Chapter 6 opens with the
following words; “Again the Israelites did
evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands
of the Midianites”. The Israelites
were repeating a pattern that we have seen as we have studied the Names of God
this year. There is a time of peace, followed
by rebellion, followed by loss of blessing, followed by repentance, and finally
followed by deliverance. As you read
through Judges 6 you will see how horribly their land and crops were ravished
by the Midianites as a result of their disobedience. When the Israelites called out to the Lord for
deliverance He sent them a prophet who conveyed the LORD’s displeasure with
Israel, “I said to you, 'I am the LORD
your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But
you have not listened to me” (Judges 6:10).
The Angel of the LORD
then appeared to Gideon, a man of low standing in his family whose clan was
also the weakest in the region. “When the angel of the LORD appeared to
Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12).
Gideon questioned the LORD about the
circumstances that Israel was now dealing with and asked, if God was with them, why was this happening
to them. “The LORD turned to him and
said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand.
Am I not sending you?” (Judges
6:14). The LORD then reassured
Gideon that they would be in this battle together.
Before the Angel departed
Gideon prepared a sacrifice. As it was accepted and consumed by fire Gideon
realized that it was the LORD who he was actually speaking with and feared for
his life. “But the LORD said to him,
"Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die." So Gideon built
an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace” (Judges
6:23-24).
In the homework and in
class we looked at the definition of peace. It might be described as a state of
inner tranquility. Conversely, a lack of peace would be a state of anxiety or
worry. The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, conveys a much deeper meaning. It connotes a state of wholeness,
completeness, commitment, or well-being.
As born again believers we do have judicial peace with God; “Therefore, since we have been justified
through faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Experiential peace is what we walk inor
forfeit in our day-by-day lives with God. This is what we have been studying
this week.
Insights
From Class
The
Importance of Obedience
: Looking back at Leviticus 26, the LORD gave the Israelites a very specific
command 'Do not make idols or set up an
image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your
land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God” (Lev. 26:1). God followed this command with a promise of
prosperity, peace, and power as the Israelites obeyed. But Israel was clearly living in disobedience.
Their livestock and crops were destroyed. They were hiding in caves. They had lost their peace. Sandee pointed out that we also can live like
paupers, missing out on the goodness of our God because of disobedience. John 14:15 tells us,"If you love me, you will obey what I command”.
Our
Potential:
This is what God said about Gideon: “The
LORD is with you, mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12). This is what Gideon said
about himself: "how can I save
Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family”
(Judges 6:15). Like Gideon we may judge our
potential in serving the LORD through our own eyes and human limitations. How wonderful it is to know that this is not
the way God sees us at all. Sandee gave us six points about God’s point of
view:
1) God sees our
potential.
2) God does a work of
transformation in us.
3) God meets us where we
are.
4) He knows our
weaknesses, faults, and shortcomings.
5) He takes our inadequacy and transforms it by
His adequacy.
6) God sees us beyond
our frailties. He does not save us and use us for what we are but for what,
by His grace, we may become in Christ.
The
Key to Inner Peace:
Living in this world we will always have problems and situations that can rob
us of our peace. But God says to us, “If
you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, "'I will grant peace in the land, and you
will lie down and no one will make you afraid. (Lev 26:3,6). The commands in Leviticus were under the Old
Covenant but because we live under the New Covenant the law is now written on
our hearts. We no longer live by a written list of rules. By His grace, the
Holy Spirit enables us to walk in obedience to God’s statutes.
Sandee left us with some
words of God to meditate upon:
“Great peace
have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble” (Psalm 119:165).
“You will keep in perfect peace him whose
mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3).
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).
Insights
and Application from the Homework
The specific focus on
this week’s homework was how the Israelites lost their peace and what they
needed to do to get it back. As we read
through and studied the account of Gideon in Judges 6 we saw how these things
played out in the lives of the Israelites. As we went through the lesson it was
clear how we could apply these principles to our own lives.
How
did the Israelites lose their peace?
The Israelites lost
their vision of God.
Going back to Judges 21:25 we read, “In
those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit”. Many of us have witnessed the lives of people
who have lost their vision of God and the chaos that was the result.
The Israelites lost
their relationship with God.
It says in Judges 2:10, “After that whole
generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who
knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel”. The Israelites no longer knew God in a
personal way. Slowly but surely their
relationship with the LORD died. We need
to help the generations that follow us to live out their spiritual heritage.
The Israelites lost
their devotion to God.
“Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes
of the LORD and served the Baals. They forsook the LORD, the God of their
fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various
gods of the peoples around them” (Judges 2:11-12). In the same way, we can begin to worship the
gods around us – fame, wealth, external beauty. We must guard our hearts and be
aware of this danger.
The
Result: As
we learned in class the result of their loss of peace was the cycle of sin.
This very thing can happen to us. When we
lose our vision of God we may take a step back from the things of the LORD like
studying His Word or fellowshipping with other believers. As it said in the homework, ‘we sacrifice the
relationship we need to nurture the most’.
What
would they need to do to get their peace back?
They would need to cry
out to the Lord.
“Midian so impoverished the Israelites
that they cried out to the LORD for help” (Judges 6:6). We were asked the question, ‘at what point in
our troubles do we cry out to the LORD?’
They would have to fight for peace. “When
the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you,
mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12). We
were reminded that God never told the Israelites that they wouldn’t have to
fight. In the same way we may become complacent with a gift God has given us.
Is there something in our lives that God wants us to fight for?
They would have to give
up their excuses.
“"But LORD, "
Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh,
and I am the least in my family” (Judges 6:15). Do we question our suitability for a task God
has entrusted us with? By faith we need
to trust God’s assignments for us.
They would have to go in
complete dependence on God.
“The LORD turned to him and said,
"Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I
not sending you?” (Judges 6:14). He
also said, "I will be with you, and
you will strike down all the Midianites together." (Judges 6:16). God assured Gideon that He would be with Him
in the battle. In Judges 6:19-21 Gideon made an offering to the Lord; a gift.
In the same way we need to offer God all we have and come to Him in complete dependence,
trusting in Him to bring the victory and not in our own abilities.
Summing
it All Up
As children of God,
walking in peace is something that can be a reality in our lives. As we learned
this week there are many ways we can forfeit this blessing but as we apply scriptural
concepts to our lives we can walk in victory.
It says in James 1:22, “Do not
merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says”. It is not enough just to study about God’s
peace, we need to take in His Word in so that it becomes a part of us;
something that changes how we think, feel, believe and act.
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