Judges 6

CHAPTER 6

Gideon (6:1–40)

1–6 After forty years of peace (Judges 5:31),Israel once again did evil—that is, they began to worship the Canaanite gods. This time, God used the Midianites³¹ to punish Israel. Every harvest time the Midianites and their allies would come into Canaan and plunder the Israelites’ crops and animals. The Israelites became so impoverished that they finally cried out to the Lord for help (verse 6).

7–10 The Lord responded by first sending an unnamed PROPHET to rebuke the Israelites for worshiping the gods of the Amorites (Canaanites), something the Lord had forbidden them to do (Exodus 20:3). The Israelites didn’t deserve to be delivered!

11–13 But then the Lord decided to act on Israel’s behalf by raising up a leader, Gideon, to deliver Israel from the Midianites. The Lord came to Gideon in the form of an angel and told him, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior” (verse 12). Gideon wasn’t a “mighty warrior” yet,³² but he soon would be.

Gideon didn’t think that the Lord was with the Israelites, in view of the way the Midianites were oppressing them. “. . . why has all this happened to us?” Gideon asked. He evidently hadn’t heard the prophet’s message (verse 10).

14–16 The LORD turned to him (verse14); it was indeed the Lord who had appeared to Gideon. And the Lord appointed Gideon to deliver Israel from the hand of the Midianites, just as He had earlier appointed Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt.

"But Lord,’³³ said Gideon (verse 15); he was now beginning to realize that this might be the Lord. However, Gideon at once tried to back away from the assignment, just as Moses had done (Exodus 3:11). “My clan is the weakest and I am the least.” This, of course, was one reason the Lord chose Gideon: the Lord chooses to work through those who are the “weakest” and the “least,” so that no one may boast before him (1 Corinthians 1:26–29).

The Lord reassured Gideon by saying, “I will be with you” (verse 16). That is all the reassurance any of us needs (Matthew 28:20; Romans 8:31).

17 Still slightly uncertain, Gideon asked the Lord for a sign, even as Moses had done (Exodus 4:1–17). It is not wrong to ask the Lord for a sign—for confirmation—when we are about to undertake something for Him. This does not imply a lack of faith; it simply indicates a desire to check one’s guidance before proceeding. The sign the Lord gave is described in verse 21. However, this wasn’t enough for Gideon; later he would ask for two more signs—which did indicate a lack of faith (see verses 36–40).

18–24 Gide on then offered the Lord a gift: a young goat and some unleavened bread made from an ephah (about twenty liters)of wheat. Atthe Lord’s direction, Gide on placed the meat and bread on a rock, where the Lord caused it to be consumed by fire (verse 21). This was the sign Gideon had asked for (verse 17); it was a sign that the Lord had accepted his gift (see Leviticus 9:24).

At this point Gideon fully realized that he had been speaking with the Lord face to face, and he suddenly became afraid he might die (Exodus 33:20). But the Lord told Gideon to be at peace; he would not die. Gideon then built an altar to commemorate his meeting with the Lord (verse 24).

25–27 Before Gideon did anything else, there was one thing he had to do first: tear down the altar to Baal and the Asherah pole that his father had set up (see Exodus 34:13; Deuteronomy 7:5). Gideon knew that in doing this he would anger his fellow Israelites, all of whom had become Baal worshipers; and so Gideon carried out the Lord’s instructions at night (verse 27).

It took faith for Gideon to tear down his father’s altar and to go against his community. In our day, too, we are called to do as Gideon did. We must always put Christ first—above our community, our family, and ourselves (see Matthew 10:34–39; Luke 14:26).

28–32 Gideon’s act did not remain secret for long. The next day the villagers found out that Gideon was the one who had torn down the altar, and they demanded he be put to death. They were the ones who should have been put to death! (see Deuteronomy 13:6–11).

But Gideon’s father refused to put his son to death. He told the angry crowd that if Baal was really a god, he could fight for himself (verse 31). The people evidently agreed; they contented themselves by giving Gideon a new name: Jerub-Baal, which means, “Let Baal contend” (verse 32). The crowd probably expected that Baal himself would put Gideon to death; when this didn’t happen, they began to side with Gideon instead (verses 34–35).

33–35 Then the Midianites and other eastern peoples came into Canaan as they had done before, but this time it appeared as though they were ready for battle. The Spirit of the LORD came up on Gideon (see Judges 3:9–11 and comment), and he blew a trumpet to gather the Israelites to his side (see Judges3:26–27). The Abiezrites—Gideon’s own clansmen, who earlier had wanted to kill him—were the first to respond; in addition, men from the tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali also joined Gideon. Surely this should have given Gideon confidence that the Lord was with him!

36–38 However, Gideon’s faith was still unsteady. He asked the Lord for another sign. This time Gideon specified what he wanted the Lord to do: the Lord was to allow dew to fall on a wool fleece (sheepskin) but not on the ground around it. With great patience and kindness, the Lord did as Gideon asked.

39–40 But this was still not sufficient for Gideon. The fleece would ordinarily absorb more moisture than the hard ground, and also the ground would dry out more quickly; perhaps a miracle hadn’t occurred after all! So Gideon asked God to reverse the miracle and keep the fleece dry but cause the surrounding ground to become wet. And God did so (verse 40).

God had every right to be displeased with Gideon. Even Gideon feared that God would be angry with him (verse 39). But God knew Gideon’s heart. Gideon had already shown that he was willing to obey (verses 25–27). Because of Gideon’s obedience, God gave him the extra assurance he asked for. There is a lesson here for all of us: if we want reassurance from God, we must first demonstrate obedience to His commands. If we are unwilling to obey, God will never give us the assurance that we are in His will. God calls us to step out in faith and obedience based on what we know today; then, as we go forward, He will give us all the reassurance we need. We won’t need to “put out fleeces.”

Should Christians ever “put out fleeces” as Gideon did? The answer is “No.” Gideon was wrong on two counts: first, he manifested a lack of faith; second, he specified what kind of miracle he wanted God to perform—as if he expected God to perform tricks at his command!

The only kind of “fleece” we are entitled to put out is the kind in which God uses ordinary circumstances to guide us. We can say: “If God allows ‘this’ circumstance to happen, then I will do "this’; if He allows ‘that’ circumstance to happen, then I will do ‘that.’” God commonly guides us by common circumstances, and He gives us the wisdom to understand what that guidance is.³⁴

We must not end this chapter on a negative note. Gideon became one of the great heroes of faith (Hebrews 11:32). By his willingness to tear down Baal’s altar he demonstrated his dedication to God and, as a result, won over his family and community—indeed, most of northern Israel. If Christians today acted more like Gideon in this regard, more members of their own families and communities would become followers of Christ. Christ needs dedicated followers who, like Gideon, are willing to face danger and death for His sake—who are willing to take up their cross and follow Him, no matter what the cost (Mark 8:34).

God can use any of us as He used Gideon. Like Gideon, we may start out as fearful people “hiding in wine presses” (verse 11). We may start out doubting God (verse 13) and doubting ourselves (verse 15). Like Gideon, we too may wish for signs and reassurances to strengthen our weak faith (verses 17,36–40). But then, God will give us a test to see if we will obey Him, just as He tested Abraham (Genesis 22:1–19) and later tested Gideon (verses 25–26). And steadily God will prepare us for the work He has given us to do, and He will fill us with His Holy Spirit to enable us to do it (verse 34). Just change a few details and the story of Gideon can be the story of any Christian today. We won’t be called to fight Midianites, but we’ll surely be called to fight other enemies just as bad—false teaching, worldliness, ungodliness, and idolatry³⁵ of every kind; and if we are faithful, God will add our names to His list of “heroes of faith.”