Saturday

13-Apr-19

Judges 7-9; Ps 45; John 18

Judges 7: How many soldiers did Gideon have under his command?  Why did he end up with only 300? What encouraged Gideon?

Judges 8: What persecution did Gideon face from his fellow Israelites?  What did Gideon to the men in Succoth who refused to provide a meal for his soldiers? What did Gideon do to celebrate his victory?

Judges 9: Who was Abimelech and what did he do?  Who was Josiah? What happened to Abimilech?

John 18: What did Simon Peter do when the men came to arrest Jesus?  Why did Peter deny knowing or being a disciple of Jesus?

Journal Prompt: Gideon was a reluctant servant of the Lord, and he refused to go forward without signs from God.  What do you think about asking God for a sign to verify His leading?

Answers:

Judges 7: There were 32,000 to begin with.  God didn’t want Israel to think it was because of their efforts that they had won, He wanted them to see His hand at work in the victory. Gideon was encouraged and understood God was fighting on his behalf, when he heard a man from the enemy’ telling about a dream that Gideon was a mighty warrior and that God was leading him.

Judges 8: First Gideon’s fellow Israelites accused him of not including them in the battle and subsequent victory and then when Gideon asked for help from those in Succoth, they refused, because they weren’t convinced he would be victorious.  Gideon killed the men of Succoth. Gideon made an ephod which ended up being an idol and a snare to Gideon.

Judges 9:  Abimilech was a son of Gideon from his concubine who was from Shechem.  Gideon had 70 sons from his many wives.  Abimilech wanted to rule instead of one of Gideon’s 70 sons, and he garnered support from the leaders of Succoth (most likely the sons of those who Gideon had killed), and he killed all of Gideon’s sons except for Josiah, the youngest son.  Josiah fled

John 18:  Simon Peter cut off the ear of one of the soldiers. Peter denied knowing Jesus because his fear for his life was greater than his love for the Lord.  I believe that this illustrates Peter’s lack of full understanding about God’s kingdom.  When the risen Christ appeared to Peter, He asked Peter to be the pastor of the church.  Peter fulfilled that calling to his death.  As we read the book of Acts and the epistles written by Peter, we encounter a very different Peter from the former disciple.  He was once brash and impetuous, and it is clear that he received wisdom and power from the Holy Spirit and became an amazing man of God.