The Reluctant Hero

First impressions—We all are concerned about how we make them on others, and we all have formed opinions about others, based on them! While most of us are familiar with the exploits of some of the outstanding men and women of the Old Testament, in many cases we have to admit that our first impression of them, as they appear in Scripture, may not have been the best. So it is with Gideon, of whose life and accomplishments we learn in three chapters in the Book of Judges. At a time when Israel desperately needed a great leader, the scene opens in Judges six with the man Gideon hiding in fear from his nation’s enemies who had oppressed them for seven years—definitely not a good first impression! But then, there is more to the story. . .a great deal more. And that’s where we start in this new series entitled, “The Best of Times and the Worst of Times” (Studies in the Book of Judges 6-8), getting more acquainted with the fifth of Israel’s twelve judges, Gideon, in this first episode we call “The Reluctant Hero.”