Jud 6:1-6.
THE
ISRAELITES, FOR
THEIR
SINS,
OPPRESSED BY
MIDIAN.
1. and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian--Untaught by
their former experiences, the Israelites again apostatized, and new
sins were followed by fresh judgments. Midian had sustained a severe
blow in the time of Moses
(Nu 31:1-18);
and the memory of that disaster, no doubt, inflamed their resentment
against the Israelites. They were wandering herdsmen, called "children
of the East," from their occupying the territory east of the Red Sea,
contiguous to Moab. The destructive ravages they are described as at
this time committing in the land of Israel are similar to those of the
Bedouin Arabs, who harass the peaceful cultivators of the soil. Unless
composition is made with them, they return annually at a certain
season, when they carry off the grain, seize the cattle and other
property; and even life itself is in jeopardy from the attacks of those
prowling marauders. The vast horde of Midianites that overran Canaan
made them the greatest scourge which had ever afflicted the
Israelites.
2. made . . . dens . . . in the mountains and caves--not, of course,
excavating them, for they were already, but making them fit for
habitation.
8. the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel--The curse of
the national calamity is authoritatively traced to their infidelity as
the cause.
Jud 6:11-16.
AN
ANGEL
SENDS
GIDEON TO
DELIVER
THEM.
11. there came an angel of the Lord--He appeared in the character and
equipments of a traveller
(Jud 6:21),
who sat down in the shade to enjoy a little refreshment and repose.
Entering into conversation on the engrossing topic of the times, the
grievous oppression of the Midianites, he began urging Gideon to exert
his well-known prowess on behalf of his country. Gideon, in replying,
addresses him at first in a style equivalent (in Hebrew) to
"sir," but afterwards gives to him the name usually applied to God.
an oak--Hebrew, "the oak"--as famous in after-times.
Ophrah--a city in the tribe of Manasseh, about sixteen miles north of
Jericho, in the district belonging to the family of Abiezer
(Jos 17:2).
his son Gideon threshed wheat by the wine-press--This incident tells
emphatically the tale of public distress. The small quantity of grain
he was threshing, indicated by his using a flail instead of the
customary treading of cattle--the unusual place, near a wine-press,
under a tree, and on the bare ground, not a wooden floor, for the
prevention of noise--all these circumstances reveal the extreme dread
in which the people were living.
13. if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?--Gideon's
language betrays want of reflection, for the very chastisements God had
brought on His people showed His presence with, and His interest in,
them.
14-16. the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might . . .
have not I sent thee?--The command and the promise made Gideon aware
of the real character of his visitor; and yet like Moses, from a sense
of humility, or a shrinking at the magnitude of the undertaking, he
excused himself from entering on the enterprise. And even though
assured that, with the divine aid, he would overcome the Midianites as
easily as if they were but one man, he still hesitates and wishes to be
better assured that the mission was really from God. He resembles
Moses also in the desire for a sign; and in both cases it was the
rarity of revelations in such periods of general corruption that made
them so desirous of having the fullest conviction of being addressed by
a heavenly messenger. The request was reasonable, and it was graciously
granted
[Jud 6:18].
18. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I . . . bring forth my
present--Hebrew, my mincha, or "meat offering"; and his idea
probably was to prove, by his visitor's partaking of the entertainment,
whether or not he was more than man.
19-23. Gideon went in, and made ready a kid; . . . the flesh he put in
a basket, and he put the broth in a
pot--(See on
Ge 18:7).
The flesh seems to have been roasted, which is done by cutting it into
kobab, that is, into small pieces, fixed on a skewer, and put before
the fire. The broth was for immediate use; the other, brought in a
hand-basket was intended to be a future supply to the traveller. The
miraculous fire that consumed it and the vanishing of the stranger, not
by walking, but as a spirit in the fire, filled Gideon with awe. A
consciousness of demerit fills the heart of every fallen man at the
thought of God, with fear of His wrath; and this feeling was increased
by a belief prevalent in ancient times, that whoever saw an angel would
forthwith die. The acceptance of Gideon's sacrifice betokened the
acceptance of his person; but it required an express assurance of the
divine blessing, given in some unknown manner, to restore his comfort
and peace of mind.
24-32. it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him--The
transaction in which Gideon is here described as engaged was not
entered on till the night after the vision.
25. Take thy father's . . . second bullock--The Midianites had probably
reduced the family herd; or, as Gideon's father was addicted to
idolatry, the best may have been fattened for the service of Baal; so
that the second was the only remaining one fit for sacrifice to God.
throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath--standing upon his
ground, though kept for the common use of the townsmen.
cut down the grove that is by it--dedicated to Ashtaroth. With the aid
of ten confidential servants he demolished the one altar and raised on
the appointed spot the altar of the Lord; but, for fear of opposition,
the work had to be done under cover of night. A violent commotion was
excited next day, and vengeance vowed against Gideon as the
perpetrator. "Joash, his father, quieted the mob in a manner similar to
that of the town clerk of Ephesus. It was not for them to take the
matter into their own hands. The one, however, made an appeal to the
magistrate; the other to the idolatrous god himself"
[CHALMERS].
33. all the Midianites . . . pitched in Jezreel--The confederated
troops of Midian, Amalek, and their neighbors, crossing the Jordan to
make a fresh inroad on Canaan, encamped in the plains of Esdraelon
(anciently Jezreel). The southern part of the Ghor lies in a very low
level, so that there is a steep and difficult descent into Canaan by
the southern wadies. Keeping this in view, we see the reason why the
Midianite army, from the east of Jordan, entered Canaan by the northern
wadies of the Ghor, opposite Jezreel.
34. the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon--Called in this sudden
emergency into the public service of his country, he was supernaturally
endowed with wisdom and energy commensurate with the magnitude of the
danger and the difficulties of his position. His summons to war was
enthusiastically obeyed by all the neighboring tribes. On the eve of a
perilous enterprise, he sought to fortify his mind with a fresh
assurance of a divine call to the responsible office. The miracle of
the fleece was a very remarkable one--especially, considering the
copious dews that fall in his country. The divine patience and
condescension were wonderfully manifested in reversing the form of the
miracle. Gideon himself seems to have been conscious of incurring the
displeasure of God by his hesitancy and doubts; but He bears with the
infirmities of His people.
Judges 6 Bible Commentary
Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown
Jud 6:1-6. THE ISRAELITES, FOR THEIR SINS, OPPRESSED BY MIDIAN.
1. and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian--Untaught by their former experiences, the Israelites again apostatized, and new sins were followed by fresh judgments. Midian had sustained a severe blow in the time of Moses (Nu 31:1-18); and the memory of that disaster, no doubt, inflamed their resentment against the Israelites. They were wandering herdsmen, called "children of the East," from their occupying the territory east of the Red Sea, contiguous to Moab. The destructive ravages they are described as at this time committing in the land of Israel are similar to those of the Bedouin Arabs, who harass the peaceful cultivators of the soil. Unless composition is made with them, they return annually at a certain season, when they carry off the grain, seize the cattle and other property; and even life itself is in jeopardy from the attacks of those prowling marauders. The vast horde of Midianites that overran Canaan made them the greatest scourge which had ever afflicted the Israelites.
2. made . . . dens . . . in the mountains and caves--not, of course, excavating them, for they were already, but making them fit for habitation.
Jud 6:7-10. A PROPHET REBUKES THEM.
8. the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel--The curse of the national calamity is authoritatively traced to their infidelity as the cause.
Jud 6:11-16. AN ANGEL SENDS GIDEON TO DELIVER THEM.
11. there came an angel of the Lord--He appeared in the character and equipments of a traveller (Jud 6:21), who sat down in the shade to enjoy a little refreshment and repose. Entering into conversation on the engrossing topic of the times, the grievous oppression of the Midianites, he began urging Gideon to exert his well-known prowess on behalf of his country. Gideon, in replying, addresses him at first in a style equivalent (in Hebrew) to "sir," but afterwards gives to him the name usually applied to God.
an oak--Hebrew, "the oak"--as famous in after-times.
Ophrah--a city in the tribe of Manasseh, about sixteen miles north of Jericho, in the district belonging to the family of Abiezer (Jos 17:2).
his son Gideon threshed wheat by the wine-press--This incident tells emphatically the tale of public distress. The small quantity of grain he was threshing, indicated by his using a flail instead of the customary treading of cattle--the unusual place, near a wine-press, under a tree, and on the bare ground, not a wooden floor, for the prevention of noise--all these circumstances reveal the extreme dread in which the people were living.
13. if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?--Gideon's language betrays want of reflection, for the very chastisements God had brought on His people showed His presence with, and His interest in, them.
14-16. the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might . . . have not I sent thee?--The command and the promise made Gideon aware of the real character of his visitor; and yet like Moses, from a sense of humility, or a shrinking at the magnitude of the undertaking, he excused himself from entering on the enterprise. And even though assured that, with the divine aid, he would overcome the Midianites as easily as if they were but one man, he still hesitates and wishes to be better assured that the mission was really from God. He resembles Moses also in the desire for a sign; and in both cases it was the rarity of revelations in such periods of general corruption that made them so desirous of having the fullest conviction of being addressed by a heavenly messenger. The request was reasonable, and it was graciously granted [Jud 6:18].
Jud 6:17-32. GIDEON'S PRESENT CONSUMED BY FIRE.
18. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I . . . bring forth my present--Hebrew, my mincha, or "meat offering"; and his idea probably was to prove, by his visitor's partaking of the entertainment, whether or not he was more than man.
19-23. Gideon went in, and made ready a kid; . . . the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot--(See on Ge 18:7). The flesh seems to have been roasted, which is done by cutting it into kobab, that is, into small pieces, fixed on a skewer, and put before the fire. The broth was for immediate use; the other, brought in a hand-basket was intended to be a future supply to the traveller. The miraculous fire that consumed it and the vanishing of the stranger, not by walking, but as a spirit in the fire, filled Gideon with awe. A consciousness of demerit fills the heart of every fallen man at the thought of God, with fear of His wrath; and this feeling was increased by a belief prevalent in ancient times, that whoever saw an angel would forthwith die. The acceptance of Gideon's sacrifice betokened the acceptance of his person; but it required an express assurance of the divine blessing, given in some unknown manner, to restore his comfort and peace of mind.
24-32. it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him--The transaction in which Gideon is here described as engaged was not entered on till the night after the vision.
25. Take thy father's . . . second bullock--The Midianites had probably reduced the family herd; or, as Gideon's father was addicted to idolatry, the best may have been fattened for the service of Baal; so that the second was the only remaining one fit for sacrifice to God.
throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath--standing upon his ground, though kept for the common use of the townsmen.
cut down the grove that is by it--dedicated to Ashtaroth. With the aid of ten confidential servants he demolished the one altar and raised on the appointed spot the altar of the Lord; but, for fear of opposition, the work had to be done under cover of night. A violent commotion was excited next day, and vengeance vowed against Gideon as the perpetrator. "Joash, his father, quieted the mob in a manner similar to that of the town clerk of Ephesus. It was not for them to take the matter into their own hands. The one, however, made an appeal to the magistrate; the other to the idolatrous god himself" [CHALMERS].
Jud 6:33-39. THE SIGNS.
33. all the Midianites . . . pitched in Jezreel--The confederated troops of Midian, Amalek, and their neighbors, crossing the Jordan to make a fresh inroad on Canaan, encamped in the plains of Esdraelon (anciently Jezreel). The southern part of the Ghor lies in a very low level, so that there is a steep and difficult descent into Canaan by the southern wadies. Keeping this in view, we see the reason why the Midianite army, from the east of Jordan, entered Canaan by the northern wadies of the Ghor, opposite Jezreel.
34. the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon--Called in this sudden emergency into the public service of his country, he was supernaturally endowed with wisdom and energy commensurate with the magnitude of the danger and the difficulties of his position. His summons to war was enthusiastically obeyed by all the neighboring tribes. On the eve of a perilous enterprise, he sought to fortify his mind with a fresh assurance of a divine call to the responsible office. The miracle of the fleece was a very remarkable one--especially, considering the copious dews that fall in his country. The divine patience and condescension were wonderfully manifested in reversing the form of the miracle. Gideon himself seems to have been conscious of incurring the displeasure of God by his hesitancy and doubts; but He bears with the infirmities of His people.