6:1 We begin to notice the cycle of Judges: the children of Israel break and then rebuild their covenant with God, over and over again. Peace and rest following the restoration under Deborah's leadership has ended, and the Israelites are under the control of the Midianites.
6:2 The Midiates oppression of Israel causes the Israelites to be destitute, starving and dying in the caves of mountains. Without God, the children of Israel are especially weak. Remember why God chose the Israelites: Deuteronomy 7:7, because they were the fewest. Thus the children of Israel are overwhelmingly outnumbered.
God took compassionate, parental pity on the small group. They had no chance against the surrounding forces. More than a chance, God gave the Israelites the impossible victory over the surrounded forces... but as they have abandoned Him, they have reverted back to their weakened state.
6:3-6 The Midiantes are thorough in oppressing the children of Israel: they destroyed their livelihood which immediately and subsequently destroyed any hope for Israel's resistance effort. What is ironic that that although the Midianites destroyed Israel's physical sustenance, the Israelites themselves destroyed their own spiritual sustenance. And their spiritual sustenance would have made the Midiantes efforts irrelevant.
The children of Israel have a history of surviving the desert, the desolation. God was able to strengthen their bodies and their spirits in the midst of emptiness. Without God, provision is no longer falling from the proverbial sky.
6:7 God's magnanimous nature, however, swoops back in at the earnest plea of His children. Having learned the climate of abandonment, the children of Israel are once against ready to bask in the love and warm of the Lord.
Most fortunate for them, and all of us, God is not deterred by our fickle faith. Though He calls us to be unyielding and steadfast in keeping our eyes on Him, He does not disown us when they flick away. We disown Him and frequently but He continues to declare that we are His... if we choose to be.
6:8-10 The only reprimand the children of Israel receive is the explanation from God for why they are in such horrible condition: they have not obeyed His voice. Faith in God surrounds an individual, and group, in a highly specialized biome. The biome operates perfectly so long as everything within it is aligned. God knows how to orchestrate alignment. When we submit to Him, we submit to perfect alignment. The children of Israel abandoned Him and therefore derailed and destroyed the home of rest that had been established for them.
Nevertheless, God promises to send another prophet (judge) to lead the children of Israel back into alignment.
6:11-12 The angel of the Lord comes to situnder a terebinth tree in Ophrah. The angel presents Him/Itself to Gideon, son of Joash the Abiezrite. Gideon is in a difficult situation, he's threshing wheat in a winepress, trying to hide his efforts from the Midianites.
Gideon is in hiding, in fear, and working hard in a strange place for wheat. Cheerfully, the Angel of the Lord declares: "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!"
6:13 Gideon is... not as exuberant. He's tired. Scared. Oppressed. Hopeless. He cannot possible imagine a scenario in which his current situation makes him mighty or joined with God.
It's an interesting point to pause. As humans, we all experience disheartened moments and even extended periods of discouragement. To have this cheerful greeting in the midst of that grey is amusing. God is in control; He's never scared or discouraged because He can restore and even create the potential of our lives. The angel of the Lord arrives with exuberance because He/It has the vision of God: not just the possibility but the inevitability of triumph.
Gideon sees himself at his lowest point... and in that image, there's no ladder with which to climb out of it. Well, the Angel of the Lord presents a ladder.
Still, Gideon responds in a seemingly petulant way. If God is present, Gideon asks, where are all of the miracles he's heard about from his elders? Why are his people so oppressed?Gideon has never experienced God's nurturing before because his community abandoned God before his birth. Living in a God-less society has made Gideon cynical and frail.
But underneath Gideon's cantankerous disposition is a frightened and confused soul. He hasn't really had the opportunity to have a relationship with God. In our generation, we are able to have personal relationships with God but such was not universally the case for Gideon's generation. One leader or prophet usually spoke and stood on behalf of the people before God. Gideon's leaders and society abandoned God, not the other way around, yet he cannot see that whole picture.
We never can see the whole picture as God can. The circumstance of our lives is often created by the decisions of those who came before us. But we do not have to be so wholly vulnerable to others' actions when we submit our lives to God. Under His authority, we are broken free of tethers.
Gideon's situation is highly personal for another reason: we usually give God all the flak. The blame. The accusations. Gideon does not trust God because he thinks that God has abandoned his people... the beauty of God is that He pushes through the undeserved blame to enter into our lives anyway.
Our God is not the type to cling to a haughty attitude. He does not deserve our accusations but He listens to them. With humility and deep patience He receives our complaint and crankiness... and loves us anyway.
6:14 Now that you've got that off of your back, Gideon, are you ready to endeavor in the purpose of the Lord? The restoration of your life?
The angel of the Lord sends Gideon forward. God gathers all of our pent up energy and then hones it in on a specific life purpose. The angel of the Lord does not change Gideon, he changes the direction of Gideon's might.
Because God wants all of you. He's going to utilize your energy, your personality, your sense of humor, your frustration... everything you have, to make your specific impact on humanity. To Him, it's all beautiful... perhaps just out of place. For example, think of Paul, who severely persecuted Christians. God relocated that ferocious passion and redirected Paul from oppressor of Christians to recruiter of Christians.
6:15 Gideon's response is reminiscent of Moses' response to the call of God: surely you cannot mean measly, little me? It's a good moment to appreciate God's sense of humor. He must get a chuckle out of our reactions to His grand plans.
Gideon is thinking: not only is my clan the weakest of my tribe... I'm the weakest in my own house! Humans are funny, we rarely do realize that our level of strength is irrelevant when paired with God's. Still, Gideon's humility is the component which qualifies him as prophet.
6:16 Paraphrased, the Angel's response is frank and confident: Yep. You.
If Moses' couldn't convince God otherwise, neither can Gideon and neither can we. When He chooses us as a vessel for His will, we will serve as vessels of His goodness.
6:17 Gideon humbly asks for a sign to ultimately convince him that this Angel serious rather than crazy. Gideon's request can be interpreted as weak and even disrespectful but really it's endearingly honest.
After all, the core of Gideon's disbelief is in himself rather than God. A lot of times, we do not doubt God's plan but our own role in carrying and waiting it out. We feel assured that if anything, we would be a hindrance to the plan rather than a proponent of it.
6:18 Gideon is from the start ready and willing to serve the Angel of the Lord. He goes to prepare on offering before he receives the sign. Gideon needs a boost, a sign to take him out of the mindset of slave of the Midiantes to freed child of God. And God will always provide one for his children who seek Him diligently and with their whole hearts.
6:19-21 Returned with his offering, the Angel of God creates fire out of His staff over it. The Angel remained where He was at Gideon's request and then departed once the covenant was made. The physical presence of God departed... but God had never been more present in Gideon's life.
Burnt offerings are a defunct practice for us, Hosea 6:6. But the metaphor of the offering stands for us giving our whole heart and soul to God. The metaphor of the offering is taking the best of what we have and putting it to flame... but because God wants it, but because by doing so we declare that He is our only necessary provision. He is the best of what we have and that nothing is placed above Him in our hearts, homes or hopes.
Having made that declaration, Gideon, and we, are able to seal a personal covenant with God. A covenant through which we will be delivered into the future and hope He has masterfully tailored to us, Isaiah 29:11.
6:22 Gideon is convinced; whatever doubts he has about himself are assuaged by his awe of God. The Angel of the Lord has appeared before Gideon, and thus he joins the ranks of those who have at least been spoken to by Him:
Gideon is in hiding, in fear, and working hard in a strange place for wheat. Cheerfully, the Angel of the Lord declares: "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!"
6:13 Gideon is... not as exuberant. He's tired. Scared. Oppressed. Hopeless. He cannot possible imagine a scenario in which his current situation makes him mighty or joined with God.
It's an interesting point to pause. As humans, we all experience disheartened moments and even extended periods of discouragement. To have this cheerful greeting in the midst of that grey is amusing. God is in control; He's never scared or discouraged because He can restore and even create the potential of our lives. The angel of the Lord arrives with exuberance because He/It has the vision of God: not just the possibility but the inevitability of triumph.
Gideon sees himself at his lowest point... and in that image, there's no ladder with which to climb out of it. Well, the Angel of the Lord presents a ladder.
Still, Gideon responds in a seemingly petulant way. If God is present, Gideon asks, where are all of the miracles he's heard about from his elders? Why are his people so oppressed?Gideon has never experienced God's nurturing before because his community abandoned God before his birth. Living in a God-less society has made Gideon cynical and frail.
But underneath Gideon's cantankerous disposition is a frightened and confused soul. He hasn't really had the opportunity to have a relationship with God. In our generation, we are able to have personal relationships with God but such was not universally the case for Gideon's generation. One leader or prophet usually spoke and stood on behalf of the people before God. Gideon's leaders and society abandoned God, not the other way around, yet he cannot see that whole picture.
We never can see the whole picture as God can. The circumstance of our lives is often created by the decisions of those who came before us. But we do not have to be so wholly vulnerable to others' actions when we submit our lives to God. Under His authority, we are broken free of tethers.
Gideon's situation is highly personal for another reason: we usually give God all the flak. The blame. The accusations. Gideon does not trust God because he thinks that God has abandoned his people... the beauty of God is that He pushes through the undeserved blame to enter into our lives anyway.
Our God is not the type to cling to a haughty attitude. He does not deserve our accusations but He listens to them. With humility and deep patience He receives our complaint and crankiness... and loves us anyway.
6:14 Now that you've got that off of your back, Gideon, are you ready to endeavor in the purpose of the Lord? The restoration of your life?
The angel of the Lord sends Gideon forward. God gathers all of our pent up energy and then hones it in on a specific life purpose. The angel of the Lord does not change Gideon, he changes the direction of Gideon's might.
Because God wants all of you. He's going to utilize your energy, your personality, your sense of humor, your frustration... everything you have, to make your specific impact on humanity. To Him, it's all beautiful... perhaps just out of place. For example, think of Paul, who severely persecuted Christians. God relocated that ferocious passion and redirected Paul from oppressor of Christians to recruiter of Christians.
God sees us walking and He observes that we are steady, quick, and determined walkers. The only thing is... we are usually walking in the wrong direction. A tweak from God can change our entire lives, from backward to forward He redirects us.The angel of the Lord comes to Gideon because Gideon has the potential to be a host for the will of God. Underneath all of the distractions, God can see the potential within us all.
6:15 Gideon's response is reminiscent of Moses' response to the call of God: surely you cannot mean measly, little me? It's a good moment to appreciate God's sense of humor. He must get a chuckle out of our reactions to His grand plans.
Gideon is thinking: not only is my clan the weakest of my tribe... I'm the weakest in my own house! Humans are funny, we rarely do realize that our level of strength is irrelevant when paired with God's. Still, Gideon's humility is the component which qualifies him as prophet.
6:16 Paraphrased, the Angel's response is frank and confident: Yep. You.
If Moses' couldn't convince God otherwise, neither can Gideon and neither can we. When He chooses us as a vessel for His will, we will serve as vessels of His goodness.
6:17 Gideon humbly asks for a sign to ultimately convince him that this Angel serious rather than crazy. Gideon's request can be interpreted as weak and even disrespectful but really it's endearingly honest.
After all, the core of Gideon's disbelief is in himself rather than God. A lot of times, we do not doubt God's plan but our own role in carrying and waiting it out. We feel assured that if anything, we would be a hindrance to the plan rather than a proponent of it.
6:18 Gideon is from the start ready and willing to serve the Angel of the Lord. He goes to prepare on offering before he receives the sign. Gideon needs a boost, a sign to take him out of the mindset of slave of the Midiantes to freed child of God. And God will always provide one for his children who seek Him diligently and with their whole hearts.
6:19-21 Returned with his offering, the Angel of God creates fire out of His staff over it. The Angel remained where He was at Gideon's request and then departed once the covenant was made. The physical presence of God departed... but God had never been more present in Gideon's life.
Burnt offerings are a defunct practice for us, Hosea 6:6. But the metaphor of the offering stands for us giving our whole heart and soul to God. The metaphor of the offering is taking the best of what we have and putting it to flame... but because God wants it, but because by doing so we declare that He is our only necessary provision. He is the best of what we have and that nothing is placed above Him in our hearts, homes or hopes.
Having made that declaration, Gideon, and we, are able to seal a personal covenant with God. A covenant through which we will be delivered into the future and hope He has masterfully tailored to us, Isaiah 29:11.
6:22 Gideon is convinced; whatever doubts he has about himself are assuaged by his awe of God. The Angel of the Lord has appeared before Gideon, and thus he joins the ranks of those who have at least been spoken to by Him:
- Hagar Genesis 16:10
- Abraham Genesis 18:1
- Jacob Genesis 31:11
- Moses Exodus 3:6
- Joshua Joshua 5:13-15
- Samson's parents Judges 13:21,22
6:23-24 This is a beautiful bonding moment between Gideon and God. Gideon reaches a point of trust and familiarity with God. Psalm 46:10 tells us to rest in knowledge that God is God. That statement, that truth only brings comfort if we know who our God is. For when we know our God, when we are familiar with His gentle and patience nature, we understand why His authority is a blessing.
The name of God is used here, the tetragrammation YHVH. Yahveh, meaning: I am. This descriptive name of God explains to us that God is, was, has been and will be. Steadily. Eternally.
Gideon builds an altar for our YHVH and God makes this promise to His servant Gideon: Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die. We can so benefit from these personal moments between God and one of His children. He loves us each with the same compassion and therefore when we comforts Gideon, we know that He offers us the same balm.
This life is not our life, even though we have named it as such. This experience on earth is a journey. No oppressor can kill a child of the God of life. Our eternal soul is preserved by Him and untouchable to anyone else.
6:25-27 Immediately we understand why God gave Gideon such reassurance: his first act for the will of God is a bold and dangerous one. Gideon is instructed to destroy the altar for baal (the fake god of the corrupt Midianites) and replace it with an altar for our true God.
The action will ignite a violent reaction from Gideon's oppressors. Without hesitation, Gideon follows the command and destroys the altar during the night, in an effort to keep his father out of harm's way.
The action will ignite a violent reaction from Gideon's oppressors. Without hesitation, Gideon follows the command and destroys the altar during the night, in an effort to keep his father out of harm's way.
6:28-30 The Midianites identify Gideon as the culprit and they command his father, Joash to turn Gideon in to be killed.
6:31-32 In a true act of parental valor, Joash refuses the command. Joash even takes his refusal a step further by mocking the Midianites god, baal. Joash tells them that if their god is so real and powerful, it should be able to defend itself. If it were a true god, it could not have been destroyed by one young man. Joash gives Gideon the nickname Jerubbaal meaning: let baal plead against him (rather than these men).
6:33-35 Incensed, the Midianites and Amalekites gather in a war effort against the children of Israel. But God is prepared and prepares His children's defense.
6:31-32 In a true act of parental valor, Joash refuses the command. Joash even takes his refusal a step further by mocking the Midianites god, baal. Joash tells them that if their god is so real and powerful, it should be able to defend itself. If it were a true god, it could not have been destroyed by one young man. Joash gives Gideon the nickname Jerubbaal meaning: let baal plead against him (rather than these men).
6:33-35 Incensed, the Midianites and Amalekites gather in a war effort against the children of Israel. But God is prepared and prepares His children's defense.
6:36 Gideon's life has changed dramatically. In an effort to cope with the change and sudden requirement of strength and courage, he makes another plea to God.
Is this a sign of Gideon having weak faith? We can only speculate. However it seems as though Gideon is prepared to completely lay himself down on behalf for the children of Israel before God. The courage he is lacking, seems to be in himself rather than God. And God chose Gideon, and is therefore willing to work with all of Gideon... every flaw and shortcoming. God does not expect us to be perfect because He knows we are not.
Is this a sign of Gideon having weak faith? We can only speculate. However it seems as though Gideon is prepared to completely lay himself down on behalf for the children of Israel before God. The courage he is lacking, seems to be in himself rather than God. And God chose Gideon, and is therefore willing to work with all of Gideon... every flaw and shortcoming. God does not expect us to be perfect because He knows we are not.
6:37 Gideon places fleece of wool on the floor and asks God to soak it with dew but leave the rest of the ground dry. A consistent metaphor throughout the bible is ourselves as sheep and God as our shepherd. By laying his fleece down before God, Gideon has sheared himself, he has given his whole self to God.
Similarly, dew is a recurring symbol for God's will, love and wisdom, Deuteronomy 32:2. Gideon asks God to completely soak him with divine will, love and wisdom. This is a moment of pure faith and submission.
6:38 As he asked, Gideon finds that it was answered: the fleece is full of dew. This is God's declaration: I am here. I see you. I will be with you.
6:39 Gideon asks God to have patience with him for he has another request. Gideon wants to repeat the action with the fleece; this time, he wants to feel that God will not only be with Him but also with the children of Israel.
At heart, Gideon's request is selfless; he wants to ensure that his people will also receive blessed direction and protection from God. Gideon asks God to soak the area around the fleece (signifying the people around Gideon).
6:40 God soaks the ground that night. And every night that there is a child praying to Him, asking to be a vessel and instrument of His will.
