Judges Chapter 6 Part Three (Verses 14-21)

2. (Judges 6:14-16) Gideon's call to God's service
The LORD looked at him and said, "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?" He said to Him, "O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house." But the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you and you shall defeat Midian as one man."

The LORD looked at him and said: Verse 14 commissions Gideon as a shophet (a judge or deliverer). God says that Gideon will rescue Israel from the hands of Midian. He goes on to tell Gideon that he has the strength to do what must be done.

O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel: Gideon is skeptical about God's response. Gideon explains that he has no means to save Israel. And even if he did, he comes from one of the poorest families in his tribe (Manasseh), and he is the youngest male in the household. Gideon is not saying he will not answer the call. He is saying he has no status to be the deliverer of Israel. Gideon cannot imagine how such an assignment is possible.

Gideon's response reminds me much of Saul's response when Samuel's speaks to Saul for the first time before anointing him king of Israel.

Saul replied, "Am I not a Benjamin, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?" (1 Samuel 9:21)

Surely I will be with you and you shall defeat Midian as one man: God answers Gideon's objections. God informs Gideon that he will succeed because God will be with him. It will be God's doing and God's strength that envelope Gideon. It will not be Gideon's personal and human abilities which will bring success. Moreover, the LORD says that it will be as though the entire Midian army is as but one man.


3. (Judges 6:17-21) A sign from the Angel of the LORD
So Gideon said to Him, "If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me. Please do not depart form 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. Then Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the oak tree and presented them. The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And he did so. Then the angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.

If now I have found favor in Your sight: In verse 17 begins the famous and often told story of Gideon's request for a sign from God. Gideon was still not entirely convinced of whom he was speaking with. Was this traveler merely a godly man, was he a heavenly messenger of God or was it actually God? I can completely identify with Gideon's dilemma. If God appeared right in front of me, I am not sure I could accept it. I have no idea what God in the visible form would look like. Most Believers would say, "That is easy! He would look like Jesus." Fine. But what did Jesus look like?

I would be wondering if my imagination was playing tricks on me. Was my own evil inclination deceiving me? Was it a dream or a hallucination? It would be so unexpected. I would feel unworthy; I would need some kind of proof that my limited mind and flesh-bound humanness could feel confident that this was truly God.

Yet, in another way, Gideon knew what was happening was not a common occurrence. He responded in a rather knee-jerk reaction that would have been appropriate from folks of that time period. He wanted to bring an offering to this god or god apparition. Everyone knew that gods expected gifts and offerings. Naturally, he also responded by offering what was standard fare in Hebrew culture, and what was connected with the Law of Moses. Essentially, Gideon combined the customary Middle Eastern hospitality of offering a guest some food along with showing a submissive respect to this god or agent of god. Thus, the meal Gideon prepared for this single individual was ENORMOUS! Gideon made unleavened bread from a full ephah of flour, meaning it would have been around 40 pounds of bread plus he also brought an entire kid goat.

Please do not depart from here, until I come back to You, and bring out my offering: It is interesting that the Hebrew used for this gift offering of food was minchah. According to the Torah, a minchah offering is the grain offering that accompanies an olah (or burnt) offering. However, over time, the use of the term minchah also came to mean a rather generic, all-occasion voluntary gift (not necessarily for sacrifice). It usually consisted of food. Judaism today uses the term in this way.

Gideon was acting largely within the every day customary Middle Eastern understanding as much as he was operating within the laws of Moses. It was understood that if you wanted something from a god, you first had to give him a gift. Gideon wanted a sign. So, he offered the gift as a prerequisite in hopes of receiving that sign. It is always amazing how the LORD will, in His mercy and grace, work within the beliefs and customs of humans (in all of our various cultures), and He will usually not rebuke us for our ignorance.

He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot: Gideon believes the meal he was offering was going to be literally eaten as opposed to being given as a sacrifice. This can be seen in the way Gideon presents the food in a basket and in a pot.

Take the meat and unleavened bread and lay them on this rock: The angel of the LORD accepts the food and instructs Gideon to take the meat and lay it on a rock. He then was to pour the broth over the top of it all. It was about now that Gideon must have started to realize more fully that he was dealing with someone greater than a human.

The angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff: Next, the angel of the LORD reaches out with His staff, touches the offering and fire shoots up out of the rock. The food is completely consumed by the fire. If that does not cause much angst and consternation, the angel of the LORD just suddenly evaporates before Gideon's eyes!