Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20050717.htm

BIBLICALLY PARENTING THE MATURING CHILD
Part III: Letting GOD When God MIGHT SEEM To Be Leading Our Maturing Children
(Gideon and Joash - Judges 6-7)
  1. Introduction
    1. "God has no grandchildren!" We love to use statements like this that emphasize the need for our children themselves to receive Christ as Savior. They themselves must believe and follow the Lord in their lives.
    2. Yet, WHEN maturing children start to head down paths that differ from what their parents would take, and the parents are NOT sure if those paths are God's will, what are the parents to DO about it, and why?
    3. Gideon faced God's call to do what his family, father and community would not do! However, his father, Joash was to let GOD take the reins with Gideon in faith that GOD would lead HIM well, and we view that interaction between Joash and Gideon for insight in our similar situations for edification (as follows):
  2. Letting GOD when God MIGHT SEEM To Be Leading Our Maturing Children, Gideon and Joash.
    1. God led Gideon to do what his family, community and father would NOT do, Judges 6:11-30:
      1. Gideon's station in life did not humanly prepare him well to lead Israel into a new direction: (a) he belonged to the tribe of Manasseh that was a less blessed tribe than was its relative tribe in Ephraim, the other tribe that descended from Joseph, Judges 6:15b with Gen. 48:17-19; (b) Gideon's family was one of the least significant families in the area, and (c) he was the youngest son in that family, making him the least significant of his father's sons and thus the least likely to take new leadership, Jud. 6:15b.
      2. Yet, God called Gideon to free Israel from domination by the Midianites, Judges 6:11-12.
      3. God proved Gideon would be able to lead Israel well regardless of his low self esteem (6:14f); God's Angel supernaturally lit a fire to the sacrifice Gideon made (6:17-22), signifying God had accepted Gideon's sacrifice and Gideon, and that God would give him success, Ryr. St. Bib., KJV, ftn. to 6:21.
      4. Once Gideon was convinced God would use him in leadership, God had him do a very inflammatory act -- destroy his father's idol altars and offer a favored animal on the spot unto the Lord, Jud. 6:25-26!
      5. Struggling with what he felt could be severe repurcussions from his father, family and community, and that in view of his own low estate as the youngest son, Gideon obeyed the Lord's command, but he did so at night to minimize facing lethal conflict with others in the community, Judges 6:27!
    2. Gideon's father was pressured by the community to punish Gideon, but chose to leave Gideon up to God to handle since he recognized Gideon's actions revealed he might have been led of God, Judges 6:30-32:
      1. Gideon's father, Joash was strongly urged by fellow community leaders to execute Gideon for his unusually inflammatory act of destroying his own father's idols and idolatrous altar, Judges 6:30.
      2. Yet, Joash knew (a) Gideon's deed was very uncharacteristic with his usual timidity as the youngest son; besides, (b) Gideon had done his deed at night, so he exhibited concern for the repurcussions of his deed, leaving Joash evidence that Gideon's deed was sponsored by a Force outside of his son!
      3. Accordingly, Joash left Gideon alone, giving a chance for what had DRIVEN him to DO his unusual deed to reveal Itself or HIMSELF: Joash stated that if Baal was the true God, he would slay Gideon for his deed, but if Israel's Jahweh was the true God, nothing would happen to Gideon, Judges 6:31!
    3. For giving God and Gideon room to follow up on Gideon's act, Joash learned that not only was Jahweh the true God, but that He was INDEED leading Gideon, for Gideon was then used of God to deliver Israel from the Midianites and their hordes of the Amalekites and eastern peoples, Judges 6:33-7:25!
Lesson: Since Joash was NOT SURE of the WILL of the TRUE GOD, or EVEN WHO WAS that TRUE GOD, when Gideon stepped out to do what Joash would normally deeply oppose, the WAY Gideon did so SIGNALLED to his father that GIDEON was acting NOT out of SPITE, but of DEEP CONVICTION: accordingly, Joash gave ROOM for the SOURCE of Gideon's CONVICTION to REVEAL Itself or Himself, and that gave room for GOD'S WILL to be accomplished!

Application: (1) When our maturing children take steps that WE KNOW CLEARLY obey or disobey Scripture, we can respond accordingly. (2) Yet, if they take a path that WE might NOT take, but which BY THEIR BEHAVIOR indicates GOD could POSSIBLY BE BEHIND IT, we should (a) give GOD ROOM so that HIS WILL can be made CLEAR, and (b) THEN we can respond, cf. 1 Timothy 5:22-25.