Judges: 6:1-8:35 Gideon
| 6:1-6 Oppression by the Midianites. |
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The news of renewed apostasy in v 1 comes as a shock after the high praise of the preceding chapter. It confronts us in a particularly striking way with the fickleness of the Israelites, who cannot for long resist the attraction of other gods no matter how much the Lord exerts himself on their behalf. The Gideon episode explores this problem more fully than previous episodes have done.
Barak’s victory over the Canaanite chariot forces had opened the broad, fertile Jezreel Valley to Israelite settlement and the cultivation of crops. A different kind of enemy then appeared in the same area and a new struggle for control of it ensued. This time the Israelites were punished by being subjected to repeated raids by Midianites and others who swept across the land like locusts, devouring and destroying everything in their path. With their means of sustenance destroyed, the Israelites were reduced to a pitiful state, living in dens and caves like animals. In their desperation they appealed, as usual, to the Lord.
Notes. 1 Midianites were desert dwellers from northwest Arabia, related to the Israelites through Abraham (Gn. 25:1-5). 3 On Amalekites see on 3:13. Other eastern peoples refers to other nomadic tribes from Arabia and Syria (see Gn. 29:1). 4 Gaza was on the Mediterranean coast in the south. 5 Largescale domestication of the camel (a recent development) made long-range raids possible.
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| 6:7-10 A prophet sent to rebuke Israel. |
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In a surprising development, Yahweh did not respond to Israel’s cry for help by immediately sending them a deliverer. Instead he sent a prophet to tell them that by their behaviour they had forfeited all right to deliverance. The prophet’s speech ended on this note of indictment, leaving it unclear what the Lord intended to do. It was a tense moment, when Israel’s fate hung in the balance. Only grace could save them.
Note. 10 For Amorites see on 1:34.
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| 6:11-24 The ‘angel of the Lord’ commissions Gideon. |
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With the arrival of the angel it became clear that the Lord intended to save Israel once again, and that his chosen instrument on this occasion was Gideon, whose call followed the same pattern as that of Moses in Ex. 3. Like Moses, he received his call while he was in hiding from the enemy, doing menial work to keep his family alive (11). Like Moses, he was told that the Lord was sending him on a mission (14). He protested, as Moses did, that he was inadequate for the task (15). He received the same promise as Moses received, ‘I will be with you’ (16), and, like Moses, he received a sign to confirm his call (17). Finally, miraculous fire signalled God’s presence (21), as it did in the call of Moses. So the message is clear: Gideon was to be used by God to save Israel from the Midianites, just as Moses was used to save Israel from the Egyptians. The God of the exodus has come to Israel’s rescue again.
Notes. 11 Ophrah was in the territory of Manasseh, but is otherwise unknown. The two references to Ophrah in vs 11 and 24 frame the description of Gideon’s call. The Abiezrite. From ‘Abiezer’ a clan belonging to the tribe of Manasseh (Jos. 17:2). 12 For angel of the Lord see on 2:1. 15 Lord means ‘Sir’ (see the niv mg.). Gideon did not yet recognize his visitor. 22 It was only at this point that Gideon realized who he had been speaking to, and his fear stemmed from his knowledge of the rules of holiness (cf. 13:22, and see Ex. 33:20). But the Lord at once reassured him (23). Gideon had been accorded a rare privilege; the Lord had appeared to him but spared his life. 24 The Lord is Peace (Heb. salom). This echoes the Lord’s reassuring ‘Peace!’ in the previous verse. The altar commemorated the particular revelation of God that took place there (cf. Gn. 28:16-19).
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| 6:25-32 Gideon pulls down the altar of Baal. |
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Gideon’s enlistment by the Lord immediately projected him into a head-on confrontation with his own family and clan, for they had become Baal worshippers, something that the Lord would not tolerate. The Lord’s altar and Baal’s altar could not stand side-by-side, for this was a direct contradiction of the very first commandment, ‘You shall have no other gods besides me’ (Ex. 20:3; niv mg.) Parallels to this kind of predicament are often found today when people’s commitment to Christ sets them against their families’ wishes or principles.
Gideon, fearful of the consequences, carried out the Lord’s orders under cover of darkness and with the help of his servants. The men of the town were outraged at the destruction of Baal’s altar, and Gideon was saved from death only by the quick thinking of his father who, faced with defending Baal’s honour or saving his son, unhesitatingly chose in favour of his son (31). Miraculously, Gideon emerged as a hero. In effect he had been reborn, and in recognition of this was given a new name which marked him as living proof of Baal’s powerlessness (see note on v 32). Gideon had begun his career by driving Baal from the field, and the stage was now set for him to rally the Israelite militia to fight a holy war against the external, human foe, the Midianites (33-35).
Notes. 25 The choice of the second bull (also in v 26) was apparently an act of grace whereby the clan was spared the loss of their prime breeding bull. On the Asherah pole see the niv mg. and comments on 2:13 and 3:7. 26 On a proper kind of altar see the niv mg. and cf. Ex. 20:25-26). 27 As the son of the clan head Gideon was a man of some wealth and influence (cf. vs 12, 14), despite his self-effacing words in v 15. 31 Cf. Elijah’s challenge to Baal’s followers at a later time (1 Ki. 19:27) 32 The name Jerub-Baal (see the niv mg.) is a challenge to Baal to act if he can.
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| 6:33-35 Gideon rallies the fighting men. |
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Gideon soon showed that he was not lacking in resourcefulness when it came to uniting the scattered Israelites in a common cause and commanding them in the field. With the fighting men of his own clan, the Abiezrites, firmly consolidated as his power base (34), he called for wider support, first from Manasseh as a whole (35a) and then from the neighbouring northern tribes who had common cause with his own against the invaders (35b). But this was not human resourcefulness alone. He was a man who had been taken over and energized by the Spirit of the Lord (34).
Note. 33 See the comments and notes on vs 1-6. The implication of this verse is that, militarily, things have now come to a head and an outright battle is inevitable.
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| 6:36-40 Gideon seeks reassurance by putting out a fleece. |
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It was common practice in the ancient world to seek last-minute confirmation of divine support before a battle was joined (cf. 1 Ki. 22:6-28). But given the assurances Gideon had already received, his action was more an expression of unbelief than of faith, as Gideon himself virtually admitted by his opening wods, ‘If you will save Israel… as you have promised…’ (36). Cf. also v 39: ‘Do not be angry with me…’. God’s positive response to Gideon’s repeated experiment with the fleece was a gracious concession to his weak faith rather than an indication that God was pleased with him for seeking reassurance in this way. Similar actions by Christians today should not be necessary, but God in his mercy sometimes responds to such calls for reassurance.
Note. 39 Making the fleece dry was a greater miracle, since, supposing dew fell on both, the hard floor would ordinarily dry more quickly than the fleece.
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| 7:1-8 The reduction of Gideon’s fighting force to three hundred. |
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Gideon’s fighting force was reduced to 300 (the rest were made reservists) so that Israel would not be able to boast that their own strength had saved them (2). But along with this drastic reduction came a further word of assurance to Gideon: ‘With the three hundred… I will save you’ (7).
Notes. 1 The spring of Harod (‘spring of trembling’, cf. v 3) was on the south side of the Valley of Jezreel (see on 1:29). The hill of Moreh (‘hill of the teacher’) was directly opposite, at a point where the valley narrowed. 3 The only Gilead we know of elsewhere in the OT is a mountainous region east of the Jordan (see on 5:17), but that does not fit the context here. Either this is another Mount Gilead or, as some suggest, the text originally read ‘Mount Gilboa’ (see 1 Sa. 28:4), but was accidentally changed in transmission. On thousand see on 5:8. 5-6 The text of these verses seems to have suffered in transmission. The original distinction must have been between those who knelt and drank from their hands, and those (the 300) who put their faces to the water and lapped like dogs. Thus, it was probably the most unlikely who were chosen, to make it even clearer that the victory was no human achievement.
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| 7:9-15 Gideon goes down to the Midianite camp at night. |
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In this final scene before the battle the Lord, realizing that Gideon would be too fearful to spy out the enemy camp alone, even at night, gave him permission in advance to take this servant Purah with him for moral support. (This night scene recalls the earlier one in 6:27-32.) They were shown that the feared Midianites were in fact in a state of near panic; the Lord had unsettled them with nightmares which had convinced them that their cause was lost (13-14). So Gideon took heart and settled on a plan to stampede them. But it was clear that there would be no real fight; God had already given the enemy into Gideon’s hand (14-15).
Note. 13 Barley was the most common cereal crop in Palestine and the staple food of the poorer people. The dream confirmed the point of the water test of vs 1-7, that the Lord would achieve a great victory with the most unpromising material.
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| 7:16-25 The rout of the Midianites. |
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Divine sovereignty and human responsibility go hand in hand here, as they always do in Scripture. Although the victory was God-given, shrewd tactics also played an important part. Gideon showed great skill in deploying his small band in such a way as to create the impression of a huge force surrounding the enemy camp. And the cry of Gideon’s men, ‘A sword for the Lord and for Gideon’ (20), played upon the fears already instilled in the Midianites by the dream of vs 13-14. It was all too much for them. In panic and confusion they first turned their swords on one another, and then fled in disarray towards the Jordan, only to find their escape route blocked by the reservists that Gideon had called up (24-25). The capture and execution of two of their leaders shows just how devastating a defeat they had suffered (25). We may reflect that today God still works, by his Spirit, with the most unpromising material to accomplish his purposes.
Notes. 16 Trumpets, jars and torches were strange weapons indeed - but effective! It is possible that the 300 did not have any real weapons at all, and they do not appear to have done any fighting (see v 21). 20 ‘A sword for the Lord’ threatened death by the sword, but ironically it was the swords of the Midianites themselves which turned out to be ‘for the Lord’ (22). 22 All the places mentioned in this verse and v 24 were in or near the Jordan Valley. 25 Oreb and Zeeb mean ‘Raven’ and ‘Wolf’, respectively. The places where they were killed were subsequently named after them, and were so known in the author’s own time.
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| 8:1-3 The Ephraimites challenge Gideon. |
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Ephraim and Manasseh were the two leading tribes of the central sector of Israel (see on 1:22-36), and it was probably for this reason that the Ephraimites felt slighted by the fact that Gideon (who was from Manasseh) did not include them in his initial call-up (6:34-35). But Gideon had not yet completed the war with the Midianites, at least to his own satisfaction (4-5) and could not afford an all-out rift in his own ranks at this crucial stage. The Ephraimites had in fact done very well and had every right to be proud. When Gideon pointed this out to them their anger with him subsided. It is a classic example of a gentle answer turning away wrath (Pr. 15:1). Contrast Jephthah’s reaction to the same group in 12:1-6.
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| 8:4-21 Gideon’s pursuit and capture of Zebah and Zalmunna. |
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In this second phase of the war, which took place east of the Jordan, Gideon appears in a strange new light. His stated purpose was to capture Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian (5), and he pressed towards this goal with frenzied determination despite the hunger and weariness of his men and the refusal of the leaders of Succoth and Peniel to give him support. He expected these two kings to be given into his hand as surely as Oreb and Zeeb had been (7), but there is no indication of any involvement by Yahweh in the matter (cf. 8:11-12 with 7:21-22).
Gideon’s humility and caution completely disappear. He now throws diplomacy to the wind, demanding support with threats of retribution on those who fail to give it (7-8). And in marked contrast to the earlier phase of Gideon’s career, there is no longer any reference to the Lord being involved in what he does. It is clear that what he now achieves is by his own strength of character and tactical skill, not by reliance upon the Lord. His actions against Succoth and Peniel anticipate the similar, more brutal actions of his son Abimelech against Shechem and Thebez (cf. vs 15-17 with 9:46-49). At length, the reason for Gideon’s frenzied pursuit of Zebah and Zalmunna is revealed: they had killed his brothers in some earlier battle, and Gideon has been intent on squaring accounts with them (18-19). Finally, Jether, Gideon’s son, who is introduced unexpectedly in v 20, serves to highlight the change that has taken place in his father. Gideon’s earlier diffidence is mirrored in Jether, who hesitates when he is told to kill the prisoners, because… he was afraid (20). Gideon himself, by way of contrast, has the bearing of a prince (18), and is a man of strength (21).
Notes. 5 The place was named Succoth (‘shelters’) because Jacob had once encamped there (Gn. 33:17). It was on the lower reaches of the Jabbok River, just east of the Jordan. 8 Peniel (‘face of God’) was so named by Jacob because God had appeared to him there (Gn. 28:30). It was just a few miles to the east of Succoth. 10 Karkor was east of the Dead Sea, well beyond the limits of Israelite settlement. On fifteen thousand see on 5:8. 11 The location of Nobah is unknown. Jogbehah was seven miles north-west of modern Amman. 13 The location of the Pass of Heres is unknown.
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| 8:22-27 Gideon’s rule over Israel. |
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The Israelites proposed that Gideon should be more than a judge; he should rule like a king, and his sons should succeed him (22). Gideon had been behaving more and more like a king since he had crossed the Jordan, and it seemed only right to his followers that he should now become one. Their reason was that he had saved Israel. But this was a fundamental misconception, which Gideon’s own recent behaviour had helped to produce. It was the Lord, not Gideon, who had saved Israel. The danger all along had been that the people would fail to give the Lord the credit for their deliverance (see especially 7:2), and this was precisely what they now did. When it was put to him in this way Gideon quite correctly rejected the offer, and his request for materials to make an ephod (see below) was entirely in keeping with his statement that it was the Lord himself who would rule Israel. If the Lord was to rule he must be inquired of, and it was apparently with the intention of making such inquiry possible that Gideon made an ephod and put it in Ophrah, where the Lord had first appeared to him. But it was an act of piety that went wrong, for the ephod became a virtual idol, and Gideon and his family became involved in the false worship associated with it. After starting so well, Gideon ended by inadvertently plunging Israel back into apostasy.
Notes. 24 Ishmaelites is a general term for the Bedouin of the desert region east of the Jordan, of which the Midianites were one group (see Gn. 16:12, 37:28, 36). 27 An ephod was a priestly garment with two stones (the Urim and Thummim) in the breastpiece, used for obtaining yes-no answers from God (see Ex. 28:28-30; 1 Sa. 23:6-12).
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| 8:28-35 The death of Gideon and the birth of Abimelech. |
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Gideon’s positive legacy to Israel was forty years of peace (28), during which he apparently retired into private life (29) in keeping with his assertion that the Lord, not he, was to rule Israel. But Gideon’s lifestyle (many wives, seventy sons and a concubine) was far more like that of a ruler than of a private citizen. There was a disturbing discrepancy between his public pronouncements and his private practice. His negative legacy to Israel was apostasy and violence. After his death, the idolatry associated with the ephod which he had set up quickly developed into full-scale Baal worship (33), and his son Abimelech (see the note on v 31) showed that he had none of his father’s scruples about the acquisition and exercise of power. Vs 28-35 as a whole serve as a bridge to the account of Abimelech’s career which follows in ch. 9. What Gideon had secretly coveted his son seized with bloody force.
Notes. 31 The meaning of Abimelech (‘my father is king’) is a telling comment on Gideon’s ambivalent attitude to kingship. 33 Baal-Berith (‘Baal of the covenant’) was the god worshipped at Shechem, Abimelech’s home town. The name suggests a cult which was part Canaanite and part Israelite.
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from New Bible Commentary,
used with permission
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