with those who blame God for all the bad things that happen in their lives. Sometimes bad things happen to God's people, but He has not abandoned us nor is He the author of the bad. We need to ask "Lord, what lesson may I learn from this or what good things can come from this bad thing. It may be simply that we can learn to trust Him more in our time of adversity and suffering. The danger in blaming God is that we can turn away from Him, be angry with Him and refuse to believe in or trust Him. We just need to "Trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not unto our own understanding."

Hi, I am Joyce from North Carolina. I am a retired educator who loves to learn new things. I especially enjoy Bible Study, but being involved in many church activities and Bible studies, I may not be prompt in answering questions. It is not because I don't want to learn or even that I am slothful, but I am overly busy. I am looking forward to the study of Gideon.