In Judges 6, the Israelites once again sinned against the Lord and were oppressed by the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites, along with the Amalekites and other desert tribes devastated Israel’s crops and livestock. The Israelites cried out to the Lord and He sent a prophet to remind them of His past deliverance and their failure to obey Him.
The angel of the Lord then appeared to Gideon, a man from the tribe of Manasseh, calling him to deliver Israel. Gideon, feeling inadequate, questioned how he could accomplish this, but the Lord reassured him with promises of victory. Gideon offered a meal to confirm God’s presence which the angel consumed by fire from a rock. Gideon, realizing he had encountered the Lord, built an altar and named it “The Lord is Peace.”
That night, God commanded Gideon to destroy his father’s altar to Baal as well as the Asherah pole beside it. Gideon was fearful, so he did it secretly under the cover of night. The next morning, the townspeople discovered his actions but his father, Joash, defended him, declaring that if Baal was a true god, he could defend himself. Gideon’s act earned him the name Jerubbaal.
Later, the Spirit of the Lord empowered Gideon to summon an army to fight the Midianites. Seeking further confirmation, Gideon tested God with a fleece of wool, asking for dew only on the fleece and not on the ground. When God fulfilled the sign, Gideon asked for one more test, and God made the fleece dry and the ground wet, which confirmed His call.
Yet again, Israel found themselves at rock bottom and yet again, they cried out to God for deliverance. This time, their “rock bottom” came in the form of the Midianites – a desert people who traced their origins back to Abraham’s second wife. The tension between Israel and the Midianites ran deep, a longstanding conflict that began long before and continued through generations. Interestingly, many years earlier, when Israel was wandering in the desert, they had a chance to eliminate the Midianites (Numbers 31), but they failed. Now, the Midianites had repopulated, and their oppression was even worse than before.
Once again we see the theme of compromise rearing its ugly head. The book of Judges is an object lesson in what happens when we do not put away sin. It lingers, grows, and eventually consumes us. The sins we do not put away for good will return. That doesn’t mean that we will be perfect. It simply means that when God brings something to our attention that is a hindrance or shortcoming, we wholeheartedly address it with honesty and intentionality.
The attacks from the Midianites were not only frequent but also far more oppressive. In fact, they were so strong that they pushed the Israelites into hiding. The Israelites dug caves and built secret shelters, seeking safety away from the threat that loomed over them. As people dependent on the land for food, Israel couldn’t escape the relentless raids. Every time they planted crops, the Midianites (along with several other nations) would swarm their land, destroy their harvest, and take everything, including their livestock.
At this point, Israel’s situation had hit rock bottom. There was no food, no protection, and no hope. The very land they depended on had been taken from them. It was a moment of utter despair, and it was in this hopelessness that they finally turned to God.
Gideon is not introduced as a hero but as a man hiding in fear. He is threshing wheat at the bottom of a hill, where the winepress is typically located, instead of at the top where the wind would help separate the chaff. This reflects his frustration and fear of the Midianites, as he avoids the usual threshing floor on the hilltop to stay hidden from their attacks.
“And what happens? Does the chaff blow away? No. It comes down around his neck and gets into his clothes making him very uncomfortable. There he is, trying his best to thresh in a place like that, and all the time rebuking himself for being a coward, afraid to go to the hilltop. I think he looked up there rather longingly and thought, “Do I dare go to the hilltop?” Gideon was having a very frustrating experience, but God was going to use this man. We will see why God used this kind of a man.”
J. Vernon McGee
“Then the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said: “The LORD is with you, valiant warrior.””
Judges 6:12 CSB
Valiant warrior? You mean the man who is afraid to thresh wheat on top of the hill? Him? Gideon might have looked back to see if the angel of the Lord was talking to someone else. Gideon was not only a coward, but as we will find out, he is also skeptical, pessimistic, and weak! Who says the Bible doesn’t have a sense of humor?
This is a great point, though. The Lord does not see us as we see ourselves. The Lord sees who He created us to be, even when we can’t see it. He sees us for who we are through grace by faith!
“This term can refer to fighting men, but it can also refer to men of prominence and wealth who belong to the upper class and aristocracy of the nation. By applying the term to Gideon, the LORD was obviously preparing Gideon for the commission he was about to receive. Note that it was not the term mighty warrior that stuck in Gideon’s mind; it was the reference to the LORD being with him.”
The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible – Old Testament
Gideon was a practical man. He rightly points out the present struggle of the Israelites to which the Lord once again responds, “I am with you.” These are powerful words. The Bible tells us that if the Lord is with us, no one can stand against us. It was a significant moment for Gideon to know that God had called him, but it is even greater for him to know that God will be with him.
Gideon knows he is incapable of delivering the nation on his own. We are all incapable in our own strength as well. But the Lord was with Him… and the Lord is with us!
“It is important to know that God has sent us but it is even greater to know that He is with us. This was the same assurance God gave to Moses (Exo 3:12) and that Jesus gave all believers (Mat 28:20).”
David Guzik
Do you believe that the Lord is with you today? Do you go about your day with the attitude that the Lord (literally His Holy Spirit) is living inside you?