Q2. Blaming God for our troubles.

[wifee]

2a)Gideon blamed God because Israel in hard times&he didn’t rescue them as he did in times past, but also they didn’t take responsibility for disobeying God.

B)Not accurate Israel feels they are under God’s protection,but actions don’t match e.g.disobey God.

C)Israelites didn’t keep their part of agreement to serve only God, so cannot expect protection.Our actions affect his decisions.

d)Danger is we remember his promises, but don’t always obey him in our poor behaviour lack of relationship&failure to repent.

E)Focusing on self,we miss seeing way’s God is working.As study&guided by HS,I see more where I am going wrong in howthink/act,repent &ask God’s forgiveness,trust again &relationship with God restored.

[betchay]

1. In what way does Gideon blame God for his troubles in verse 13?

 

He was questioning the presence of God in their current situation. He is asking if God is with them, then why all those bad things re happening to them.

 

2. Is Gideon's assessment accurate? Why or why not? Why do we blame God?

 

Nope. he's assessment is inaccurate because he didn't dig deeper as to why they are in that situation. He just based it on their current situation. We blame God because it is the easiest way for us to explain why certain things happen and most of the time we are to proud to admit that those bad things or situations we are experiencing are results of our own actions.

 

3. What's the danger and how can we stop short of this in the future?

 

The danger is that instead of drawing ourselves near to God, we are making ourselves farther from Him. I believe that we can stop this by praying and reading His words and still believe in His promises...for me, when bad things happen, I try to keep silent first and assess myself what went wrong and ask God to give me strength to overcome the situation. And then read scriptures or listen to sermons that can divert my attention that instead on dwelling on the bad circumstances I'm in,  find means to uplift my spirit and move on...

 

 

 

 

[DebLam3teach]

Gideon blames God because of the present day defeat of the Israelites.  He hasn't seen God's miracles like in the past.  It was true that God had not performed a miracle over the Midianites, but Gideon failed to see that the lack of deliverance was a result of Israel's sin.  We can be the same way when tragedy or hardships strike.  We walk in unbelief and persist in our sin instead of seeking God for answers.

[aztlanjuan]

Gideon blames God because he thinks, God has abandoned him and his people. This is obviously an error, as the prophet had just previously mentioned the numerous times Gid supernaturally intervened for Israel. We blame God when we fail to see Him at work in our lives or are too self-centered to want to see it. This is obviously a dangerous practice, as we diminish the sovereignty of the one who reigns for eternity.

[Elah]

Gideon doesn't acknowledge Israel's role in their suffering. He immediately begins to shirk the responsibility of his people to obey God. He isn't holding the Israelites accountable for their actions. When we blame others for our shortcomings, it leaves us in a never ending cycle of deceit and we walk in perpetual disobedience. The bible states that there is way that seem right to a man but the end of that path is destruction. You begin to live and align your life based on your own standards rather than the standards of Christ. 

[Tim_NY]

Q2. (Judges 6:13) In what way does Gideon blame God for his troubles in verse 13? Gideon says, 'If the Lord is with us, how come we are in this bad place with bad things happening to us? He has abandoned us!'

Is Gideon's assessment accurate? Why or why not? His statement is not accurate, because with God's promises to be with Israel there was always a condition that they need to obey Him and put Him first. God's Law said that if they didn't do this, that bad things would indeed happen to them! Much of Deuteronomy talks about these promises, conditions and consequences.

Why do we blame God? What's the danger and how can we stop short of this in the future? We blame God because the nature of our flesh is never to take responsibility for our sin. Ever since the Garden, man has blamed others for his sin. Look at Adam and Eve! both blamed someone else. But if we blame God for our sin, we are calling Him a liar, because we have his Word that tells us we make our own choices to obey or not and there will be consequences. So when we sin, there is no one to blame but ourselves. We can easily get a hardened heart and even get 'cut off' by God if we don't repent.

[Paul Irving]

On 1/10/2003 at 3:10 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q2. (Judges 6:13) In what way does Gideon blame God for his troubles in verse 13? Is Gideon's assessment accurate? Why or why not? Why do we blame God? What's the danger and how can we stop short of this in the future?

 

[Paul Irving]

Because Gideon was aware that the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord.  And Gideon was wondering even maybe doubting the miracles God did for the Israelites.  Gideon’s assessment is not accurate because the children of Israel provoked God by worshiping Baal.  You don’t want to blame God for anything because He has it all planned out, his correction of his people leave them in a better position than before his divine intervention.  Everything happens for a reason, it’s a test God wants us to have faith in Him being the Supreme Being that He is!!!

[Paul Irving]

On 1/12/2003 at 9:01 AM, Kats said:

Gideon is blaming God for his people's problems. He says that God has abondoned them, failing to recognize the fact that they have abandoned God by worshipping other gods. We hear similar words even today.... "how could God let this happen?" We are all responsible for our own actions, and must not blame God or others for the consequences.

Kats

Yes Kats,

you don’t want to blame God for anything because He is Holy and wants the best for us.  The Israelites were worshipping Baal and thus provoking God to anger.  But Gideon found favor in the sight of God, which is not so easily done 

[haar]

Q2. (Judges 6:13)

Q. In what way does Gideon blame God for his troubles in verse 13?

A. He felt that if God was with him ( and his People Israel) He would not have abandoned them to the Midianites to torment them and cause him to be hiding and threshing grain in a wine press.

Q. Is Gideon's assessment accurate? Why or why not?

A. No. God was concerned about their plight, that was why He was there to encourage and empower him to lead the Israelites to defeat their enemy.

Q. Why do we blame God?

A. Because we are usually too blind to see that the fault is our as we are the ones that usually abandon God and not He that abandons us. 

Q. What's the danger and how can we stop short of this in the future?

A. The danger is that we may be stupid enough continue to be angry with God and  runaway from Him thinking that He had abandoned us for no fault of ours.

We need to pause and see where we have fallen short of God's grace and repent and plead for mercy and and forgiveness.

 

[Jesus Follower]

He blames God by saying God abandoned them and put them in the hands of the Midianites.

No. The Israelites forsook God by worshipping idols and God kept His Word by punishing them when they did.

We blame God because we know He is sovereign. We want Him to filter out all the bad things and give us only things we like.

The danger is we forget.  We forget that sin has consequences. We forget God's holiness and our sinfulness.  We forget that God causes all things to work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. We forget His people suffer. Even Jesus learned obedience by the things He suffered.

We stop short by remembering. His goodness. His word.  He will never leave us or forsake us. He will provide for us.

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

Gideon is  blaming God for oppression of the Midianites.  Midianites robbed new crops, took their stock, and caused them to hide in dens and caves. In essence, Gideon blames God for this terrible epoch. Gideon 's position was not accurate. Gideon was in a tight spot:  no miracles and terrible Midianite oppression.

The issue is sin.   God did not forsake Israel.  It was Israel that forsook God.  Israel in  a state of oppression (Leviticus 28; Deuteronomy 28).  We blame God due to our finite minds as we grasp for answers.  During our dark nites of our souls, we cannot understand fully why tragic events take place. We need to be humble and resign all to God.   We need to ask the Holy Spirit to find any disobedience on our part.

We must carefully examine our hearts to ascertain if we are obedient to God.   Why then shouldn't keep His part of the Covenant as He kept the other part by blessing them when they were in obedience ?

[Krissi]

I have never understood how an innocent individual can be caught up in the sins of the nation or crowd. I hope to understand this more during this study. Gideon was innocent.

Had Gideon abandoned the worship of God?

No. 

The angel even said he was a mighty warrior and man of faith. Obviously, it wasn't his fault he had to hide in the winepress in order to thresh wheat. He truly was the innocent victim. Not all victims are guilty.

Having said that, Gideon was incapable – understandably – of seeing the bigger picture, how God was allowing the Israelites to suffer in order to bring them back to Him.

In his question to the angel, I don’t think Gideon was blaming God but rather asking questions out of his discouragement. These were good questions. Fact-based questions.

Too, Gideon recognized that he was dealing with an angel. So many people entertained angels without knowing it in the Bible. Not Gideon. He had the sense to ask the angel why the Israelites, in the past, had had God’s protection but no longer. He wanted to know.

He obviously didn’t understand why God had let them suffer under the Midianites. He didn’t draw a casual connection between Israel’s sin and Israel’s suffering that we see in hindsight. He did not see the apostacy that surrounded him. 

Of course, Gideon sinned, but his sin was not the cause of his predicament but the sins of others ...  this troubles me. 

[Irmela]

Q2. (Judges 6:13)

In what way does Gideon blame God for his troubles in verse 13?

Is Gideon's assessment accurate? Why or why not?

Why do we blame God?

What's the danger and how can we stop short of this in the future?

Gideon has learnt that in the past, the God Whom the Israelites were supposed to serve, had performed mighty deeds in the time of Moses, when He led them out of Egypt etc.  They, of the present generation had not seen this.  He is stating a fact that he was unsure of.  It is as if he wants to believe but has no proof that it is so.  He wants to believe that God is with them but he cannot see that it is so.  Here he is threshing wheat at the bottom of the hill instead of at the top of the hill.  If he does go to the top of the hill the present oppressors are bound to see him and become aware of what he is doing. 

I understand from this passage that Gideon expected God to continue delivering the people from their oppressors, so he seemed to blame God for the trouble the nation was in. 

No, it is not really accurate.  Gideon too was not only worshiping the True God.  There was also an image  which needed to come down.  

We do not look at the broader picture.   We do not see what has led up to that point. We tend to focus on the present, meanwhile deeds performed or a lifestyle has led us to the present state we are in.

We need to repent .  

 

[Servant of God]

When the Israelite disobeyed God he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. They were in this position because they disobeyed God. It was their own fault that they were in the hands of the Midianites. We blame God because we don’t want to take full responsibility of our actions. Once we own up to our sins and failures we can confess them and ask God to forgive and he will. Then healing and deliverance will take place.