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 ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Judges 6:11-23
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.