Week 5, Chapter 8: A Few Good Men and Women
Associated Scripture: Judges 2-4; 6-8; 13-16
The past three weeks have been tough...I'll do better with Chapter 10 which is this week. Let me go and post my very brief notes for Chapter 9 also--they will be brief....I'm sorry....
Discussion Questions:
1.
What does God’s choice of Deborah as judge
during this time reveal about God’s view of women? God believes women are created as equal as men…that
women were just as good as doing God’s work as men. This was during times when women were
certainly not treated equally. Heck—women
have always struggled to keep up with man but really—we are just as good if not
better;) Remember God’s original view on
women… Genesis 1:27 “So God created man (both
male and female) in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and
female he created them.”
2.
Why does God often use weak and uncertain people
like Gideon to do his work? By using the
weakest of people, it proves that you really only need God to get through the
hardest of tasks! God gives these “weak”
people and gave them the strength they needed to help bring others to God as
well.
3.
If you ever feel uncertain about your gifts and
abilities, how could the story of Gideon encourage and strengthen you? All Gideon needed was his faith in the
Lord. And, that is all you need. Turn to God.
Ask him to help you. Allow him
into your life.
4.
What reasons can you give for why the Israelites
kept repeating their downward cycle of sin?
Doesn’t it seem like we are in that cycle now too? The Israelites would be saved…given a little
time and they would drift from the Lord and God would have to save them
again. They kept turning to other gods
or forgetting what God had saved them from to begin with…I guess it is how we
were created.
5.
What was the root cause of Samson’s fall? What was the result? The root cause of
Samson’s fall was his weakness to the temptation of the flesh. Eventually his
lust for women would be his down fall, as Delilah would find out the secret to
his strength and his strength would depart from him and ultimately result in
his death.
5.
6.
What are the strongest temptations that you
face? How do you fight such temptations? We will always have the temptations of the
world we live in; yet, we must keep God at the forefront to fight such worldly
temptations.
Video
1. Through
The Story we have discovered that God loves to use surprising people to
accomplish his will. As you read about
Deborah, Gideon and Samson in this chapter of The Story, how is each of them a
surprising choice to be a leader of God?
Deborah was the fourth and ONLY female judge of Isreal. She gave God all the praise that came her
way. Gideon was a farmer who God made a
warrior and a judge. Samson was born to
parents who could NOT have children.
Each of these people were “ordinary” people that were given extraordinary
tasks through God.
2. Contrast
how God saw Gideon and how Gideon saw himself (Judges 6:11-16; They Story, pg
108) How does this breathe hope into our
hearts in the moments we feel God could never do great things through us? Gideon did not see himself as a strong person
but God told Gideon he would have the strength he needed to win the war. God did great things through Gideon. WE see ourselves, often, as weak. But God does not see you that way. Make sure God is with you. Try to see what your value is through
Christ. You can say yes to God—you can
conquer through him.
3. In
the continual cycle that occurs in the time of the Judges, God’s people kept
embracing the sins, religion and behaviors of those who lived in the land
before they conquered it. In what ways
do Christians today embrace the sin, practices, and culture of our day and end
up sinning and feeling distant from God?
How can we identify the temptation to be conformed to the world’s sinful
ways to avoid this pitfall? WE do so
much today that is not considered priorities.
Things like…not aligning our lives with God or not knowing the Bible—THE
BOOK OF INSTRUCTION. We constantly fear
of offending others with our beliefs via political correctness…If you put God
first, your life will align as it should.
We do need to avoid the temptation of falling into the world’s sinful
ways—those ways greatly accepted as the norm.
4. One
of the recurring themes in this chapter of The Story is that a new generation
would rise up that did not know God and what he had done for his people in the
past. When they forgot, they
wandered. The same tragic thing can happen
in our generation. What practical things
can we do in our homes and in the church to help the next generation know and
remember what God had done in the past so they will hold on to him in the
future? Really we must continue to have
Christ in our daily lives. After all,
Christ is the reason we even exist. Let’s
align our lives with Christ and have that relationship with him that we know we
should have. For me, I need to remember
to bring Christ into daily conversation with my children. Pray often.
Follow his example. In the
church, we can reach in to the church but we must also reach out to others.
5. There
seems to be consequences when we refuse to follow God’s way. Why do you think we continue to repeat the
same sin patterns even though we know the outcome will not be good? Simple answer really: we are human.
We were made this way. God puts
these challenges in front of us to bring us closer to him.
6. Where
would you be today if God had never allowed his discipline to wake you up to
the reality of sin and drive you into his arms?
Personal question for each of us but I know I would not have what I have
today without Christ being in my life.
God has truly blessed me.
7. How
did God strengthen Gideon and help him press through his fears as he faced the
mighty armies of Midian? How does God do
the same thing today when we feel inadequate and fearful? Judges 8: 9-16. God stayed with him through the hard
times. Can you imagine not having God to
turn to during difficult times??
8. Have
you faced a situation when the odds were against you and other said, “NO way!”
but you held God’s hand and pressed on?
How did the situation turn out and how was God glorified? What area in your life is God presently
trying to get you to the place where you embrace the fact that he is enough? Personal…
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