Judges 6

Leaders Prep Section

Watch this video, read these notes, and send the pre-written email (below) to your group 2-3 days before you meet.

Notes

Fear is normal. God doesn’t seem to be angry when people are afraid. And there’s something comforting about that.

Being afraid doesn’t mean your weak. It means your human.

Hey guys,
Heard of fight or flight? Well, there’s a third response that is just as real…it’s called the “freeze” response. Neuroscientists have found connections in your brain that, when activated by real or imagined threats, cause the body to automatically freeze.

See…you’re not a wimp after all. God made you that way.

Maybe that partially explains why he’s not incinerating the guy from Judges 6.

See you at firepit.

Group Guide Starts Here

Context of scripture

God has given his people over to an old enemy…and now they’re living in caves. Everything they have is being taken away.

Read Judges 6: 1-10

The most recent encounter between the Israelites and the Midianites was during Moses time when Moses blamed the Midianite women for causing problems and had the men and non-virgin women killed. Moses then took 32,000 Midianite virgins as spoils of war and gave them to the Israelites. (Numbers 31)

You can imagine the Midianite hatred towards the Israelites was deep and severe. By giving Israel over to Midian, he put Israel in a state of paralyzing fear.

Have you ever felt what you would consider paralyzing fear?

Read Judges 6: 11-16

Threshing wheat is normally done in open, windy areas so the chaff blows away and the grain falls to the ground. However, Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, typically a shallow pool cut into rock.

Gideon is clearly afraid for good reason. But notice how the angel (speaking on behalf of God) addresses him: “O mighty man of valor.”

Why do you think God would deliberately choose someone who is obviously afraid?

Read Judges 6: 17-24

If God asked you to do something difficult, what kind of sign would you ask him for?

Read Judges 6:25-32

Notice what God asked Gideon to do has absolutely nothing to do with defeating the Midianites. Instead, it has to do with his own family, since this alter was built by his father.

Why do you think God asked Gideon to pull down this altar?

Gideon did what he was asked to do, but he did it in secret, at night.

If God were testing Gideon, would you say Gideon passed? Why or why not?

Read Judges 6: 33-40

Gideon is often times referred to as a coward in church teaching because he keeps asking God for confirmation.

Is Gideon a coward, or is it prudent to ask for confirmation?

If you had to choose one word to describe God’s demeanor through his interaction with Gideon, what would it be?