RCCG SUNDAY SCHOOL STUDENT'S MANUAL
LESSON THIRTY-SEVEN
SUNDAY, 13TH MAY 2018

TOPIC: GIDEON

*SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN*

*1.* O Sunday School, on the Lord's day,
O how I love Thee well,
I am happy, it makes me glad
To rejoice at Thy birth.

*2.* O Sunday School, on the Lord's day, Thy friendship suits me well,
Both young and old will sing Thy song,
We long for Sunday School.

*3.* O Sunday School, on the Lord's day,
Christ was Thy first teacher,
The Holy Spirit, great teacher,
Does manifest in thee.

*4.* O Sunday School, on the Lord's day,
This testimony is sure,
That God, the Father Almighty,
Poured His blessing on Thee.

*5.* O Sunday School, on the Lord's day,
Though the sun be so bright,
Or if the clouds black with rain,
I'll be in Sunday School.

*6.* O Sunday School, on the Lord's day,
I rejoice to see Thee,
Will thou pass over me today?
Without my being blest?

MEMORY VERSE: ‘’And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour" - Judges 6:12

BIBLE PASSAGE: Judges 6:11-16

Judges:6.11
Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which [was] in Ophrah, which [belonged] to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide [it] from the Midianites.
Judges:6.12
And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, "The LORD [is] with you, you mighty man of valor!"
Judges:6.13
Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where [are] all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."
Judges:6.14
Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?"
Judges:6.15
So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan [is] the weakest in Manasseh, and I [am] the least in my father's house."
Judges:6.16
And the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man."

INTRODUCTION:
Gideon, also called Jerubbaal (Judges 6:29,32), was of the tribe of Manasseh. He was the son of Joash, of the family of Abiezer (Judges 6:11). He was a valiant and prudent judge of Israel, particularly the eastern and northern tribes, (B. C. 1249 to 1209). He resided in Ophrah, east of the Jordan, a region often ravanged in harvest-time by the wandering tribes on its eastern border. Being called of God to deliver his people, and encouraged by signs from Heaven, he defeated the Midiantites, and caused Israel to dwell in safety for many years. Gideon had many wives and seventy sons (Judges 8:30). He also had a son named Abimelech by a concubine in Shechem (Judges 8:31). Died in "a good old age, and was buried in the sepulcher of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites" (Judges 8:32).

LESSON OUTLINES
1. Character and achievements
2. Lessons from his life

CHARACTER AND ACHIEVEMENT
Gideon was a humble man who did not believe he was capable of saving Israel because his family was poor and he was the least in his father's house (Judges 6:15). An angel of the LORD appeared to him and delivered God's commission to him - he was a "mighty man of valour; God was with him, and would "save Israel". (Judges 6:12,14). Gideon as reluctant to believe that God would be with him and asked for a sign, which God gave (Judges 6:16-24).
Gideon gathered an army of 22,000 men to fight the Midianites, but God cut it to 300 so all would know that it was God that won the battle (Judges 7:2-4).

LESSONS FROM HIS LIFE
1. Christians must always be ready. God may call you at any time to accomplish His purpose (Isaiah 6:.
2. You must always remember that God "gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).
3. God gives us the power to do whatever He tells us to do, no matter how difficult it may seem to be (Philippians 2:13; 3:14).
4. Courage in the face of adversity can accomplish great things (Deuteronomy 31:6).
5. Victory over the battles of life is not achieved through human ability but through divine interventions (Zechariah 4:6; Exodus 14:13-14; 2Chronicles 20:17).

CONCLUSION:
Often times, when God wants to accomplish a great task, He does not call the qualified but qualifies the called.

QUESTIONS
1. Identify the character of the man, Gideon.
2. What are the lessons to learn from the life of Gideon?