Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the August 2020 issue of Christian Standard + The Lookout. (Subscribe to our print edition.)
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Lesson Aim: Follow God boldly.
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By Mark Scott
The fifth judge of Israel was hardly bold when God called him. Gideon (“hewer”) was more on the order of Barney Fife than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. But he became bold, and he ultimately was mentioned in the faith chapter of the Bible (Hebrews 11:32). In fact, by the end of his life, Gideon may have become a bit arrogant, evidenced by naming his son Abimelek (my “father is king,” Judges 8:31).
Some people, like David, seem to be born with boldness (1 Samuel 17:37). Others, like Nicodemus, need to grow into it (John 3:1-8; 7:50, 51; 19:39). The early church prayed for boldness (Acts 4:29). Like the apostle Paul, we probably should ask God’s people to pray for us to be more bold (Ephesians 6:19).
Mighty Warrior? (Judges 6:11-16)
The angel of the Lord (later simply called “the Lord,” 6:11, 12, 14, 16, 25) came and sat down under a tree in Ophrah (“fawn,” a town near Shechem) that belonged to Joash (“given by the Lord”) the Abiezrite (“my father is help”). This was near where Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress. In a winepress? It’s where a scared person would work. Gideon knew the Midianites would confiscate his wheat if they saw him working in a more public place.
The angel greeted Gideon by referring to him as a mighty warrior (brave person of valor) and telling him, the Lord is with you. This phrase mighty warrior was used of Jephthah (Judges 11:1) and Boaz (Ruth 2:1), and the greeting bears a certain similarity to Gabriel’s first words to Mary (“Greetings, you who are highly favored!” Luke 1:28). No doubt Gideon was puzzled (“Who, me?”). Then he asked one of the chief apologetic questions of all time. “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” (i.e., if God is God, why does evil exist?). Gideon voiced what all Israel felt—that God had abandoned (deserted) them and given them into the hands of their enemies.
The angel was not put off by Gideon’s question. The angel pressed Gideon into service. Gideon looked inward (like others had done before, Exodus 3:11). His clan (family) was the weakest (poorest or neediest) in the tribe of Manasseh. God’s presence would turn Barney Fife into a might warrior.
Timid Judge
Judges 6:25-27
Like Manoah (Samson’s father) and Thomas (Jesus’ disciple), Gideon needed some reassurance of the divine message (Judges 13:8-20; John 20:21-29). He extended typical ancient Near Eastern hospitality and then experienced some miraculous phenomena (Judges 6:17-24). But witnessing the miraculous does not ensure boldness. Think of what Timothy later witnessed on the missionary journeys, yet Paul had to encourage him to be strong (2 Timothy 1:7).
So when the angel told Gideon to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and the accompanying Asherah pole and offer a burnt offering of a seven-year-old bull on top of the pagan debris, Gideon did it. But he did not do it alone. Gideon had ten of his servants help him, and he did it at night rather than in the daytime. Timid?
Weaker God
Judges 6:28-32
The issue of our boldness is always related to another issue—namely, whose god is God? Is Baal of the Midianites God? Or is the Lord of Israel the real God? In the morning there was no small stir about the demolished idol and pole. The people carefully investigated (searched and inquired) as to who was responsible.
Someone ratted on Gideon, so the locals headed to Joash’s house. They demanded that Gideon be put to death. But Joash made an intriguing speech that stopped the madness. Even though it was his Baal idol that was cut down, Joash defended the Lord by suggesting that if Baal were really God, then he could defend (contend or strive for) himself. This same logic later would be used during the ministry of the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 18:21). This experience gave Gideon a nickname (“Jerub-Baal,” Judges 8:29).
Assured Battle
Judges 6:33-40
People do fight for their gods. The Midianites, Amalekites, and others crossed the Jordan River and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. Gideon gathered his troops from the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. But Gideon had a weapon the others did not have. “The Spirit of the Lord came on” (clothed or dressed) him.
The famous fleece passage concludes our lesson text. God could make the wool fleece wet or dry. It did not matter. Gideon had the God-sized assurance that made him stand boldly for the battle—and with only 300 soldiers.
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Lesson study ©2019, Christian Standard Media. Print and digital subscribers are permitted to make one print copy per week of lesson material for personal use. Lesson based on the scope and sequence, ©2019 by Christian Standard Media. Scripture quotations are from the New International Version, ©2011, unless otherwise indicated.
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