Judges 6-7 – April 1

 Gideon happens to be one of my favorite warriors to read about. His name, synonymous with war victories despite overwhelming odds, has been used throughout history for various battle campaigns We see his name used in a Venezuelan military operation in 2020 called Operation Gideon, as well as a character on the video game “Call of Duty”. This heroic leadership and faith are certainly not recognized in his beginnings in chapter 6. God truly can use anyone!

 Here is something I just learned. Many scholars believe that the Midianites who oppressed the Israelites in Judges 6 were descendants of Abraham (Genesis 25:1-4).

 Another thought - 

Through Judges, I continue to think about the danger of allowing certain evils, habits, or pollutants to remain in our lands! And I do not mean your physical land, but your spiritual land. How often do we cycle through bondage and deliverance all because we never completely clean out our lands – our spiritual dwelling places – of things contrary to God’s presence!? Think about some things in your life that are contrary to the presence of God that you may have allowed in or never cleaned out – anxiety, worry, fear, bitterness, anger, pride, gossip. Are these normal everyday experiences possibly the cause of a cycle of battles in our lives that are ultimately unnecessary?

 Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…