Judges 6:1-2, 7-16
SS Lesson for 10/16/2022
Devotional Scriptures: 1 Chron 21:18-29
When we read the “big” stories of the Bible, we may be tempted to imagine that God works only or primarily through dramatic events. But countless “small” stories of generosity and faith have occurred through the centuries as God has worked through the hands and feet of believers (compare Mark 9:41; 12:42). When people of faith answer God’s call, the blessings of unexpected opportunities to serve follow. The book of Judges features accounts of a series of leaders (“judges”) who arose to rescue Israel from foreign oppressions during the era 1380 to 1050 BC. These stories fit together to paint a picture of a dreary pattern: the Israelites sinned, God punished them with foreign oppression, the Israelites repented, a deliverer came, and peace followed. Gideon, the deliverer-judge of today’s lesson, was the fifth of perhaps 14 judges; he served in that capacity during the first half of the twelfth century BC. The Midianites, the oppressors whom Gideon was to confront in today’s text, came from what is now northern Saudi Arabia or southeastern Jordan. They had created a sophisticated society based on trade across the Arabian Peninsula with the cultures around its perimeter (Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia; compare Genesis 37:28). They were not barbarians. The Midianites shared a history with Israel (see Exodus 18:1; etc.), a history that included conflict (see Numbers 25:14–18; Psalm 83:9–12).
23 Then the Lord said to him, "Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die."
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
1 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,
2 and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains.
10 Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.
22 The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.
15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. 16 The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head.
19 Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me," declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord because of the Midianites,
8 that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage;
9 and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land.
10 Also I said to you, "I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell." But you have not obeyed My voice.'"
2 O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come.
24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
11 When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! 15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance — now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'
10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;
9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
11 Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!"
13 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 forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."
14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?"
15 So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."
16 And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man."
15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
21 Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing.
8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life — not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."
5 "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. 6 "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them."
29 for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
45 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
34 It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. 35 "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back — whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping
5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has assigned to each his task.
17 Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.
10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." 11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" 12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
10 Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." 11 The Lord said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."
59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." 62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
28 For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;
1 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord turned them over to Midian for seven years. 2 The Midianites overwhelmed Israel. Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters for themselves in the hills, as well as caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east would attack them. 4 They invaded the land and devoured its crops all the way to Gaza. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat, and they took away the sheep, oxen, and donkeys. 5 When they invaded with their cattle and tents, they were as thick as locusts. Neither they nor their camels could be counted. They came to devour the land. 6 Israel was so severely weakened by Midian that the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help (Judges 6:1-6).
We are hardly surprised to read, once again, that the Israelites have returned to their evil ways, at least as God sees things. Since every man did what was right in his own eyes, it is likely that the Israelites did not see their sins as evil. By the way, the author does not name the sins to which he refers here; he speaks of them only in generalities, and for good reason. We already know Israel’s sins from the pattern set forth in chapter 2 and from the chapters which have preceded our text. We know, for example, that the Israelites would have disregarded God’s Word and would have worshipped the gods of the Canaanites. In addition, they would have intermarried with the Canaanites.
If the Israelites have acted as we would have predicted, so does God. He turned the Israelites over to Midian for seven years of harsh treatment. Let us first refresh our memories as to who the Midianites were, so that we will better be able to comprehend the kind of suffering they imposed on the Israelites.
Midian was the son of Abraham and Keturah, one of Abraham’s concubines (Genesis 25:2-6). It was a Midianite caravan that “happened by” when Joseph’s brothers were about to kill him, prompting them to sell Joseph to these traders instead of taking his life. These traders then took Joseph to Egypt where they sold him as a slave (Genesis 37:28, 36). When Moses fled from Egypt after killing an Egyptian, he went to Midian where he encountered a Midianite priest. Moses married his daughter, Zipporah, and had two sons by her (Exodus 2:15-22). Moses’ father-in-law accompanied the Israelites into the land of Canaan, and so it is that we find the Kenites mentioned twice already (1:16; 4:11, 17) in the Book of Judges. The Midianites also were involved in the seduction of the Israelites in the Book of Numbers.
The Midianites were a nomadic people who lived to the East (and Southeast) of Israel, across the Jordan. While the Midianites had been given military supremacy over Israel, their “occupation” of Israel was quite different from the occupation of other foreign nations such as the Moabites. The Moabites gained military supremacy over Israel and then established certain military outposts. Here, Moabite soldiers would be stationed to enforce Moabite control. If the Israelites behaved themselves and paid their annual tribute, they were granted a certain measure of freedom.
It was quite different under the domination of the Midianites. For one thing, we should observe that no one king is named. I don’t doubt that the Midianites had their leaders, but their nomadic lifestyle must have resulted in a less centralized government. The Midianites did not exact a payment of tribute, as the Moabites had done; rather the Midianite hordes simply migrated to Israel whenever it served their purposes. They would time their “return visits” to Canaan in accordance with the growing season. When harvest time arrived, so did the Midianites, and with an appetite for everything the Israelites possessed. They took all of their crops they could get their hands on; the Midianites’ cattle grazed on what was left. And any Israelite cattle were added to their own herds. When they had consumed all there was, the Midianites moved on, leaving the Israelites in desperate straits.
It is no wonder that the Israelites sought to disappear, along with their crops and cattle, into the hills before the Midianites arrived. They gathered up what little they could and headed for the hills, literally, seeking refuge in caves and mountain hideouts. To some degree, this had happened earlier when Jabin and the Canaanites had cruelly oppressed the Israelites. And so we read:
6 “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, the roads were abandoned;
travelers took to winding paths.
7 Village life in Israel ceased,
ceased until I, Deborah, arose,
arose a mother in Israel.
8 When they chose new gods,
war came to the city gates,
and not a shield or spear was seen
among forty thousand in Israel (Judges 5:6-8, NIV; emphasis mine).
My sense is that under Midianite domination, things had gotten as bad as Israel had ever seen it. And so we read that the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help. What is interesting, and somewhat unique, is that God did not immediately raise up a judge to deliver them as He had done before; instead, God sent a prophet to rebuke them.
7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help because of Midian, 8 he sent a prophet to the Israelites. He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and took you out of that place of slavery. 9 I rescued you from Egypt’s power and from the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave their land to you. 10 I said to you, “I am the Lord your God! Do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living!” But you have disobeyed me’” (Judges 6:7-10).
It is perhaps worthwhile to point out that the unnamed prophet whom God sent was not Israel’s new leader, judge, or deliverer. The deliverer would be Gideon, but he has not yet been introduced to the reader. I would like to suggest that what we find here is paralleled in the story of Deborah and Barak. Deborah was the prophetess; Barak was the leader and deliverer. In our text, the Israelites cry out, hoping for a deliverer from their oppression by the Midianites. This prophet is sent to remind them that God is their ultimate Deliverer. And so he reviews a few of those deliverances of the past. God delivered the Israelites from the oppression they suffered under Egyptian domination. He also delivered His people from those who opposed them as they made their way to possess the Promised Land. And it was also God who warned them not to worship the gods of the Amorites.
In one sense, the worship of heathen gods was quite pragmatic. They worshipped certain gods for rain, or for fertility, or for victory in battle. These “gods” were the deliverers of the heathen. But it is the God of Israel who is truly – and exclusively – their Deliverer. Thus they must not look to anyone other than God alone for deliverance. This command they had disobeyed, and their disobedience is the reason for their oppression.
It is interesting to me that the prophet’s message (at least as reported here) contained no call to repentance. Neither is there any indication that the Israelites responded in a negative or positive way. The message seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
One might come to the conclusion that the salvation which is soon to come in our text proves that no repentance is really necessary. I would differ and suggest that God is gracious here, but His grace is evident in His kindness in bringing about Israel’s repentance, before He grants deliverance. God works through Gideon to change the heart of his father, Joash, then the hearts of his clan, then of his tribe, and finally the hearts of several other tribes as well. See if the text does not develop nicely when viewed in this way.
11 The Lord’s angelic messenger came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress so he could hide it from the Midianites. 12 The Lord’s messenger appeared and said to him, “The Lord is with you, courageous warrior!” 13 Gideon said to him, “Pardon me, but if the Lord is with us, why has such disaster overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” 14 Then the Lord himself turned to him and said, “You have the strength. Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! Have I not sent you?” 15 Gideon said to him, “But Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.” 16 The Lord said to him, “Ah, but I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army.” 17 Gideon said to him, “If you really are pleased with me, then give me a sign as proof that it is really you speaking with me. 18 Do not leave this place until I come back with a gift and present it to you.” The Lord said, “I will stay here until you come back.”
19 Gideon went and prepared a young goat, along with unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought the food to him under the oak tree and presented it to him. 20 God’s messenger said to him, “Put the meat and unleavened bread on this rock, and pour out the broth.” Gideon did as instructed. 21 The Lord’s messenger touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of his staff. Fire flared up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened bread. The Lord’s messenger then disappeared.
22 When Gideon realized that it was the Lord’s messenger, he said, “Oh no! Master, Lord! I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!” 23 The Lord said to him, “You are safe! Do not be afraid! You are not going to die!” 24 Gideon built an altar for the Lord there, and named it “The Lord is on friendly terms with me.” To this day it is still there in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole. 26 Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did just as the Lord had told him. He was too afraid of his father’s family and the men of the city to do it in broad daylight, so he waited until nighttime (Judges 6:11-27).
Reading this portion is something like watching a tennis match. Your head turns from one side of the tennis court to the other, and then back, over and over and over again. It is almost a re-run of God’s calling of Moses in Exodus 3 and 4. Both Moses and Gideon seem to work hard at finding reasons why God should not choose them as Israel’s deliverer. It also reminds me of Exodus 33 and 34, where God promises to be with Moses personally (the “you” is singular, not plural), but Moses wants God’s assurance that He will be with His people collectively. I am puzzled why the commentators I have consulted have not called attention to the fact that the “you’s” found in verses 12-16 of our text are singular, referring to Gideon alone and not to the Israelites collectively. It is apparent that Gideon finally gets this in verse 15, which prompts him to object even more strongly. With these observations, let us see how this text unfolds.
After the prophet appeared with his divine review and rebuke, the Angel of the LORD appears to Gideon while he is threshing wheat in a winepress (verse 11). I should not have to tell you that when one was threshing wheat in those days, it was done in a high place, out in the open, so that the wind would carry away the chaff when the grain was threshed by treading on it and then tossing it into the air. A winepress was no place to thresh wheat! That would be like trying to use a screwdriver to drive a nail. Gideon used the winepress so that he could keep out of sight of the Midianites, who, if they saw him, would come and take his grain. Gideon’s actions were indicative of how bad things had become in Israel.
And so the Angel of the LORD appears and sits beneath the oak tree in Ophrah, looking on as Gideon is making the effort to thresh grain out of sight. The Angel then approaches Gideon with these amazing words, “The Lord is with you, courageous warrior!” Gideon hardly looked the part of a “courageous warrior” at this moment, but I don’t believe that the Angel is mocking him. He is assuring Gideon of God’s presence and power, which will eventually make him a mighty warrior.
Gideon seems to sidestep the fact that God was singling him out from all the rest of the nation and chooses instead to focus on God’s dealings with the nation, as though the Angel had said, “The LORD is with Israel, you mighty man of valor.” Gideon’s response in verse 13 is very revealing. It tells us, for example, that Gideon has been taught about God and Hs miraculous deeds for Israel in the past. In a sense, Gideon repeats the words of the prophet regarding God’s powerful deliverance of the Israelites in the past. But he does so in a way that turns God’s words upside-down. The prophet’s words were spoken to rebuke the Israelites for disobeying God’s command not to worship the Canaanite gods. Gideon uses God’s past dealings to rebuke God for forsaking His people, and (it would seem) this also provided Gideon with an excuse to remain on the sidelines, rather than to engage the Canaanites in battle.
God will have none of this, although His words are amazingly gentle and gracious: “Then the Lord himself turned to him and said, “You have the strength. Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! Have I not sent you?” (verse 14) Did Gideon protest that God had not delivered Israel from Midianite oppression? Then here is God’s promise to be with Gideon, empowering him so that he could deliver his people from their bondage. God commissions Gideon to perform this task – God has sent him.
Suddenly God’s use of the singular (“you”) sinks in. “Now just hold on a minute,” Gideon objects, “I am not the man for the job you have in mind.” And so Gideon appeals to his insignificance and lack of power and influence due to his status in the family (verse 15). And all this after God has just assured him of His presence and power (“You have the strength. Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites.”), and of His divine commission (“Have I not sent you?”).
God brushed aside Gideon’s “Who am I?” objections, giving him this assurance: “Ah, but I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army” (verse 16). Hearing these words, Gideon requests a sign from God. Listen carefully to what he asks for and how God provides him with the requested sign:
17 Gideon said to him, “If you really are pleased with me, then give me a sign as proof that it is really you speaking with me. 18 Do not leave this place until I come back with a gift and present it to you.” The Lord said, “I will stay here until you come back.”
19 Gideon went and prepared a young goat, along with unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought the food to him under the oak tree and presented it to him. 20 God’s messenger said to him, “Put the meat and unleavened bread on this rock, and pour out the broth.” Gideon did as instructed. 21 The Lord’s messenger touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of his staff. Fire flared up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened bread. The Lord’s messenger then disappeared.
22 When Gideon realized that it was the Lord’s messenger, he said, “Oh no! Master, Lord! I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!” 23 The Lord said to him, “You are safe! Do not be afraid! You are not going to die!” 24 Gideon built an altar for the Lord there, and named it “The Lord is on friendly terms with me.” To this day it is still there in Ophrah of the Abiezrites (Judges 6:17-24).
Gideon now grants that God has chosen him to deliver the Israelites. His concern here is not that God will actually give him the victory (such concerns will surface later), but that it is actually the God of Israel who is speaking to him. He asks for confirmation that it is really Israel’s God who is speaking to him.
Now this may sound foolish to you and to me. It may sound cowardly (and perhaps there is a bit of that as well). But we need to understand his request in the light of the world in which Gideon lived. From what we have already seen, Gideon was well aware of God’s deliverances of Israel in the past. I don’t believe that Gideon or many Israelites of that day had totally “subtracted” God from their lives. Their sin was to “add” the worship of heathen deities. I’ve seen the mindset that leads to such decisions in my own ministry. I once visited an elderly couple who wanted to be baptized. As I inquired about their motivation, they made it clear that they had done almost everything they could think of and they just “didn’t want to leave any stone unturned.” So, too, the Israelites wanted to cover all their spiritual bases, and so they worshipped God and the Canaanite deities. Now, deity is speaking to him, and he wants to be absolutely certain it is not an embarrassing case of mistaken identity.
Just how did Gideon expect God to give him a sign as he offered a sacrifice? What was he expecting? I would call your attention to two other events recorded in the Old Testament, the first in Judges 13 and the second in 1 Kings 18. In Judges 13, the Angel of the LORD appeared to Manoah’s wife, the woman who was soon to become Samson’s mother:
15 Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Please stay here awhile, so we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.” 16 The Lord’s messenger said to Manoah, “If I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you want to make a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, you should offer it.” (He said this because Manoah did not know that he was the Lord’s messenger.) 17 Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Tell us your name, so we can honor you when your announcement comes true.” 18 The Lord’s messenger said to him, “You should not ask me my name, because you cannot comprehend it.” 19 Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the Lord. The Lord’s messenger did an amazing thing as Manoah and his wife watched. 20 As the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the Lord’s messenger went up in it while Manoah and his wife watched. They fell facedown to the ground. 21 The Lord’s messenger did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. After all this happened Manoah realized that the visitor had been the Lord’s messenger. 22 Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!” 23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us. He would not have shown us all these things, or have spoken to us like this just now” (Judges 13:17-23).
Manoah also wanted to be certain as to the identity of the Angel of the LORD who had appeared to them, and so he asked the Angel to wait while they prepared a young goat as an offering, just as Gideon did. He asked the Angel for His name, but was not given the answer. Then when the offering was made “to the LORD,” the Angel miraculously ascended into the sky in the flames. They knew for certain that this was the Angel of the LORD; this was the God of Israel who had appeared to them.
I will simply remind you of the second case, which is described in 1 Kings 18. Elijah challenged the false prophets and their gods to a contest on Mount Carmel. Let them offer a sacrifice to their god, Baal, and he would then offer a sacrifice to the God of Israel. The God/god who consumed the offering with fire would prove to be the one true God. The prophets of Baal sacrificed to their god according to their prescribed rituals, and nothing happened (other than the prophets abusing themselves to get their god’s attention). But when Elijah offered the (drenched) sacrifice to the God of Israel, He responded by consuming the entire sacrifice – bull, wood, rocks, and water – with fire! God had proven Himself to be God, God alone, by His response to Elijah’s offering.
I am convinced that Gideon believed that if it was the God of Israel who was speaking to him, He would do something miraculous when he offered a sacrifice in a way that was consistent with the Old Testament Law. He believed that if God was present in the worship of His people, He would make His presence known. And so he asked the Angel to wait as he prepared for this sacrificial offering. And Gideon was right! The Angel reached out with His staff and touched the sacrificial meal and fire sprang forth from the rock, consuming the sacrifice entirely. Now Gideon can proclaim this Angel to be the Sovereign God, the God of Israel. And knowing that this was God caused him to wonder how he could still be alive, since he had seen God face-to-face. Personally, I cannot fault Gideon for seeking this confirmation of God’s identity. Gideon then built an altar to the LORD and called it “The LORD is Peace.” That peace was the reason he was still alive.
(Adapted from URL:https://bible.org/seriespage/7-first-things-first-judges-61-35)
Today’s text begins an account of how Israel experienced deliverance from an oppression. It draws on the most important Israelite story, the exodus, by pointing out the gap between the memory of the story and the present experience. God had delivered in the past, but he seemed no longer willing to do so. As with many stories of the call of prophets or kings, the hero here (Gideon) gets to express the confusion that the readers must also feel and that we may still feel when our beliefs and our experiences seem to clash. When that happens, we can get stuck brooding in an endless cycle of asking why, as Gideon did (compare Jeremiah 5:19; 13:22; 16:10; etc.). In that regard, it is important to note what is missing in Judges 6:14: the Lord did not answer Gideon’s why question of Judges 6:13. We are answerable to the Lord, not he to us (compare Job 38-41). Our why questions will not always be answered; sometimes the Lord will only tell us what’s next. Sometimes trouble can result when we try to run ahead of the Lord by assuming we know what’s next (examples: Numbers 14:39-45; Joshua 7:1-12). Gideon also seems to have allowed himself to fall into this trap later (Judges 8:24-28). Yet on balance Gideon was attentive to the Lord’s will. He refused to become king, insisting that God alone should rule Israel (Judges 8:22-23). Like all of us, Gideon experienced both successes and failures. When he heard the call to act, he stated his doubts openly, asking God for answers. But when God did not answer those questions, Gideon wanted miraculous signs (see 6:17-22, 36-40). It’s been said that there are two ways to learn things: by wisdom and by experience. Wisdom is when we learn from the mistakes of others; experience is when we learn from our own mistakes. The life of Gideon is recorded that we might learn from his successes and failures (compare Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11; 2 Timothy 3:16). While his call differs from that of Christians, Gideon’s life still has much to teach us. The Lord still calls us to serve. He still says that he is with us (Matthew 28:19-20). But are we with him?