Bible Study Judges 8:1-3 “Gideon”

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Gideon rallied around him men from his own tribe Manasseh and all those who obeyed call to arms from other tribes from Asher Zebulun and Naphtali(6:35). Since it was God who fought their battle he could accept men from Ephraiam who faulted him for not including them.

‘A soft answer turns away wrath’. In vv. 2-3 Gideon puts this precept to practice (Pr.15:1). Gideon as a judge did not win their victory but his word by Law of Gradation made his sword as that of David after him one with that of the Prince of peace. When the three hundred in one voice shouted “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon(7:18)” it was God the Son who fulfilled the directive of his Father. The glory of his Word when flashed holds eternal word in its fierceness against which no power shall stand. Thus the Law of Gradation just stated, takes…

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Bible Study-Judges 7:16-25 “Three companies”

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“Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian./ And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers”.

God revealed through a dream that two Midian soldiers shared, what Gideon needed to know. It was not for him to enquire how God shall deliver the enemy into his hands but trust Him totally. This new confidence he imparts to the three hundred. He tells them,”Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian”

Their victory was the victory of Israel. The host of Israel at first comprised of 22,000. According to the will (‘as thou hast said’) Gideon was left with the three hundred. The Spirit uses this as representation for the whole. The trumpet in every man’s hand represented the entire host of Israel…

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Bible Study-Judges 7:13-15 “Interpreting a Dream”

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And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.

¹⁴And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.

¹⁵ And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel,

Visions take place in the centre of immensities of ‘mind’ to which interpretation is left to another. One way is described in the Acts of the Apostles. St Peter went up…

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Bible Study-Judges 7:1-9 The Three Hundred

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When the Spirit of the Lord came as we read in the preceding chapter Gideon did not waste time,”And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them(6:35)” . Against him were the host of Amalekites and of the Midianites ‘and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude(7:12).

³ Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

⁴ And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto…

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Bible Study-Judges 6:36-40 “Dew on all the ground”

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Gideon uses ‘As thou hast said,’ in such a manner to bring revelation of the word, which is theophany user-friendly and Gideon asks further proof which God is willing to allow. When Abraham similarly draws God with hypothetical questions God let him speak on.”And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:/ Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five?(Ge.18:27-28)” Where God had foreknown heroes of faith like Abraham and Gideon (He.11:8,32) their common ground is trust. Enoch walked with God is one way of empowering man to lift further than possible. Gideon by nature timid and who knew his place, (“Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house”-v.15) however was not a quitter. When his winepress…

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Bible Study- Judges 6:31-34 “Jerubbal”

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“And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar(v.31.”

Here we have the kind of sophistry which Gideon’s father adopts when he discovers a wrong word could put his son’s life in danger. Apostasy of Israel metaphorically is in degrading ‘the tree of righteousness’ as a grove for pagan gods. “The trees of the Lord are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted(Ps.104:16).” Ge.1:11-12. God commanded Gideon to offer his burnt offering,’with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down(v.26)’.

The Spirit holds symbols of tongues of fire and also mist significance of which is determined by the context. .Cutting down the grove…

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Bible Study-Judges 6:25-35 “At the ordered place”

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Theophany of God was in the glory of the word, which is encapsulated by the name Jehovahshalom, God our peace. At a time of great depredations from the Midianites and of strife in the land what prompted Gideon to think of peace unless it was from God? The angel of the Lord had greeted him by ‘The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.’ In short God’s word brought it in so many words that he found peace, unlike anything he had known before and it was a covenant as it were when the angel accepted his offering. ‘Can two walk together unless agreed upon?’ The angel of the Lord visited him as a mighty man of valor and now he had to grow into the stature God desired of him. This is what we find in vv.25-35.

Gideon was a new creation and where he was nervous of the…

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Bible Study-Judges 6:11-24 “Body, spirit and soul”

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“Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites”(v.24).

This altar is especial because as the Spirit tells it is to be found in Ophrah of the Abiezrites ‘unto this day.’

Jehovah shalom the name of the place and it translates as ‘God my peace’, which passes all understanding, and is unto this day.(‘And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus-‘Phi.4:7)

The angel of the Lord tells Gideon in what manner he was to make his presentation.”Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so./Then the angel of theLordput forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up…

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Bible Study-Judges 6 “Spirit of Christ”

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vv.1-11

“And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.”

Midian literally means strife.

Midianites were nomadic people the descendants from Midian the fourth son of Abraham from Keturah(Ge.25:2) Owing to the apostasy of Israel God let them overrun the land. The Spirit uses such numbers as 40 and 7 as to remind their prosperity and troubles were allowed by God. Previously under Deborah the land had enjoyed peace for 40 years and now 7 years of harassment helps us understand that the eye of Lord has been as always upon them to do good (as promised by him to Abraham) He shall not hesitate to punish whenever they stepped out of line.. Now the Midianites were the rod of chastisement as Assyria (‘The rod of my anger’-Is.10:5) would in the times of Isaiah.

In vv.8-11 we…

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Bible Study-Judges 5 “The Song of Deborah”

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This is a victory song which when set against the Song of Moses or of Virgin Mary we shall see these are as different in the genre of hymns, one is to the flesh and the other two belong to the Spirit.

Moses begins with,’I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.(Ex.15:1)

Compare the one from Deborah,”Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.” When the people offered themselves’ is not same as singing, ‘He hath triumphed gloriously.’ On the other hand Moses sings ‘The Lord is his name which is also the theme of the Magnificat in which she sings,’Holy is his name. (Luke 1:49).

In v.12 Deborah sings,” Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.’ On the…

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