Desparate for Change

Disobedience Leads to Destruction

Verses 1-6 discuss how bad it had gotten is Israel which implies that it was good before hand. Verse 1 is clear that the reason for the oppression is that they did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Note: You don’t have to do evil to experience the consequences of the culture and people around you, but also note that none of us are perfect who do good and never sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20)

God has not left you even if He has removed His favor from you.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

Gideon is confused because he hears his elders talk of God that ‘brought them out of Egypt’ emplying, we are all good. God is Good all the time and All the time God is good, but Gideon straight up says, “I’m not good at all”.

Gideon doubts that it will be alright, because He looks at his circumstances and he looks at his abilities and personal resources. God reminds him that its not about where you are or how broken or ready you are, it’s about What God can do because He is willing and He is able. verse 16, But I will be with you.

Look at this, Gideons circumstances still had not changed. They were still surrounded by the Midianites, God had not acted at all to this point, BUT because Gideon finally sees God for who He is and what He will do, Gidean builds an altar to God and calls it “The Lord is Peace”. Even while he is still stuck in the oppression, Gideon experiences the Peace of God.