mh_parser/vol_split/7 - Judges/Chapter 6.xml

<div2 id="Jud.vii" n="vii" next="Jud.viii" prev="Jud.vi" progress="13.63%" title="Chapter VI">
<h2 id="Jud.vii-p0.1">J U D G E S</h2>
<h3 id="Jud.vii-p0.2">CHAP. VI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jud.vii-p1">Nothing that occurred in the quiet and peaceable
times of Israel is recorded; the forty years' rest after the
conquest of Jabin is passed over in silence; and here begins the
story of another distress and another deliverance, by Gideon, the
fourth of the judges. Here is, I. The calamitous condition of
Israel, by the inroads of the Midianites, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.1-Judg.6.6" parsed="|Judg|6|1|6|6" passage="Jdg 6:1-6">ver. 1-6</scripRef>. II. The message God sent them by a
prophet, by convincing them of sin, to prepare them for
deliverance, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.7-Judg.6.10" parsed="|Judg|6|7|6|10" passage="Jdg 6:7-10">ver. 7-10</scripRef>.
III. The raising up of Gideon to be their deliverer. 1. A
commission which God sent him by the hand of an angel, and
confirmed by a sign, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.11-Judg.6.24" parsed="|Judg|6|11|6|24" passage="Jdg 6:11-24">ver.
11-24</scripRef>. 2. The first-fruits of his government in the
reform of his father's house, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.25-Judg.6.32" parsed="|Judg|6|25|6|32" passage="Jdg 6:25-32">ver.
25-32</scripRef>. 3. The preparations he made for a war with the
Midianites, and the encouragement given him by a sign, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.33-Judg.6.40" parsed="|Judg|6|33|6|40" passage="Jdg 6:33-40">ver. 33-40</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Jud.vii-p0.1_1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6" parsed="|Judg|6|0|0|0" passage="Jud 6" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jud.vii-p0.2_1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.1-Judg.6.6" parsed="|Judg|6|1|6|6" passage="Jud 6:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Judg.6.1-Judg.6.6">
<h4 id="Jud.vii-p1.8">The Inroads of the
Midianites. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p1.9">b. c.</span> 1249.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jud.vii-p2">1 And the children of Israel did evil in the
sight of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p2.1">Lord</span>: and the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p2.2">Lord</span> delivered them into the hand of
Midian seven years.   2 And the hand of Midian prevailed
against Israel: <i>and</i> because of the Midianites the children
of Israel made them the dens which <i>are</i> in the mountains, and
caves, and strong holds.   3 And <i>so</i> 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; <i>for</i> both they and their camels were without
number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.   6 And
Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the
children of Israel cried unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p2.3">Lord</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p3">We have here, I. Israel's sin renewed:
<i>They did evil in the sight of the Lord,</i> <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.1" parsed="|Judg|6|1|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. The burnt child dreads the fire;
yet this perverse unthinking people, that had so often smarted
sorely for their idolatry, upon a little respite of God's judgments
return to it again. <i>This people hath a revolting rebellious
heart,</i> not kept in awe by the terror of God's judgments, nor
engaged in honour and gratitude by the great things he had done for
them to keep themselves in his love. The providence of God will not
change the hearts and lives of sinners.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p4">II. Israel's troubles repeated. This would
follow of course; let all that sin expect to suffer; let all that
return to folly expect to return to misery. <i>With the froward God
will show himself froward</i> (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.18.26" parsed="|Ps|18|26|0|0" passage="Ps 18:26">Ps.
xviii. 26</scripRef>), and will walk contrary to those that walk
contrary to him, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Lev.26.21 Bible:Lev.26.24" parsed="|Lev|26|21|0|0;|Lev|26|24|0|0" passage="Le 26:21,24">Lev. xxvi. 21,
24</scripRef>. Now as to this trouble, 1. It arose from a very
despicable enemy. God delivered them into the hand of Midian
(<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.1" parsed="|Judg|6|1|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>), not Midian in
the south where Jethro lived, but Midian in the east that joined to
Moab (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Num.22.4" parsed="|Num|22|4|0|0" passage="Nu 22:4">Num. xxii. 4</scripRef>), a
people that all men despised as uncultivated and unintelligent;
hence we read not here of any king, lord, or general, that they
had, but the force with which they destroyed Israel was an
undisciplined mob; and, which made it the more grievous, they were
a people that Israel had formerly subdued, and in a manner
destroyed (see <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Num.31.7" parsed="|Num|31|7|0|0" passage="Nu 31:7">Num. xxxi.
7</scripRef>), and yet by this time (nearly 200 years after) the
poor remains of them were so multiplied, and so magnified, that
they were capable of being made a very severe scourge to Israel.
Thus <i>God moved them to jealousy with those who were not a
people,</i> even a foolish nation, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.32.21" parsed="|Deut|32|21|0|0" passage="De 32:21">Deut. xxxii. 21</scripRef>. The meanest creature will
serve to chastise those that have made the great Creator their
enemy. And, when those we are authorized to rule prove rebellious
and disobedient to us, it concerns us to enquire whether we have
not been so to our sovereign Ruler. 2. It arose to a very
formidable height (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.7" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.2" parsed="|Judg|6|2|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>): <i>The hand of Midian prevailed,</i> purely by their
multitude. God had promised to increase Israel as the sand on the
sea shore; but their sin stopped their growth and diminished them,
and then their enemies, though otherwise every way inferior to
them, overpowered them with numbers. They came upon them as
<i>grasshoppers for multitude</i> (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.8" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.5" parsed="|Judg|6|5|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>), not in a regular army to engage
them in the field, but in a confused swarm to plunder the country,
quarter themselves upon it, and enrich themselves with its
spoils—bands of robbers, and no better. And sinful Israel, being
separated by sin from God, had not spirit to make head against
them. Observe the wretched havoc that these Midianites made with
their bands of plunderers in Israel. Here we have, (1.) The
Israelites imprisoned, or rather imprisoning themselves, in dens
and caves, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.9" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.2" parsed="|Judg|6|2|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. This
was owing purely to their own timorousness and faint-heartedness,
that they would rather fly than fight; it was the effect of a
guilty conscience, which made them tremble at the shaking of a
leaf, and the just punishment of their apostasy from God, who thus
fought against them with those very terrors with which he would
otherwise have fought for them. Had it not been for this, we cannot
but think Israel a match for the Midianites, and able enough to
make head against them; but the heart that departs from God is
lost, not only to that which is good, but to that which is great.
Sin dispirits men, and makes them sneak into dens and caves. The
day will come when chief captains and mighty men will call in vain
to rocks and mountains to hide them. (2.) The Israelites
impoverished, greatly impoverished, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.10" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.6" parsed="|Judg|6|6|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. The Midianites and the other
children of the east that joined with them to live by spoil and
rapine (as long before the Sabeans and Chaldeans did that plundered
Job, free-booters) made frequent incursions into the land of
Canaan. This fruitful land was a great temptation to them; and the
sloth and luxury into which the Israelites had sunk by forty years'
rest made them and their substance an easy prey to them. They came
up against them (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.11" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.3" parsed="|Judg|6|3|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>), pitched their camps among them (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.12" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.4" parsed="|Judg|6|4|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>), and brought their cattle with
them, particularly camels innumerable (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.13" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.5" parsed="|Judg|6|5|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>), not a flying party to make a
sally upon them and be gone presently, but they resolved to force
their way, and penetrated through the heart of the country as far
as Gaza on the western side, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.14" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.4" parsed="|Judg|6|4|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:4"><i>v.</i>
4</scripRef>. They let the Israelites alone to sow their ground,
but towards harvest they came and seized all, and ate up and
destroyed it, both grass and corn, and when they went away took
with them the sheep and oxen, so that in short they left no
sustenance for Israel, except what was privately taken by the
rightful owners into the dens and caves. Now here we may see, [1.]
The justice of God in the punishment of their sin. They had
neglected to honour God with their substance in tithes and
offerings, and had prepared that for Baal with which God should
have been served, and now God justly sends an enemy to take it away
<i>in the season thereof,</i> <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.15" osisRef="Bible:Hos.2.8-Hos.2.9" parsed="|Hos|2|8|2|9" passage="Ho 2:8,9">Hos. ii.
8, 9</scripRef>. [2.] The consequence of God's departure from a
people; when he goes all good goes and all mischiefs break in. When
Israel kept in with God, they reaped what others sowed (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p4.16" osisRef="Bible:Josh.24.13 Bible:Ps.105.44" parsed="|Josh|24|13|0|0;|Ps|105|44|0|0" passage="Jos 24:13,Ps 105:44">Josh. xxiv. 13; Ps. cv.
44</scripRef>); but now that God had forsaken them others reaped
what they sowed. Let us take occasion from this to bless God for
our national peace and tranquillity, that we <i>eat the labour of
our hands.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p5">III. Israel's sense of God's hand revived
at last. Seven years, year after year, did the Midianites make
these inroads upon them, each we may suppose worse than the other
(<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.1" parsed="|Judg|6|1|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>), until at
last, all other succours failing, <i>Israel cried unto the Lord</i>
(<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.6" parsed="|Judg|6|6|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), for crying to
Baal ruined them, and would not help them. When God judges he will
overcome; and sinners shall be made either to bend or break before
him.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jud.vii-p0.3" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.7-Judg.6.10" parsed="|Judg|6|7|6|10" passage="Jud 6:7-10" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Judg.6.7-Judg.6.10">
<p class="passage" id="Jud.vii-p6">7 And it came to pass, when the children of
Israel cried unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p6.1">Lord</span> because
of the Midianites,   8 That the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p6.2">Lord</span> sent a prophet unto the children of Israel,
which said unto them, Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p6.3">Lord</span> 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 <i>am</i> the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p6.4">Lord</span> your God; fear not the gods of
the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my
voice.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p7">Observe here, I. The cognizance God took of
the cries of Israel, when at length they were directed towards him.
Though in their prosperity they had neglected him and made court to
his rivals, and though they never looked towards him until they
were driven to it by extremity, yet, upon their complain and
prayer, he intended relief for them. Thus would he show how ready
he is to forgive, how swift he is to show mercy, and how inclinable
to hear prayer, that sinners may be encouraged to return and
repent, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.130.4" parsed="|Ps|130|4|0|0" passage="Ps 130:4">Ps. cxxx. 4</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p8">II. The method God took of working
deliverance for them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p9">1. Before he sent an angel to raise them up
a saviour he sent a prophet to reprove them for sin, and to bring
them to repentance, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.5.8" parsed="|Judg|5|8|0|0" passage="Jdg 5:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>. This prophet is not named, but he was a man, a
prophet, not an angel, as <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.2.1" parsed="|Judg|2|1|0|0" passage="Jdg 2:1"><i>ch.</i>
ii. 1</scripRef>. Whether this prophet took an opportunity of
delivering his message to the children of Israel when they had met
together in a general assembly, at some solemn feast or other great
occasion, or whether he went from city to city and from tribe to
tribe, preaching to this purport, is not certain; but his errand
was to convince them of sin, that, in their crying to the Lord,
they might confess that with sorrow and shame, and not spend their
breath in only complaining of their trouble. They cried to God for
a deliverer, and God sent them a prophet to instruct them, and to
make them ready for deliverance. Note, (1.) We have reason to hope
God is designing mercy for us if we find he is by his grace
preparing us for it. If to those that are sick he sends a
messenger, an interpreter, by whom he <i>shows unto man his
uprightness, then he is gracious,</i> and grants a recovery,
<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.33.23-Job.33.24" parsed="|Job|33|23|33|24" passage="Job 33:23,24">Job xxxiii. 23, 24</scripRef>.
(2.) The sending of prophets to a people, and the furnishing of a
land with faithful ministers, is a token for good, and an evidence
that God has mercy in store for them. He thus turns us to him, and
then causes his face to shine, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.80.19" parsed="|Ps|80|19|0|0" passage="Ps 80:19">Ps.
lxxx. 19</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p10">2. We have here the heads of the message
which this prophet delivered in to Israel, in the name of the
Lord.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p11">(1.) He sets before them the great things
God had done for them (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.8-Judg.6.9" parsed="|Judg|6|8|6|9" passage="Jdg 6:8,9"><i>v.</i> 8,
9</scripRef>): <i>Thus saith the Lord God of Israel;</i> they had
worshipped the <i>gods of the nations,</i> as if they had had no
God of their own to worship and therefore might choose whom they
pleased; but they are here reminded of one whom they had forgotten,
who was known by the title of <i>the God of Israel,</i> and to him
they must return. They had turned to other gods, as if their own
had been either incapable or unwilling to protect them, and
therefore they are told what he did for their fathers, in whose
loins they were, the benefit of which descended and still remained
to this their ungrateful seed. [1.] He brought them out of Egypt,
where otherwise they would have continued in perpetual poverty and
slavery. [2.] He <i>delivered them out of the hands of all that
oppressed them;</i> this is mentioned to intimate that the reason
why they were not now delivered out of the hands of the oppressing
Midianites was not for want of any power or good-will in God, but
because by their iniquity they had sold themselves, and God would
not redeem them until they by repentance revoked the bargain. [3.]
He put them in quiet possession of this good land; this not only
aggravated their sin, and affixed the brand of base ingratitude to
it, but it justified God, and cleared him from blame upon account
of the trouble they were now in. They could not say he was unkind,
for he had given all possible proofs of his designing well for
them; if ill befel them notwithstanding, they must thank
themselves.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p12">(2.) He shows the easiness and equity of
God's demands and expectations from them (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.10" parsed="|Judg|6|10|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): "<i>I am the Lord your
God,</i> to whom you lie under the highest obligations, <i>fear not
the gods of the Amorites,</i>" that is, "do not worship them, nor
show any respect to them; do not worship them for fear of their
doing you any hurt, for what hurt can they do you while I am your
God? Fear God, and you need not fear them."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p13">(3.) He charges them with rebellion against
God, who had laid this injunction upon them: <i>But you have not
obeyed my voice.</i> The charge is short, but very comprehensive;
this was the malignity of all their sin, it was disobedience to
God; and therefore it was this that brought those calamities upon
them under which they were now groaning, pursuant to the
threatenings annexed to his commands. He intends hereby to bring
them to repentance; and our repentance is then right and genuine
when the sinfulness of sin, as disobedience to God, is that in it
which we chiefly lament.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jud.vii-p0.4" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.11-Judg.6.24" parsed="|Judg|6|11|6|24" passage="Jud 6:11-24" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Judg.6.11-Judg.6.24">
<h4 id="Jud.vii-p13.2">The Call of Gideon. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p13.3">b. c.</span> 1249.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jud.vii-p14">11 And there came an angel of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.1">Lord</span>, and sat under an oak which <i>was</i> in
Ophrah, that <i>pertained</i> unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son
Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide <i>it</i> from the
Midianites.   12 And the angel of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.2">Lord</span> appeared unto him, and said unto him, The
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.3">Lord</span> <i>is</i> with thee, thou
mighty man of valour.   13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my
Lord, if the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.4">Lord</span> be with us, why
then is all this befallen us? and where <i>be</i> all his miracles
which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.5">Lord</span> bring us up from Egypt? but now the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.6">Lord</span> hath forsaken us, and delivered us
into the hands of the Midianites.   14 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.7">Lord</span> 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?   15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord,
wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family <i>is</i> poor in
Manasseh, and I <i>am</i> the least in my father's house.   16
And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.8">Lord</span> 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 show me a sign that thou talkest with me.   18
Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring
forth my present, and set <i>it</i> 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 <i>it</i> out unto him under the oak, and presented
<i>it.</i>   20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the
flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay <i>them</i> upon this rock,
and pour out the broth. And he did so.   21 Then the angel of
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.9">Lord</span> put forth the end of the
staff that <i>was</i> 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
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.10">Lord</span> departed out of his sight.
  22 And when Gideon perceived that he <i>was</i> an angel of
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.11">Lord</span>, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.12">God</span>! for because I have seen an
angel of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.13">Lord</span> face to face.
  23 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.14">Lord</span> said unto
him, Peace <i>be</i> unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
  24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p14.15">Lord</span>, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this
day it <i>is</i> yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p15">It is not said what effect the prophet's
sermon had upon the people, but we may hope it had a good effect,
and that some of them at least repented and reformed upon it; for
here, immediately after, we have the dawning of the day of their
deliverance, by the effectual calling of Gideon to take upon him
the command of their forces against the Midianites.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p16">I. The person to be commissioned for this
service was Gideon, the son of Joash, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.14" parsed="|Judg|6|14|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. The father was now living, but
he was passed by, and this honour put upon the son, for the father
kept up in his own family the worship of Baal (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.25" parsed="|Judg|6|25|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>), which we may suppose this son,
as far as was in his power, witnessed against. He was of the half
tribe of Manasseh that lay in Canaan, of the family of Abiezer; the
eldest house of that tribe, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Josh.17.2" parsed="|Josh|17|2|0|0" passage="Jos 17:2">Josh.
xvii. 2</scripRef>. Hitherto the judges were raised up out of that
tribe which suffered most by the oppression, and probably it was so
here.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p17">II. The person that gave him the commission
was an <i>angel of the Lord;</i> it should seem not a created
angel, but the Son of God himself, the eternal Word, the Lord of
the angels, who then appeared upon some great occasions in human
shape, as a prelude (says the learned bishop Patrick) to what he
intended in the fulness of time, when he would take our nature upon
him, as we say, for good and all. This angel is here called
<i>Jehovah,</i> the incommunicable name of God (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.14" parsed="|Judg|6|14|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:14"><i>v.</i> 14, 16</scripRef>), and he said, <i>I will be
with thee.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p18">1. This divine person appeared here to
Gideon, and it is observable how he found him, (1.) Retired—all
alone. God often manifests himself to his people when they are out
of the noise and hurry of this world. Silence and solitude befriend
our communion with God. (2.) Employed in threshing wheat, with a
<i>staff</i> or <i>rod</i> (so the word signifies), such as they
used in beating out fitches and cummin (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.28.27" parsed="|Isa|28|27|0|0" passage="Isa 28:27">Isa. xxviii. 27</scripRef>), but now used for wheat,
probably because he had but little to thresh, he needed not the
oxen to tread it out. It was not then looked upon as any diminution
to him, though he was a person of some account and a <i>mighty man
of valour,</i> to lay his hand to the business of the husbandman.
He had many servants (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.27" parsed="|Judg|6|27|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:27"><i>v.</i>
27</scripRef>), and yet would not himself live in idleness. We put
ourselves in the way of divine visits when we employ ourselves in
honest business. Tidings of Christ's birth were brought to the
shepherds when they were keeping their flocks. The work he was
about was an emblem of that greater work to which he was now to be
called, as the disciples' fishing was. From threshing corn he is
fetched to thresh the Midianites, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.41.15" parsed="|Isa|41|15|0|0" passage="Isa 41:15">Isa. xli. 15</scripRef>. (3.) Distressed; he was
threshing his wheat, not in the threshing-floor, the proper place,
but <i>by the wine-press,</i> in some private unsuspected corner,
for fear of the Midianites. He himself shared in the common
calamity, and now the angel came to animate him against Midian when
he himself could speak so feelingly of the heaviness of their yoke.
The day of the greatest distress is God's time to appear for his
people's relief.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p19">2. Let us now see what passed between the
angel and Gideon, who knew not with certainty, till after he was
gone, that he was an angel, but supposed he was a prophet.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p20">(1.) The angel accosted him with respect,
and assured him of the presence of God with him, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.12" parsed="|Judg|6|12|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. He calls him a <i>mighty man of
valour,</i> perhaps because he observed how he threshed his corn
with all his might; and seest thou a man diligent in his business?
whatever his business is, he shall <i>stand before kings.</i> He
that is faithful in a few things shall be ruler over many. Gideon
was a man of a brave active spirit, and yet buried alive in
obscurity, through the iniquity of the times; but he is here
animated to undertake something great, like himself, with that
word, <i>The Lord is with thee,</i> or, as the Chaldee reads it,
<i>the Word of the Lord is thy help.</i> It was very sure that the
Lord was with him when this angel was with him. By this word, [1.]
He gives him his commission. If we have God's presence with us,
this will justify us and bear us out in our undertakings. [2.] He
inspires him with all necessary qualifications for the execution of
his commission. "The Lord is with thee to guide and strengthen
thee, to animate and support thee." [3.] He assures him of success;
for, <i>if God be for us, who can</i> prevail <i>against us?</i> If
he be with us, nothing can be wanting to us. The presence of God
with us is all in all to our prosperity, whatever we do. Gideon was
a mighty man of valour, and yet he could bring nothing to pass
without the presence of God, and that presence is enough to make
any man mighty in valour and to give a man courage at any time.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p21">(2.) Gideon gave a very melancholy answer
to this joyful salutation (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.13" parsed="|Judg|6|13|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>): <i>O my Lord! if the Lord be with us</i> (which the
Chaldee reads, <i>Is the Shechinah of the Lord our help?</i> making
that the same with <i>the Word of the Lord) why then has all this
befallen us?</i> "all this trouble and distress from the
Midianites' incursions, which force me to thresh wheat here by the
wine-press—all this loss, and grief, and fright; and <i>where are
all the miracles which our fathers told us of?</i>" Observe, In his
reply he regards not the praise of his own valour, nor does this in
the least elevate him or give him any encouragement, though it is
probable the angel adapted what he said to that which Gideon was at
the same time thinking of; while his labouring hands were employed
about his wheat, his working head and daring heart were meditating
Israel's rescue and Midian's ruin, with which thought he that knows
the heart seasonably sets in, calls him a man of valour for his
brave projects, and open him a way to put them in execution; yet
Gideon, as if not conscious to himself of any thing great or
encouraging in his own spirit, fastens only on the assurance the
angel had given him of God's presence, as that by which they held
all their comfort. Observe, The angel spoke in particular to him:
<i>The Lord is with thee;</i> but he expostulates for all: <i>If
the Lord be with us,</i> herding himself with the thousands of
Israel, and admitting no comfort but what they might be sharers in,
so far is he from the thoughts of monopolizing it, though he had so
fair an occasion given him. Note, Public spirits reckon that only
an honour and joy to themselves which puts them in a capacity of
serving the common interests of God's church. Gideon was a mighty
man of valour, but as yet weak in faith, which makes it hard to him
to reconcile to the assurances now given him of the presence of
God, [1.] The distress to which Israel was reduced: <i>Why has all
this</i> (and <i>all this</i> was no little) <i>befallen us?</i>
Note, It is sometimes hard, but never impossible, to reconcile
cross providences with the presence of God and his favour. [2.] The
delay of their deliverance: "<i>Where are all the miracles which
our fathers told us of?</i> Why does not the same power which
delivered our fathers from the yoke of the Egyptians deliver us out
of the hands of the Midianites?" As if because God did not
immediately work miracles for their deliverance, though they had by
their sins forfeited his favour and help, it must be questioned
whether ever he had wrought the miracles which their fathers told
them of, or, if he had, whether he had now the same wisdom, and
power, and good-will to his people, that he had had formerly. This
was his weakness. We must not expect that the miracles which were
wrought when a church was in the forming, and some great truth in
the settling, should be continued and repeated when the formation
and settlement are completed: no, nor that the mercies God showed
to our fathers that served him, and kept close to him, should be
renewed to us, if we degenerate and revolt from him. Gideon ought
not to have said either, <i>First,</i> That <i>God had delivered
them into the hands of the Midianites,</i> for by their iniquities
they had sold themselves, or, <i>Secondly,</i> That now they were
in their hands he had forsaken them, for he had lately sent them a
prophet (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.8" parsed="|Judg|6|8|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>), which
was a certain indication that he had not forsaken them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p22">(3.) The angel gave him a very effectual
answer to his objections, by giving him a commission to deliver
Israel out of the hands of the Midianites, and assuring him of
success therein, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.14" parsed="|Judg|6|14|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>. Now the angel is called <i>Jehovah,</i> for he
speaks as one having authority, and not as a messenger. [1.] There
was something extraordinary in the look he now gave to Gideon; it
was a gracious favourable look, which revived his spirits that
dropped, and silenced his fears, such a look as that with which
God's <i>countenance beholds the upright,</i> <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.11.7" parsed="|Ps|11|7|0|0" passage="Ps 11:7">Ps. xi. 7</scripRef>. He looked upon him, and smiled at
the objections he made, which he gave him no direct answer to, but
girded and clothed him with such power as would shortly enable him
to answer them himself, and make him ashamed that ever he had made
them. It was a speaking look, like Christ's upon Peter (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.22.61" parsed="|Luke|22|61|0|0" passage="Lu 22:61">Luke xxii. 61</scripRef>), a powerful look, a
look that strangely darted new light and life into Gideon's breast,
and inspired him with a generous heat, far above what he felt
before. [2.] But there was much more in what he said to him.
<i>First,</i> He commissioned him to appear and act as Israel's
deliverer. Such a one the few thinking people in the nation, and
Gideon among the rest, were now expecting to be raised up,
according to God's former method, in answer to the cries of
oppressed Israel; and now Gideon is told, "Thou art the man: <i>Go
in this thy might,</i> this might wherewith thou art now threshing
wheat; go and employ it to a nobler purpose; <i>I will make thee a
thresher of men.</i>" Or, rather, "this might wherewith thou art
now endued by this look." God gave him his commission by giving him
all the qualifications that were necessary for the execution of it,
which is more than the mightiest prince and potentate on earth can
do for those to whom he gives commissions. God's fitting men for
work is a sure and constant evidence of his calling them to it.
"Go, not in thy might, that which is natural, and of thyself,
depend not on thy own valour; but go in <i>this</i> thy might, this
which thou hast now received, <i>go in the strength of the Lord
God,</i> that is, the strength with which thou must strengthen
thyself." <i>Secondly,</i> He assured him of success. This was
enough to put courage into him; he might be confident he should not
miscarry in the attempt; it should not turn either to his own
disgrace or the damage of his people (as baffled enterprises do),
but to his honour and their happiness: <i>Thou shalt save Israel
from the hand of the Midianites,</i> and so shalt not only be an
eye-witness, but a glorious instrument, of such wonders as thy
<i>fathers told thee of.</i> Gideon, we may suppose, looked as one
astonished at this strange and surprising power conferred upon him,
and questions whether he may depend upon what he hears: the angel
ratifies his commission with a <i>teste meipso</i>—<i>an appeal to
his own authority;</i> there needed no more. "<i>Have not I
commanded thee</i>—I that have all power in heaven and earth, and
particular authority here as Israel's King, giving commissions
immediately—<i>I</i> who <i>am that I am,</i> the same that sent
Moses?" <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p22.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.3.14" parsed="|Exod|3|14|0|0" passage="Ex 3:14">Exod. iii. 14</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p23">(4.) Gideon made a very modest objection
against this commission (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.15" parsed="|Judg|6|15|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:15"><i>v.</i>
15</scripRef>): <i>O my Lord! wherewith shall I save Israel?</i>
This question bespeaks him either, [1.] Distrustful of God and his
power, as if, though God should be with him, yet it were impossible
for him to save Israel. True faith is often weak, yet it shall not
be rejected, but encouraged and strengthened. Or, [2.] Inquisitive
concerning the methods he must take: "Lord, I labour under all
imaginable disadvantages for it; if I must do it, thou must put me
in the way." Note, Those who receive commissions from God must
expect and seek for instructions from him. Or rather, [3.] Humble,
self-diffident, and self-denying. The angel had honoured him, but
see how meanly he speaks of himself: "My family is comparatively
poor in Manasseh" (impoverished, it may be, more than other
families by the Midianites), "and I am the least, that have the
least honour and interest, <i>in my father's house;</i> what can I
pretend to do? I am utterly unfit for the service, and unworthy of
the honour." Note, God often chooses to do great things by those
that are little, especially that are so in their own eyes. God
delights to advance the humble.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p24">(5.) This objection was soon answered by a
repetition of the promise that God would be with him, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.16" parsed="|Judg|6|16|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. "Object not thy poverty
and meanness; such things have indeed often hindered men in great
enterprises, but what are they to a man that has the presence of
God with him, which will make up all the deficiencies of honour and
estate. <i>Surely I will be with thee,</i> to direct and strengthen
thee, and put such a reputation upon thee that, how weak soever thy
personal interest is, thou shalt have soldiers enough to follow
thee, and be assured <i>thou shalt smite the Midianites as one
man,</i> as easily as if they were but one man and as effectually.
All the thousands of Midian shall be as if they had but one neck,
and thou shalt have the cutting of it off."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p25">(6.) Gideon desires to have his faith
confirmed touching this commission; for he would not be
over-credulous of that which tended so much to his own praise,
would not venture upon an undertaking so far above him, and in
which he must engage many more, but he would be well satisfied
himself of his authority, and would be able to give satisfaction to
others as to him who gave him that authority. He therefore humbly
begs of this divine person, whoever he was, [1.] That he would give
him a sign, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.17" parsed="|Judg|6|17|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>.
And, the commission being given him out of the common road of
providence, he might reasonably expect it should be confirmed by
some act of God out of the common course of nature: "Show me a sign
to assure me of the truth of this concerning which thou talkest
with me, that it is something more than talk, and that thou art in
earnest." Now, under the dispensation of the Spirit, we are not to
expect signs before our eyes, such as Gideon here desired, but must
earnestly pray to God that, if <i>we have found grace in his
sight,</i> he would show us a sign in our heart, by the powerful
operations of his Spirit there, <i>fulfilling the work of
faith,</i> and perfecting what is lacking in it. [2.] In order
hereunto, that he would accept of a treat, and so give him a
further and longer opportunity of conversation with him, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.18" parsed="|Judg|6|18|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>. Those who know what it
is to have communion with God desire the continuance of it, and are
loth to part, praying with Gideon, <i>Depart not hence, I pray
thee.</i> That which Gideon desired in courting his stay was that
he might bring out some provision of meat for this stranger. He did
not take him into the house to entertain him there, perhaps because
his father's house were not well affected to him and his friends,
or because he desired still to be in private with this stranger,
and to converse with him alone (therefore he calls not for a
servant to bring the provision, but fetches it himself), or because
thus his father Abraham entertained angels unawares, not in his
tent, but under a tree, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.18.8" parsed="|Gen|18|8|0|0" passage="Ge 18:8">Gen. xviii.
8</scripRef>. Upon the angel's promise to stay to dinner with him,
he hastened to bring out a kid, which, it is likely, was ready
boiled for his own dinner, so that in making it ready he had
nothing to do but to put it in the basket (for here was no sauce to
serve it up in, nor the dish garnished) and the broth in a vessel,
and so he presented it, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p25.4" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.19" parsed="|Judg|6|19|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:19"><i>v.</i>
19</scripRef>. Hereby he intended, <i>First,</i> To testify his
grateful and generous respects to this stranger, and, in him, to
God who sent him, as one that studied what he should render. He had
pleaded the poverty of his family (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p25.5" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.15" parsed="|Judg|6|15|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>) to excuse himself from being a
general, but not here to excuse himself from being hospitable. Out
of the little which the Midianites had left him he would gladly
spare enough to entertain a friend, especially a messenger from
heaven. <i>Secondly,</i> To try who and what this extraordinary
person was. What he brought out is called his <i>present,</i>
<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p25.6" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.18" parsed="|Judg|6|18|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>. It is the
same word that is used for a meat-offering, and perhaps that word
is used which signifies both because Gideon intended to leave it to
this divine person to determine which it should be when he had it
before him: whether a feast or a meat-offering, and accordingly he
would be able to judge concerning him: if he ate of it as common
meat, he would suppose him to be a man, a prophet; if otherwise, as
it proved, he should know him to be an angel.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p26">(7.) The angel gives him a sign in and by
that which he had kindly prepared for his entertainment. For what
we offer to God for his glory, and in token of our gratitude to
him, will be made by the grace of God to turn to our own comfort
and satisfaction. The angel ordered him to take the flesh and bread
out of the basket, and lay it upon a hard and cold rock, and to
pour out the broth upon it, which, if he brought it hot, would soon
be cold there; and <i>Gideon did so</i> (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.20" parsed="|Judg|6|20|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>), believing that the angel
appointed it, not in contempt of his courtesy, but with an
intention to give him a sign, which he did, abundantly to his
satisfaction. For, [1.] He turned the <i>meat into an offering made
by fire, of a sweet savour</i> unto himself, showing hereby that he
was not a man who needed meat, but the Son of God who was to be
served and honoured by sacrifice, and who in the fulness of time
was to make himself a sacrifice. [2.] He brought fire <i>out of the
rock,</i> to consume this sacrifice, summoning it, not by striking
the rock, as we strike fire out of a flint, but by a gentle touch
given to the offering with the end of his staff, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p26.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.21" parsed="|Judg|6|21|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. Hereby he gave him a sign that
he had <i>found grace in his sight,</i> for God testified his
acceptance of sacrifices by kindling them, if public, with fire
from heaven, as those of Moses and Elias, if private, as this, with
fire out of the earth, which was equivalent: both were the effect
of divine power; and this acceptance of his sacrifice evidenced the
acceptance of his person, confirmed his commission, and perhaps was
intended to signify his success in the execution of it, that he and
his army should be a surprising terror and consumption to the
Midianites, like this fire out of the rock. [3.] He <i>departed out
of his sight</i> immediately, did not walk off as a man, but
vanished and disappeared as a spirit. Here was as much of a sign as
he could wish.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p27">(8.) Gideon, though no doubt he was
confirmed in his faith by the indications given of the divinity of
the person who had spoken to him, yet for the present was put into
a great fright by it, till God graciously pacified him and removed
his fears. [1.] Gideon speaks peril to himself (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.22" parsed="|Judg|6|22|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>): <i>When he perceived that he
was an angel</i> (which was not till he had departed, as the two
disciples knew not it was Jesus they had been talking with till he
was going, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.24.31" parsed="|Luke|24|31|0|0" passage="Lu 24:31">Luke xxiv. 31</scripRef>),
then he cried out, <i>Alas! O Lord God!</i> be merciful to me, I am
undone, for <i>I have seen an angel,</i> as Jacob, who wondered
that his life was preserved when he had seen God, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p27.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.32.30" parsed="|Gen|32|30|0|0" passage="Ge 32:30">Gen. xxxii. 30</scripRef>. Ever since man has by
sin exposed himself to God's wrath and curse an express from heaven
has been a terror to him, as he scarcely dares to expect good
tidings thence; at least, in this world of sense, it is a very
awful thing to have any sensible conversation with that world of
spirits to which we are so much strangers. Gideon's courage failed
him now. [2.] God speaks peace to him, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p27.4" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.23" parsed="|Judg|6|23|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>. It might have been fatal to
him, but he assures him it should not. The Lord had <i>departed out
of his sight,</i> <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p27.5" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.21" parsed="|Judg|6|21|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:21"><i>v.</i>
21</scripRef>. But though he must no longer walk by sight he might
still live by faith, that faith which comes by hearing; for the
Lord said to him, with an audible voice (as bishop Patrick thinks)
these encouraging words, "<i>Peace be unto thee,</i> all is well,
and be thou satisfied that it is so. Fear not; he that came to
employ thee did not intend to slay thee; <i>thou shalt not
die.</i>" See how ready God is to revive the hearts of those that
tremble at his word and presence, and to give those that stand in
awe of his majesty assurances of his mercy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p28">3. The memorial of this vision which Gideon
set up was a monument in form of an altar, the rather because it
was by a kind of sacrifice upon a rock, without the solemnity of an
altar, that the angel manifested his acceptance of him; then an
altar was unnecessary (the angel's staff was sufficient to sanctify
the gift without an altar), but now it was of use to preserve the
remembrance of the vision, which was done by the name Gideon gave
to this memorial, <i>Jehovah-shalom</i> (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.24" parsed="|Judg|6|24|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>)—<i>The Lord peace.</i> This
is, (1.) The title of the Lord that spoke to him. Compare <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.16.13" parsed="|Gen|16|13|0|0" passage="Ge 16:13">Gen. xvi. 13</scripRef>. The same that is the
<i>Lord our righteousness</i> is <i>our peace</i> (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p28.3" osisRef="Bible:Eph.2.14" parsed="|Eph|2|14|0|0" passage="Eph 2:14">Eph. ii. 14</scripRef>), our reconciler and so
our Saviour. Or, (2.) The substance of what he said to him: "<i>The
Lord spoke peace,</i> and created that fruit of the lips, bade me
be easy when I was in that agitation." Or, (3.) A prayer grounded
upon what he had said, so the margin understands it: <i>The Lord
send peace,</i> that is, rest from the present trouble, for still
the public welfare lay nearest his heart.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jud.vii-p0.5" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.25-Judg.6.32" parsed="|Judg|6|25|6|32" passage="Jud 6:25-32" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Judg.6.25-Judg.6.32">
<h4 id="Jud.vii-p28.5">Gideon Overturns the Altar of Baal; Gideon
Rescued from the Mob. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p28.6">b. c.</span> 1249.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jud.vii-p29">25 And it came to pass the same night, that the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p29.1">Lord</span> 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 <i>is</i> by it:   26 And build an altar unto
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p29.2">Lord</span> 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 <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p29.3">Lord</span> had said unto him:
and <i>so</i> it was, because he feared his father's household, and
the men of the city, that he could not do <i>it</i> by day, that he
did <i>it</i> 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 <i>was</i> by it, and the
second bullock was offered upon the altar <i>that was</i> built.
  29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing?
And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of
Joash hath done this thing.   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 <i>was</i> 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 <i>it is yet</i>
morning: if he <i>be</i> a god, let him plead for himself, because
<i>one</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p30">Here, I. Orders are given to Gideon to
begin his government with the reformation of his father's house,
<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.25-Judg.6.26" parsed="|Judg|6|25|6|26" passage="Jdg 6:25,26"><i>v.</i> 25, 26</scripRef>. A
correspondence being settled between God and Gideon, by the
appearance of the angel to him, it was kept up in another way; the
same night after he had seen God, when he was full of thoughts
concerning what had passed, which probably he had not yet
communicated to any, <i>The Lord said unto him</i> in a dream,
<i>Do so and so.</i> Note, God's visits, if gratefully received,
shall be graciously repeated. Bid God welcome, and he will come
again. Gideon is appointed, 1. To throw down Baal's altar, which it
seems his father had, either for his own house or perhaps for the
whole town. See the power of God's grace, that he could raise up a
reformer, and the condescensions of his grace, that he would raise
up a deliverer, out of the family of one that was a ring-leader in
idolatry. But Gideon must not now think it enough not to worship at
that altar, which we charitably hope he had not done, but he must
throw it down; not consecrate the same altar to God (it is bishop
Hall's observation), but utterly demolish it. God first commands
down the monuments of superstition, and then enjoins his own
service. He must likewise <i>cut down the grove that was by it,</i>
the plantation of young trees, designed to beautify the place. The
learned bishop Patrick, by the grove, understands the image in the
grove, probably the image of Ashtaroth (for the word for a grove is
<i>Ashereh</i>), which stood upon or close by the altar. 2. To
erect an altar to God, <i>to Jehovah his God,</i> which probably
was to be notified by an inscription upon the altar to that
purport—to Jehovah, Gideon's God, or Israel's. It would have been
an improper thing for him to build an altar, even to the God of
Israel, especially for burnt-offering and sacrifice, and would have
been construed into a contempt of the altar at Shiloh, if God, who
has not tied up himself to his own laws, had not bidden him to do
it. But now it was his duty and honour to be thus employed. God
directs him to the place where he should build it, on the <i>top of
the rock,</i> perhaps in the same place in which the angel had
appeared to him, near to the altar he had already built: and he
must not do it in a hurry, but with the decency that became a
religious action (<i>in an orderly manner,</i> as it is in the
margin), according to the ancient law for altars raised on
particular occasions, that they must be of earth not of hewn stone.
The word here used for the rock on which the altar was to be built
signifies a fortress, or strong-hold, erected, some think, to
secure them from the Midianites; if so, it was no security while
the altar of Baal was so near it, but it was effectually fortified
when an altar to the Lord was built on the top of it, for that is
the best defence upon our glory. On this altar, (1.) He was to
offer sacrifice. Two bullocks he must offer: his father's <i>young
bullock, and the second bullock of seven years old,</i> so it
should rather be read, not <i>even</i> the second as we read it.
The former, we may suppose, he was to offer for himself, the latter
<i>for the sins of the people</i> whom he was to deliver. It was
requisite he should thus make peace with God, before he made war on
Midian. Till sin be pardoned through the great sacrifice, no good
is to be expected. These bullocks, it is supposed, were intended
for sacrifices on the altar of Baal, but were now converted to a
better use. Thus, when the <i>strong man armed</i> is overcome and
dispossessed, the stronger than he divides the spoil, seizes that
for himself <i>which was prepared for Baal.</i> Let him come
<i>whose right it is,</i> and <i>give it to him.</i> (2.) Ball's
grove, or image, or whatever it was that was the sanctity or beauty
of his altar, must not only be burnt, but must be used as fuel for
God's altar, to signify not only that whatever sets up itself in
opposition to God shall be destroyed, but that the justice of God
will be glorified in its destruction. God ordered Gideon to do
this, [1.] To try his zeal for religion, which it was necessary he
should give proofs of before he took the field, to give proof of
his valour there. [2.] That some steps might hereby to taken
towards Israel's reformation, which must prepare the way for their
deliverance. Sin, the cause, must be taken away, else how should
the trouble, which was but the effect, come to an end? And it might
be hoped that this example of Gideon's, who was now shortly to
appear so great a man, would be followed by the rest of the cities
and tribes, and the destruction of this one altar of Baal would be
the destruction of many.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p31">II. Gideon was <i>obedient to the heavenly
vision,</i> <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.27" parsed="|Judg|6|27|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>.
He that was to command the Israel of God must be subject to the God
of Israel, without disputing, and, as a type of Christ, must first
<i>save his people from their sins,</i> and then save them from
their enemies. 1. He had servants of his own, whom he could confide
in, who, we may suppose, like him, had kept their integrity, and
had <i>not bowed the knee to Baal,</i> and therefore were forward
to assist him in destroying the altar of Baal. 2. He did not
scruple taking his father's bullock and offering it to God without
his father's consent, because God, who expressly commanded him to
do so, had a better title to it than his father had, and it was the
greatest real kindness he could do to his father to prevent his
sin. 3. He expected to incur the displeasure of his father's
household by it, and the ill-will of his neighbours, yet he did it,
remembering how much it was Levi's praise that, in the cause of
God, <i>he said to his father and mother, I have not seen him,</i>
<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p31.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.33.9" parsed="|Deut|33|9|0|0" passage="De 33:9">Deut. xxxiii. 9</scripRef>. And, while
he was sure of the favour of God, he feared not the anger of men;
he that bade him do it would bear him out. Yet, 4. Though he feared
not their resentment when it was done, to prevent their resistance
in the doing of it he prudently chose to do it by night, that he
might not be disturbed in these sacred actions. And some think it
was the same night in which God spoke to him to do it, and that, as
soon as ever he had received the orders, he immediately applied
himself to the execution of them, and finished before morning.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p32">III. He was brought into peril of his life
for doing it, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p32.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.28-Judg.6.30" parsed="|Judg|6|28|6|30" passage="Jdg 6:28-30"><i>v.</i>
28-30</scripRef>. 1. It was soon discovered what was done. Gideon,
when he had gone through with the business, did not desire the
concealment of it, nor could it be hid, for the men of the city
<i>rose early in the morning,</i> as it should seem, to say their
matins at Baal's altar, and so to begin the day with their god,
such a one as he was, a shame to those who say the true God is
their God, and yet, in the morning, direct no prayer to him, nor
look up. 2. It was soon discovered who had done it. Strict enquiry
was made. Gideon was known to be disaffected to the worship of
Baal, which brought him into suspicion, and positive proof
immediately came against him: "Gideon, no doubt, <i>has done this
thing.</i>" 3. Gideon being found guilty of the fact, to such a
pitch of impiety had these degenerate Israelites arrived that they
take it for law he must die for the same, and require his own
father (who, by patronising their idolatry, had given them too much
cause to expect he would comply with them herein) to deliver him
up: <i>Bring out thy son, that he may die.</i> Be astonished, O
heavens! at this, and tremble, O earth! By the law of God the
worshippers of Baal were to die, but these wicked men impiously
turn the penalty upon the worshippers of the God of Israel. How
prodigiously mad were they upon their idols! Was it not enough to
offer the choicest of their bullocks to Baal, but must the bravest
youth of their city fall as a sacrifice to that dunghill-deity,
when they pretended he was provoked? How soon will idolaters become
persecutors!</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p33">IV. He was rescued out of the hands of his
persecutors by his own father, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p33.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.31" parsed="|Judg|6|31|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p34">1. There were those that stood against
Gideon, that not only appeared at the first to make a demand, but
insisted on it, and would have him put to death. Notwithstanding
the heavy judgments they were at this time under for their
idolatry, yet they hated to be reformed, and walked contrary to God
even when he was walking contrary to them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p35">2. Yet then <i>Joash stood for him;</i> he
was one of the chief men of the city. Those that have power may do
a great deal for the protection of an honest man and an honest
cause, and when they so use their power they are ministers of God
for good.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p36">(1.) This Joash had patronised Baal's
altar, yet now protects him that had destroyed it, [1.] Out of
natural affection to his son, and perhaps a particular esteem for
him as a virtuous, valiant, valuable, young man, and never the
worse for not joining with him in the worship of Baal. Many that
have not courage enough to keep their integrity themselves yet have
so much conscience left as makes them love and esteem those that
do. If Joash had a kindness for Baal, yet he had a greater kindness
for his son. Or, [2.] Out of a care for the public peace. The mob
grew riotous, and, he feared, would grow more so, and therefore, as
some think, he bestirred himself to repress the tumult: "Let it be
left to the judges; it is not for you to pass sentence upon any
man;" he that offers it, <i>let him be put to death:</i> he means
not as an idolater, but as a disturber of the peace, and the mover
of sedition. Under this same colour Paul was rescued at Ephesus
from those that were as zealous for Diana as these were for Baal,
<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p36.1" osisRef="Bible:Acts.19.40" parsed="|Acts|19|40|0|0" passage="Ac 19:40">Acts xix. 40</scripRef>. Or, [3.] Out
of a conviction that Gideon had done well. His son, perhaps, had
reasoned with him, or God, who has all hearts in his hands, had
secretly and effectually influenced him to appear thus against the
advocates for Baal, though he had complied with them formerly in
the worship of Baal. Note, It is good to appear for God when we are
called to it, though there be few or none to second us, because God
can incline the hearts of those to stand by us from whom we little
expect assistance. Let us do our duty, and then trust God with our
safety.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p37">(2.) Two things Joash urges:—[1.] That it
was absurd for them to plead for Baal. "Will you that are
Israelites, the worshippers of the one only living and true God,
plead for Baal, a false god? Will you be so sottish, so senseless?
Those whose fathers' god Baal was, and who never knew any other,
are more excusable in pleading for him than you are, that are in
covenant with Jehovah, and have been trained up in the knowledge of
him. You that have smarted so much for worshipping Baal, and have
brought all this mischief and calamity upon yourselves by it, will
you yet plead for Baal?" Note, It is bad to commit sin, but it is
great wickedness indeed to plead for it, especially to plead for
Baal, that idol, whatever it is, which possesses that room in the
heart which God should have. [2.] That it was needless for them to
plead for Baal. If he were not a god, as was pretended, they could
have nothing to say for him; if he were, he was able to plead for
himself, as the God of Israel had often done by fire from heaven,
or some other judgment against those who put contempt upon him.
Here is a fair challenge to Baal to <i>do either good or evil,</i>
and the result convinced his worshippers of their folly in praying
to one to help them that could not avenge himself; after this
Gideon remarkably prospered, and thereby it appeared how unable
Baal was to maintain his own cause.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p38">(3.) Gideon's father hereupon gave him a
new name (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p38.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.32" parsed="|Judg|6|32|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:32"><i>v.</i> 32</scripRef>); he
called him <i>Jerubbaal:</i> "Let Baal plead; let him plead against
him if he can; if he have any thing to say for himself against his
destroyer, let him say it." This name was a standing defiance to
Baal: "Now that Gideon is taking up arms against the Midianites
that worship Baal, let him defend his worshippers if he can." It
likewise gave honour to Gideon (a sworn enemy to that great
usurper, and that had carried the day against him), that
encouragement to his soldiers, that they fought under one that
fought for God against this great competitor with him for the
throne. It is the probable conjecture of the learned that that
Jerombalus whom Sanchoniathon (one of the most ancient of all the
heathen writers) speaks of as <i>a priest of the god Jao</i> (a
corruption of the name <i>Jehovah</i>), and one to whom he was
indebted for a great deal of knowledge, was this Jerubbaal. He is
called <i>Jerubbesheth</i> (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p38.2" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.11.21" parsed="|2Sam|11|21|0|0" passage="2Sa 11:21">2 Sam.
xi. 21</scripRef>), <i>Baal,</i> a <i>lord,</i> being fitly turned
into <i>Besheth, shame.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Jud.vii-p0.6" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.33-Judg.6.40" parsed="|Judg|6|33|6|40" passage="Jud 6:33-40" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Judg.6.33-Judg.6.40">
<h4 id="Jud.vii-p38.4">Gideon's Fleece. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p38.5">b. c.</span> 1249.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jud.vii-p39">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 <span class="smallcaps" id="Jud.vii-p39.1">Lord</span> came upon Gideon, and he
blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.   35 And
he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered
after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and
unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.   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;
<i>and</i> if the dew be on the fleece only, and <i>it be</i> dry
upon all the earth <i>beside,</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p40">Here we have, I. The descent which the
enemies of Israel made upon them, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p40.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.33" parsed="|Judg|6|33|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:33"><i>v.</i> 33</scripRef>. A vast number of Midianites,
Amalekites, and Arabians, got together, and came over Jordan, none
either caring or daring to guard that important and advantageous
pass against them, and they made their headquarters in the valley
of Jezreel, in the heart of Manasseh's tribe, not far from Gideon's
city. Some think that the notice they had of Gideon's destroying
Baal's altar brought them over, and that they came to plead for
Baal and to make that a pretence for quarrelling with Israel; but
it is more likely that it was now harvest-time, when they had been
wont each year to make such a visit as this (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p40.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.3" parsed="|Judg|6|3|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>), and that they were expected when
Gideon was threshing, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p40.3" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.11" parsed="|Judg|6|11|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>. God raised up Gideon to be ready against this
terrible blow came. Their success so many years in these
incursions, the little opposition they had met with and the great
booty they had carried off, made them now both very eager and very
confident. But it proved that <i>the measure of their iniquity was
full</i> and the year of recompence had come; they must now <i>make
an end to spoil</i> and <i>must be spoiled,</i> and they are
<i>gathered as sheaves to the floor</i> (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p40.4" osisRef="Bible:Mic.4.12-Mic.4.13" parsed="|Mic|4|12|4|13" passage="Mic 4:12,13">Mic. iv. 12, 13</scripRef>), for Gideon to
thresh.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p41">II. The preparation which Gideon makes to
attack them in their camp, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p41.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.34-Judg.6.35" parsed="|Judg|6|34|6|35" passage="Jdg 6:34,35"><i>v.</i> 34, 35</scripRef>. 1. God by his Spirit put
life into Gideon: <i>The Spirit of the Lord clothes Gideon</i> (so
the word is), clothed him as a robe, to put honour upon him,
clothed him as a coat of mail, to put defence upon him. Those are
well clad that are thus clothed. <i>A spirit of fortitude from
before the Lord clothed Gideon;</i> so the Chaldee. He was of
himself a mighty man of valour; yet personal strength and courage,
though vigorously exerted, would not suffice for this great action;
he must have the <i>armour of God</i> upon him, and this is what he
must depend upon: <i>The Spirit of the Lord clothed him</i> in an
extraordinary manner. Whom God calls to his work he will qualify
and animate for it. 2. Gideon with his trumpet put life into his
neighbours, God working with him; he <i>blew a trumpet,</i> to call
in volunteers, and more came in than perhaps he expected. (1.) The
men of Abiezer, though lately enraged against him for throwing down
the altar of Baal, and though they had condemned him to death as a
criminal, were now convinced of their error, bravely came in to his
assistance, and submitted to him as their general: <i>Abiezer was
gathered after him,</i> <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p41.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.34" parsed="|Judg|6|34|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:34"><i>v.</i>
34</scripRef>. So suddenly can God turn the hearts even of
idolaters and persecutors. (2.) Distant tribes, even Asher and
Naphtali, which lay most remote, though strangers to him, obeyed
his summons, and sent him in the best of their forces, <scripRef id="Jud.vii-p41.3" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.35" parsed="|Judg|6|35|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:35"><i>v.</i> 35</scripRef>. Though they lay
furthest from the danger, yet, considering that if their neighbours
were over-run by the Midianites their own turn would be next, they
were forward to join against a common enemy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jud.vii-p42">III. The signs which God gratified him
with, for the confirming both of his own faith and that of his
followers; and perhaps it was more for their sakes than for his own
that he desired them. Or, perhaps, he desired by these to be
satisfied whether this was the time of his conquering the
Midianites, or whether he was to wait for some other opportunity.
Observe, 1. His request for a sign (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p42.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.36-Judg.6.37" parsed="|Judg|6|36|6|37" passage="Jdg 6:36,37"><i>v.</i> 36, 37</scripRef>): "Let me by this <i>know
that thou wilt save Israel by my hand,</i> let <i>a fleece of
wool,</i> spread in the open air, be <i>wet with the dew,</i> and
let the ground about it be dry." The purport of this is, <i>Lord, I
believe, help thou my unbelief.</i> He found his own faith weak and
wavering, and therefore begged of God by this sign to perfect what
was lacking in it. We may suppose that God, who intended to give
him these signs, for the glorifying of his own power and goodness,
put it into his heart to ask them. Yet, when he repeated his
request for a second sign, the reverse of the former, he did it
with a very humble apology, deprecating God's displeasure, because
it looked so like a peevish humoursome distrust of God and
dissatisfaction with the many assurances he had already given him
(<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p42.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.6.39" parsed="|Judg|6|39|0|0" passage="Jdg 6:39"><i>v.</i> 39</scripRef>): <i>Let not
thy anger be hot against me.</i> Though he took the boldness to ask
another sign, yet he did it with such fear and trembling as showed
that the familiarity God had graciously admitted him to did not
breed any contempt of God's glory, nor presumption on God's
goodness. Abraham had given him an example of this, when God gave
him leave to be very free with him (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p42.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.18.30 Bible:Gen.18.32" parsed="|Gen|18|30|0|0;|Gen|18|32|0|0" passage="Ge 18:30,32">Gen. xviii. 30, 32</scripRef>), <i>O let not the Lord
be angry, and I will speak.</i> God's favour must be sought with
great reverence, a due sense of our distance, and a religious fear
of his wrath. 2. God's gracious grant of his request. See how
tender God is of true believers though they be weak, and how ready
to condescend to their infirmities, that the bruised reed may not
be broken nor the smoking flax quenched. Gideon would have <i>the
fleece wet</i> and the <i>ground dry;</i> but then, lest any should
object, "It is natural for wool, if ever so little moisture fall,
to drink it in and retain it, and therefore there was nothing
extraordinary in this," though the quantity wrung out was
sufficient to obviate such an objection, yet he desires that next
night the ground might be wet and the fleece dry, and it is done,
so willing is God to <i>give to the heirs of promise strong
consolation</i> (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p42.4" osisRef="Bible:Heb.6.17-Heb.6.18" parsed="|Heb|6|17|6|18" passage="Heb 6:17,18">Heb. vi. 17,
18</scripRef>), even by two immutable things. He suffers himself,
not only to be prevailed with by their importunities, but even to
be prescribed to by their doubts and dissatisfactions. These signs
were, (1.) Truly miraculous, and therefore abundantly serving to
confirm his commission. It is said of the dew that it is <i>from
the Lord,</i> and <i>tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons
of men</i> (<scripRef id="Jud.vii-p42.5" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.7" parsed="|Mic|5|7|0|0" passage="Mic 5:7">Micah v. 7</scripRef>); and
yet God here in this matter <i>hearkened to the voice of a man;</i>
as to Joshua, in directing the course of the sun, so to Gideon in
directing that of the dew, by which it appears that it falls not by
chance, but by providence. The latter sign inverted the former,
and, to please Gideon, it was wrought backward and forward, whence
Dr. Fuller observes that <i>heaven's real miracles will endure
turning, being inside and outside both alike.</i> (2.) Very
significant. He and his men were going to engage the Midianites;
could God distinguish between a small fleece of Israel and the vast
floor of Midian? Yes, by this he is made to know that he can. Is
Gideon desirous that the dew of divine grace might descend upon
himself in particular? He sees the fleece wet with dew to assure
him of it. Does he desire that God will be as the dew to all
Israel? Behold, all the ground is wet. Some make this fleece an
emblem of the Jewish nation, which, when time was, was wet with the
dew of God's word and ordinances, while the rest of the world was
dry; but since the rejection of Christ and his gospel they are dry
<i>as the heath in the wilderness,</i> while the nations about are
<i>as a watered garden.</i></p>
</div></div2>