RunnerMom

God saw Gideon as the man He created him to be...his potential...and called him by that name as if it had already happened. Gideon could only see his present weak state. Since God can speak things into being, His assessment is obviously more accurate, but because of free-will, we have to be willing to cooperate and become what God envisions us to be.

The reason for Israel's oppressed state was discipline. God could not allow disobedience to Him to go without consequences. They broke the first commandment of having no other gods before Him by worshiping the gods of the land they were in. I think the natural consequence of serving and worshiping anyting whether it's money, power, hatred, unforgiveness, substances, things, etc. (the list goes on) is captivity from that very thing. This includes God, but when he captivates us, it results in freedom...He has a knack for being opposite of what is within our "normal" way of living and being. So Isreal's oppression from the people of that land is a fitting consequence for worshiping the gods of that land

In what way does Gideon blame God for his troubles in 6:13? Gideon blames God by stating that basically God let all this happen and could have done something to stop it, as evidenced by His previous acts of protection and deliverance, but chose not to. Is Gideon's assessment accurate? Well...in a way, yes. I think Gideon is accurate to say that God allowed the circumstances to happen, but in my opinion, where Gideon went wrong (and where I often go wrong), is his conclusion that because God allowed these things to happen: a. He abondoned his people and b. His inaction was negligent. This goes back to the question I get a lot from my husband and others "If God is a loving God and in control of everything, why does he allow so much pain, suffering, and injustice in this world (e.g., the tsunamis, sick and dying babies and children, car accidents, etc...???)" Unfortunately, theological answers about the condition of this world, wages of sin is death, we bring it on ourselves by disobedience, etc, etc, don't cut it, and often cause more anger and argument for everyone involved. The only honest way I can answer that question anyway is "You know, I struggle with that question too. Sometimes I can see the reasons for pain and suffering by looking at the greater good that comes out of it, and sometimes I have no idea why it happened or why God didn't stop it." I try to leave it at that, because first of all, I don't think God needs me to defend Him or His decisions. Secondly, I couldn't defend it anyway because I really don't know. And lastly, I think I would be doing people a better service by encouraging them to seek the answer directly with God than pretending I know the answer. What I pray now that God will help me do...and remind me to do when I either go through suffering or injustice myself, or watch others go through it...is to watch, pray, and trust, with or without a revelation. Why do we blame God? Probably the same reason we blamed our parents as kids for all the injustice they inflicked on us If we can't see the bigger picture, then it must not exist, therefore there is no reason (or natural cause) for the negative circumstances. Since our parents, and God, have the ability to stop these circumstances and don't, we think it just not fair!! What's the danger and how can we stop short of this in the future? The danger is in missing the lesson we are supposed to learn from our circumstances and then having to take the same test over and over again To stop short of it in the future, we have to take a stand against our own thought process and essentially say to ourselves "No matter how bad this looks, I believe that God is in control, and he will use this as He sees fit with or without revealing His reasons to me. I am going to trust Him and seek Him with all my heart until He reveals what I'm supposed to learn from this or how I'm supposed to change from this." I know, I know, easier said than done