Judges 6:8-18

8 that the LORD sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and ¹he said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery.

9 'I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before * you and gave you their land,

10 and I said to you, "I am the LORD your God; you ²shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have not obeyed * Me.""'

Gideon Is Visited

11 Then ³the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the ⁴Abiezrite as his son ⁵Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites.

12 The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior."

13 Then 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 ⁶now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian."

14 The LORD looked at him and said, "⁷Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?"

15 ⁸He said to Him, "O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in ⁹Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house."

16 ¹⁰But the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man."

17 So Gideon said to Him, "If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me ¹¹a sign that it is You who speak with me.

18 "Please do not depart from here, until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You." And He said, "I will remain until you return."

Judges 6:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 6

In this chapter we have an account of the distressed condition Israel was in through the Midianites, Jud 6:1-6, of a prophet being sent unto them to reprieve them for their sins, Jud 6:7-10 of an angel appearing to Gideon, with an order to him to go and save Israel out of the hands of the Midianites, Jud 6:11-16 and of a sign given him by the angel, whereby he knew this order was of God, Jud 6:17-24, and of the reformation from idolatry in his father's family he made upon this, throwing down the altar of Baal, and building one for the Lord, Jud 6:25-32, and of the preparation he made to fight the Midianites and others, Jud 6:33-35, but first desired a sign of the Lord, that Israel would be saved by his hand, which was granted and repeated, Jud 6:36-40.

Cross References

• 1. Judges 2:1, 2
• 2. 2 Kings 17:35; Jeremiah 10:2
• 3. Judges 2:1; Judges 6:14; Judges 13:3
• 4. Joshua 17:2; Judges 6:15
• 5. Hebrews 11:32
• 6. Judges 6:1; Psalms 44:9
• 7. Hebrews 11:32-34
• 8. Exodus 3:11
• 9. Judges 6:11
• 10. Exodus 3:12; Joshua 1:5
• 11. Judges 6:37; Isaiah 38:7, 8

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "slaves"
• [b]. Lit "listened to My voice"
• [c]. Or "terebinth"
• [d]. Or "turned toward"
• [e]. Lit "with what"
• [f]. Lit "smite"
• [g]. Lit "he"