Gideon was not your typical judge in the Bible to say the least, he was timid and the least in his family and yet he is still widely known as the greatest of the 15 judges from the Bible (Bolinger 2020). When we first meet Gideon he is terrified, hiding from the enemy Midianites on a threshing floor. The Lord find him in this position and calls him to lead the Israelites against the Midianites who have depleted the Israelite resources (Bolinger 2020). Gideon being least among the tribes of Israel, wanted to make sure that God was for real so he asked for a few signs which God delivered on every time to show that he was serious (Bolinger 2020). God also wanted to make sure that when Israel defeated Midian that it was only through the power of God so through a few processes of elimination, God narrowed Israel’s army down from 32,000 to 300 (Bolinger 2020). God doesn’t even order that Gideon’s army attack Midian’s army but rather just surround them and make as much noise as possible creating the illusion of a large army (Bolinger 2020). The Lord caused the Midianite army of over 135,000 men to defeat themselves, and Gideon simply went in to secure the victory. The story of Gideon shows that if we trust in God and faithfully do as we are told he will deliver us from evil no matter how great. In this final send off I encourage you to walk confidently in the name of the Lord trusting that the gifts that he has given you are enough to face whatever circumstances may come your way. Trust in the Lord knowing that whatever you may be going through, the Lord will provide a way out and will use your brokenness for good.

Sources

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/who-was-gideon.html seedsoffaith.cph.org

Esther might be the most famous female in the bible, being one of just two women with a book of the bible named after them (Fairchild 2019). Esther is famous not only for her beauty and position of power, but also for her bravery in a very difficult situation (Fairchild 2019). The story of Esther takes place in Ancient Persia, about 100 years after Babylonian captivity (Fairchild 2019). Esther was raised up by her cousin Mordecai after the death of her parents. Basically Esther becomes queen of Persia by winning the “Beauty Pageant” held by the King after he got rid of his previous wife (Fairchild 2019). At this time King Xerxes’s right hand man, Haman, began plotting a way to eliminate all the Jews out of his hatred for them and Mordecai (Fairchild 2019). Mordecai made this plan known to her and challenged her to go to the King and put a stop to the plan even though she could be killed (Fairchild 2019). Esther eventually drew up the courage to approach the King and revealed Haman’s plan to destroy her and her people, the King was outraged and hung Haman where he had planned to hang Mordecai (Fairchild 2019). Esther showed great bravery by approaching the King uninvited to save herself and her people. Her story goes to show that we must not fear our circumstances but have faith and hope in the Lord to deliver us from evil.

Sources

https://www.learnreligions.com/book-of-esther-701112 www.pinterest.com

Most people do not know the story of Jael because it is a short story in the book of judges and she is a woman, in a time when men were considered to be superior (BibleStudyTools 2020). The story of Jael occurs in Judges during the leadership of the Judge, Deborah, and the oppressive rule of the King Jabin and the Canaanites (BibleStudyTools 2020). Deborah had told Barack to take his men and fight Sisera and his Canaanite army, Barack was afraid and said he would only do it if Deborah went with him. Deborah agreed but because of Barack’s fear she told him that he would not receive any glory for the victory but rather it would go to a woman (BibleStudyTools 2020). That woman would be Jael, after realizing that defeat was inevitable the commander of the Canaanite army, Sisera fled right to the tent of Jael (BibleStudyTools 2020). Jael showed hospitality and kindness to Sisera as someone uninvolved in the war to lure him into sleep (BibleStudyTools 2020). Once Sisera was asleep, Jael drove a nail into his temple and he died (BibleStudyTools 2020). Jael was a Bedouin married to a Kenite, and so there was no reason to believe that she would be the one to kill one of the most powerful Canaanites fighting against the Israelites. Somehow she knew that this man was evil and she killed this man for the sake of the Israelites and God. The story of Jael shows that we should be courageous, take advantage of the opportunities that God presents us with, and trust the lord to provide us with competence to complete even the hardest tasks in front of us.

Sources

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/explore-the-bible/5-powerful-lessons-from-the-unusual-story-of-jael.html women-s.net

One of the most famous people in the Bible is David, in large part because of his victory over a 9 foot tall giant using just 5 little stones, but also because of his quick rise to fame all through the power of God. Being the youngest of 7 sons, and left in charge of the sheep, David was certainly not your typical future king or hero (Schochet 2020). David was young and small and yet God still told the prophet Samuel to appoint him as the new King despite no relation to the current king Saul (Schochet 2020). When David saw the Israelites cowering in fear in front of Goliath the giant, he had no business volunteering to fight him. He was way oversized and outmatched, but David didn’t fight on his own strength alone, he fought with the power of God on his side. Through his faith in God to deliver him the victory, David was able to defeat Goliath and become King over all Israel (Schochet 2020). It didn’t matter that all of David’s brothers wanted him to go home or the King laughed at him when he said he wanted to fight Goliath, God was with him and gave him the strength to do the impossible. The story of David shows how God is able to use anybody to accomplish his will here on Earth, even the people most looked down upon by society.

Sources

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/520477/jewish/The-Story-of-King-David-in-the-Bible.htm www.medicaldaily.com