This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may contact us and request that devotion. Please send your request, along with $.50 (p&h) for each page to:
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books of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus are
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COMMENTARY ON GENESIS to the address above.
JUDGES
CHAPTER 6
1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
After the nation was given "rest fory years" (5:31), the next statement is "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord..."
6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;
10 And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.
The Israelites, under the forces of oppression, called upon the Lord for deliverance. First, God sent them a strong reproof by a prophet. We are not given the prophet's name, but the message is very strong. God reminds them that He saved them from slavery, then gave them a great land. The only thing He required was that they drive out the inhabitants and not let their worship be corrupted by the idols of the land (verse 10). Obedience brings blessings, and disobedience brings correction.
10 And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.
11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
Secondly, God sent an "angel of the Lord" (a theophany) to a man called Gideon. Now this man was a descendent of Manasseh. And likely the city or town of Ophrah spoken of here is near Mt. Ebal, and may even be the town of Tzrah which is located in the Western portion of Manasseh's inheritance.
12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
Gideon recognized Who He was for he said, "Oh my LORD.." Then he asked a question, "If You are with us, why are we so oppressed? Where are all Your miracles? You have forsaken us."
15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
Never has God called a man that the man didn't feel unable and unworthy. Gideon was still afraid, and asked another question. "How can I save Israel, I am among the LEAST?" Then the Lord assured Him of His presence, and further states that only ONE man is necessary with God to defeat the enemy!!
18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
Gideon asked the Lord not to leave before he came back with an offering. Gideon when and prepared the offering and brought it before the Lord.
22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.
23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.
Gideon realized for sure then that this had been the Lord Himself, and he was concerned for his safety. He knew that no man could look upon God and live. But God assured Gideon that he would not die (verse 23).
25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:
26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
The Lord told Gideon to tear down the altar to Baal and build a new altar to Jehovah. He was also to take the 2nd prize bull of his father and offer it on the new altar.
30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.
31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.
32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
But Joash asked, "Would you stand to defend Baal? Since Baal is supposed to be a god, let him defend himself." From then on Gideon was referred to as Jerrubaal, which means "let Baal contend with him."
33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him.
Now the armies of the Amalekites and Midianites close in on the valley of Jezreel (valley of Megiddo). Lots of famous battles have been fought there, and one is yet to come.
36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
Now Gideon goes before God in prayer and asks for more proof. This story of the "fleece" (sheepskin) is very interesting. FIRST, he asked that the dew be ON the fleece and not on the ground. God obliged. SECOND, he asked that the dew be on the GROUND and not on the fleece. Again, God obliged.
Please continue to follow along with us in Bible Study.
Again, and again, and again the Bible proves that mankind had the propensity to be lax and apathetic in time of prosperity and peace. It seems we never learn from history. And when we don't learn from history, we repeat it.
The only way to HAVE peace in the world (from oppression) is to be DILIGENT in keeping peace. Nations must prepare defenses (and offenses) even when peace is a reality or it will not remain.
Christians must diligently contend for peace in times of blessings, or peace will soon dissipate. Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus and said,
"I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love: Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."(Ephesians 4:1-3)
As Christians we must continually be prepared against aggression by being people of "lowliness and meekness."
In verse 2 of our text, we see that God allowed the Midianites (who were descendents of Ishmael - and perhaps Essau mixed in) to oppress Israel severely. The Amalikites (descendents of Amalek, grandson of Essau - Syrians) also oppressed them. The nation of Israel was so afraid they hid in caves of the mountains. The armies invaded and ruined the planted crops and took the cattle (verse 4). War usually accompanied by famine.
Sometimes we must battle satanic forces which come against the church; but we must be careful not to leave off studying the Word of God and maintaining the directions God gives us in the Word for the living of our lives.
But they did not obey God. And that's why they received the oppression. Sometimes God has to send trouble before we realize sins of disobedience.
Notice that Gideon was so afraid that he was threshing wheat in a winepress (deep vat) so that he wouldn't be seen by the enemy.
(((What if you were in the yard raking leaves and Jesus appeared?)))
Yet, the angel of the Lord called Gideon a "..mighty man of valour."
But God's answer was, "Go in this thy might...have I not SENT thee?" When God says "GO," we oughta GO! His power IS with us, THAT'S where our "might" comes from.
Do we really believe that? Gideon wanted PROOF> He may have that all this was a dream (verse 17).
When he placed the offering (as instructed) upon the rock, the Lord touched the rock with His staff, and fire came out of the rock and consumed the sacrifice. Then the Lord disappeared.
Then Gideon built an altar and called it "the altar of Jehovah, the God of peace."
When he did this (at night) and it was found out (in the morning), there was an inquisition and Gideon was exposed. The town demanded that Gideon be given up by his father so they could kill him for this outrageous act.
Gideon sounds an alarm call to gather troops (verse 35).
Does God provide "signs" when we need them!! I could tell you some stories!!
However, we must realize that God says it is not of faith, in fact it is evil to SEEK a sign when we already have the assurance of His presence and power.
"And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet." (Luke 11:29)
We all have feelings of inability and unworthiness when it comes to serving God. And when we are faced with severe opposition, we all have feelings of insecurity, and wonder about the "call" of God for specific purposes.
Gideon was not necessarily doubting God (like the people in Luke 11:29, he was simply doubting his "call" for this specific purpose. He sought assurance from God; he was not doubting God.
Let us, as Christians, not doubt our Lord's presence and power; but let us surely seek His guidance in specific spiritual warfare.