Who Is Better Than Why
Why?
6:12 The narrator offers no clue in v. 11 how long the messenger had been sitting under the oak watching the thresher at work before he allowed himself to be seen by Gideon in v. 12. Suddenly he becomes visible and audible, initiating conversation by announcing the presence of Yahweh with Gideon. “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior!” is a strange way to begin a conversation, but it focuses Gideon’s (and the reader’s) attention on the central issue in the narrative: Where is Yahweh when you need him?
The opening statement is also strange because of its double incongruity. First, how can Gideon be addressed as a “mighty warrior/hero” (gibbôr heḥāyil) when he is threshing his grain in the winepress and hiding under the oak? He looks anything but valiant. Some interpret the messenger’s characterization of Gideon as a prophetic/proleptic statement. But it is preferable to understand this simply as a flattering address, designed to win the sympathy of the man to what he is about to tell him. Alternatively, one may interpret the phrase less as an expression of commendation than as a recognition of his standing in the village; he is an “aristocrat.” Second, how can the messenger declare that God is with Gideon or any of the Israelites for that matter?
6:13 On the surface Gideon’s initial response, “Excuse me, my lord!” sounds polite, but the expression may also be interpreted less positively. In the following comment he disregards the divine envoy’s personal flattery and answers with a cheeky and sarcastic focus on the theological incongruity: “If the LORD is with us, then why our present crisis! And where are all his miracles which the ancestors talked about? They told stories about Yahweh bringing them up from Egypt, but where is he now? Why have the miracles stopped?”518 The change from singlular “you” to plural “us” suggests that Gideon did not even hear the messenger’s personal word of assurance. Instead he draws two conclusions that undoubtedly expressed the verdict of many of his countrymen: (1) Yahweh has abandoned Israel. (2) Yahweh has delivered the nation into the Midianites’ hands.
Gideon’s response to the divine messenger is theologically correct and in agreement with the unnamed prophet’s word in vv. 9–10, but his tone of voice is wrong. Instead of acknowledging Israelite responsibility for the present crisis (v. 1), he blames God. Gideon is an example of those who know what God has done in the past, who have memorized the creed, but find it belied by present reality. Stories of past deliverance are irrelevant in light of the Midianite crisis.
6:14 But the divine messenger seems not even to have been listening to Gideon. Verse 14 could have followed logically immediately after v. 12. “Go in this your strength,” Yahweh says. The expression bĕkōḥăkā zeh, “in this your strength,” is quite ambiguous. On the one hand, if the divine messenger is looking at Gideon from the perspective of the end of the story, that is, Gideon’s conduct in chap. 8, he may be referring to the man’s natural power and courage. On the other hand, he probably is thinking of the power with which God will invest him as he commissions him. Later the enduement with divine power will be expressed more graphically as “being clothed with the Spirit of the LORD” (v. 34). Like the other deliverers in the book, Gideon’s authority and power are charismatically bestowed by God. Gideon’s specific charge is to deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. The commissioning (and investiture) formula, “Surely I have sent you,” presents Gideon with all the authority he will need for the task. This fearful and cynical farmer is hereby informed that God has indeed heard the people’s cry of pain, and he has personally chosen him to solve the problem.523
The Objection (6:15)
6:15 As in v. 13, Gideon’s opening response to the envoy’s second speech, “Excuse me, my lord!” sounds polite, but his tone continues to be cynical. He obviously does not yet recognize the person who has addressed him. Like Moses in an earlier era, Gideon expresses his sense of incompetence and inadequacy, particularly his lack of social standing in Israel. Disregarding the envoy’s opening address, “mighty warrior/hero,” or “aristocrat,” he complains of two strikes that are already against him: his clan (ʾeleph) is the least important in Manasseh, and he is the youngest in his father’s household.526 Gideon does not realize that in Yahweh’s work it does not matter what one’s social position is; the authorization of Yahweh is all he needs. Having no experience with the divine presence, he cannot imagine beyond his own human resources (or lack thereof).
The Reassurance (6:16)
6:16 In response to Gideon’s objection, Yahweh offers two words of encouragement. First, playing on Exod 3:12–14, he promises his presence in the undertaking.529 As in the case of Moses, the fearful Gideon is to be transformed into the deliverer of his people by the powerful presence of God. This utterance provides the clue to Gideon’s actions later when he finally goes on the offensive against the Midianites. Second, Yahweh predicts an easy victory: Gideon will smite Midian as if he were engaging a single person. Glancing backward one notices that each of Yahweh’s/the messenger’s speeches has referred to God’s presence with him (though the pattern changes) and the strength present/available to Gideon.
The Authenticating Sign (6:17–24)