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Life Group Discussion Guide

Judges 11 – Jephthah: When Striving Breaks You

📖 Study Guide: Judges 6 – God’s Strength in Our Weakness

Opening Thought

“Perhaps you’re in the bottom of the winepress, you have self-doubt, you have God-doubt, you’re sometimes cynical. I’m not here to tell you to just drum up some faith. I’m here to tell you that God is going to use you anyway.”

1. Read the Passage: Judges 6:1–32

Take time to read this story slowly. Note:

• What is the spiritual condition of Israel?
• How does God respond?
• What do we learn about Gideon?

2. Discuss the Cultural Context

“We are in many ways suffering a form of oppression that we created ourselves… We’ve forgotten what we are liberated for.”

• How does the description of modern culture resonate with you?
• In what ways do you see spiritual or emotional “oppression” in today’s world?
• Why do you think remembering God is the first step to healing and hope?

3. Fear and the Winepress

“Threshing wheat in a winepress was like trying to barbecue in your basement—funny, but tragic. It tells us Gideon was paralysed with fear.”

• What is your personal “winepress”? A place of hiding or fear?
• How do fear, cynicism, or self-doubt show up in your spiritual life?

4. The Call of God

“The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

• Why do you think God calls Gideon a “mighty warrior” before Gideon does anything brave?
• How does God’s calling reframe Gideon’s self-image?
• How might God be calling you to something that feels impossible?

5. Courage and Weakness

“Courage is not the absence of fear… it’s stepping out despite fear.”

• Share a time when you stepped out despite fear or weakness.
• How does God’s promise of strength change your willingness to take risks?
• Read 2 Corinthians 12:9. How does this verse shape your understanding of power and weakness?

6. Dealing with the Past

“Gideon’s first step wasn’t leading an army—it was tearing down his father’s altar to Baal.”

• Why do you think God starts here?
• What inherited attitudes, patterns, or idols might God be calling you to confront?
• How can you act with grace and courage in your home or community?

7. Church Vision & Personal Purpose

“This is not it. There is much, much, much more.”

• What dreams or callings have you put off because of fear?
• What next step might God be prompting you to take in faith?
• How can your weakness become the place where God’s power is most visible?

🛐 Prayer Prompts

Remember

• Thank God for what He has done in your life.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of His promises.

Repent

• Confess any fear, cynicism, or self-doubt that has held you back.
• Ask for courage to tear down any idols in your life.

Respond

• Ask God to give you strength in your weakness.
• Pray for boldness to take the next step, even if it’s a “wimpish” one.
• Pray for our church—to be a place where God’s power is seen in our weakness.

Judges Chapters 4 & 5

Central Themes

• 170 years after Joshua led the people of Israel into the promised land, they still haven’t taken all the territory allocated to them by God and have even lost some of the territory they once held.
• The people of Israel are caught in a cycle of disobedience, suffering the consequences of that disobedience, crying out to God, being rescued by God and then becoming disobedient again.
• Many of the people of Israel have compromised so much with the local pagan tribes that they are almost indistinguishable from them.
• Deborah – known throughout the tribes of Israel as a prophetess – announces the end of this cycle of suffering and calls Barak to his duty.
• Barak is willing to fight but does not have confidence that the people will follow him.
• Barak takes on a very powerful enemy, but in the end, God does all the hard work.
• Jael takes matters into her own hands.

Questions

(Probably too many, but you can pick and choose):

• Why do you think the Israelites kept compromising with the surrounding tribes/nations?
• Why do you think God kept allowing them to suffer the consequences of their rebellion?
• Why do you think God sanctioned the killing of Sisera and all his troops?
• Why do you think God chose Deborah as his mouthpiece in this story?
• Why do you think God chose to use Barak to go up against the Canaanites?
• Do you think God allows us to suffer the consequences of our wrongful behaviour today? | Why/Why Not?
• Do you think you have compromised with the world in any way? (No need to share publicly)
• Is God calling you to serve him but you don’t feel completely confident?
• What can we learn from Deborah?
• What can we learn from Barak?
• Was Jael right to kill Sisera? | Why/Why not?
• Have you got a testimony of having to face overwhelming odds and God then delivering you?

Study Guide: Breaking the Cycle – Judges 3:12–30

Opening Thought

Have you ever felt stuck in a cycle of sin, regret, and resolve? This passage in Judges introduces us to Ehud—a flawed, unexpected liberator—used by God to break the cycle and deliver His people.

Read: Judges 3:12–30

Take time to read the passage slowly. Observe the characters, the spiritual climate, and the turning points.

1. Understanding the Cycle

“It’s a cycle that may well be familiar to a lot of you… forgetting God, then seeking forgiveness, coming back to Jesus, finding peace before getting stuck again.”

• What spiritual patterns do you see in the Israelites’ behaviour?
• How is this similar to patterns we see in our own lives?
• Why do you think these cycles are more than just personal struggles but deeply spiritual issues?

Key Insight: The Moabite god Chemosh and the Ammonite god Molech weren’t fictional—they were real spiritual powers opposing God.

2. The Root of the Problem

“Deceitful ideas that appeal to disordered desires.”

• How do lies from the enemy gain ground in our hearts and minds?
• What kind of messages do we hear today that mirror Satan’s “Did God really say?”
• Which current cultural habits or temptations feel like modern expressions of idolatry or strongholds?

Application Prompt: Identify one recurring temptation you face. What lie fuels it? What truth from God’s Word can you hold on to instead?

3. Ehud: The Unexpected Deliverer

“Who is going to expect the left-handed disabled person? Nobody.”

• What makes Ehud an unlikely hero? How does this enhance the meaning of his story?
• Can you think of times when God has used unexpected people—or unexpected parts of your own life—for His purposes?

Key Insight: God uses outsiders, the disabled, the overlooked—even people who don’t get it all right.

4. The Sword That Cuts Deep

“There is power in the double-edged sword—the message from God.”

• What does the sword in Ehud’s story come to represent in Scripture (Ephesians 6, Hebrews 4, Revelation 1)?
• Why is the Word of God described as a sword?
• How does the Word “cut into” our lives to destroy idolatry and bring freedom?

Reflection Question: Where might you need to “push the sword in deep” and allow God’s Word to confront, convict, and cleanse?

5. Moral Ambiguity and Grace

“Sometimes doing the right thing in the wrong way… a bit of a mess.”

• Is Ehud’s act of deception and violence morally justifiable? Why or why not?
• How should we respond when God works through messy, morally grey circumstances?

Real-Life Connection: Think of Bonhoeffer or Corrie Ten Boom. Can God use our imperfect actions when we step out in faith?

6. Group or Personal Response

• What part of this story most speaks to your current season of life?
• What is one area where you feel stuck in a cycle and need God to break in?
• Who around you might be inspired or helped if you stepped out with courage like Ehud?

Prayer Prompts

• Confession: Ask God to show you where self-indulgence, false worship, or deceitful thinking have crept in.
• Surrender: Invite the Holy Spirit to wield the sword of truth in your life. Ask Him to cut away what’s false and enslaving.
• Courage: Pray for boldness to act, even if imperfectly. Offer God your weakness and ask Him to use it.

“We all need a bit of Ehud in us—to rise up against the plans of the enemy, grab the sword of the Spirit and go to war, at first on ourselves and then on the rest of the world.”

Study Guide: “The Cycle Begins” – Judges 3:7–11

📖 Bible Reading

Judges 3:7–11
7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years.
9 But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them.
10 The Spirit of the Lord came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him.
11 So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.

🌀 Discussion: Recognising the Cycle

Judges presents a cycle that repeats throughout the book:
Sin → Oppression → Cry for Help → Deliverance → Peace → (Back to Sin)

“It’s not just a cycle—it’s a downward spiral to moral rock bottom.”

• Where do you see this cycle in Judges 3:7–11?
• Why do you think it only took 5 verses for the pattern to emerge?
• Can you see similar patterns in society today—or even in your own life?

❓ Explore the Text

1. Verse 7: Forgetting God

“It’s ‘being-an-Israelite-101’: worship the Lord your God and no one else.”

• What does it mean to “forget the Lord”? How does that happen today?
• What idols might we be tempted to “serve” in our culture?

2. Verses 8–9: Consequences and Crying Out

“Actions have consequences. Sin has serious consequences.”

• What do you notice about God’s response to Israel’s disobedience?
• Why do you think it took 8 years for the Israelites to cry out?

3. Verse 10: God’s Deliverer

“God raises a deliverer immediately—no delay. That’s grace.”

• How does God’s grace shine through in this passage?
• What’s the significance of the Spirit coming upon Othniel?

🪞 Application: A Mirror, a Warning, and an Encouragement

Mirror

“We keep finding ourselves in the same place before God: ‘Lord, how have I done this again?’”

• Are there repetitive patterns of sin in your life right now?
• What influences might be pulling you away from God?

Warning

“Don’t let it get this bad.”

• What compromises might you be tolerating in your life?
• How can you guard yourself against slow spiritual drift?

Encouragement

“We serve a deeply compassionate God—just, but always leaning in grace.”

• What does this story reveal about God’s character?
• How does Jesus ultimately fulfil the role of deliverer that Othniel only points to?

🙏 Prayer Prompts

• Confession: Lord, I confess where I have forgotten You—where I’ve allowed other voices or idols to take Your place in my heart.
• Repentance: Help me break the cycle of sin. Show me where I’ve compromised, and lead me in a new direction.
• Gratitude: Thank You for Your grace that raises up a Deliverer—again and again. Thank You for Jesus, who never fails.
• Intercession: Pray for those who feel trapped in their own cycles. Ask God to help them cry out—and for His Spirit to move powerfully in their lives.

📖 Encouragement for the Week

“Acknowledge the cycle. Then cry out to God and look to Him for deliverance—because He’s the only one who can.”

Commit to reading Judges during this series—alone, with a friend, or as a group. Let it be a mirror, a warning, and above all, a signpost to Christ.