Deeper Commentary
Jdg 6:1 The children of Israel did what was evil in the sight of
Yahweh, and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years-
The events of these chapters are to be read as
typical of Israel's latter-day conflict with her enemies.
Psalm 83 is a well-known description of the final invasion of Israel
to "cut them off from being a nation", concluding with the imprecation
"Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb; yes, all their princes
as Zebah, and as Zalmunna" (Ps. 83:11) - whom Gideon destroyed.
Is. 9 then speaks of how God "lightly afflicted
the land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali (in the first Assyrian
invasion - 2 Kings 15:29) and afterward did more grievously afflict her"
(Is. 9:1) in the second invasion. The suffering of Israel at
this time is spoken of in terms of their abuse in Egypt, which is
clearly typical of the last days: "You have multiplied the nation (as
God did in Egypt - Ex. 1:7), and not increased the joy... You have broken
the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder (the language of
Israel in Egypt), the rod of his oppressor (s.w. "taskmaster" in Ex. 1:11)
(Is. 9:3,4).
This was to be "as in the day of Midian" (Is. 9:4)
when Israel's saviour was Gideon. Yet Is. 9:2 speaks of their
saviour as "a great light" arising in the darkness, and this is quoted in
Mt. 4:15,16 as referring to Jesus. Gideon therefore becomes
a type of Christ's breaking of the yoke of sin, and also of His latter-day
deliverance of Israel from sin's political manifestation. Similarly the account of David's victory over Goliath has reference to our
Lord's victory over sin on the cross, and also over "the man of sin" who
will oppress Israel in the last days.
"The children of Israel did evil in the sight of Yahweh" is a refrain which occurs seven times in Judges
(Jud. 2:11; 3:7,12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1),
recalling how Israel both over history and in the last days were to be
punished "seven times" for their sins (Lev. 26:23,24).
It is possible that a 'time' may also refer to a
year, so the fact that "the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian
seven years" (Jud. 6:1) may refer to this "seven times" punishment for
sin, which was to come after their refusal to be reformed by their
previous sufferings (Lev. 26:23,24).
Jdg 6:2 The hand of Midian prevailed against Israel, and because of Midian
the Israelites made themselves dens in the mountains, the caves and the
strongholds-
"Yahweh delivered" Israel "into the
hand of Midian" (:1) uses the same Hebrew word as in Lev. 26:25, "I will
punish you yet seven times...ye shall be delivered into the hand of
the enemy". To fulfil this, "the hand of Midian became
strong (Hebrew) against Israel". Such a
revival of Israel's enemies coupled with increasing military success against Israel is a
process which is already beginning, and which, despite short-term
fluctuations, we should expect to continue.
Identical language of hiding in caves is found in 1
Sam. 13:6 concerning Israel's pining away when under attack by the
Philistines. There can be no doubt that these incidents are
the focus of Heb. 11:37,38, which describes nameless men of faith as being
"slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins... being
destitute, afflicted, tormented... they wandered in deserts, and in
mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth".
This therefore teaches us that there were definitely some in Israel at
those times who had a remarkable degree of faith, and it surely follows
that the final tribulation which these previous invasions typify will
likewise lead to the existence of a minority of faithful in Israel.
The Israelites who fled to the dens and caves are described
as heroes of faith because of what they did (Heb. 11:38). And yet their
domination by the Philistines was a result of their idolatry. They were
idolatrous, and yet some had faith; and it was this faith when surrounded
by weakness which was
perceived by God.
Jdg 6:3 So when Israel had sown their seed, the Midianites, the Amalekites
and the people of the east came up against them-
This is exactly what one would expect from the
allusion to Lev. 26:26, speaking of the curses to come for breaking the
covenant: "If... you break my covenant I also will do this unto
you (i.e. break My side of the covenant, in that) I will even appoint over
you terror, consumption... and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall
sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it".
Jdg 6:4 and they encamped against them, and destroyed the crops as far as
Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey-
Note that the initial motive for the raids was to
spoil the land and steal cattle. The
Ezekiel 38 latter day invader has similar motivation, "To take a spoil... to take a
prey... to take away cattle and goods" (Ez. 38:13). It should be noted,
however, that such connections do not necessarily indicate that the
invasion prefigured in Judges 6 is to be equated with that of Ezekiel 38. The point is that all the latter-day invasions of Israel
have broadly similar motives, and all consistently involve the neighbours
of Israel, rather than nations like Russia.
Jdg 6:5 For they came with their livestock and their tents; they
came up as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without
number, and they came into the land to destroy it-
They brought their animals with them in order to graze them,
which would've left Israel bare afterwards. This 'scorched earth' policy of the invaders is the prototype for Joel's
latter day prophecy of the locust / grasshopper invaders leaving the land physically
empty before Israel are forced to their final repentance. We note how
the destruction as if by locusts means that Israel were treated as Egypt,
to where they returned in their hearts and whose gods they had taken with
them. See on :7.
Jdg 6:6 Israel was brought very low because of Midian and the children of
Israel cried to Yahweh-
"Very low" is the word used about Israel's latter day humiliation
which leads to their final repentance (Is. 17:4). It's not that God
willingly humiliates; it's that humility is necessary for relationship
with Him, and pride leads to sin. And it is this humiliation which leads
to our crying out to God. David uses the word of himself (Ps. 79:8; 116:6;
142:6), as if he saw in Israel at this time something of himself. As we
can.
Jdg 6:7 When the Israelites cried to Yahweh because of Midian-
Their crying to Yahweh is twice emphasized (:6,7). The phrase is used
of how Israel did so in Egypt (1 Sam. 12:8), and of how they will in the
last days (Joel 1:14). We noted the allusion to Joel in :5.
Jdg 6:8 Yahweh sent a prophet to them, and he said to them, Thus says
Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you
out of slavery-
The response to their crying to Yahweh is not deliverance, but rather
a prophet coming to them and attempting to convict them of their sin and
failure to respond to God's wonderful deliverance of them from the Gentile
world. Their repentance is therefore presented as utterly critical to
their further deliverance. But there is no record of this repentance being
forthcoming. Instead, a weak man who doubts his own faith is chosen and
strengthened to deliver them. This was absolutely a case of salvation by
grace.
The salvation from the Egyptians was at the Red Sea, long ago (Ex. 14:30). The Israelites were repeatedly reminded of this (Jud. 2:1; 6:8; 10:11). But they failed to perceive that God's actions in history were in fact their personal salvation, an act of grace shown to them also. David grasped that point, and his Psalms often thank God for the exodus, as if it had happened to him personally. But the problem is that Israel like all people tended to only see what was before their face at that moment. They had no sense of God's historical salvation of them, and the guarantee that He would likewise come through for them, if they remained faithful to Him.
In the latter day context, this must have a connection with the suggestion that
Elijah will be "sent" to Israel during their suffering, "before
the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5). This "dreadful day" must be that of the final destruction of Israel's
invaders rather than simply the return of Christ. Joel
similarly speaks of how during the time when the Jewish heavens and earth
are turned into "blood and fire, and pillars of smoke", the Jews will
possess the Spirit gifts "before the great and the terrible day of the
Lord come" (Joel 2:28-31). This connection between Joel and
Malachi would hint that the possession of these gifts is associated with
the work of Elijah.
Jdg 6:9 and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of
the hand of all who oppressed you, drove them out from before you, and
gave you their land-
"Oppress" is the word used of how Israel were oppressed in Egypt (Ex.
3:9). But the intention, as with Israel's latter day oppression, is that
it would lead them to cry out for Yahweh's salvation, 'Jesus': "For they
will cry to Yahweh because of oppressors, and He will send them a saviour
and a defender, and He will deliver them" (Is. 19:20 s.w.). All the judges
were therefore types of the ultimate deliverance of Israel by the Lord
Jesus in the last days.
Jdg 6:10 I said to you, I am Yahweh your God; you shall not fear the gods
of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But you have not listened to My
voice’.
And so the message ended. There is no record of this repentance being
forthcoming. Instead, a weak man who doubts his own faith is chosen and
strengthened to deliver them. This was absolutely a case of salvation by
grace.
"Fear" is a major theme of Gideon's early life. The word "fear" is used so often of 'not fearing' the pagan gods. "Fear" can mean simply to worship or revere, but it is all the same the word for "fear". Gideon's fear and timidity (Jud. 6:23,27; 7:1,3,10) is therefore to be associated with his fear of the power of the pagan gods. And this is indeed the result of worshipping anything other than the one true God- fear and nervousness. Peace is only in whole hearted devotion to Him.
In the latter day context, the prophet reminding Israel of the covenant they
made with God in Horeb (Jud. 6:10), is precisely the work of Elijah (Mal.
4:4).
Jdg 6:11 The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak which was in
Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon was
beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites-
As noted on :10, this further initiative to save Israel without their
repentance is a Divine movement of absolute grace. We have a picture here
of Israel's desperation and poverty, as well as the extent of the
domination by the Midianites. They had to hide even their wheat and flour
from the marauding bands. We deduce that the winepress is not in use- for
one of the curses for breaking the covenant was that the vintage would
cease, and wine would be cut off from Israel.
Note the parallel between an Angel sitting under an oak and a prophetess sitting under an oak (Jud. 4:5; 6:11). In Jer. 23:18,22 we find prophets standing in the “council of the Lord” (RV) to receive His word; and yet this sounds very much like Angels standing in the court of Heaven to receive God’s word of command. “The God of the spirits [Angels] of the prophets sent his Angel” to the prophet John (Rev. 22:6 RV); implying that as God had sent His Angel-Spirits to inspire the prophets, so now He did to John. Ps. 147:15,18 speak of the sending out of God’s word to melt snow and send rain; this must surely refer to the Angels being sent out from the court of Heaven to do these things. The way the “watcher and holy one” came down from Heaven is paralleled with the word of Divine command likewise coming down from Heaven (Dan. 4:23,31). The universe is not just ticking away on clockwork; the Angels are actively being sent out from Heaven to perform what may appear the most mundane and repetitious of things. Thus God sends out His Angels; He sends out His word; and He also sent out His prophets (Haggai- Hag. 1:12; Ezekiel- Ez. 3:5,6). God rose up and sent out His prophets (2 Kings 17:13; Jer. 7:25 and many others). He is described as doing this because those prophets likewise identified with the word and became part of their own message.
Grain was usually threshed on a special floor, but the word used
here means to beat with a stick. This was what poor gleaners did, as in
Ruth 2:17. Just beating out a few ears for a small amount of flour. It is
the picture of poverty and fear, of the weak cowed by the strong. And at
just that point, Gideon was called. This is God's style, to call and use
the small, timid, under performing and fearful.
Jdg 6:12 The angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said, Yahweh is with you,
you mighty man of valour-
The Angel assured Gideon that "Yahweh is with you [singular]"; and yet Gideon seems to have intentionally misunderstood this by arguing back that if Yahweh is really with us, then why are they suffering so much (Jud. 6:12,13). He flinched at the personal call to action- just as we can, seeking instead to take refuge behind the community. Yet God Himself turns to Gideon and bids him "go in the strength of this one"- the Hebrew grammar referring to the Angel. Robert Boling comments: "The referent of "this one" is the Yahweh envoy [i.e. the Angel], presumably in his capacity as commander of Yahweh's army". And this is the same call to us- to go in the strength of the Angel which goes before us, and seek to replicate Him, Heaven's plan for us, on this earth. And God backed up this call to Gideon to follow the Angel by saying he should go out in faith, "because Ehyeh is with you" (Jud. 6:16)- a direct quotation from the Angelic manifestation to Moses in Ex. 3:12. It's an interesting exercise to follow the parallels between the Angelic commander of Yahweh's armies, and Joshua as the human commander of them on earth. And one doesn't have to be a military leader in iron-age Israel to feel that same call to follow the Angel.
Jdg 6:13 Gideon said to him Oh, my lord, if Yahweh is with us why then has
all this happened to us? Where are all His wondrous works which our
fathers told us of, saying ‘Didn’t Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?’ But now
Yahweh has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian-
See on :12. Gideon is focusing upon the statements that Yahweh had
brought Israel out of Egypt- and ignoring the consequences of Israel's sin
of returning to Gentile domination by worshipping Gentile gods. This is
typical of human 'difficulties' with God. They focus upon one aspect of
the equation, and refuse to factor in the consequence of human sin.
The reference to "Which our fathers told us of" make us wonder whether this was not Passover time. The prophet had just spoken of Egypt in :8,9. Just as at the breaking of bread we can wonder whether all this is really true for me, so Gideon doubted. Gideon is actually being called to be a new Moses to deliver Israel; when he felt so inadequate and was apparently unqualified. We must remember that Moses was seen as the pinnacle of Hebrew spirituality. And Gideon was being called to be like him. The call was introduced by the phrase "The Angel of Yahweh appeared to him" (:12); and that is just the phrase used of Moses' call at the burning bush (Ex. 3:2). It is a theme of most of the 'Divine call' narratives that the called person resists and feels inadequate [Gideon's resistance on the grounds of being the smallest of the smallest clan is repeated by Saul when he was called, 1 Sam. 9:21]; and it is the same in every human life. Moses felt "Who am I that I should go and deliver Israel?" (Ex.3:11); and Gideon felt "How can I deliver Israel?" (:15). "Who am I to do this?" is in fact the qualification of every truly called servant of God. We think of Jeremiah and many others. "Go and save Israel from the hand of [their enemies" (:14) was the same calling as Moses had. And Gideon is reassured in :16 that Yahweh will 'surely be with' him; in exactly the same words as spoken to Moses in Ex. 3:12: "Surely I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you". They are both given a "token" of this. Divine calls often come whilst engaged in daily work; Moses was keeping his father in law's sheep, Gideon was threshing his father's grain, Saul was searching for his father's donkeys, Peter was working in his father's fishing business when the Lord called him. Both Gideon and Moses had their call authenticated by fire- in the burning bush, and in consuming Gideon's offering. As Gideon feared because he had 'seen God' (:22), so did Moses (Ex. 3:6 Moses was afraid because he had looked upon God, Heb.). Israel were under abuse by Gentiles and needed deliverance.
We note that in relatively recent history, God had done great miracles for Israel through the judges. But Gideon ignores all them, suggesting that Yahweh has done no miracle for Israel since the Exodus. His attitude is not at all good. But God still works with him.
We need to realize that God deals with us as individuals. No matter how
functional and holy, or dysfunctional and evil, is our church, we are
still treated by the Father as His individual children. So many have
struggled with this, tending to see themselves rather as inevitably part
of a community, faceless cogs in a machine. And this is actually quite
attractive to humanity- hence the popularity of Roman Catholicism. Reflect
a while on how God told Gideon: “I will be with thee” [you singular], and
yet Gideon responds: “Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with
us…” (Jud.
6:12,13). Gideon had to be taught that God saw him as a separate, unique
individual, and didn’t deal with him automatically merely as part of a
community as a whole. But it was a slow process. When Gideon saw in a
dream a man saying that God had delivered Midian into
his
[singular] hand, Gideon then tells Israel that God had delivered Midian
into their
hands (Jud. 7:14,15). He still found it so hard to
believe that God treated him as so important to Him.
Jdg 6:14 Yahweh looked at him and said, Go in the strength of this One and
save Israel from the hand of Midian. Haven’t I sent you?-
I prefer the AV / ESV: "Go in this might of yours and save Israel".
There is a purposeful juxtaposition between Gideon's whining weakness, and
God's statement that this is his "might" and by this strength / might,
Gideon is to deliver Israel. All within us cries out that Gideon is not
strong in faith; indeed he goes straight on to express his lack of faith
that he could save Israel (:15). And that is exactly the point. Gideon is
a parade example of those [like ourselves] who out of weakness are made
strong (Heb. 11:34). It continues the theme of God rejoicing to save
Israel by the weak, the left handed, the women, those who consider their
faith is weak.
Or "Go in the strength of this One" could be God speaking directly to Gideon whilst the Angel stood there; as if bidding him follow his Angel in the path to victory which had already been potentially enabled.
Gideon in Judges 6 and 7 presents as a child, desperately wanting God to hold His hand. Wanting reassurance after reassurance, even though God had given it him. As a child, you instinctively put your hand out for someone to hold it as you approached a road. You earnestly implored the adult steadying your bicycle as you learned to ride and balance "You won't let go, will you?". Or as you learned to swim without a board. Gideon comes over as this, time and again. And God used him. But just as we now have crossed thousands of roads alone, he grew old and brave, whipped Israelites who didn't support him, appeared as a mighty warrior, fearless and confident in pursuit of his enemies. But the key is to remain in contact with the little child within you, to stay small in your own eyes, to always have that need for God, that instinctive putting out of your hand to Him. It is for this reason that we have the incident of Gideon telling his young son to murder the captured kings, when [LXX] he was too young to wield a sword. He wanted to brutalize his own son at an early age by getting him to commit murder. As Gideon looked at his little boy, shy and so unsure and pining away from the challenge... he should have seen his real self. It is the loss of that little child within which is so tragic in spiritual terms. And it happens in life, as observed by so many. "Now we're old and brave, Fernando". "When I was a child, I caught a fleeting glimpse, out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look but it was gone, I cannot put my finger on it now, the child has grown, the dream has gone. And I have become, comfortably numb". Remember yourself as a small child, so unsure and humble in the sense of not caring about others' opinion and desperately seeking a hand to hold. That must be, and can be, how we ever are. The Lord held up one such child as the hero of faith and spirituality; whereas men hold up mighty warriors like Gideon in their moments of prowess and triumph as the image to inspire and seek to attain. The Lord exemplified all this, by constantly addressing God as His abba, daddy, the term of childhood endearment and dependence. Even in Gethsemane and to the cross. His usage of the term is startling, especially in the context of Judaism at His time.
O Lord, thy sovereign aid impart
To save me from low thoughted care;
Chase this self will from all my heart,
From all its hidden mazes there;
Make me Thy duteous child that I
Ceaseless may “Abba, Father” cry.
"I am weak but Thou art mighty, hold me with Thy powerful
hand...
When I tread the verge of Jordan bid my anxious fears subside"
Jdg 6:15 He said to him, O Lord, how can I save Israel? My family
is the poorest in Manasseh and I am the least in my father’s house-
LXX Be gracious to me. Gideon saw the connection between
grace and salvation and confessed that such a salvation could only be by
God's grace to the powerless. This is the more impressive when we consider
that Gideon was physically the very image of a warrior king. But he is so
aware of his frailty.
"Poorest" could be as LXX and Hebrew, "my thousand is weakened", or diminished. This is evidence enough that the Hebrew term "thousand" doesn't mean literally 1,000, but a group of some kind; for the 1,000 is here diminished, and yet still remains a "thousand". This helps explain the otherwise very high numbers which we find in some places in the Hebrew Bible. The family had been brought down very low. But this was so that God might use Gideon in his weakness, and through him manifest His saving strength. The answer as to "How can I save...", is 'through Yahweh's saving', Yahoshua, 'Jesus'. So many questions are effectively posed by God in our lives through our experiences, which have the same answer: Yah's salvation, Jesus.
Gideon argued that his "thousand" in Manasseh was diminished or reduced. But he was to learn that this was the kind of "strength" which he was to go against the Midianites with. And when he does, he finds that his strength is greatly diminished again, twice; from 32,000 to 10,000, and then from 10,000 to 300. But this theme of diminishing his strength had begun when his "thousand" was diminished.
We note the consistent theme of initial resistance to the Divine call (Ex. 3:11; 4:10,13; 1 Sam. 10:21,22; Jer. 1:6; Am. 7:14,15; Lk 5:8). We can too easily excuse our lack of devotion by saying that we are unfit and unworthy. But this is a lack of faith in His forgiveness and grace.
Gideon was in fact continuing the theme of Judges- that deliverers were from the weak and unqualified for the job. Ehud, the left-handed man (Jud.3:15-30), Deborah, a woman (Jud. 4-5), Samson the sexaholic etc. And now it is Gideon the fearful (Jud. 6:27 destroying the altar at night as he feared to do it by dad; 8:23 etc.); even his son Jether is presented as fearful. But God knew his fear, and even offers him the chance of going near the Midianite camp in chapter 7 in order to get assurance that they are in fact fearful of him. Yet by chapter 8, Gideon's dialogue with the men of Succoth and Penuel reveals him as confident of success and not at all fearful, and he threatens to tear down their tower (Jud. 8:9). This is very different to the Gideon who had feared to tear down his father's Baal altar. His judgment of Israelites who didn't support him in Jud. 8:14-17 is a reflection of his changed character. And this leads him to the poor behaviour with which he ended his life; spiritually, it would've been far better had he remained timid and desperate for God to hold his hand, rather than to become old and brave and self confident. So many stumble once they have a taste of power and success. We are set up to hope for a tale of a man moving from fear to faith, but instead the path is from fear to self-assertion. Yet despite this failure, Heb. 11 still lists him as a Kingdom person.
Jdg 6:16 Yahweh said to him Surely I will be with you, and you shall
strike the Midianites as one man-
Gideon was bidden rise up to the example of Moses- for there were
many similarities between his call by the Angel, and the Angelic calling
which Moses received at the burning bush. Thus Gideon was called to follow
the Angel in faith, "because Ehyeh is with you" (Jud. 6:16)- a direct
quotation from the Angelic manifestation to Moses in Ex. 3:12. And yet he
responds: "Alas! For I have seen Yahweh's envoy face to face!" (Jud.
6:22). Gideon knew full well that Moses had seen the Angel "face to face"
(Dt. 34:10). Gideon's fear is therefore rooted in a sense that "No! I'm
simply not Moses!". And it's the same with us. We can read of all these reasons to believe that Moses is really our pattern, and respond that "No! This ain't me...". But there, in the record of Gideon and his success, lies our challenge to rise up to the spirit of Moses.
The huge numbers of the Midianites are spoken of "as one man". Gideon was perhaps confident to fight a single Midianite in one on one combat, for he appears to have been a physically strong warrior. And God is saying that fighting the Midianites will be no more difficult than that for Gideon.
Jdg 6:17 He said to Him, If now I have found grace in Your eyes, then show
me a sign that it is really You Who talk with me-
Gideon perceives he is being led as Moses was (see on :16,22). And so
he uses the phrase Moses used, "If now I have found grace in Your eyes".
But he does so without attention to context, for Moses said that when
being almost sarcastic to God in his effectively refusing the way God
wished him to go in.
God eating with man was a sign of grace in Gen. 18:3, where Abraham asks the Angels to eat with him if had found grace in their eyes. And so it was here, Gideon saw he needed grace, as noted on :15. And he is encouraged that he had received it. We likewise find assurance of that grace by eating with the Lord at the breaking of bread.
Jdg 6:18 Please don’t go away until I come to you and bring out my present
and lay it before you. He said, I will wait until you come back-
Circumstances repeat within our lives, and between our lives and
those of other believers. This incident was to repeat in Jud. 13:15. Such
connections are why we meet together, why we share our lives with others;
and one of the reasons why we read the Bible, which is God's selected
choice of various biographies which He knows will speak to each of us in a
unique way.
Jdg 6:19 Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes of
an ephah of meal. He put the meat in a basket and he put the broth in a
pot and brought it out to him under the oak and presented it-
Oaks were typically associated with idolatry, and the altar of Baal
was apparently standing on the property belonging to Gideon's father. It
was as if the Angel is demanding that Gideon and his people no longer
serve Baal, but Yahweh; and give to Yahweh what they had intended for Baal
(see on :25).
Jdg 6:20 The angel of God said to him, Take the meat and the unleavened
cakes and lay them on this rock and pour out the broth. He did so-
That there was a rock altar beneath an oak (:19) makes it clear
enough that the family sacrificed to idols at this point. But as explained
on :25, they were now to quit that and sacrifice instead to Yahweh.
Tragically it was probably upon the rock upon which Gideon first
sacrificed to Yahweh (Jud. 6:20) that his seventy sons were to be slain by
Abimelech, with the help of men who worshipped Baal Berith (Jud. 9:5).
Jdg 6:21 Then the angel of Yahweh stretched out the end of the staff that
was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes, and fire
went up out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes,
and the angel of Yahweh departed out of his sight-
Gideon being told to "pour out the broth" upon his offering, making
it wet so that the consumption by fire from heaven was clearly miraculous
(Jud. 6:20,21 cp. 1 Kings 18:33,34), was encouraging Gideon to see himself
as the prototype Elijah-prophet. This would provide the basis for Elijah
dousing his sacrifice with water before it was accepted in an identical
way. Gideon still doesn't learn, for he proceeds to ask for a repeat of
this miracle concerning wetness; he asks that there should only be dew
upon the ground (or perhaps even upon the whole land of Israel, see Hebrew
text) according to his word of faithful prayer (Jud. 6:37-39). Elijah saying that "there
shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word" (1 Kings
17:1) is surely a conscious replica of this. It is quite
possible that we, too, may be given certain prompts in life by reason of
particular experiences repeating those of a Biblical character.
Jdg 6:22 Gideon saw that he was the angel of Yahweh, and Gideon said,
Alas, Lord Yahweh! I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face!-
See on :16, where we saw how Gideon is being set up as Moses. His
panic at having seen the face of an Angel is therefore due to failing to
appreciate this. For Moses saw the Angel's face, and lived. And there was
no reason why Gideon couldn't. We see in his panic a man struggling with
the calling he was being given. And yet despite all his wriggling, he does
finally accept it, and does act in faith, as Heb. 11 makes clear.
I suggest that Gideon is transferring his real guilt into a form of false guilt, as often happens within the human mind. He realized his family, Israel and probably himself were guilty of idolatry. But he can't quite bring himself to confess that to himself, and so instead he feels guilt stricken over something which wasn't a sin, i.e. seeing the face of an Angel. For Moses and others had done so, and it was no sin.
It was no random chance that Gideon was later led to victory at Penuel (Jud. 8:9). Penuel was so named to celebrate how Jacob had seen the face of God and lived (Gen. 32:30). Gideon had earlier thought he would be slain as he had been so unworthy to see the face of the Angel. As with our lives, God was leading him to perceive ever more His grace. See on :23.
Jdg 6:23 Yahweh said to him, Peace! Don’t be afraid. You will not die-
"Peace" in the Bible usually refers to peace with God through
forgiveness. The assurance that he will not die was because he had been
forgiven. I explained on :22 that he did have a conscience of sin, but he
couldn't quite bring himself to confess it, and transferred that true
guilt into a false guilt. But this was enough for God; that movement of
conscience within Gideon was accepted as repentance, and he is assured
peace with God. And he perceives this and memorializes that peace in the
name of the altar he will build.
I noted on :22 that Gideon was later reminded at Penuel of how he like weak Jacob had seen the face of God and lived. And he at that time tells the men of Penuel that he will "come again in peace" (Jud. 8:9). Coming "in peace" reflected how he had learned the lesson from seeing the face of the Angel; for he had built an altar called 'Yahweh is peace', and now he was confident that indeed he was at peace with God despite all his weaknesses.
Jdg 6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh and called it Yahweh
is Peace-
As explained on :23, this was a celebration of peace with God; and it
implies therefore his repentance and forgiveness. What was required in
order to lift the Midianite oppression was repentance; and Gideon's very
weak repentance was as it were used by God to enable Him to lift it.
This altar is likely that of :26. It is mentioned and then we are given the details as to how it was built. Gideon's motivation in building it was because he had experienced peace with God through grace. Just as Paul says we have too. There was no grace and no peace with God through Baal. As Jonah noted, those who observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. Grace and peace with God are concepts unique to the one true faith.
To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites-
I would consider the book of Joshua to have largely been written by
Joshua, under Divine inspiration, although edited [again under Divine
inspiration] for the exiles. And the book of Judges likewise. For the
exiles too were set to reestablish God's Kingdom in the land and to
inherit it again as the Israelites first did. The phrase "to this day"
occurs several times in Joshua / Judges, and appears to have different
points of historical reference (Josh. 4:9; 5:9; 6:25; 7:26; 8:28,29; 9:27;
10:27; 13:13; 14:14; 15:63; 16:10; 22:3; 23:8,9; Jud. 1:26; 6:24; 10:4;
15:19; 18:12). I would explain this by saying that the book was edited a
number of times and the remains of those edits remain in the text. For
God's word is living and made relevant by Him to every generation.
Jdg 6:25 The same night Yahweh said to him, Take your father’s bull, the
second bull seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your
father has and cut down the Asherah that is by it-
The seven year old bull represented the seven years of Midianite
domination of Israel (:1). "The second bull" may have been an animal which
was being raised especially for sacrifice to Baal. It was only by ending
this Baal worship that the seven years of domination would be ended. And
the seven year old bull was therefore to be seen as a kind of atonement
sacrifice for those seven years of apostacy.
'Gideon' means 'hacker' or 'cutter / thrower down'. The root is used in the Mosaic commands to cut down the pagan idols of Canaan (Dt. 7:5; 12:3). He was being asked to live up to his name, to realize that he had been set up in advance to do what seemed to him so impossibly difficult. We too have good works prepared for us to do from the foundation of the world. And we struggle to accept this, making excuses, looking for signs etc.
We note that Gideon's father had the Asherah grove by the altar (Jud. 16:25). This was studied disobedience to Dt. 16:21: "You must not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of Yahweh your God, which you shall make for yourselves". His repentance, apparently overnight, is therefore the more remarkable. We also see how Yahweh worship had become mixed with paganic worship. "The altar" in view was that of Yahweh, but it had become the altar of Baal because of the mixing of truth and error, of Yahweh and paganic worship. This worship of the flesh in the appearance of Yahweh worship is in fact our abiding temptation, as it was for Israel. They never abrogated Yahweh worship, but worshipped idols in the name of Yahweh worship. We, e.g., may gossip in the name of "truth" or "love"; purchase luxury items or property in the name of worshipping God or serving Him.
Dt. 16:21 was one of a whole series of apparently 'minor' commands which were designed to make obedience easier to the others already given. Thus he tells them in Deuteronomy not to plant a grove of trees near the altar of God - because he knew this would provoke the possibility of mixing Yahweh worship with that of the surrounding world (Dt. 16:21). There was to be no possibility of worshipping idols in the name of Yahweh worship; there was not even to be the possibility of some subliminal suggestion of it arising from having a grove of trees near an altar.
Jdg 6:26 build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold
in the proper way, and take the second bull and offer it as a burnt
offering with the wood of the Asherah which you cut down-
"This stronghold" may refer to the heap of stones under the oak tree
which they had used for worshipping idols. I suggested on :25 that the
"second bull" [it could be translated just "the other bull"] was one being
bred for sacrifice to Baal.
Jdg 6:27 Then Gideon took ten of his servants and did as Yahweh had spoken
to him, and because he feared his father’s household and the men of the
city, he could not do it by day, so he did it by night-
Again we see his weakness, and yet his desire to respond, however weakly.
And God eagerly used that. Clearly his family were idolaters and the altar
was on his father's property, so it would be surprising if Gideon was not
also an idolater.
Jdg 6:28 When the men of the city arose early in the morning, the altar of
Baal was broken down and the Asherah was cut down that was by it and the
second bull had been offered on the altar that was built-
The record presents Gideon's complete (if nervous) obedience through
the eyes of the observers early that morning. Gideon knew they would soon
find out that he had done it. But he doesn't flee the village. He did it
at night because he feared the other people would forcibly stop him from
doing it.
Jdg 6:29 They said one to another, Who has done this? When they inquired
and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this-
We note that Gideon doesn't call them out on their idolatry. Rather
he lets them come to him. He was no fearless prophet, denouncing idolatry
in God's Name.
Jdg 6:30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out your son that
he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal and because he
has cut down the Asherah that was by it-
They were twisting the Mosaic laws of apostacy to apply them to
Gideon for desecrating Baal's altar. They were psychologically able to do
this because they considered that Baal worship was a form of Yahweh
worship. And it was this continual mixture of flesh and spirit, of truth
and error, which was and is the abiding weakness of God's people.
"Bring out... that he may die" recalls the behaviour of the Sodomites (Gen. 19:5). And again there is a refusal to agree. I suggest that Gideon perceived the similarity; because in :39 he asks God for yet another sign, prefaced with "Do not be angry with me if I speak one last time". And he is quoting verbatim the words of Abraham when he had pleaded for Sodom in Gen. 18:32. This is how familiarity with the text of scripture works; we perceive a connection between our experience and that of God's people historically. And then, working it through, thinking about life and its connections with Biblical precedent, we are inspired to continue the spirit of the Biblical narrative in our own lives.
Jdg 6:31 Joash said to all who stood against him, Will you contend for
Baal? Or will you save him? He who will contend for him, let him be put to
death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because
someone has broken down his altar-
Joash had presumably been a committed Baal worshipper; for the altar was
on his territory, and the village would have been quite small. He responds
not at all as we, or probably Gideon, expected. We can be encouraged that
there is a spiritual conscience within all people, and when they see
someone like Gideon have the courage to stand up and be counted, they are
relatively easily motivated to do the same. Thus the Gospel penetrates
strongly Islamic or atheistic communities- because one person within them
stands up and is counted for Christ.
Self-expression, or even self-manifestation, is one of God’s features, and so He intends it to be in us who are made after His image. God manifestation doesn’t in that sense mean the destruction or ignoring of the individual human person; rather, the very opposite, in that the real character, the new life, will be eternally developed and preserved. This is where Hinduism is so wrong, as wrong as any monolithic, apostate version of Christianity- the person disappears into the great Whole. Joash understood where ‘God manifestation’ can be taken too far; he told the Baal worshippers to let Baal plead for himself, rather than them pleading for him. This needs thinking through. He was saying that they were assuming that they had to ‘play God’ for Baal; they had to mindlessly, unthinkingly manifest the god they thought existed. Joash says that if Baal really exists, he himself will act for himself, openly. And this of course is where the One True God excels; He does act for Himself, and doesn’t rely solely upon manifesting Himself through men in order to achieve anything. Note the intentional surprise for us in Is. 43:1: "Thus says the Lord that created you... I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are Mine". We expect the creator, owner and redeemer of someone or something to name it with His name. But God dashes that expectation- He says instead that we are called by our name.
Jdg 6:32 Therefore on that day he named him Jerub-Baal, saying, Let Baal
contend against him because he has broken down his altar-
We see here how names were given to people because of life experiences;
this explains why the same person or place can have several names. Joash
was struck by the power of the logic which had occurred to him; Baal ought
to argue for himself if he were a real god. Baal's total dependence upon
men for his actions was evidence enough that he had no real existence. And
Joash was grateful to Gideon for pointing this out.
Perhaps the point is that Baal must be really so weak, because
he was unable to 'contend' with someone as weak and doubting as Gideon,
who had cut down his image and thrown down his altar.
Jdg 6:33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the
east assembled themselves together and they crossed over and encamped in
the valley of Jezreel-
People who had been yelling for Gideon's blood now go strangely
silent. Joash was perhaps the elder of the village, and his logic was hard
to argue back against. The eastern peoples then crossed over Jordan, all
set to now wipe out the Israelites and take their land. This was indeed
the punishment for breaking the covenant, and only the weak faith and
shaky repentance of Gideon was going to stop it.
Jdg 6:34 But the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet;
and Abiezer was gathered together after him-
This
language is picked up in Is. 61:1,2: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon
me... to preach good tidings... liberty to the captives...to proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God". Primarily this refers to Isaiah preaching an inspired message of
deliverance to an Israel threatened by the Assyrian invasion, whilst
it is also quoted in the Gospels concerning the work of Christ. Both these applications have their basis in the Spirit of God coming upon
the judges, showing that they typify both the work of Christ and of the
Elijah prophet, of which Isaiah was an early manifestation.
Jdg 6:35 He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh and they also were
gathered together after him, and he sent messengers to Asher, to Zebulun
and to Naphtali and they came up to meet them-
The idea may be that all Manasseh supported him, but the three other
tribes came up to discuss with him, just "to meet them". Or it could be
that they all responded, at least eventually (Jud. 7:23). We recall how
Deborah's appeal for support from Asher and some of the leaders of these
tribes had been refused. And after God gave the great victory, she taught
everyone the song of Deborah in Jud. 5 which lamented their lack of
response. So perhaps that had worked, and now they responded. We may fail
a call the first time, but then it is repeated, and we accept it. Just as
Gideon had motivated the village of Abiezer, so now Abiezer motivated "all
Manasseh" and perhaps they in turn motivated Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali.
Jdg 6:36 Gideon said to God, If You will save Israel by my hand, as You
have spoken-
Gideon's fragile faith is in fact a great encouragement to us. He
nervously kept on in his spiritual path, although ever wanting visible
evidence of God's presence with him.
Gideon comes over as repeatedly trying to avoid God's claims and
call; and yet God kept on with him, and so it is with each of us. We need
to enquire and clarify what our mission is in this world- for we each have
a calling, and the lesson of Gideon is for us all, not just a few.
Jdg 6:37 I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is
dew on the fleece only and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know
that You will save Israel by my hand as You have said-
Quite possibly there was a drought and water was precious,
hence Gideon took a bowl in order to fill it with the valuable water from
the fleece. The giving or withholding of dew was a reflection of whether or not
Israel were receiving the blessings or cursings of the covenant.
One of the blessings of the true Israel was that of dew (Gen. 27:28,44).
The signs of the dew demonstrated that God would save by grace- giving the
blessings for obedience when there had been no obedience, giving and
taking those blessings by His soversign power. The miracles addressed
Gideon's unspoken question: 'We have been disobedient, so how will God
bless us with the blessings of obedience, such as dew and victory over
larger armies?'. They
deserved no dew, for they had sinned. Elijah was to be inspired by
Gideon's weak faith in later asking for dew and rain to be withheld (1
Kings 17:1). We too are to be motivated by the faith of others, no matter
how weak. The threshing floor is also a symbol of judgment. If God gave
His blessings, the dew, to Gideon's fleece but not to the ground / land of
Israel generally, then Gideon would know that indeed God was uniquely with
him, even if the rest of Israel deserved judgment and the withholding of
the covenant blessings. "Ground" is eretz, the usual word for the
land of Israel. If just the soil around the fleece were in view, a
different word would have been used.
Baal was supposed to be the god of dew. So having destroyed Baal's altar, Gideon asks God to demonstrate at least just to himself, that He is indeed the controller of dew rather than Baal. “Can any of the false gods of the nations give rain? Can the skies of themselves give showers? Only you are He, O Yahweh our God! Therefore we will wait for you, for you made these things” (Jer. 14:22). We see how a man can publically profess faith in God, and do great things in His Name and in criticism of error. And yet himself be very frail in faith and desperate for confirmation. The fighting of apostacy and brave declaration of the error of the wicked, can so easily be done whilst our real spiritual man is so weak and frail and in such need of confirmation.
Jdg 6:38 That is what happened, for he got up early the next day and
squeezed the fleece together and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl
full of water-
There is a much repeated characteristic of God's servants: that they
'rose up early in the morning' and did God's work. In each of the
following passages, this phrase is clearly not an idiom; rather does it
have an evidently literal meaning: Abraham (Gen. 19:27; 21:14; 22:3);
Jacob (Gen. 28:18); Job (1:5); Moses (Ex. 8:20; 9:13; 24:4; 34:4); Joshua
(Josh. 3:1; 6:12; 7:16; 8:10); Gideon (Jud. 6:38; 7:1). This is quite an
impressive list, numerically. This can be a figure for being zealous (Ps.
127:2; Pr. 27:14; Song 7:12; Is. 5:11; Zeph. 3:7). God Himself rises up
early in His zeal to save and bring back His wayward people (Jer. 7:13,25;
11:7; 25:3,4; 26:5; 29:19; 32:33; 35:14,15; 44:4). Yet the above examples
all show that men literally rose up early in their service to God; this
was an expression of their zeal for God, in response to His zeal for us.
I'm not suggesting that zeal for God is reflected by rising early rather
than staying up late; but it wouldn't be too much to suggest that if we
are men of mission, we won't waste our hours in bed. Get up when you wake
up.
Jdg 6:39 Gideon said to God, Don’t let Your anger be kindled against me
and I will speak but this once-
Gideon is inspired by the words and spiritual ambition of Abraham
(Gen. 18:32). Perhaps he feared it was just a coincidence, seeing that
fleeces naturally attract dew.
Fleeces naturally attract and retain moisture, so Gideon may have felt on reflection that the first sign was not in fact that great, and so he asked for something harder in the second sign. Again he presents as so very weak and faltering in his faith. As Hebrews 11 says, Gideon is really the classic case of a man whose weakness was made strong.
Please let me make a trial just this once more with the fleece. Let it now
be dry only on the fleece and on all the ground let there be dew-
I suggested on :37 that Gideon specifically understood the dew as
covenant blessing from God, which the ground / land of Israel didn't
deserve. He had asked God to show him that he, Gideon, was going to
receive those blessings, even if the land didn't. But his faith still
faltered. By asking for it to now be done the other way around, Gideon was
effectively asking for all Israel to be blessed with dew- because of his
lack of faith, and needing everything to be demonstrated to him again.
Again we note that "ground" is eretz, the usual word for the land
of Israel. If just the soil around the fleece were in view, a different
word would have been used.
Jdg 6:40 God did so that night, for it was dry on the fleece only and
there was dew on all the ground-
The Hebrew word for "fleece" is literally 'that which is cut down /
cut off', and it can also effectively mean that which is destroyed (s.w.
Nah. 1:12 "thus shall they be cut down"; "they are soon cut off", Ps.
90:10). Israel had indeed been cut down by the Midianites. Gideon had just
cut down the symbols of Baal worship (same idea, although a different word
is used- Jud. 6:26,28,30). I suspect he simply asked for the miracle to be
done again, in reverse order, because of his own weak faith and not
because he saw any great symbology in the whole scene at the time. But
later, he may have perceived that he had been asking God to place His
blessing of dew upon that which was cut down, or retract it. And indeed
God demonstrated that He could do this with ease- and do it at Gideon's
word. The blessing or cursing of Israel was to depend upon Gideon and his
faith. For generally Israel had not repented, and that was what was
necessary for the Midianite domination to end. But Gideon's weak
repentance was going to be accepted by God as it were for all Israel. This
was how eager God was to save them from Midian, despite their idolatry.
And it looks ahead to His eagerness to save us, through the work of the
Lord Jesus and His far greater righteousness being imputed to us, who are
more willing to receive it than were Israel. Arguments like this make us
have every confidence that we shall indeed be saved, by His amazing grace.
The two miracles are reversible miracles- wet on the fleece, dry on the ground; then dry on the fleece, wet on the ground. A reversible miracle was done again to prove to a doubting Israel, and a doubting Moses, that God was truly going to save them by grace: Moses' rod was made a snake and then a rod again; Moses' hand was made leprous and then sound again. This kind of reversible miracle was common in the surrounding idol cults. In the Enuma Elish, Marduk is challenged by the other gods to destroy a garment and then recreate it- and he does, to prove his power. In Homer's Odyssey, in the 10th book, the goddess Circe changed the comrades of Odysseus into pigs and then restored them. We see here how influenced Israel were by surrounding paganism, yet God worked through that to still confirm them. We can compare how the waters of both the Red Sea and the Jordan were driven back, and then made to return as before. Reversible miracles were to confirm weak faith. And God went along with that, having told Gideon at the start that He considered him a mighty warrior who had the faith to do his mission.
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