Lesson 192 - Junior

Memory Verse

"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up" (James 4:10).

Notes

In Dens and Caves

We remember that God had promised the Israelites that if they obeyed His commandments He would bless them in the city; He would bless them in the field; He would give them good homes and abundant crops; and when enemies would come against Israel from one direction they would flee in seven because God would fight for Israel.

But now we find that the Israelites are living in dens in mountains, and in caves, like animals. Where are the homes that they were to have enjoyed in the city? And, what about their crops? The Israelites would plant grain, but when it was about time for harvest the Midianites and Amalekites, Israel's enemies, would come with their cattle and camels and eat up or destroy nearly all the crops of the Israelites so that they had little to eat.

A Cry to God

Whenever the Israelites found themselves in serious trouble they would remember God, and would remember God, and would cry to Him for help. This time, when they called for help against the Midianites, God sent a prophet to tell them why they were suffering. He reminded them of the miracles God had worked for their forefathers when He delivered them from Egyptian bondage; and how He had driven out their enemies ahead of them when they entered Canaan. The reason things were different now was that Israel had disobeyed God and had worshiped idols.

They did the right thing to call upon the Lord. God had promised that He would forgive them if they repented; and He kept His promise. As soon as they turned toward Him, He began to work for them.

Gideon Introduced

There was a young man in Israel, of the tribe of Manasseh, who was threshing wheat in a winepress. That was a strange place to be threshing wheat, but he was hiding from the Midianites who wanted to destroy his grain, and he probably thought they would not look there.

Outwardly there was nothing unusual about Gideon. His family had never done anything outstanding, and they did not have much money. But God looked into Gideon's heart and saw that he would obey Him if he knew what to do. So He sent an angel with a commission to make Gideon a leader in Israel.

The Angel's Visit

The angel looked like a man when he came and sat down under the oak near where Gideon was threshing. When he spoke he said to Gideon, "The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour." It may have been hard for Gideon to understand that. He knew that God had worked miracles for his ancestors in Egypt and in the wilderness. Surely, if God were with him he would not be hiding in a winepress to do his pitifully small threshing. Would they be living in caves if God were with them? And what had Gideon ever done to make the angel think that he was a man of valour?

The valour in Gideon was that he would obey God. He would not be afraid of the men around him but would do the will of the Lord. Jesus told His followers: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). Obedience is what God is looking for.

God could use Gideon because he would listen when God spoke. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; ... that no flesh should glory in his presence" (I Corinthians 1:27-29). God uses the weak things so that everyone will know that it is God who has done the work. If He should choose a popular army general, or a brilliant politician, people might think that it was by his own worth that he had won the victory.

The Meat Offering

Gideon wondered if the angel, who he thought was just a man, really meant what he said, so he asked for a proof. Gideon asked him to stay there under the oak until he brought him something to eat. The angel promised to wait.

Gideon killed a kid and prepared it, and made some unleavened bread. The meat he put into a basket, and the broth he took in the pot, and presented it with the unleavened bread to the angel. But the angel did not eat it. What he said must have sounded very strange to Gideon, but Gideon obeyed.

The angel told Gideon to place the meat and the bread on a stone and pour out the broth. Gideon might have thought it a great waste; they were poor, and if the angel did not want to eat the food he had prepared, his family would eat it. But Gideon obeyed without question; and when the food was arranged on the rock, the angel touched it with his staff, and fire came out of the rock and burned it up.

Do you see what the angel had done with the food that was offered to him? He had made it a sacrifice unto God. As the smoke rose from the sacrifice, the angel disappeared. The angel had made a covenant with Gideon. He promised that the Lord would be with him when he fought with Midian. And the sacrifice was a seal to the promise.

Now Gideon was frightened. He had seen an angel. When people are about to die they sometimes see angels, so Gideon thought he was going to die. But he heard the voice of God say to him: "Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die." Gideon was comforted and realised that he had been called of God to work for Him. He built an altar as a memorial that the angel of God had spoken to him here, and he called it Jehovah-shalom, which means: The Lord is peace.

Idols Destroyed

Gideon was called to deliver Israel but he had hard work before him. First, he must persuade the Israelites around him to forsake their idols and worship God. God did not let him waste any time. That same night the Lord appeared to him and told him to tear down the altar of Baal and destroy the grove where the shrine was kept. Then he should build an altar to God and offer a sacrifice of his father's fine bullock, which had perhaps been raised to offer to a heathen god.

The worship of idols was serious business with those who did it. Would Gideon dare to destroy the false gods and the place of false worship? Would he be afraid that perhaps the gods could hurt him or put a curse on him? The people who worshiped those gods believed that they had power.

Many people in Africa and India today believe that false gods, witches, or medicine men can put curses on them. Some of them can, too, by the power of the devil. But Jesus can break that power. Whenever anyone turns to Jesus and believe in Him, the devil or his priest has no more power over him.

Gideon's Faith

Gideon had had a call from God and he believed what God said and was not afraid to trust Him. The next night he took ten of his servants and they boldly knocked down the altar of Baal and cut down the grove. Then they built a new altar to God, and offered the bullock upon it.

When the men of the city woke up in the morning and saw their precious idol dishonoured, they were very angry and wanted to kill the one who had done it. But Gideon's father came to Gideon's defence, and reasoned with the men of the city. If their god were so mighty, would he not have punished Gideon for dishonouring his altar? If Baal could not even help himself when his idol was thrown down, how could he help anyone else?

Helpless Gods

We are reminded of the gods the Egyptians worshiped when Israel was in bondage. When God brought the plagues upon Egypt, not one of those gods moved to defend himself. The Egyptians worshipped the Nile River, but God turned it to blood until they were nauseated by it. They worshiped the frog, and God sent so many frogs that they were in the bread dough, in the stoves, in the beds, and everywhere the Egyptians went, until they thoroughly hated them. The cow was worshiped, and God sent a disease among the cattle that killed most of them. Of what good are such gods who not only cannot help people but cannot help themselves?

The men of the city seemed to be persuaded by Joash's reasoning and did not harm Gideon. The first step in Gideon's fight was won. He had his own people on his side.

Gideon's Fleece

The Midianites and Amalekites were gathered again, ready to come against Israel. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon to rally Israel's armies, and Gideon blew the trumpet which meant a call to arms. Word was sent throughout the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they answered the call and came up ready to go to war.

Things had gone well for Gideon up to this point, but he wanted to be very sure that he was doing what God wanted him to do. He knew the battle belonged to God, and his part was to follow orders. Gideon asked for another proof that he was to be Israel's leader. He would put some wool on the ground; and if in the morning it would be wet, but there would be no dew on the ground around it, he would know that God had answered him and had really appointed him as Israel's leader. Surely enough, when the morning came the fleece was wet, and the ground was dry.

Gideon asked for just one more proof. He would lay the fleece out another night; and this time it must remain dry, and the ground be wet with dew. God answered again, just as he asked. The wool remained entirely dry although all the ground around it was wet with dew.

Now Gideon was satisfied. He was sure that it was the will of God for him to try to conquer the Midianites and the Amalekites who were troubling God's people, and he knew that God would help him win the victory.

Questions

1. What was the condition of the Israelites at this time?

2. What was Gideon doing when the angel came to visit him?

3. What was the angel's message?

4. Why did Gideon hesitate to accept the message?

5. How did the angel prove that what he said was true?

6. What happened to the meat, bread, and broth which Gideon brought to the angel?

7. What was the first thing Gideon and his men did at God's command?

8. What did the people of the city think about it?

9. How was Gideon spared from death for what he had done to Baal?

10. Tell the story about Gideon's fleece.