Judges 6b

Israel sinned and was under the oppression of the Canaanites.

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God sent a prophet to remindremind them of God's

Goodness, and callcall them to repentance.

The Israelites must have listenedlistened to the prophet of God, because He then called a delivererdeliverer.

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12 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then why then is all this befallen us? and where where bebe all His miracles which our fathersfathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

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Have you ever asked whywhy?Oh Lord, whywhy has this befallen me?

Why have You forsaken meforsaken me?I feel so totally alonealone;

wherewhere are You?

Oh Lord: You usedused to be with us.You once worked miraclesmiracles among us.You used toused to shower us with blessings.

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The prophet had already told them the problemthe problem.

Now God is calling a leader to deliverdeliver the people:

FirstFirst from their own sinsown sins.Then from the oppressionoppression of

their enemies.

If we find ourselves under the oppression of the devil, seek God's Face.

We draw nigh unto God through repentance.

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Then we can resistresist the devil and he willwill flee from us.

Gideon didn't feelfeel brave, although the Lord had called him bravecalled him brave.

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He felt weakweak and alonealone and fearfulfearful.He had seen no evidenceno evidence of God's blessings, and had probably begun to think the storiesstories of the old old

folksfolks were just thatjust that -- storiesstories.

14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent theehave not I sent thee?

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When GodGod calls us and sends us,We can gogo in confidence.

It's not about who we arewho we are, or our abilitiesour abilities.

It's all about the Onethe One Who called us.If God is for usfor us, none can stand against usagainst us.

15 And he said unto Him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

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Isaiah 6 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then said I, Here Here amam I; send me I; send me.

Gideon did not yetnot yet understand that he wasn't called because he was somebodywas somebody.

God would demonstrate that He can useHe can use anybody, a nobodya nobody to do His Work.

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Zechariah 4 6 … Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

16 And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as as one manone man.

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My familyfamily ain't much, and I'm the sorriestsorriest of the bunch.

With GodGod on his side, Gideon would defeatdefeat the Midianite nationnation

As if they were onlyonly one man.

17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in Thy sight, then shew me a sign that Thou talkest with me.

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Gideon wanted to know for certain that it was Godwas God with Whom he was talkinghe was talking.

God makes no mistakes,But people do.

18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto Thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before Thee. And He said, I will tarry until thou come again. 19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto Him under the oak, and presented it.

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Extravagant hospitality in a time of hardship. Generous

20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staffstaff that was in his hand, and touchedtouched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire rose up fire out of the rockout of the rock, and consumedconsumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

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22 And when Gideon perceived that he waswas an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. 23 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.

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That he had actually been in the Lord's PresenceLord's Presence,

Scared himScared him.He thought he was going to diegoing to die.

24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

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God is on the scene; worship Him as God of PeaceGod of Peace.

Points to Ponder

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1 First things first: If we find ourselves feeling alone, weak, and ineffectual,

Draw near to God through sincere repentance,And then we can resist the oppression of the devil.

2 When GodGod calls us and sends us,We can gogo in confidence.

It's not about who we arwho we are;It's all about Who He isWho He is.

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Generous

Don't hold back.