Judges 6:14

14 The LORD ^[a] turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Am I not sending you?”

Judges 6:14 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 6:14

And the Lord looked upon him
The same before called the angel of the Lord, and who was no other than Jehovah himself; who looked upon him with great earnestness, and with great delight and pleasure smiled upon him, and thereby showing he had a kindness for him, and meant well to him: and

said unto him, go in this thy might;
both of body and mind, which had been before given unto him, and was now increased, and which no doubt Gideon was sensible of:

and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites;
as he did, and therefore justly reckoned among the saviours and judges of Israel:

have not I sent thee?
to do this great work, save the people of Israel, from whence Gideon might perceive who it was that talked with him, and having a command and commission from God, had authority enough to go about this service.

Judges 6:14 In-Context

12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

13 “Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”

14 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Am I not sending you?”

15 “Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”

16 “Surely I will be with you,” the LORD replied, “and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man.”

Footnotes

• [a]. LXX The angel of the LORD or The Angel of the LORD; also in verse 16