Lilac Ministries

Bible Study Lessons

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Scripture: Judges 6:1-16

Topic: "Who, me?!"

We began our study of Gideon by looking at the backdrop of what had been going on in his country. Israel had turned its heart away from God (again) and had been suffering the frequent invasion of hostile neighbors. The attacks were so hostile and thorough that the Israelites had taken to living in caves and hiding what little food they could glean. We compared this situation with places in which we find ourselves. Sometimes it seems that everything is against us, and we are left hiding even the good things in our lives.

We explored other situations where good things must be hidden. Some of our replies were: Hiding escaping slaves in the Underground Railroad; hiding Jews and others in Nazi Germany; hiding discussions that would be misunderstood in pubic forums; hiding beliefs that run counter to those accepted in the church community. When we explored why we have to hide good things, some of the reasons we thought of were: Being misunderstood; being ashamed; fearing consequences.

Generally, we like to be accepted. Even when we know in our hearts and souls that “God is in control,” it can be hard to act on things when they run contrary to the opinion of our community. We often see in society a tendency to get rid of people with differing opinions. Not to say that it’s done with violence (although it CAN be), but often it is done by ostracizing and shunning in one form or another. We change schools or jobs or churches or neighborhoods, for instance. Or we, as a group, make someone else uncomfortable enough that they will leave.

When an angel comes to Gideon to let him know God has seen the suffering of Israel, Gideon replies with his version of “Well, I guess He doesn’t much care, because everything I’m experiencing is awful!” The angel then tells Gideon, “Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?”

To which, Gideon, like so many of us, replies: “But … but … but! Of course there’s no way *I* could make a difference in these big issues!” Gideon’s excuse: “I’m the runt of the litter!”

The reality is that God chooses the smallest to accomplish His biggest goals. We may not be called to change the course of a nation (or maybe we will), but we are called to challenge injustice in our corners of the kingdom. We all have our “But, Lord!” excuses. We need to recognize them and then find the courage to face wrong with truth. Then we may hear the Lord’s encouragement: “Have I not sent YOU?!”