61 Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord ; and the Lord gave them into the hands of Midian seven years . 2 The power of Midian prevailed against Israel . Because e of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens which were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds . 3 For it was when Israel had sown , that the Midianites would come up with the Amalekites and the sons of the east and go against them. 4 So they would camp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far e as Gaza , and leave no sustenance in Israel as well as no sheep , ox , or donkey . 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents , they would come in like locusts for number , both they and their camels were innumerable e ; and they came into the land to devastate it. 6 So Israel was brought very low because e of Midian , and the sons of Israel cried to the Lord .
7 Now it came about when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord on account of Midian , 8 that the Lord sent a prophet to the sons of Israel , and he said to them, "Thus says the Lord , the God of Israel , 'It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery . 9 'I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors , and dispossessed them before e you and gave you their land , 10 and I said to you, "I am the Lord your God ; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live . But you have not obeyed e Me.""'
11 Then the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah , which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites . 12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, "The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior ." 13 Then Gideon said to him, "O my lord , if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying , 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt ?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian ." 14 The Lord looked at him and said , " Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian . Have I not sent you?" 15 He said to Him, "O Lord , how shall I deliver Israel ? Behold , my family is the least in Manasseh , and I am the youngest in my father's house ." 16 But the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man ." 17 So Gideon said to Him, "If now I have found favor in Your sight , then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me. 18 "Please do not depart from here , until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You." And He said , "I will remain until you return ." 19 Then Gideon went in and prepared a young e goat e and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour ; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot , and brought them out to him under the oak and presented them. 20 The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock , and pour out the broth ." And he did so . 21 Then the angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread ; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread . Then the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight . 22 When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the Lord , he said , "Alas , O Lord GOD ! For now e I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face ." 23 The Lord said to him, "Peace to you, do not fear ; you shall not die ." 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and named it The Lord is Peace . To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites .
25 Now on the same night the Lord said to him, "Take your father's bull and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father , and cut down the Asherah that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner , and take a second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down ." 27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had spoken to him; and because he was too afraid of his father's household and the men of the city to do it by day , he did it by night .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Judges 6:1-27
Commentary on Judges 6:1-6
(Read Judges 6:1-6)
Israel's sin was renewed, and Israel's troubles were repeated. Let all that sin expect to suffer. The Israelites hid themselves in dens and caves; such was the effect of a guilty conscience. Sin dispirits men. The invaders left no food for Israel, except what was taken into the caves. They prepared that for Baal with which God should have been served, now God justly sends an enemy to take it away in the season thereof.
Commentary on Judges 6:7-10
(Read Judges 6:7-10)
They cried to God for a deliverer, and he sent them a prophet to teach them. When God furnishes a land with faithful ministers, it is a token that he has mercy in store for it. He charges them with rebellion against the Lord; he intends to bring them to repentance. Repentance is real when the sinfulness of sin, as disobedience to God, is chiefly lamented.
Commentary on Judges 6:11-24
(Read Judges 6:11-24)
Gideon was a man of a brave, active spirit, yet in obscurity through the times: he is here stirred up to undertake something great. It was very sure that the Lord was with him, when his Angel was with him. Gideon was weak in faith, which made it hard to reconcile the assurances of the presence of God with the distress to which Israel was brought. The Angel answered his objections. He told him to appear and act as Israel's deliverer, there needed no more. Bishop Hall says, While God calls Gideon valiant, he makes him so. God delights to advance the humble. Gideon desires to have his faith confirmed. Now, under the influences of the Spirit, we are not to expect signs before our eyes such as Gideon here desired, but must earnestly pray to God, that if we have found grace in his sight, he would show us a sign in our heart, by the powerful working of his Spirit there, The Angel turned the meat into an offering made by fire; showing that he was not a man who needed meat, but the Son of God, who was to be served and honoured by sacrifice, and who in the fulness of time was to make himself a sacrifice. Hereby a sign was given to Gideon, that he had found grace in God's sight. Ever since man has by sin exposed himself to God's wrath and curse, a message from heaven has been a terror to him, as he scarcely dares to expect good tidings thence. In this world, it is very awful to have any converse with that world of spirits to which we are so much strangers. Gideon's courage failed him. But God spoke peace to him.
Commentary on Judges 6:25-32
(Read Judges 6:25-32)
See the power of God's grace, that he could raise up a reformer; and the kindness of his grace, that he would raise up a deliverer, out of the family of a leader in idolatry. Gideon must not think it enough not to worship at that altar; he must throw it down, and offer sacrifice on another. It was needful he should make peace with God, before he made war on Midian. Till sin be pardoned through the great Sacrifice, no good is to be expected. God, who has all hearts in his hands, influenced Joash to appear for his son against the advocates for Baal, though he had joined formerly in the worship of Baal. Let us do our duty, and trust God with our safety. Here is a challenge to Baal, to do either good or evil; the result convinced his worshippers of their folly, in praying to one to help them that could not avenge himself.