Gideon’s Courage - Jared McCormick August 5, 2023
Teachers
Lesson Summary
The class opened with Jared McCormick sharing personal impressions of Gideon, noting that the biblical portrait differed sharply from the polished hero often presented in Sunday School. He outlined the Israelites’ oppression by Midian, their desperate hiding in caves, and their cries for deliverance, setting the stage for God’s call to Gideon in Judges 6. Gideon’s initial response was marked by doubt and excuses, yet God reassured him, calling him a "mighty warrior" and providing a series of signs—including the fleece test (Judges 6:36‑40)—to confirm His presence. After the signs, Gideon obeyed, tearing down Baal’s altar at night, and faced violent opposition from his own community. God then dramatically whittled Gideon’s army from 32,000 men down to 300, demonstrating that victory would come through divine power, not human strength. In Judges 7:9, Gideon led the reduced force to a miraculous defeat of the Midianites, illustrating that true courage emerges from trusting God, even when the odds seem impossible. The central message emphasized humility, reliance on God’s guidance, and the reality that God empowers ordinary people for extraordinary work.
Key Scriptures
If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt? But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.
Am I not sending you?