Gideon

Judges 6:1-32

We are living in a time of a Covid-19 pandemic and a contentious election.  What are some truths to be reinforce from the life of Gideon?  The overriding theme is that choices have consequences and that man has trouble seeing that God is the invisible hand behind nations.

Truths:

• Apostasy (worship of idols) leads to oppression followed by a lot of distress.  It is a sequence that has often repeating over millenniums of time.  There is a saying 'Choose to sin choose to suffer'.

• The gods of Baal that the children of Israel were worshipping were supposed to give them fertility and rain for good crops.  However, they did not receive the things that the gods of Baal were supposed to give.  After all Baal is just a creation of man.

• Success for Gideon started with the realization that (1) I am small.  Although it took a little time he came to understand that the (2) Lord was with him.  Even thought he was afraid, obedience resulted in the (3) the power of the presence of the spirit.

• Today God also focuses his attention on Christians and the church.

• Finally, we each need to examine ourselves, collectively and individually, for what may be our idols.