Untitled Sermon
Introduction
The Cycle Continues
Meeting in a Winepress
Proof of ID
Gideon’s Initiation
Who has done this thing!?
Two attributes of God are especially revealed in this passage: God’s presence and God’s exclusivity. The very first statement of the messenger to Gideon is that “the LORD is with you” (6:12). Gideon immediately retorts—in words anticipated by the Lord in Deuteronomy 31:17—that God’s absence is indicated by the current political crisis (Judg. 6:13). Then, in order to make God’s presence known through the messenger, the narrator relates that the Lord himself turns (pnh) to Gideon and commissions him to deliver Israel (6:14). Gideon therefore shifts his form of address from “sir” to “Lord” (6:13, 15 ESV) and humbly responds in the manner of Moses (cf. Exod. 3:11). Then, in the language of both Moses’s and Joshua’s commissioning (cf. Exod. 3:12; Deut. 31:23; Josh. 1:5; 3:7), the Lord promises, “I will be with you,” or better, “’Ehyeh is with you” (Judg. 6:16). God’s very presence is the basis on which Gideon will defeat Midian (cf. 2:18). Finally, in order to reinforce God’s presence with Gideon, the narrator documents that God continues speaking to Gideon (6:23, 25; see also 7:2–11) even after the messenger has “disappeared” (6:21).
The instrument of His choice.
Though God could accomplish His purposes among men, without the intervention of any human instrumentality, it is His fixed rule to act in all ordinary cases by the use of means. Even in cases where miraculous power is employed, this rule is not departed from; for the miraculous power is employed only to do what ordinary means could not do, or it is put forth in special cases to prove that the power comes directly from God. But where ordinary means can serve every purpose, these only are employed; and, when selected, they are always of the fittest. God always honours the use of natural means, for it is the order He has laid down in His creation, and He must respect His own arrangements. Miracle is therefore the exception; natural means the rule. Hence, on this occasion, Gideon was chosen to act as an instrument in God’s hand in doing the work. He was chosen because of his natural qualifications fitting him for the work; and other qualifications were specially given to him to render him still more qualified.
(1.) His physical qualities. These, though inferior to others, are yet in their place important. God does not despise any gifts or faculties, with which He Himself has endowed a man. It was an element of fitness for the work on this occasion, that Gideon was a “mighty man of valour;” that he was of princely appearance, was physically strong, and able to go through much bodily hardship; and, further, that he was skilful in the use of weapons, and a chivalrous champion in the field. That a bold and dauntless spirit was needed to meet the emergency was most manifest. One who would skulk behind the bush, and conceal himself from all danger, was of no service whatever. Neither could he be Israel’s leader on such an occasion as this, who could not bravely set his face against terrible odds, and who, though faint with toil, could not yet pursue. But Gideon was robust and muscular, of sinewy, iron frame, and firm nerve. And his whole bearing in this remarkable juncture was marked by intrepid courage and invincible resolution.
(2.) His mental qualities. These are of a higher order, and pre-eminently needed in the conducting of a great enterprise. We do not say he was a man of more than average learning, just as he was not a kings son, nor a prince of the tribe to which he belonged. To be pre-eminent in rank or learning was not essential. But the possession of great natural shrewdness, of sound judgment, and quick discernment; ability to grasp at once the full magnitude and great difficulty of the work before him; the possessiou of wisdom and tact bow best to lay out the few resources within his reach; constructive power in arranging the best plan, or order of battle; fertility in devising expedients and manœuvres, and ways of taking advantage of all the shifting scenes and incidents of the crisis; especially the power of managing men, inspiring hearts with courage and hope to which they had long been strangers, wakening up even the faint hearted to a pitch of enthusiasm, to have the soldiers thoroughly in harmony with their leader, and to gain their entire confidence, and to be able to bring the whole force to bear as one man on the object which is sought to be gained—all these qualities Gideon did possess in an eminent degree, and so was eminently the man for the occasion on this side of his character.
(3.) His moral qualities. These are higher still, and in these Gideon yet more excelled. To be able to rise with the occasion, to realise the worth of the precious interests with which he was entrusted, to appreciate the value of the right moment when it occurred, and to lose not a moment in seizing it, to lose himself in the greatness of his duty, and have no other thought but nobly to discharge it, to be daring and dashing in his movements, while yet full of caution and self-restraint—these are the features which distinctly mark the man of God’s selection on this occasion. Who could have thought that the same man should have been so humble, diffident, and shrinking—so overpowered with a consciousness of his own weakness, putting himself down as less than the least in all Israel, and entirely losing sight of himself in his sympathy with his suffering brethren, and the sacred cause now almost lost, which had been committed to their hands? Yet, these are the very features of character, which fit a man for true greatness in the Church of God. “Before honour is humility.”
Though so disinterested and unselfish as to suppose that the angel’s salutation did not apply to him personally, when He said “The Lord is with thee” but rather to the people of Israel as a whole, and so he replied—“with us;” and though he entirely passed over the flattering allusion to his being “a mighty man of valour,” yet, with all this low estimate of himself, when summoned to do work for his God, he rises to the strongest conviction of the sacredness of his duty, and becomes fearless and defiant of danger, when he has reason to believe that his God is with him ordering the battle.
(4.) His religious qualities. These are highest of all. Pre-eminent among these was the fact of his deep sorrow for the sins of the land. This was distinctive of such men as Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, and David, who did so much in their day to bring down a Divine blessing on the land when it seemed to be forsaken of its God. Now it appears to have been so with Gideon. That there should have been so much of Baal, and so little of Jehovah, in Israel in these past years, appears to be the undertone of his lamentation in his first answer to the angel. And the same spirit comes out more decidedly when, in obedience to the Divine command, at great risk to himself, he cut down the grove and the image of Baal. His readiness to obey the Divine call, when assured that he really was called of God, is most beautiful. For his only objection is, not that the sacrifice was too great to make, involving in all probability the loss of life itself, but that he was so weak an instrument to be taken into God’s hand. He was able to do so little. So glorious a cause would suffer by being put into such unworthy hands. But when assured that he was really called, he readily obeys—a pleasing contrast even to the case of Moses, who seemed for a time most unwilling to enter on the duty which God imposed upon him (see Ex. 4:10–14). Gideon seemed never to murmur at any measure of self-sacrifice, which his call to this duty would entail upon him. His whole manner seemed to say, “Here am I send me!”
He had true loyalty to the God of Israel. Though all besides should follow Baal, and though Baal’s altar should be raised in his father’s house, and be acknowledged by all its inmates, he would bow the knee only to Jehovah. He was not ashamed of the name of his God, neither was he afraid, though he should stand altogether alone. If it must be so, he shall be
“Faithful found among the faithless, faithful only he.”
But his chief characteristic of all, was his faith in the God of Israel as his own God. It was the entire trust he placed in his God, and the full confidence he had in Him that enabled him to face the huge mountain of difficulty that lay before him. His case was greatly like that of the stripling king, who was first brought into notice by his faith, when he said to the doughty giant, “Thou comest to me with sword and spear—I come to thee in the name of the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.” (1 Sam. 17:45). Gideon’s heart was given to the God of Israel, and he seemed never to doubt but that He could repeat in his own day all the wonders of the old time, were He but to decide so to do. It was certainly a splendid illustration of faith, and one most glorifying to God, for a man to set himself to the task, without a murmur, simply at God’s call, of advancing with a handful of 300 men, to meet a host of warriors numbering 135,000, and hope firmly that he would gain a complete victory because the God of Jacob had promised to give His presence. His confidence in his God carried him over all the fear he might naturally cherish from man.
His personal fitness for the work. His good qualities were manifold, all marking him out as a suitable agent.
(1.) His physical qualities. These, though inferior to others, are yet in their place important. God does not despise any gifts or faculties, with which He Himself has endowed a man. It was an element of fitness for the work on this occasion, that Gideon was a “mighty man of valour;” that he was of princely appearance, was physically strong, and able to go through much bodily hardship; and, further, that he was skilful in the use of weapons, and a chivalrous champion in the field. That a bold and dauntless spirit was needed to meet the emergency was most manifest. One who would skulk behind the bush, and conceal himself from all danger, was of no service whatever. Neither could he be Israel’s leader on such an occasion as this, who could not bravely set his face against terrible odds, and who, though faint with toil, could not yet pursue. But Gideon was robust and muscular, of sinewy, iron frame, and firm nerve. And his whole bearing in this remarkable juncture was marked by intrepid courage and invincible resolution.
(2.) His mental qualities. These are of a higher order, and pre-eminently needed in the conducting of a great enterprise. We do not say he was a man of more than average learning, just as he was not a kings son, nor a prince of the tribe to which he belonged. To be pre-eminent in rank or learning was not essential. But the possession of great natural shrewdness, of sound judgment, and quick discernment; ability to grasp at once the full magnitude and great difficulty of the work before him; the possessiou of wisdom and tact bow best to lay out the few resources within his reach; constructive power in arranging the best plan, or order of battle; fertility in devising expedients and manœuvres, and ways of taking advantage of all the shifting scenes and incidents of the crisis; especially the power of managing men, inspiring hearts with courage and hope to which they had long been strangers, wakening up even the faint hearted to a pitch of enthusiasm, to have the soldiers thoroughly in harmony with their leader, and to gain their entire confidence, and to be able to bring the whole force to bear as one man on the object which is sought to be gained—all these qualities Gideon did possess in an eminent degree, and so was eminently the man for the occasion on this side of his character.
(3.) His moral qualities. These are higher still, and in these Gideon yet more excelled. To be able to rise with the occasion, to realise the worth of the precious interests with which he was entrusted, to appreciate the value of the right moment when it occurred, and to lose not a moment in seizing it, to lose himself in the greatness of his duty, and have no other thought but nobly to discharge it, to be daring and dashing in his movements, while yet full of caution and self-restraint—these are the features which distinctly mark the man of God’s selection on this occasion. Who could have thought that the same man should have been so humble, diffident, and shrinking—so overpowered with a consciousness of his own weakness, putting himself down as less than the least in all Israel, and entirely losing sight of himself in his sympathy with his suffering brethren, and the sacred cause now almost lost, which had been committed to their hands? Yet, these are the very features of character, which fit a man for true greatness in the Church of God. “Before honour is humility.”
Though so disinterested and unselfish as to suppose that the angel’s salutation did not apply to him personally, when He said “The Lord is with thee” but rather to the people of Israel as a whole, and so he replied—“with us;” and though he entirely passed over the flattering allusion to his being “a mighty man of valour,” yet, with all this low estimate of himself, when summoned to do work for his God, he rises to the strongest conviction of the sacredness of his duty, and becomes fearless and defiant of danger, when he has reason to believe that his God is with him ordering the battle.
(4.) His religious qualities. These are highest of all. Pre-eminent among these was the fact of his deep sorrow for the sins of the land. This was distinctive of such men as Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, and David, who did so much in their day to bring down a Divine blessing on the land when it seemed to be forsaken of its God. Now it appears to have been so with Gideon. That there should have been so much of Baal, and so little of Jehovah, in Israel in these past years, appears to be the undertone of his lamentation in his first answer to the angel. And the same spirit comes out more decidedly when, in obedience to the Divine command, at great risk to himself, he cut down the grove and the image of Baal. His readiness to obey the Divine call, when assured that he really was called of God, is most beautiful. For his only objection is, not that the sacrifice was too great to make, involving in all probability the loss of life itself, but that he was so weak an instrument to be taken into God’s hand. He was able to do so little. So glorious a cause would suffer by being put into such unworthy hands. But when assured that he was really called, he readily obeys—a pleasing contrast even to the case of Moses, who seemed for a time most unwilling to enter on the duty which God imposed upon him (see Ex. 4:10–14). Gideon seemed never to murmur at any measure of self-sacrifice, which his call to this duty would entail upon him. His whole manner seemed to say, “Here am I send me!”
He had true loyalty to the God of Israel. Though all besides should follow Baal, and though Baal’s altar should be raised in his father’s house, and be acknowledged by all its inmates, he would bow the knee only to Jehovah. He was not ashamed of the name of his God, neither was he afraid, though he should stand altogether alone. If it must be so, he shall be
“Faithful found among the faithless, faithful only he.”
But his chief characteristic of all, was his faith in the God of Israel as his own God. It was the entire trust he placed in his God, and the full confidence he had in Him that enabled him to face the huge mountain of difficulty that lay before him. His case was greatly like that of the stripling king, who was first brought into notice by his faith, when he said to the doughty giant, “Thou comest to me with sword and spear—I come to thee in the name of the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.” (1 Sam. 17:45). Gideon’s heart was given to the God of Israel, and he seemed never to doubt but that He could repeat in his own day all the wonders of the old time, were He but to decide so to do. It was certainly a splendid illustration of faith, and one most glorifying to God, for a man to set himself to the task, without a murmur, simply at God’s call, of advancing with a handful of 300 men, to meet a host of warriors numbering 135,000, and hope firmly that he would gain a complete victory because the God of Jacob had promised to give His presence. His confidence in his God carried him over all the fear he might naturally cherish from man.
Two attributes of God are especially revealed in this passage: God’s presence and God’s exclusivity. The very first statement of the messenger to Gideon is that “the LORD is with you” (6:12). Gideon immediately retorts—in words anticipated by the Lord in Deuteronomy 31:17—that God’s absence is indicated by the current political crisis (Judg. 6:13). Then, in order to make God’s presence known through the messenger, the narrator relates that the Lord himself turns (pnh) to Gideon and commissions him to deliver Israel (6:14). Gideon therefore shifts his form of address from “sir” to “Lord” (6:13, 15 ESV) and humbly responds in the manner of Moses (cf. Exod. 3:11). Then, in the language of both Moses’s and Joshua’s commissioning (cf. Exod. 3:12; Deut. 31:23; Josh. 1:5; 3:7), the Lord promises, “I will be with you,” or better, “’Ehyeh is with you” (Judg. 6:16). God’s very presence is the basis on which Gideon will defeat Midian (cf. 2:18). Finally, in order to reinforce God’s presence with Gideon, the narrator documents that God continues speaking to Gideon (6:23, 25; see also 7:2–11) even after the messenger has “disappeared” (6:21).
Any lesson or sermon on this passage would do well to emphasize the presence and exclusivity of God. As for presence, it is important to understand that God gives Gideon the necessary spiritual resources to fulfill his calling (cf. 6:12, 16). The task of delivering Israel from oppression is an impossible task for Gideon unless God himself accompanies him. But God’s presence with Gideon was also something special for that time and place; so it does not necessarily follow that Christians today should expect to have Gideon’s exact experience. Under the new covenant, God actually has made his presence more accessible to all of his people because they function as his temple and are indwelled by the Holy Spirit (see Eph. 2:22). Believers today are therefore fully equipped to do whatever God commissions them to do (cf. 2 Pet. 1:3).
His constant presence with them. Though seldom seen, He was ever present with this people to bless them, and to do them good. Being His redeemed ones, and chosen for Himself as His peculiar people, He took the deepest interest in them, and in terms of the promise made, followed them to the place of the appointed rest. In fidelity to the trust given Him by Jehovah, He watched over them every moment, lest any hurt should arise to objects so beloved; and, in all their journeyings, He bore them as on eagle’s wings (Isa. 27:3; Deut. 32:9–11; Ex. 19:4; Isa. 63:11–14). All through the trackless desert He guided them, with sleepless eye caring for them, Himself unseen (Ps. 107:2–7), saving them at one time from such enemies as the Amalekites (Ex. 17:13, 14), again from the fiery flying serpents (Num. 21:8), again from the curse of Balaam (Num. 22:31–35; 23:5, 16; do. 23), and again from the armies of two mighty kings on the threshold of the territories of the Canaanites, Sihon and Og. He also dried up the Jordan before them, and appeared as the Captain of the Lord’s host, when the wars against the Canaanites were about to begin (Josh. 5:13–15). It was by His mighty power also, that all these nations were slain before the sword of Joshua (Ps. 44:3).
Jesus still goes personally with every one of His people, every step of the way, on to the place of the promised rest, Himself unseen, but not the less really taking charge of His redeemed ones, treating them substantially in the same manner, and acting on the same principles as of old. His language is, “Lo! I am with you alway unto the end.” He is “the Beginner and the Finisher of their faith” (Matt. 28:20; Heb. 12:2; 13:5; Psalms 73:24; 2 Tim. 4:18).
Second, God demands exclusive worship. The replacement of the Baal altar and the Asherah with an altar to Yahweh (6:25–26) shows that the Lord works alone and that there are no other gods in his presence (Exod. 20:3; Deut. 5:7). Furthermore, Baal’s failure to defend himself (cf. Judg. 6:31–32) reveals either that he is not a god to begin with or that he cannot compete with the Lord (or the person empowered by the Lord). All of this is a lesson to both Gideon and Israel that Yahweh (and not Baal!) is worthy of worship and that proper worship is exclusive in nature. God does not distribute his power or share his authority with anyone else. In the same way Jesus Christ, who is of one substance with the Father, has authority over all things “in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Phil. 2:10; cf. Col. 1:16–17, 20), and he therefore has supremacy in everything (Col. 1:18).
