CHAPTER 6. GIDEON. In this chapter we have an account of the distressed condition Israel was in as a result of continual Midianite invasion; of a prophet being sent to them to reprieve them from their sins; of the angel of Yahweh appearing to Gideon with an order to him to go and save Israel out of... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER 6. GIDEON. In this chapter we have an account of the distressed condition Israel was in as a result of continual Midianite invasion; of a prophet being sent to them to reprieve them from their sins; of the angel of Yahweh appearing to Gideon with an order to him to go and save Israel out of... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel, and because of Midian the children of Israel made themselves storage holes which are in the mountains, and caves and defence points.' The Midianites and their allies would time and again suddenly, silently and swiftly descend on Israel, robbing, ra... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And so it was, that when Israel had sown, the Midianites used to come up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east. They used to come up against them.' The land was seen as an easy target with no strong defenders to prevent their marauding. Their aim was partly booty, including cattle and... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth as far as Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.' They took up temporary residence over a wide area ‘as far as Gaza', where they came to a stop because they came up against the Philistines. An... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ For they came up with their cattle, and their tents, they came in as locusts for multitude. Both they and their camels were without number. And they came in to the land to destroy it.' They were there as numerous and as devastating as locusts (see Deuteronomy 28:31; Deuteronomy 28:38. This was to... [ Continue Reading ]
YAHWEH SENDS HIS PROPHET (JUDGES 6:7). Judges 6:7 a ‘And so it happened that when the children of Israel cried to Yahweh because of Midian, that Yahweh sent a prophet to the children of Israel, and he said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel”.' When His people repented and responded to... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CALL OF GIDEON AND HIS RESPONSE (JUDGES 6:11). Judges 6:11 ‘ And the Angel of Yahweh came, and stationed Himself under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained to Joash the Abiezrite. And his son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.' Once again the A... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And the Angel of Yahweh appeared to him, and said to him, “Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valour.” ' Gideon may well have been thinking of His people's troubles, and scheming as to what he could do about it, possibly considering daring, and perhaps foolhardy and impractical plans, although... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Gideon said to him, “Oh my lord, if Yahweh be with us, why then has all this befallen us? And where are all his wonderful works which our fathers told us of, saying, did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt. But now Yahweh has cast us off and delivered us into the hand of Midian ” ' He was not su... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Yahweh looked on him and said, “Go in this your might and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” ' The Angel now revealed Who He was. It was Yahweh Himself Who looked on Him. He spoke in such a way that Gideon realised that he was speaking to a divine visitor. He realised... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And he said to him, “Oh Lord, with what shall I save Israel? Look, my family is the poorest in Manasseh. And I am the least in my father's house” ' (Compare Exodus 4:10; Exodus 4:13). The word for ‘Lord' is vocalised differently here compared with its vocalisation in Judges 6:13, indicating a mor... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Yahweh said to him, “I will surely be with you, and you will smite the Midianites as one man.” ' God's reply was that Gideon should consider the odds. He would be there with him. Thus it would be Gideon and Yahweh against Midian, ‘two' against ‘one', ‘one God and one man' against ‘one man'. A... [ Continue Reading ]
Judges 6:17 a ‘And he said to him, “If now I have found grace in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talks with me. Do not leave here, I beg you, until I come to you and bring my offering and lay it before you.” ' God had given Moses a sign. Now, if He was truly with him, let Him gr... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Gideon went in and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour. The flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak and presented it.' The broth suggests that the kid was boiled. The whole meal was of ultra-generous proportions... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And the Angel of God said to him, “Take the flesh, and the unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock. and pour out the broth, and he did so.” ' “POUR OUT THE BROTH”. This was an immediate indication that sacrifice was involved (compare Leviticus 17:13). The broth was probably poured over the wh... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ Then the Angel of Yahweh put out the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and there went up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh, and the unleavened cakes. And the Angel of Yahweh departed out of his sight.' Yahweh gave Gideon the sign he... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Gideon perceived that he was the Angel of Yaheweh, and Gideon said, “Alas! Oh Lord Yahweh, forasmuch as I have seen the Angel of Yahweh face to face.” ' Now he knew fully that he had been face to face with the angel of Yahweh and was greatly distressed. For he knew that no man could see God a... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Yahweh said to him, “Peace be to you, do not be afraid, you shall not die.” ' In reply Yahweh gave him peace in his heart about it. He assured him that he would not die as a result of his experience. ‘Peace be to you'. A regular greeting which wished peace of heart on the recipient.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh, and called it Yahweh-shalom. To this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.' In gratitude Gideon built an altar to Yahweh, calling it ‘Yahweh is peace (or ‘well-being')'. This is a summary description of what follows so that this altar is the one he... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And it came about the same night that Yahweh said to him, “Take your father's bullock ox, and the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal which your father has, and cut down the Asherah-image which is by it.” ' Now that Gideon was committed, God tested his willingness... [ Continue Reading ]
“ And build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold in the orderly manner. And take the second bullock and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.” The rock on which Yahweh caused the offering to be sent up by fire was now described as a ‘stro... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Yahweh had said to him, and so it was that, 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.' This may mean ‘a number of his servants'. Ten is frequently used to mean ‘a number... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah-image was cut down which was by it, and the second bullock was offered on the altar that was built.' When the townsfolk arose in the morning they found that the altar of Baal was br... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And they said one to another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they enquired and asked, they said, “Gideon, the son of Joash, has done this thing.” ' Gideon had made no attempt to hide the fact that he was responsible. Thus when people asked around, seething with fury, the information was soon... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ 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-image that was by it.” ' No doubt they had checked up first on the fact that it was not under Joash's orders. Then they demanded Gide... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Joash said to all that stood against him, “Will you plead for Baal? Or will you save him? He who will plead for him, let him be put to death, while it is yet morning. If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because one has broken down his altar.” ' Joash replied cleverly and revealed all h... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has broken down his altar.” ' Joash was a man of remarkable good sense who probably had little faith in Baal's ability to act. By renaming his son Jerubbaal (‘let Baal plead' or ‘'let the lord plead') h... [ Continue Reading ]
GIDEON GOES FORTH IN THE NAME OF YAHWEH AND IS REDUCED TO THREE HUNDRED MEN (JUDGES 6:33 TO JUDGES 7:8). Judges 6:33 ‘ Then all the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east assembled themselves together, and they passed over and pitched in the Valley of Jezreel.' This was in... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ But the Spirit of Yahweh clothed Himself with Gideon, and he blew a trumpet (of ram's horn) and Abiezer was gathered together after him.' Yahweh now prepared to go into battle on behalf of Israel, in Gideon's body through His Spirit. He ‘clothed Himself' with Gideon. This did however require Gide... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they also were gathered together after him, and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.' Gideon now issued the call to the nearest tribes to assist him in his coming war. ‘Manasseh' probably m... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” ' Gideon is about to ask another sign. Note that the request is made to ‘God', not Yahweh, and thus continues through the section. There is a hint here that the request was seen as not strictly pleasing, for Gideon ha... [ Continue Reading ]
“ Behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor, and if there be dew on the fleece only, and if it be dry on all the ground, then will I know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” The thought that he had called all the tribes together made the inexperienced young man... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And it was so, for he rose up early on the next day, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a dish full of water.' God graciously provided him with the sign he requested, so much so that a whole dish full of water was wrung from the fleece while the ground was bone... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Gideon said to God, “Do not let your anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once. Let me prove, I pray you, but this once with the fleece. Let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.” ' So he asked God for a further sign, conscious that he was... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And God did so that night, for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.' God graciously gave him his further sign. Next morning the ground was covered in dew but the fleece was bone dry. What lesson do we learn from all this, apart from the need to be obedient to God? T... [ Continue Reading ]