Feb 14 (Jud 4-7)

Judges 4-5

Deborah is an amazing woman. My girls like to take note that she is a prophetess AND a judge of Israel! Barak was the commander of the army, but he wasn't very brave.

Deborah warned Barak that he wouldn't get the credit for the victory that God gave them, it would go to a woman!

There is another brave woman, who acted like a warrior for Israel...Jael. She gives Sisera milk and a blanket, instead of water. This made Sisera sleepy, and she planted his head to the ground like a tent!

Jael, not Barak, got credit for the victory...just like Deborah said!!!

Judges 6

(v.1) Once again, after Deborah dies, the Israelites go back to the pagan practices. This is a pattern throughout the book.

(v.6) So God let's Israel's enemy enslave them, but He provides another deliverer when they cry out...Gideon!

(v.11) The Angel of the Lord is Jesus in another theophany.

(v.12) Jesus calls Gideon a "mighty man of valor" when here was Gideon, hiding from his enemies, dirty and sweating! Gideon had no reason to even think he would be used by God, and that's probably why God chose him!

(v.22) Gideon sees that this wasn't a normal angel, since angels are messengers, and they can't consume with fire like this one did. We know this Angel of the Lord is Jesus, since Gideon saw him "face to face" and didn't die. Remember, Moses would have died if he saw the Father's face, so He let Moses see the back of Him (Ex 33:23).

(v.31) Gideon does what the other men should have done long ago...tear down the Baal altar. Gideon's father makes a great point, where he says if Baal is really god, then he will punish Gideon.

Sometimes the scene where Gideon is "testing" the Lord can be seen as unfaithful and even disrespectful. But God doesn't see it this way. In fact, God follows through with Gideon's requests as proof of who He is. I like to point out this verse as a reference to my kids:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
~1 John 4:1

Judges 7

I love to show my kids how God thinks...He does have a sense of humor sometimes! I can just see Gideon's face when God told him that he had too many soldiers!

What Gideon didn't know, was that God wanted the odds to be so crazy that they could win, that it had to be only God who could have let them win.

Gideon showed great faith, and shows us that every good leader must follow God first!