Gideon
INTRO:
6:1a. The downward cycles (see the sketch near 2:11–15) of apostasy (again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; cf. 3:7, 12; 4:1) and deliverance continued in the case of Gideon whose judgeship receives the most extensive narration in the Book of Judges (100 verses comprising three chapters). The story of Samson is comparable, consisting of 96 verses in four chapters.
Of all the accounts of deliverance in the Book of Judges, none is more complete nor complex than the story of Gideon. It is evident even from a casual reading that the account divides into two major parts, the actual account of Israel’s deliverance from the Midianite oppression under the leadership of Gideon (6:1–8:35) and the story of his son Abimelech (9:1–57).
13. After Gideon’s death one of his sons, Abimelech, seizes the throne in Shechem and consolidates his control by having all potential sibling rivals (save Jotham) killed.
14. Shortly after Abimelech’s seizure of the throne, the land is wracked by civil war, which climaxes in the death of Abimelech at the hands of a woman.
Moses joins the Midianite clan of Jethro after fleeing Egypt (see comment on Ex 2:15), but the Midianites do not join the Israelites in the conquest of Canaan. In the Balaam narrative the Midianite elders are allied with the Moabites and participate in the hiring of the prophet to curse Israel (Num 22:4). Midianite territory originally centered in the region east of the Gulf of Aqaba in northwest Arabia, but Midianites ranged west into the Sinai Peninsula as well as north into Transjordan in various periods. Though their early history appears to be seminomadic or Bedouin in nature, archaeological study has revealed villages, walled cities and extensive irrigation in this region beginning as early as the Late Bronze period (the time of the exodus and the early judges). There is, so far, no reference to the Midianites in ancient texts, though they are sometimes identified with the Shasu mentioned frequently in Egyptian literature.
Amalekites. See the comment on Numbers 24:20. The Amalekites wandered through vast stretches of land in the Negev, Transjordan and Sinai peninsula. The are unattested outside the Bible, and no archaeological remains can be positively linked to them. However, archaeological surveys of the region have turned up ample evidence of nomadic and seminomadic groups like the Amalekites during this period.
prophet. This is the first unnamed prophet in the biblical text. For discussion of various aspects of prophecy and prophets see the comments on Deuteronomy 18:14–22. Here he is seen as a defender of the covenant, and his message focuses on worshiping Yahweh exclusively. Ancient Near Eastern prophets often had messages that included admonitions regarding who should receive worship and how.
threshing wheat in a winepress. Threshing floors were large areas of dirt or stone that were usually out in the open so that the breezes could be used to blow away the chaff. They would generally be used by the whole community. Threshing was done mostly in June and July, using a stick or by walking cattle over the sheaves. A winepress was a square or circular pit hollowed out of rock big enough for a few people to walk around in. Threshing activity in a winepress would be much less conspicuous than on a threshing floor.
6:12b–13. The Angel’s introductory remark affirmed the Lord’s presence with Gideon (you is sing.) and described Gideon as a mighty warrior (“mighty man of valor”; KJV; the words gibbôr ḥāyil are also applied to Jephthah, 11:1; and to Boaz, Ruth 2:1). Though this description may have been spoken in satire (at this point Gideon was anything but a mighty warrior!), it probably reflected Gideon’s potentiality through divine enablement, as well as expressing his notable rank in the community.
Gideon’s initial response ignored the singular pronoun “you” (Jud. 6:12), for he replied, If the LORD is with us (pl. pronoun). Gideon questioned the divine promise in view of his people’s present circumstances. He correctly concluded, however, that the LORD had put them into the hand of Midian.
6:14. “The Angel of the LORD” (vv. 11–12) now spoke as the LORD and commissioned Gideon to Go … and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. The words the strength you have perhaps assumed the divine presence previously mentioned (v. 12).
6:15. But, Gideon objected, My clan is the weakest … and I am the least. This objection might have stemmed from typical Near-Eastern humility, but perhaps it also reflected a good amount of reality.
6:16. God’s reassurance reaffirmed His presence with Gideon (I will be with you) and the ease with which he would accomplish victory over the Midianites (as if they were but one man).
6:17–21. Gideon requested a sign to confirm the Lord’s promise. This request was granted (cf. v. 21). Meanwhile Gideon’s uncertainty regarding the exact identity of his supernatural Visitor prompted him to offer typical Near-Eastern hospitality. The word for offering or gift (minḥâh), which he proposed to set … before the Visitor, could refer to a freewill offering in Israel’s sacrificial system, or it could refer to tribute offered as a present to a king or other superior (cf. 3:15). The large amount of food prepared by Gideon—goat’s meat and broth, and bread made from an ephah (one-half bushel) of flour—reflected both his wealth in a destitute time and the typical excessiveness of Near-Eastern hospitality. He no doubt planned to take the leftovers home for his family! But the Angel of the LORD touched the food offering with the tip of His staff and consumed it by fire, thus providing the sign Gideon had requested (6:17; cf. Lev. 9:24; 1 Kings 18:38). Then the Angel … disappeared.
The strength of Midianite oppression forced the Israelites to hide themselves and their produce in mountain clefts, caves, and strongholds. However, this was not a continual occupation (like the preceding one of the Canaanites) but a seasonal invasion at harvesttime, whenever the Israelites planted their crops. The Midianites’ major goal was the appropriation of the crops for themselves and their animals. But the cumulative effect of these invasions on Israelite agriculture and food cycles was devastating. Midianite allies included the Amalekites (from south of Judah; cf. 3:13) and other eastern peoples, a general term for the nomads of the Syrian desert, possibly including some Ammonites and Edomites. On these annual predatory invasions, in typical nomadic style, the oppressors camped on the land in such numbers and with such devastation that they were compared to swarms of locusts (cf. 7:12). The Midianites and their allies traveled on innumerable camels (cf. 7:12) whose range of distance and speed (as high as 100 miles per day) made them a formidable long-range military threat. This is the first reference to an organized raid using camels (cf. Gen. 24:10–11). The impoverishment that came to Israel drove her to cry out to the LORD for help. This cry does not seem to have been an indication of repentance for sin because they apparently were not aware of the moral cause behind the enemy’s oppression until the Lord sent a prophet to point this out (cf. Jud. 6:7–10).
invasion at harvest time. The timing of the invader was very important. If harvest time had passed, the villagers would have stored and hidden all of their grain and could withstand attack more easily. If the grain was still in the fields, the invader would have ample provisions and the villagers none. This would suggest April or May as the time of the invasions. The villages could easily be crippled if they were deprived of their year’s supply of grain, so what the invaders did not use or steal, they destroyed. The trampling of the fields would also jeopardize future seasons.
mighty warrior. The epithet used by the angel has often been translated “mighty warrior” (NIV), and that is acceptable when it is in a military context. There are, however, a number of people that are so described in community contexts (see Ruth 2:1; 1 Sam 9:1, both of which the NIV translates as “man of standing”). In these cases it designates the person as a responsible, upstanding individual in the community.
6:15. weakest clan, least in family. Gideon’s comments about the impotence of his clan and his own lack of standing in the family have to do with authority. He has no authority to call out soldiers from his own clan or family, let alone from other tribes. The prerogatives of command came only with status, of which he is claiming to have none.
altar to Baal. Though the altar is said to belong to Gideon’s father, the response of the town suggests it was a community shrine. There are a number of Canaanite temples that have been found in Israel (Hazor, Lachish) and a few open air sites from this period such as the “Bull Site” a few miles east of Dothan. Objects found at the sites, however, tend to be masseboth (standing stones, see comment on Gen 28:18–19) and incense stands rather than altars. One of the earliest Israelite altars is the tenth-century fieldstone altar at Arad that is about eight feet square and almost five feet high.
6:25. Asherah pole. Asherah can be either the name of a fertility goddess or the name of a cult object (as here). The goddess was popular in the polytheistic deviations in Israel and was sometimes considered a mediator of Yahweh’s blessings. An indication of this belief is found in the inscriptions from Kuntillet Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom. In Canaanite mythology she was the consort of the chief god, El. She appears in Mesopotamian literature as early as the eighteenth century, where she is consort of the Amorite god Amurru. The cult symbol may or may not have born a representation of the deity on it. The pole may represent an artificial tree, since Asherah is often associated with sacred groves and is portrayed as a stylized tree. Sometimes the cult object can be made or built, while on other occasions it is planted. We have little information of the function of these poles in ritual practice.
6:25–26. The LORD gave Gideon a test of obedience. If Gideon was to deliver Israel from the Midianites, he must not only achieve military victory over the enemy but also must remove the cause of idolatry which initially led the Lord to give His people over to the Midianites (cf. v. 1). Therefore God commanded Gideon to destroy his father’s altar to Baal with its accompanying Asherah pole (a cult object probably representing Asherah, Ugaritic goddess of the sea; cf. comments on 3:7). Gideon was then to construct a proper kind of altar to the LORD, kindle a fire with the wood of the Asherah pole, and offer one of his father’s bulls (probably intended originally as a sacrificial animal for Baal) as a burnt offering to the Lord.
6:27. Gideon’s obedience to God’s command should not be minimized by his use of 10 … servants (dismantling a Canaanite altar was a massive task), or by the fact that he did it at night (the Baal-worshipers would obviously have prevented it if he had tried to do this during the day).
styles of drinking water. Those who drink water in a kneeling position with their heads in the water to lap it up are (1) an easy target, (2) unaware of any enemy movement while they drink, and (3) susceptible to leeches. The alternative is to lie down flat (where one presents less of a target) and to keep alert, bringing water to the mouth while continuing to look around.
Gideon’s strategy. Gideon’s three companies would have been positioned on the three sides of the camp, north, west and south (the hill of Moreh was on the east). The torches that they each have are made of material such as reeds that would smolder until exposed to the air and waved. The pitchers cover the glow of the smoldering torch until the proper moment. When all three divisions were deployed in their proper positions, the ram’s horns were sounded. Usually only a few of the soldiers carried trumpets for signaling because hands were needed for weapons and shields. Likewise, for night battle, a certain number would be assigned to hold the torches that would illuminate the battle area and block retreat at the perimeter. It would be expected, then, that the trumpet blowers and torch holders would represent only a small percentage of the army, with the rest charging in to fight. Therefore, when the Midianites heard the blast of three hundred trumpets and saw the myriad of torches around the perimeter, they naturally assumed there was a massive army that would be charging into the camp, whereas Gideon had instructed his men to hold their positions around the perimeter.
“A sword for the LORD and for Gideon” (Judg. 7:20), is that the swords mentioned are those which the Midianites turn on one another (Ps. 37:14–15). God is the only hero of this story as he condescends to use human weakness for great victory.
In a similar fashion, God brings ultimate victory over all our sin and circumstances through one man, Jesus Christ. With Gideon’s three hundred, as at Christ’s cross, we learn that, when circumstances look bleakest and when human weakness is most apparent, God’s power and providential care are most evident.