DISCUSSION
1. Read verses 1-3. Who is going to be responsible for the victory over the Midianites? What reason does the LORD give to Gideon for whittling down the army to a smaller number? What can we learn from this? How does Deuteronomy 20:5-8 help us further understand the LORD allowing people to go home who are fearful?
2. Read verses 4-8. In what ways does the LORD tell Gideon to test the men in order to make the army smaller in number? What can we learn from this?
3. Read verses 9-18. Why does the LORD tell Gideon to “go down to the camp with Purah your servant”? What does the LORD show Gideon and why? How does Gideon respond to the assurance the LORD gave him in verse 15? What can we learn from these verses?
4. Read verses 19-25. What did the the three hundred men do in order to bring about the destruction of the Midianite army? What did the LORD do to bring about the destruction of the Midianite army? What can we learn from this concerning the importance of faithfulness to the LORD?
GIDEON (pt.2): Judges 7
Judges 7
February 16, 2020 • Brett Baggett
HALF-HEARTED: Judges 1:1–2:5
January 12, 2020 • Brett Baggett
DISCUSSION 1. Read Judges 1 verses 1-7. What do we learn about the period of history in which this book is set, according to verse 1? How does this differ from Joshua chapter 1, which followed the death of Moses? Who did the LORD tell to go up against the Canaanites and who actually went? How does Adoni-bezek respond once they “caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes”? What can we learn from all of this? 2. Read verses 8-15. How does Joshua 15:13-19 help tie the book of Joshua and the book of Judges together? How does 1 Samuel 18:25 help us understand what is happening here with Caleb, Achsah, and Othniel? What else stands out to you and why? 3. Read verses 16-36. What had the LORD commanded his people to do in Joshua 6:17 and 11:14? How do these verses help us see the half-hearted obedience of the LORD’S people? 4. Read chapter 2 verses 1-5. Who is “the angel of the LORD” and how can we tell? What did he do? What did he promise? What did he command? What did the people do in response? What did the LORD do in response to their disobedience? How did the people respond to the LORD’S discipline? How does Hebrews 12:3-17 help clarify?
IDOLATROUS: Judges 2:6-3:6
January 19, 2020 • Brett Baggett
DISCUSSION 1. Read verses 6-10. What marked the people of God during the time that Joshua and his fellow elders lived? What happened after the generation of Joshua? How should this sober us as we teach the next generation and make disciples in our day? 2. Read verses 11-15. What are some of the words used to describe what the people of Israel did after the death of Joshua and his generation? What are some of the words used to describe the LORD’S response to their apostasy? *apostasy: “abandonment of former faith.”What is the state of the people of Israel as described in verse 15? How do we see the sovereignty of God in these verses as opposed to a naturalistic view of history? 3. Read verses 16-23. These verses serve as a summary of the entire book of Judges. What did the LORD do in response to the “terrible distress” of the people? What did the people do in response to the LORD sending them Judges to save them? What else stands out to you in these verses and why? 4. Read chapter 3 verses 1-6. Why did the LORD leave the other nations among the people of Israel according to verse 2? Why did the LORD leave the other nations among the people of Israel according to verse 4? Is testing the same thing as tempting? How do James 1:13 and 1 Peter 4:12-13 help clarify?
OTHNIEL AND EHUD: Judges 3:7-31
January 26, 2020 • Brett Baggett
DISCUSSION 1. Read verses 7-11. What does the writer mean when he says “they forgot the LORD”? What do we learn about salvation and God’s grace in this passage? 2. Read verses 12-14. What did the people of Israel do? What did the LORD do in response? 3. Read verses 15-30. What is the significance of Ehud being left-handed (verse 15)? What stands out to you in this passage and why? What should we learn from these verses? 4. Read verse 31. What light does the ESV Study Bible note on Judges 3:31 shed on the identity of Shamgar?