1And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth them into the hand of Midian seven years, 2and the hand of Midian is strong against Israel, from the presence of Midian have the sons of Israel made for themselves the flowings which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds. 3And it hath been, if Israel hath sowed, that Midian hath come up, and Amalek, and the sons of the east, yea, they have come up against him, 4and encamp against them, and destroy the increase of the land till thine entering Gaza; and they leave no sustenance in Israel, either sheep, or ox, or ass; 5for they and their cattle come up, with their tents; they come in as the fulness of the locust for multitude, and of them and of their cattle there is no number, and they come into the land to destroy it. 6And Israel is very weak from the presence of Midian, and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah. 7And it cometh to pass when the sons of Israel have cried unto Jehovah, concerning Midian, 8that Jehovah sendeth a man, a prophet, unto the sons of Israel, and he saith to them, "Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I -- I have brought you up out of Egypt, and I bring you out from a house of servants, 9and I deliver you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all your oppressors, and I cast them out from your presence, and I give to you their land, 10and I say to you, I am Jehovah your God, ye do not fear the gods of the Amorite in whose land ye are dwelling: -- and ye have not hearkened to My voice." 11And the messenger of Jehovah cometh and sitteth under the oak which is in Ophrah, which is to Joash the Abi-Ezrite, and Gideon his son is beating out wheat in the wine-press, to remove it from the presence of the Midianites; 12and the messenger of Jehovah appeareth unto him, and saith unto him, "Jehovah is with thee, O mighty one of valour." 13And Gideon saith unto him, "O, my lord -- and Jehovah is with us! -- and why hath all this found us? and where are all His wonders which our fathers recounted to us, saying, Hath not Jehovah brought us up out of Egypt? and now Jehovah hath left us, and doth give us into the hand of Midian." 14And Jehovah turneth unto him and saith, "Go in this -- thy power; and thou hast saved Israel out of the hand of Midian -- have not I sent thee." 15And he saith unto him, "O, my lord, wherewith do I save Israel? lo, my chief is weak in Manasseh, and I the least in the house of my father." 16And Jehovah saith unto him, "Because I am with thee -- thou hast smitten the Midianites as one man." 17And he saith unto Him, "If, I pray Thee, I have found grace in Thine eyes, then Thou hast done for me a sign that Thou art speaking with me. 18Move not, I pray Thee, from this, till my coming in unto Thee, and I have brought out my present, and put it before Thee;" and he saith, "I -- I do abide till thy return." 19And Gideon hath gone in, and prepareth a kid of the goats, and of an ephah of flour unleavened things; the flesh he hath put in a basket, and the broth he hath put in a pot, and he bringeth out unto Him, unto the place of the oak, and bringeth it nigh. 20And the messenger of God saith unto him, "Take the flesh and the unleavened things, and place on this rock -- and the broth pour out;" and he doth so. 21And the messenger of Jehovah putteth forth the end of the staff which is in His hand, and cometh against the flesh, and against the unleavened things, and the fire goeth up out of the rock and consumeth the flesh and the unleavened things -- and the messenger of Jehovah hath gone from his eyes. 22And Gideon seeth that He is a messenger of Jehovah, and Gideon saith, "Alas, Lord Jehovah! because that I have seen a messenger of Jehovah face to face!" 23And Jehovah saith to him, "Peace to thee; fear not; thou dost not die." 24And Gideon buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and calleth it Jehovah-Shalom, unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-Ezrites. 25And it cometh to pass, on that night, that Jehovah saith to him, "Take the young ox which is to thy father, and the second bullock of seven years, and thou hast thrown down the altar of Baal which is to thy father, and the shrine which is by it thou dost cut down, 26and thou hast built an altar to Jehovah thy God on the top of this stronghold, by the arrangement, and hast taken the second bullock, and caused to ascend a burnt-offering with the wood of the shrine which thou cuttest down." 27And Gideon taketh ten men of his servants, and doth as Jehovah hath spoken unto him, and it cometh to pass, because he hath been afraid of the house of his father, and the men of the city, to do it by day, that he doth it by night. 28And the men of the city rise early in the morning, and lo, broken down hath been the altar of Baal, and the shrine which is by it hath been cut down, and the second bullock hath been offered on the altar which is built. 29And they say one to another, "Who hath done this thing?" and they inquire and seek, and they say, "Gideon son of Joash hath done this thing." 30And the men of the city say unto Joash, "Bring out thy son, and he dieth, because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the shrine which is by it." 31And Joash saith to all who have stood against him, "Ye, do ye plead for Baal? ye -- do ye save him? he who pleadeth for him is put to death during the morning; if he is a god he himself doth plead against him, because he hath broken down his altar." 32And he calleth him, on that day, Jerubbaal, saying, "The Baal doth plead against him, because he hath broken down his altar." 33And all Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east have been gathered together, and pass over, and encamp in the valley of Jezreel, 34and the Spirit of Jehovah hath clothed Gideon, and he bloweth with a trumpet, and Abi-Ezer is called after him; 35and messengers he hath sent into all Manasseh, and it also is called after him; and messengers he hath sent into Asher, and into Zebulun, and into Naphtali, and they come up to meet them. 36And Gideon saith unto God, "If Thou art Saviour of Israel by my hand, as Thou hast spoken, 37lo, I am placing the fleece of wool in the threshing-floor: if dew is on the fleece alone, and on all the earth drought -- then I have known that Thou dost save Israel by my hand, as Thou hast spoken;" 38and it is so, and he riseth early on the morrow, and presseth the fleece, and wringeth dew out of the fleece -- the fulness of the bowl, of water. 39And Gideon saith unto God, "Let not Thine anger burn against me, and I speak only this time; let me try, I pray Thee, only this time with the fleece -- let there be, I pray Thee, drought on the fleece alone, and on all the earth let there be dew." 40And God doth so on that night, and there is drought on the fleece alone, and on all the earth there hath been dew.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE ISRAELITES, FOR THEIR SINS, OPPRESSED BY MIDIAN. (
Judg 6:1-
Judg 6:6)
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 (Num. 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 A PROPHET REBUKES THEM. (
Judg 6:7-
Judg 6:10)
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.
11 AN ANGEL SENDS GIDEON TO DELIVER THEM. (
Judg 6:11-
Judg 6:16)
there came an angel of the Lord--He appeared in the character and equipments of a traveller (
Judg 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 (
Josh 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 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 [
Judg 6:18].
18 GIDEON'S PRESENT CONSUMED BY FIRE. (Jdg. 6:17-32)
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 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
Gen 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 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 THE SIGNS. (
Judg 6:33-
Judg 6:39)
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.
