Judges 6 -- Gideon's Hesitation

My commentary had a lot to say about Gideon's encounter with the Angel of the Lord.

"Before the Lord could use Gideon in His service, He had to deal with four doubts that plagued him and were obstacles to his faith:

     -- Does God really care about us?

     -- Does God know what He's doing?

     -- Will God take care of me?

     -- Does God keep His promises?

I saw a lot of good answers to these questions in my commentary.

For seven years God had been chastening His people, trying to get them to understand their sin and return to Him.  "Chastening is evidence of God's hatred for sin and His love for His people.  We can't conceive of a holy God wanting anything less than His very best for His children, and the best He can give us is a holy character like that of Jesus Christ ... Chastening assures us that we are truly God's children, that our Father loves us, and that we can't get away with rebellion ... The purpose of chastening is to make God's children willing to listen to God's Word ... The Israelites gave no evidence of real repentance, but their affliction moved God's loving heart ... God is always ready to make us what we out to be if we're willing to submit to His will."

Gideon responded negatively to God's Word.  He lacked faith and spiritual perception, my commentary said.  "God would have to spend time with Gideon, turning his question marks into exclamation points ... Gideon seemed to think that God could do nothing because he and his family were nothing.  Once God has revealed His will to us, we must never question His wisdom or argue with His plans ... God promised to be with him.  God called him a mighty man of valor ... But Gideon didn't receive that Word and needed assurance beyond the character of Almighty God."

"Unless we're at peace with God, we can't face the enemy with confidence and fight the Lord's battles ... Whenever God calls us to a task that we think is beyond us, we must be careful to look to God and not to ourselves."

"Knowing that Gideon was still afraid, God assigned him a test right at home to show him that He would see him through.  He sometimes prepares us by giving us smaller victories at home ... Gideon learned a valuable lesson that day:  If he believed the Lord even with fear in his heart, the Lord would protect him and receive that glory."

"Putting out the fleece is not a biblical method for determining the will of God.  Rather, it's an approach used by people like Gideon who lack the faith to trust God to do what He said He would do ... It's also an evidence of our pride:  God has to do what I tell Him to do before I'll do what He tells me to do!"

Father, it always come back to that 4-word motto You taught me during my older son's adoption:  "I trust You, God!"  Always help me to remember that.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford