Shofetim 6

1 And the Bnei Yisroel did evil in the sight of Hashem; Hashem delivered them into the yad Midyan [See Gn.25:2] sheva shanim.

2 And the yad Midyan prevailed against Yisroel; and because of Midyan the Bnei Yisroel made them dens in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds.

3 And so it was, when Yisroel had sown, that Midyan came up, and Amalek, and the Bnei Kedem, even they came up against them;

4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of ha’aretz, till thou come unto Azah (Gaza), and left no sustenance for Yisroel, neither seh, nor ox, nor donkey.

5 For they came up with their cattle and their ohalim, and they came as a swarm of arbeh for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number; and they entered into ha’aretz to destroy it.

6 And Yisroel was greatly impoverished because of Midyan; and the Bnei Yisroel cried unto Hashem.

7 And it came to pass, when the Bnei Yisroel cried unto Hashem because of Midyan,

8 That Hashem sent an ish navi unto the Bnei Yisroel, which said unto them, Thus saith Hashem Elohei Yisroel, I brought you up from Mitzrayim, and brought you forth out of the bais avadim (house of bondage);

9 And I delivered you out of the yad Mitzrayim, and out of the yad of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land;

10 And I said unto you, I am Hashem Eloheichem; fear not the elohei HaEmori (g-ds of the Amorites), in whose land ye dwell; but ye have not obeyed My voice.

11 And there came Malach Hashem, and sat under a terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, that belonged unto Yoash the Aviezri; and bno Gid’on threshed chittim (wheat) in the winepress, to hide it from Midyan.

12 And the Malach Hashem appeared unto him, and said unto him, Hashem is with thee, thou Gibbor HeChayil.

13 And Gid’on said unto him, Oh Adoni, if Hashem be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all His nifla’ot (miracles) which Avoteinu told us of, saying, Did not Hashem bring us up from Mitzrayim? But now Hashem hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of Midyan.

14 And Hashem turned to him, and said, Go in this thy ko’ach, and thou shalt save Yisroel from the yad Midyan; have not I sent thee?

15 And he said unto Him, O Adoni, wherewith shall I save Yisroel? Hinei, my eleph is poor in Menasheh, and I am the least in the Bais Avi.

16 And Hashem said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt strike down Midyan as ish echad.

17 And he said unto Him, If now I have found chen in Thy sight, then show me an ot that Thou speakest with me.

18 Depart not from here, now, until I come unto Thee, and bring forth my minchah, and set it before Thee. And He said, I will tarry until thou come again.

19 And Gid’on went in, and made ready a kid, and matzot of an ephah of flour; the basar he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto Him under the terebinth tree, and presented it.

20 And the Malach HaElohim said unto him, Take the basar and the matzot, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.

21 Then the Malach Hashem put forth the tip of the staff that was in his yad, and touched the basar and the matzot; and there rose up eish from the rock, and consumed the basar and the matzot. Then the Malach Hashem departed out of his sight.

22 When Gid’on perceived that he was the Malach Hashem, Gid’on said, Alas, Adonoi Hashem! I have seen Malach Hashem face to face.

23 And Hashem said unto him, Shalom l’chah; fear not; thou shalt not die.

24 Then Gid’on built a Mizbe’ach there unto Hashem, and called it Hashem Shalom; unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Aviezri.

25 And it came to pass the same night, that Hashem said unto him, Take thy father’s young bull, even the second bull of sheva shanim, and tear down the mizbe’ach of Ba’al that thy av hath, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it;

26 And build a Mizbe’ach unto Hashem Eloheicha upon the top of this rock, in the proper arrangement; take the second bull, offer an olah with the wood of the Asherah pole which thou shalt cut down.

27 Then Gid’on took ten men from his avadim, and did just as Hashem had said unto him; and so it was, because he feared his Bais Avi, and the men of the Ir, that he could not do it yomam (by day), that he did it by lailah.

28 And when the men of the Ir arose early in the boker, hinei, the mizbe’ach of Baal was cast down, and the Asherah was cut down that was beside it, and the second bull was offered upon the Mizbe’ach that was built.

29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gid’on ben Yoash hath done this thing.

30 Then the men of the Ir said unto Yoash, Bring out thy ben, that he may die; because he hath cast down the mizbe’ach of Ba’al, and because he hath cut down the Asherah that was beside it.

31 And Yoash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Ba’al? Will ye save him? He that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet boker; if he be Elohim, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his mizbe’ach.

32 Therefore on that day he called him Yerubaal, saying, Let Baal contend against him, because he hath torn down his mizbe’ach.

33 Then kol Midyan and Amalek and the Bnei Kedem were gathered together, and went over, and encamped in the valley of Yizre’el.

34 But the Ruach [Hakodesh] of Hashem came upon Gid’on; he blew a shofar; and Aviezer was summoned to follow after him.

35 And he sent malachim throughout all Menasheh; who also was gathered after him; and he sent malachim unto Asher, and unto Zevulun, and unto Naphtali; and they went up to meet them.

36 And Gid’on said unto HaElohim, If Thou wilt save Yisroel by my yad, as Thou hast said,

37 Hinei, I will put a fleece of wool in the goren (threshing floor); and if the tal (dew) be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all ha’aretz, then shall I know that Thou wilt save Yisroel by my yad, as Thou hast said.

38 And it was so; for he rose up early on the next day, and squeezed the fleece together, and wrung the tal out of the fleece, a bowl full of mayim.

39 And Gid’on said unto HaElohim, Let not Thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once; let me test, now, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be tal.

40 And Elohim did so that night; for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was tal on all the ground.

Shofetim 6 Commentary

Chapter 6

Israel oppressed by Midianites. (1-6) Israel rebuked by a prophet. (7-10) Gideon set to deliver Israel. (11-24) Gideon destroys Baal's altar. (25-32) Signs given him. (33-40)

Verses 1-6 Israel's sin was renewed, and Israel's troubles were repeated. Let all that sin expect to suffer. The Israelites hid themselves in dens and caves; such was the effect of a guilty conscience. Sin dispirits men. The invaders left no food for Israel, except what was taken into the caves. They prepared that for Baal with which God should have been served, now God justly sends an enemy to take it away in the season thereof.

Verses 7-10 They cried to God for a deliverer, and he sent them a prophet to teach them. When God furnishes a land with faithful ministers, it is a token that he has mercy in store for it. He charges them with rebellion against the Lord; he intends to bring them to repentance. Repentance is real when the sinfulness of sin, as disobedience to God, is chiefly lamented.

Verses 11-24 Gideon was a man of a brave, active spirit, yet in obscurity through the times: he is here stirred up to undertake something great. It was very sure that the Lord was with him, when his Angel was with him. Gideon was weak in faith, which made it hard to reconcile the assurances of the presence of God with the distress to which Israel was brought. The Angel answered his objections. He told him to appear and act as Israel's deliverer, there needed no more. Bishop Hall says, While God calls Gideon valiant, he makes him so. God delights to advance the humble. Gideon desires to have his faith confirmed. Now, under the influences of the Spirit, we are not to expect signs before our eyes such as Gideon here desired, but must earnestly pray to God, that if we have found grace in his sight, he would show us a sign in our heart, by the powerful working of his Spirit there, The Angel turned the meat into an offering made by fire; showing that he was not a man who needed meat, but the Son of God, who was to be served and honoured by sacrifice, and who in the fulness of time was to make himself a sacrifice. Hereby a sign was given to Gideon, that he had found grace in God's sight. Ever since man has by sin exposed himself to God's wrath and curse, a message from heaven has been a terror to him, as he scarcely dares to expect good tidings thence. In this world, it is very awful to have any converse with that world of spirits to which we are so much strangers. Gideon's courage failed him. But God spoke peace to him.

Verses 25-32 See the power of God's grace, that he could raise up a reformer; and the kindness of his grace, that he would raise up a deliverer, out of the family of a leader in idolatry. Gideon must not think it enough not to worship at that altar; he must throw it down, and offer sacrifice on another. It was needful he should make peace with God, before he made war on Midian. Till sin be pardoned through the great Sacrifice, no good is to be expected. God, who has all hearts in his hands, influenced Joash to appear for his son against the advocates for Baal, though he had joined formerly in the worship of Baal. Let us do our duty, and trust God with our safety. Here is a challenge to Baal, to do either good or evil; the result convinced his worshippers of their folly, in praying to one to help them that could not avenge himself.

Verses 33-40 These signs are truly miraculous, and very significant. Gideon and his men were going to fight the Midianites; could God distinguish between a small fleece of Israel, and the vast floor of Midian? Gideon is made to know that God could do so. Is Gideon desirous that the dew of Divine grace might come down upon himself in particular? He sees the fleece wet with dew to assure him of it. Does he desire that God will be as the dew to all Israel? Behold, all the ground is wet. What cause we sinners of the Gentiles have, to bless the Lord that the dew of heavenly blessings, once confined to Israel, is now sent to all the inhabitants of the earth! Yet still the means of grace are in different measures, according to the purposes of God. In the same congregation, one man's soul is like Gideon's moistened fleece, another like the dry ground.

Chapter Summary

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.