Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 6:33
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.
33 40. The Midianite invasion; the sign of the fleece
33 . Then all the Midianites assembled themselves ] Better, Now all the M. had assembled themselves. This verse may be connected with Jdg 6:7-10 ; Jdg 6:25-32; it prepares the way for the account of the battle in ch. 7 For the Amalekites etc. see on Jdg 6:3.
the valley of Jezreel ] Jos 17:16, Hos 1:5; not the Great Plain west of Jezreel, but the broad, deep valley which descends eastwards from Jezreel down to the Jordan. It was not till after OT. times that the Great Plain was called the Plain of Esdralon (the Greek form of Jezreel), Jdt 1:8 . The Midianites advanced from the E., passed over Jordan, and entered Palestine by the valley (Wdi Jlud) which leads up to Jezreel (Zer‘n).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A fresh invasion, and the last, of Midianites Amalekites, and Arabs (see Jdg 6:3). But the Israelites, instead of hiding in dens and caves, and tamely leaving all their substance as pIunder to the invaders, now rally around their leader.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jdg 6:33
The Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east.
The victory over the Midianites
The mind of man is by nature like two hostile camps. In the higher region are principles of innocence, hope, love, justice, trust, kindness, purity, and tenderness–those angels of the soul–For of such is the kingdom of heaven. In the lower regions of the soul are selfishness, pride, vanity, contempt for others, injustice, faithlessness, harshness, impurity, and violence, and of such is the kingdom of hell. There can be no peace between these two (Isa 57:20-21). Life is a state of conflict, both for the virtuous and the evil. The virtuous, however, strive on the side of heaven, and they are assisted by heavenly powers, and by the Saviour Himself. They have often cessations of warfare, seasons of blessing, and their end is peace. The wicked struggle against their better part; they oppose their inner convictions; they stifle the voice of conscience; they smother their nobler impulses; they harden themselves against God and goodness. It is in reflecting light upon these mental struggles, and affording guidance to the earnest Christian, that the history of the wars of the Israelites is of inestimable value. Let us trace and apply the lesson in the narrative before us. The Israelites had been much infested by three nations in their immediate neighbourhood, the Amalekites, the Midianites, and a people called the children of the east. They oppressed them with a cruel hand: they destroyed even the means of subsistence. These people–at least the Amalekites and the Midianites–were descendants from Abraham indirectly, and inhabited the borders of Canaan on the south, south-east, and east. They were at the land, but not in the land. Hence they correspond to the principles of those who border on the Church, but are not in it. They know and believe what the gospel teaches in a certain fashion, but do not love and do it. They are opposed to, and hasten to destroy, a growing and progressive religion. They assailed Israel most cruelly on their march, and came, as recorded in the narrative before us, to destroy the rising corn. They were all at this time deadly enemies of Israel. The Amalekites were the most malignant. It is recorded of them that they insidiously hung around the Israelites on their march, and when any remained behind from weakness or weariness they were put to death by these lurking and harassing foes (Deu 25:17-18). Amalek was the most powerful foe of Israel during the pilgrimage in the wilderness, as well as the most malignant (Num 24:20). Amalek has an awful peculiarity of notice from Jehovah (Exo 17:14-16). From all this it is not difficult to draw the inference that Amalek must be the representative of some peculiarly deadly principle, some malignant strong delusion, to which the Spirit of the Lord is incessantly opposed. There are times in our journey of life when we feel weary and toilworn; when we are tired of our struggles against our evils and our difficulties, and become almost hopeless. Life seems hollow and a blank. We are weary with the world and with ourselves. Perhaps high hopes have been blighted. At such times the deadly fallacy will break in upon us, Give up; throw all good aside; strive no longer. Do as other people do; get as much sinful pleasure and sinful gain as you can, and take your chance with the millions who are reckless. This is Amalek. Many a poor weak soul, battered and downcast in the struggle of life, has sunk under this direful despairing suggestion. Oh! that men would learn to remember that this principle of despairing delusion is abhorrent to the Divine love. Jehovah has war with Amalek, from generation to generation. Never despair, should be the motto of life. The Midianites were not always enemies of Israel. They were traders and intermediate between Egypt and Canaan. Midianites drew Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites, thus saving his life. That they were representatives is evident from their being mentioned in the prophetical part of the Scriptures as taking part in operations of the future Church, in times when Midian, as a distinct nation or tribe, would long have ceased to be (Isa 60:6). On the other hand, in that sublime and mysterious vision of the prophet Habakkuk the prophet says (Hab 3:7-8). Midian, then, sometimes the friend and sometimes the foe of the Church; sometimes assisting the praises of the Lord, and sometimes covering the soul with curtains which tremble before the judgment and presence of the Lord, is the type of that kind of general belief in the doctrines of religion which may lead to something better, but in which great numbers often rest, so as to make a profession of a kind of faith which is not saving, because neither grounded in love, nor flowing into practice. The children of the east, the coadjutors of the two former, represent all such portions of the Scriptures as can be pressed into the service of an inward aversion to God and goodness, but combined with an outward profession of piety and regard for holiness. (J. Bailey, Ph. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 33. Then all the Midianites] Hearing of what Gideon had done, and apprehending that this might be a forerunner of attempts to regain their liberty, they formed a general association against Israel.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Not that Jezreel in Judah, of which Jos 15:56; but another in the borders of Manasseh and Issachar, Jos 17:16; 19:18, which is not far distant from Ophrah, where Gideon dwelt, and now was.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
33. all the Midianites . . . pitchedin JezreelThe confederated troops of Midian, Amalek, and theirneighbors, crossing the Jordan to make a fresh inroad on Canaan,encamped in the plains of Esdraelon (anciently Jezreel). The southernpart of the Ghor lies in a very low level, so that there is a steepand difficult descent into Canaan by the southern wadies. Keepingthis in view, we see the reason why the Midianite army, from the eastof Jordan, entered Canaan by the northern wadies of the Ghor,opposite Jezreel.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then all the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east,…. The Arabians, Jud 6:3 were gathered together; not as being alarmed with this fact of Gideon in destroying the altar of Baal, and so came to avenge it; but it was their usual time of gathering together to come into Canaan, being harvest time, as appears by Gideon being employed in threshing, to fetch away the increase of the earth, as they had done for some years past:
and went over; the river Jordan, which lay between the Midianites and the Israelites:
and pitched in the valley of Jezreel; a very large, delightful, and fruitful plain; of which [See comments on Ho 1:5]; a very proper place for such a large number to pitch on, and from whence they might receive much; and a suitable place to bring the increase of the land to, from the several parts of it, which was the business they came upon; and as this lay on the borders of Issachar and Manasseh, it was not far from Gideon, and this gave him an opportunity of exerting himself, and executing his commission.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Equipment of Gideon for the Battle. – When the Midianites and their allies once more invaded the land of Israel, Gideon was seized by the Spirit of God, so that he gathered together an army from the northern tribes of Israel (Jdg 6:33-35), and entreated God to assure him by a sign of gaining the victory over the enemy (Jdg 6:36-40).
Jdg 6:33-35 The enemy gathered together again, went over (viz., across) the Jordan in the neighbourhood of Beisan (see at Jdg 7:24 and Jdg 8:4), and encamped in the valley of Jezreel (see at Jos 17:16). “ And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Gideon ” ( , clothed, i.e., descended upon him, and laid itself around him as it were like a coat of mail, or a strong equipment, so that he became invulnerable and invincible in its might: see 1Ch 12:18; 2Ch 24:20, and Luk 24:49). Gideon then blew the trumpet, to call Israel to battle against the foe (see Jdg 3:27); “ and Abiezer let itself be summoned after him. ” His own family, which had recognised the deliverer of Israel in the fighter of Baal, who was safe from Baal’s revenge, was the first to gather round him. Their example was followed by all Manasseh, i.e., the Manassites on the west of the Jordan (for the tribes on the east of the Jordan took no part in the war), and the neighbouring tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali on the north, which had been summoned by heralds to the battle. “ They advanced to meet them: ” i.e., to meet the Manassites, who were coming from the south to the battle, to make war upon the enemy in concert with them and under the guidance of Gideon. is used to denote their advance against the enemy (see at Jos 8:2), and not in the sense of going up, since the Asherites and Naphtalites would not go up from their mountains into the plain of Jezreel, but could only go down.
Jdg 6:36-37 But before Gideon went into the battle with the assembled army, he asked for a sign from God of the success of his undertaking. “ If Thou, ” he said to God, “ art saving Israel through my hand, as Thou hast said, behold, I lay this fleece of wool upon the floor; if there shall be dew upon the fleece only, and dryness upon all the earth (round about), I know (by this ) that Thou wilt save, ” etc. , the shorn of the wool; i.e., the fleece, the wool that had been shorn off a sheep, and still adhered together as one whole fleece. The sign which Gideon asked for, therefore, was that God would cause the dew to fall only upon a shorn fleece, which he would spread the previous night upon the floor, that is to say, upon some open ground, and that the ground all round might not be moistened by the dew.
Jdg 6:38 God granted the sign. “ And so it came to pass; the next morning, Gideon pressed the fleece together ( from ), and squeezed ( from ) dew out of the fleece a vessel full of water ” ( as in Num 22:18, and as in Jdg 5:25). So copiously had the dew fallen in the night upon the fleece that was exposed; whereas, as we may supply from the context, the earth all round had remained dry.
Jdg 6:39-40 But as this sign was not quite a certain one, since wool generally attracts the dew, even when other objects remain dry, Gideon ventured to solicit the grace of God to grant him another sign with the fleece, – namely, that the fleece might remain dry, and the ground all round be wet with dew. And God granted him this request also. Gideon’s prayer for a sign did not arise from want of faith in the divine assurance of a victory, but sprang from the weakness of the flesh, which crippled the strength of the spirit’s faith, and often made the servants of God so anxious and despondent, that God had to come to the relief of their weakness by the manifestation of His miraculous power. Gideon knew himself and his own strength, and was well aware that his human strength was not sufficient for the conquest of the foe. But as the Lord had promised him His aid, he wished to make sure of that aid through the desired sign.
(Note: “From all these things, the fact that he had seen and heard the angel of Jehovah, and that he had been taught by fire out of the rock, by the disappearance of the angel, by the vision of the night, and by the words addressed to him there, Gideon did indeed believe that God both could and would deliver Israel through his instrumentality; but this faith was not placed above or away from the conflict of the flesh by which it was tested. And it is not strange that it rose to its greatest height when the work of deliverance was about to be performed. Wherefore Gideon with his faith sought for a sign from God against the more vehement struggle of the flesh, in order that his faith might be the more confirmed, and might resist the opposing flesh with the great force. And this petition for a sign was combined with prayers for the strengthening of his faith.” – Seb. Schmidt.)
And “the simple fact that such a man could obtain the most daring victory was to be a special glorification of God” ( O. v. Gerlach). The sign itself was to manifest the strength of the divine assistance to his weakness of faith. Dew in the Scriptures is a symbol of the beneficent power of God, which quickens, revives, and invigorates the objects of nature, when they have been parched by the burning heat of the sun’s rays. The first sign was to be a pledge to him of the visible and tangible blessing of the Lord upon His people, the proof that He would grant them power over their mighty foes by whom Israel was then oppressed. The woollen fleece represented the nation of Israel in its condition at that time, when God had given power to the foe that was devastating its land, and had withdrawn His blessing from Israel. The moistening of the fleece with the dew of heaven whilst the land all round continued dry, was a sign that the Lord God would once more give strength to His people from on high, and withdraw it from the nations of the earth. Hence the second sign acquires the more general signification, “that the Lord manifested himself even in the weakness and forsaken condition of His people, while the nations were flourishing all around” ( O. v. Gerl.); and when so explained, it served to confirm and strengthen the first, inasmuch as it contained the comforting assurance for all times, that the Lord has not forsaken His church, even when it cannot discern and trace His beneficent influence, but rules over it and over the nations with His almighty power.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Gideon’s Fleece. | B. C. 1249. |
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 LORD 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; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, 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.
Here we have, I. The descent which the enemies of Israel made upon them, v. 33. 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 (v. 3), and that they were expected when Gideon was threshing, v. 11. 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 the measure of their iniquity was full and the year of recompence had come; they must now make an end to spoil and must be spoiled, and they are gathered as sheaves to the floor (Mic 4:12; Mic 4:13), for Gideon to thresh.
II. The preparation which Gideon makes to attack them in their camp, Jdg 5:34; Jdg 5:35. 1. God by his Spirit put life into Gideon: The Spirit of the Lord clothes Gideon (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. A spirit of fortitude from before the Lord clothed Gideon; 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 armour of God upon him, and this is what he must depend upon: The Spirit of the Lord clothed him 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 blew a trumpet, 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: Abiezer was gathered after him, v. 34. 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, v. 35. 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.
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 (Jdg 5:36; Jdg 5:37): “Let me by this know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, let a fleece of wool, spread in the open air, be wet with the dew, and let the ground about it be dry.” The purport of this is, Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. 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 (v. 39): Let not thy anger be hot against me. 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 (Gen 18:30; Gen 18:32), O let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. 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 the fleece wet and the ground dry; 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 give to the heirs of promise strong consolation (Heb 6:17; Heb 6:18), 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 from the Lord, and tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men (Micah v. 7); and yet God here in this matter hearkened to the voice of a man; 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 heaven’s real miracles will endure turning, being inside and outside both alike. (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 as the heath in the wilderness, while the nations about are as a watered garden.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Opposing Side Gathering, vs. 33-40
When their enemies heard that Israel was stirring in opposition they gathered all their immense forces with intent to totally destroy Israel, it would seem. They picked the broad, fertile, farming valley of Jezreel for their battle site: It was located near the separating border of Manasseh, Gideon’s tribe, and Issachar. From it the valley of Armageddon extends northwestward toward the Mediterranean.
The Spirit of the Lord moved in Gideon and he blew the battle trumpet The men who had but shortly wanted to stone him for casting down Baal’s altar now rallied to his support. Gideon also sent off messengers to invite the northern tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali to join the Manassites in the fray. He sent no messengers at this juncture to the tribes of the south, a failure with which he would be later confronted (Jdg 8:1 ff).
Gideon still felt weak and doubtful, so he proposed to test the Lord again. In some respects it might seem commendable that Gideon wished to be absolutely certain that he was in the will of the Lord, although it seems his faith was somewhat lacking yet. He first proposed to test the Lord by putting out a fleece of wool and asking Him to make the dew of the night fall only on the fleece. His test was wondrously met, so that the next morning Gideon found the ground dry, but wrung out of the fleece a bowl of water. Still he was not convinced and asked for a reversal of the test. Maybe Gideon thought water might have somehow been spilled on the fleece, but now the fleece remained totally dry in the midst of a heavy dew on the ground all around. So again the Lord responded to Gideon’s test affirmatively.
Let us learn these lessons: 1) Sin weakens God’s people and will at last impoverish them spiritually; 2) often people cannot reach the Lord in prayer because they have not repented of the sin which separates them from Him; 3) those who know their weakness and inability are in a position to be most greatly used of the Lord; 4) the Lord may be calling us to some task, and we be unaware of it because of our own fear; 5) boldness in the Lord will keep on begetting others who will also stand for Him; 6) as Satan’s forces gather in opposition, the Lord will assure His people of His aid for them.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CHAPTER 6Jdg. 6:33-40
PREPARATIONS FOR THE CONFLICT
CRITICAL NOTES. Jdg. 6:33. Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites.] As to the Amalekites, see Jdg. 6:3, and ch. Jdg. 3:13. God puts a special brand on the name of Amalek. He would blot out the remembrance of that people from under heaven (Exo. 17:14; Exo. 17:16). They were in the line of Esau, and carried down through all their generations, a spirit of bitter and relentless malevolence, such as the elder brother at first cherished for the younger. They were the first heathen nation to make war on the kingdom of God. (So some read Num. 24:20). Their fight with Israel at Rephidim was malicious. They had no reason for it, but bitter hatred. They strove to prevent Gods own people from partaking of the sacred blessing of water, from the smitten rock. They also cruelly slaughtered the sick and feeble, or the women and children, who were in the rear of the camp (Deu. 25:17-19). They joined with the Canaanites in smiting Israel at Hormah (Num. 14:45). They fought against Israel along with Eglon, king of Moab (ch. Jdg. 3:13). Now they did the same with the Midianites. They invaded the South and smote Ziklag in Davids time (1 Samuel 30). And they seem to have had wars with the tribe of Simeon in the days of Hezekiah (1Ch. 4:41-43). It is a dangerous thing to hate those whom God loves.
Valley of Jezreel.] Some read plain of Jezreel, for a large portion of it was level ground. But the Hebrew word () signifies deep place, or valley. A small portion of the ground was really a valley, but for the most part it was a plain, and in later times has been generally known as the great plain of Esdraelon, which is indeed the Greek form of the name. This plain is from fifteen to twenty miles long, and about twelve miles broad from north to south. Though not exactly the basin of an amphitheatre, it has hills around it, nearer or more remote, on every side. It stretches the larger part of the way, from the Mediterranean Sea above Carmel, to the valley of the Jordan. On the south are Mount Carmel, the mountain land of Ephraim and the range of hills connecting the two, on the north are the mountains of Galilee, on the west, the southern spurs of the Galilean highland, and on the east, the mountains of Gilboa, and Little Hermon. The soil is extremely rich, and, though less than fifteen miles square, was, at one time, capable of supporting a population of over 100,000 persons. In the spring season, the whole plain presented the appearance of a vast waving corn field, interspersed with olive trees, which seemed a charming contrast to the huge bare masses of hills that bound it on either side. The three portions of the district most spoken of were the valley of Jezreel, the corn fields of Issachar (this principally) and the slopes of the Manasseh hills. It was the great battle field of Palesstine; from Barak to Bonaparte. Here Siseras host were annihilated, the Midianites were dreadfully slaughtered, Saul and Jonathan fell at Mount Gilboa, thrilling and melancholy scenes in the lives of Ahab and Jezebel, Jehu and Joram, occurred, King Josiah fought with Necho at Megiddo and was slain, the tragic scene of Holofernes and Judith took place, battles were fought by the Roman General Vespasian, also by Saladin the Great and the Knights Templar, Bonaparte and Kleber, and we might have included, by the famous Egyptian conquerors, Thothmes III. and Rameses II., better known as Sesostris, who invaded Syria by this route. Warriors of every race within a wide range, have here faught, Jews, Gentiles, Egyptians, Saracens, Christian Crusaders and Anti-Christian Frenchmen, Persians, Druses, Turks and Arabs. Here Elijah ran before Ahabs chariot into Jezreel, and here the tragedy occurred of seizing the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, by the cold-blooded murder of the owner. It presents some of the loveliest and most picturesque scenes of nature, but some of the darkest scenes of human history.
Pitched in the valley]encamped, or bivouacked. This was now the eighth annual visit of the kind they had paid to this, the garden of Israel. The moral significance of this visit was, not only that it was the last, but that while the enemy had no other thought than that of plunder and feasting, at the expense of Gods people as before, God was now really bringing them forward for a signal destruction, because of their daring to touch His anointed ones, in like manner as He drew Sisera and his army to the very same ground, to deliver them into the hand of Barak (ch. Jdg. 4:7).
Jdg. 6:34. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon.] As on Othniel, and afterwards on Jephthah, and on Samson (see pp. 97, 1469, 150158). We have an expression nearly parallel, when describing the outpouring of the same Spirit on the disciplestarry in Jerusalem till ye be endued with power from on highall the elements of moral and spiritual power, as explained on the pages referred to. The Hebrew word means, literally, to clothe with. Gideon was clothed with the Spirit, or was enveloped with it, wrapped all round. It is the same also with the more simple expression, filled with the Spirit (1Ch. 12:18; 2Ch. 24:20). Gideon had now a baptism of the Holy Ghost. Greater honour no man on earth could possibly attain to than this. All the crowns in the world were but a trifle of honour compared to this. This distinction would not evaporate in time, but would go with him where he went into any department in the world of spirits.
Blew a trumpet]to convoke an army of volunteers. Abi-ezer, including his fathers house, and the clan, gathered to him. The clan was an expansion of the family, through several generations, something like the genealogical tree. It might include hundreds or thousands, as the case might be. after or behind him, i.e., as their leader. Though not a king or a kings son, though not chosen by public vote, and though the least in his fathers household, and his family connection was poor in Manasseh, yet he had gained their confidence all at once so much, that over 30,000 men were ready to follow him to the field. This surely was the finger of God. The exact translation of the phrase about Abi-ezer is, Abi-ezer let itself be summoned after him (Keil). As if it felt that a Divine call to follow Gideon was in the air, and notwithstanding all its idolatrous proclivities, it made no resistance to the heavenly voice.
Jdg. 6:35. Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali.] Only Western Manasseh is referred tothe cis-jordanic part. Asher was behind on a former occasion (ch. Jdg. 5:17), lingering among its ships, in the bays and creeks of a good mercantile coast, afraid to lose its commerce with the Phnicians, who formed a great part of Siseras army. But now it is among the first to join the ranks of Gideon. The other two northern tribes well sustain their high reputation for zeal in the cause of their GodZebulun and Naphtali (ch. Jdg. 5:18). Nor are they forgotten. When many generations have passed away, their country and their names are immortalized by the appearance among them of the great light, which came down from heaven to chase away the shadow of death from the abodes of men (see Mat. 4:15-16).
Came up to meet them.] i.e., the Manassitesthe nucleus that had gathered around Gideon. But these northern tribes occupied hilly regions. In going to the valley of Jezreel, therefore, they were going down, not up. The explanation appears to be, that the Hebrew word means simply, advanced to meet them.
Jdg. 6:36-37. If thou wilt save Jezreel by my hand, Behold I put a fleece of wool on the ground, etc.] If Thou art savingintendest to save Israel, etc., I know (by this) that Thou wilt save, etc. what is shorn of the wool. The word occurs here only. Some think this to be too trivial a matter for a miracle, and regard it as unworthy of Scripture. Rather, we think it a clear proof that such an event really happened, that it was in harmony with an uncultured age, but less adapted to the standard of taste in refined, modern times. It was in harmony with the pursuits in which Gideon was engaged, as a tiller of the ground and a dealer in sheep. The floor referred to was the threshing-floor, or what was used as such, which was open to the sky.
Jdg. 6:38. Thrust the fleece]compressed, wringed]squeezed. That so much dew should have fallen, does not indicate that as much fell on the wool alone, as would have fallen on the whole ground in the ordinary natural way. But it showed that the dew fell as copiously on the fleece, as was the custom in that climate of heavy dew-fall, while the ground on both sides near it was quite dry. The falling of the dew in Palestine is most abundant. Maundrell and his companions tell us, that their tents, when pitched on Tabor and Hermon, were as wet with dew, as if it had rained on them all night; and others speak of their cloaks in which tbey wrapt themselves, while they slept, as being completely wet, as if they had been immersed in the sea. (Eadie.)
Jdg. 6:39-40. Let not thine anger be hot against me.] This statement is important as showing the state of Gideons mind, that it was most reverential, and glorifying to God. How tender is God in His dealings with the man that really fears Him like Gideon, or Abraham, or Moses! Where there is a spark of true faith, He is tender in fanning it, till it rise into a flame.
The wool naturally draws the moisture, even when other objects remain dry. Gideon therefore, to make sure in so great a crisis, adds one request more, that what was contrary to the natural law might take place, namely, the fleece might remain dry over night, while all the ground round about it should be wet with dew. And in both instances, it happened as he requested, a sure proof that God was listening to his voice; for none save He who laid down natures laws could thus control them at will.
GENERAL LESSONSJdg. 6:33-40
DIVINE ENCOURAGEMENT AND HUMAN WEAKNESS
I. The supports of Christs service far exceed its anxieties.
(1.) The angel proved true to His word. I will be with thee. Before victory came, before the thousands of Israel came around him, before the trumpet blew Gideons fame, while as yet he was only blowing the trumpet of duty, there came the greatest of all blessings to his heart, comforts flowed in to his soul, his peace of mind passed all understanding, and for strength he felt as if the resources of a hundred thousand men were concentrated in his single person. The Spirit of the Lord clothed him. No mantle fell, like that of Elijah on Elisha, nor was any high priests robe of office specially conveyed to him. But the sublime reality, of which that costly habit was but the poor symbol, now comes into his spirit. The Divine Spirit took possession of the human spirit, and his heart rose within him with a new courage, while his face shone as if it had been the face of an angel of God. His feet were made as hinds feet, while his arms were made strong by the mighty God of Jacob. He felt borne as on eagles wings along the course of duty. He had received a baptism of the Holy Ghost, and now could run and not be weary, walk and not faint. He that could make fire to spring out of the rock to consume the sacrifice, could also fill with fire the heart of the desponding disciple. To the fullest extent did he realise the fulfilment of the promise, they that trust in Me shall not be ashamed.
(2.) The sentiment applies generally. Christs service always gives more happiness to His faithful servants, than is needed to compensate for its sorrows and sacrifices. Who would not rather be with the Master on the raging deep, assured that every billow is subject to His word, and that no wave can rob Him of any of His redeemed ones, than be loitering indolently in dereliction of duty on the shore? It is better to be with Paul in prison, than to be with the wearer of the imperial purple in the palace. Better have the thorn in the flesh, however rankling it be, than be without it, and remain ignorant of the sustaining power of Christs grace. Never were men nearer heaven, while still outside its gates, than were those who could rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for their Masters name.
To be clothed with the Spirit, is to be clad with it as the sky is covered with clouds, or the earth with glory, when the meridian sun shines upon it. Or, we might speak of it as a body covered with a coat of mail, making a man at once invulnerable and invincible.
II. Divine Providence co-operates with human fideliiy.
We have seen how Gideon was brought through his first great trial of duty, by God inclining first the heart of Joash, his father, then of the men who had helped him, then of all the household, and finally overawing the men of the citythe old Canaanites, who would dwell among the Israelites to the last. Now we find the circle getting wider and wider. For all would soon hear of the visit of the angel-Jehovah to Gideon, that He had announced the time of relief from oppression to be at hand, that He had appointed Gideon to be the leader of Israel, and that all this was confirmed by the working of a miracle. A Divine command had also been given to Gideon to break down the altar of Baal, and erect an altar to Jehovah in its stead, which Gideon had done, and no harm came of it. Baal was thereby proved to have no power to defend himself, and was not a true god. A conviction was rising among the people, that all their misery was owing to their worship of Baal and the displacement of Jehovah. The thought, therefore, was now getting up, of making a general return to Jehovah, and the deserted spouse was now saying, I will go and return to my first husband, for then was it better with me than now. Gideon had done well to get his father to become his first convert. His influence would go far to determine others, and when a few decisions were obtained, it would be easy among such a people to multiply them. Thus would Abi-ezer be obtained, by the use of natural means, and yet by the controlling influence of Divine Providence. But when the Spirit of God came on Gideon, a mighty impulse was given to the movement. Everywhere this mighty man of valour instilled his own spirit into all his followers, and a general stirring up took place. The weak became as David, and David as the Angel of the Lord. All received life as from the dead; the trumpet sound was the sound of a jubilee morning; emancipation was coming; the recovery of the land, and the breaking of the yoke. An electric thrill passed through all hearts, and many were disposed at once to come forward to the help of the Lord against the mighty.
III. The memories of the trumpet-call.
In all ages, the call of the trumpet has been associated with the clang of arms, the evolutions of troops, and the pomp and circumstance of war. Often has it aroused the slumbering energies of patriotism, rallied the courage of those who have conducted the attack, and animated the resolution of those who have stood on the defence. Its heart-piercing language has been understood alike on the walls of Troy, at the gates of Rome, among the hosts of the Crusaders, and on the fields of Waterloo and Inkermann.
But to the Israelite, the sound of the trumpet was associated not more with war than with religion. When the fathers were journeying through the wilderness, the sound of the silver trumpets blown by the priests, was the signal for their marches and for their convocations. The advent of the new year was celebrated by the feast of trumpets, also days of gladness, solemn days, and the beginnings of months. The majesty of the law was attested by the voice of the trumpet, the walls of Jericho fell flat, when on the seventh day the trumpets of rams horn were blown by the priests, and the Midianites themselves when, two centuries before, they had troubled Israel, had been dispersed at the sound of the trumpet (Num. 31:6).
For years the trumpet had been silent in Israel. Gods ordinances and His Sabbaths had been disregarded, the memories of Sinai and of Jericho had slumbered, the orgies of Baal had ursurped the place of the holy convocations, and now that its sound was once more heard, it spoke to the people of Him whose covenant they had long forgotten, but whom at last they had invoked in their anguish.(Wiseman.)
IV. Misapprehension in judging the Character of others.
Not a few express surprise that Gideon should have thought of asking any further evidence of Gods presence and blessing in this enterprise, and speak of it to the disparagement of his faith. Had he not, it is said, got the assurance of of the angel, I will be with thee? Had he not successfully destroyed idol-worship in his fathers house, and had he not secured the confidence of the people, so that they came flocking to him in thousands? What further need was there of miracles, to attest that God was really about to deliver the Midianites into His hands? Thus Gideon is judged, and thus thousands of excellent men are judged, not indeed harshly, but inconsiderately. How much more tender is the judgment of our God! No reproof comes from Him for asking a double miracle to be wrought in this hour of trial, but, on the contrary, an immediate compliance is vouchsafed to the request made.
Gideon would indeed have been more than human if he had had no doubts at such a moment. What a responsibility lay on his shoulders! The whole interests of the Church of God at this perilous crisis were in his hands. The very life of the nation was at stake. Everything was to rise or sink according to his success or his failure. Besides, the situation was to him entirely new. He had no experience what it was to be a general at the head of an army. He had no disciplined troops, but raw levies, indifferently equipped, and without trusted officers to lead them. Was it strange, if, notwithstanding many encouragements, he had still some misgivings? But his weakness was that of nature, rather than of faith; it was physical, rather than moral. For a moment his mind sunk under the strain of strong events to which it was unaccustomed, and he felt himself weak as a child in holding the reins when such mighty forces had to be controlled. It was the minds natural inability, through sheer agitation, to look calmly at the evidence set before it, on which faith should be exercised. Luther, felt this weakness, as one may see by reading the broken, rugged utterances of his soul, at some of the critical passes of his history, when all alone with his God. Knox did, Augustine did, and doubtless many others did, if only we could get behind the scenes and witness the severe soul struggles, through which the men of faith had to pass when girding themselves for the decisive conflicts of life. Then the good man prostrates himself in weakness before the Divine footstool. He feels himself a mere straw in existence! a broken reed! weak as a dry leaf in the grasp of the whirlwind! This is a necessary part of the training of those whom God sends out to fight His battles. Each and all must be led to say in deep sincerity of heart, I will go in strength of God the Lord; I will make mention of thy righteousness, of thine only.
Moses felt thus when the terrible apostacy of the golden calf occurred. The solemn and stern events, which followed each other in swift succession at that period, proved too much for the infirmity of a human nature, and he cried out in earnest prayer, O Lord! I beseech thee, show me thy glory! He wished to have a glimpse of the light of Gods countenance to calm down his extreme agitation when painful emotions were rolling like mountain billows through his soul. O what help there is in that countenance! Even the Saviour himself, all perfect and sinless, and incapable, under any circumstances, of being lacking in faith, yet being a true and proper man, snowed the weakness of a human nature when, under the awful pressure that rested on His human spirit in the place of His sorrows. He cried out earnestly, O, my Father! if it be possible, let this cup pass from me! And there appeared an angel from heaven strengthening Him!
It might be near the mark to add that Gideon did not for a moment question Gods power to save Israel, but in the whirl of his thoughts, he had doubts as to whether he rightly understood Gods intentions in using him as an instrument. His request seemed to be, Am I really right in my interpretation of Gods meaning, that He intends to save Israel from these Midianites, through my poor instrumentality? Does He really intend to employ one that is confessedly so weak and worthless to accomplish so mighty a work?
THE DEW ON THE FLEECEITS LESSONS
The proposal that the dew of heaven should fall on the fleece only, while the ground remained dry during one night, and that exactly the reverse should occur the succeeding night, was one which Gideon himself made, and, as such, it might have little or no significance. But God accepted it, and, as endorsed by Him, we are warranted in regarding it as conveying important instruction. More especially may we so regard it, as it was so common in that age to convey moral and spiritual instruction through the medium of signs.
Nor can we overlook the fact, that this miracle was wrought in the interest of Gods church, and, therefore, the instruction it conveys must have a reference to that churchto its prosperity or decay, for this was the matter in hand. That a fertile imagination could find many meanings wrapped up in this sign is what might be expected, and there is need of caution not to put meanings of our own into that which is employed as a vehicle of instruction by God. We put aside, therefore, all meanings of mere allegorising ingenuity, such as the favourite theory of the old Fathers, that here we have an illustration of the Incarnation in the descent of the heavenly dew into the fleece; and even that other theory, which applies the sign to Gods dealings with the Israelitish nation, in contrast with His treatment of the outlying Gentile world. True, in the early ages, Israel was for a long period filled with the dew of heavenly blessings, while the heathen nations around were left in the condition of a moral wilderness, dry and barren of all good. Now this state of things is reversedmany Gentile lands being visited with the dew of quickening and saving grace, and bringing forth the fruits of righteousness, while the highly-favoured land in which Jehovah once dwelt has long been spiritually as a salt land not inhabited. This sign does, indeed, fitly emblematise the past and present condition of Israel in relation to the nations around them. But a mere likeness does not amount to a type. A type is a designed resemblance, and it is going too much away from the subject in hand to suppose that here there is introduced a designed resemblance of the Israelitish nation in its relation to the outlying world during its long history of thousands of years. Or, if we admit the general principle, we must apply that principle, in the present case, to Gideons age in its direct bearing.
Before this apostacy, Israel had, in the good times of Deborah, when the nation had anew lamented after the Lord, been favoured with the descent of heavenly blessings on the land in copious measure, while the nations all around were without any participation of the fructifying shower; and now things are reversed. Israels fields are left dreary and desolate, while other vineyards are covered with blossom and teeming with fruit. Thus, indeed, the passage might be understood to apply in one sense.
But a more important meaning is, to view Israel not so much as one of the nations, as being the Church of God at that time on the earth, and to regard it as represented by the fleece of wool, while the dry ground represents the world as heathen, and so the spiritual meaning of the passage may be expressed by three ideas.
I. The one needful Blessing of a languishing Church is the Heavenly Dew. The dew is referred to, as if all Israels needs were summed up in that one item. For a large part of the year, the dew-fall was all in all to Israelitish soil. Hence its regular descent was looked upon as an expression of the favour of heaven. But for a copious fall of dew over night, during the hot season, every tree would witherevery plant, shrub, and flower; indeed, the whole vegetable world would die. Hence Isaacs blessingGod give thee of the dew of heaven; and Jobs acknowledgmentHis dew lay all night on my branch. That, of which the natural dew is the emblem, is the Divine Spirits influences coming down on the Christian Church; and the aspects of the blessing are manifold, such as
1. Freshness. Under the heat of a scorching sun, the natural world becomes blanched and withered in appearance. But the dew falls copiously, and the sickly, languishing, vegetable world looks cheerful, and smiles again. The face of nature sparkles with delight. Each flower-cup, and leaf, and heather-bell, partakes of the general joy. Every spire of grass shoots up its little head as if in gratitude for the grateful boon of heaven. All nature is in tears, but it is tears of joy which are shed; for a new glow of life is felt at the heart, and the pulse beats with fresh vigour in the veins. Nature revives, and looks green again. The seed springs in the soil, rich pasture covers the fields, the valleys are filled with corn, they shout for joy, they also sing.
When the Spirits influences are poured out, our souls become like a watered garden and as a field which the Lord hath blessed. There is more fervour of zeal, more ardour of love, more firmness of resolution, and greater energy of action. There is enlargement of heart, and quickening of step in running the race set before us. A deeper hue is given to personal piety, and soul prosperity is advanced. There is more prayer and closer watching for God. Faith is stronger, hope is brighter, humility is deeper, joy is more full, and heavenly-mindedness is more confirmed. How refreshing to a drooping church is the falling of the heavenly dew!
2. Tenderness is another aspect of the blessing. I will be as the dew unto Israel, and he shall grow as the lily. The lily was a flower of extreme delicacy of leaf and flower, and so very tender. It was not robust as the thorn, nor hard as the oak, nor tall as the cedar; it was simply a modest unpretending flower, all the more attractive because of its lowliness and tenderness. A picture of it we have in Mary weeping at the sepulchre. Weak faith, weaker Knowledge, but love strong as ever. They have taken away my Lordstill mine, even in death. There is no cooling of the affection even by death. She loves on as before, and would not go from that sepulchre. Her dead Lord was dearer to her than all those living around her. To find Him, though in the grave, was to find more than father or mother. Ah! that lily had a beautiful and tender blossom, though wet with the dew of tearsall the more beautiful for those dewdrops.
You see the tender blossom of the lily, in the poor woman who elbows her way through the crowd, saying, If I may but touch the hem, etc., I shall be whole. You see it in the conduct of the two sisters when they said, Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother had not died. You see it in Nathanael (Joh. 1:48); in Ephraim (Jer. 31:18-20); in Peter (Mat. 26:75); in Josiah with his tender heart; in the publican smiting on his breast, etc.; in David (Psa. 119:136); and in the men who sighed over the corruptions of the Church in Ezekiels days (Eze. 9:4).
All this tenderness of piety proceeds from the falling of the Divine dew.
3. A new rush of life. Or ever I was aware my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib (Son. 6:12). Did not our hearts burn within us, etc.? (Luk. 24:32). This dew can make men raise the shout even in this world, To Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, etc. (Rev. 1:5). One feels like Bunyan when his prison walls seemed to grow warm around him, as he traced the progress of the pilgrim, on from the City of Destruction up to the realms of eternal day. The house of God becomes the happiest home on earth, where all the exercises seem like the ripplings and dashings of the river of the water of life Those on whom the dew rests are never so glad as when it is said, Go ye up unto the house of the Lord. Their hearts are lifted up in the ways of the Lord, and with warmest gratitude they exclaim, Blessed are they that dwell in thy house! No voices are more grateful than those of the shepherds, while they walk over the delectable mountains, and point through the glass to the celestial gate in the distance.
4. Loveliness of piety. Sometimes, under the descent of this dew, the church becomes like a garden of lilies, where every flower has the beauty of the lily. As on the day when the Spirit was first poured out in abundance, after Jesus had been glorified. The truth as it is in Jesus was seen in the light of the morning sun, the shadows of night were cleared away, and the words of the Master came all true at last, both in letter and spirit. What earnest breathings of prayer then rose up to the throne! What enlargement of heart and liberty of speech in setting forth the newly-found truth of the cross as the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth! What entire consecration of every ones self to the Saviour Lord! What warmth of brotherly love! What boldness in testifying to men all the words of this life! What steadfastness in receiving the teachings of the despised fishermen! What singleness of heart and what unbounded joy in all the relations of life!
In the case of the individual this character is seen in every form of beauty. It sits at Jesus feet like Mary, and listens to His word. It meditates on Gods law day and night. Meditation returns home to her bower daily, laden with honey culled from every flower she has visited. It is a character, also, that begins with making nothing of self and everything of Christ. It adopts the motto, less than the least; it lies low in the dust, crying out, unclean! etc. It takes the lowest room, esteeming others better than itself. Also, when smitten on the one cheek it turns the other as well, rather than retaliate. It forgives until seventy times seven, bearing all things, believing and hoping all things. It worketh no ill to its neighbour, but does to him what it would wish him to do to it. In one word, it strives to live above the world, to cultivate heavenly-mindedness, and to commend the gospel of Christ to all around. It strives so to conduct itself that all who look upon it shall see, as it were, the face of an angel.
5. Stability. Rooted and built-upgrounded and settled (Col. 2:7; Col. 1:23; Eph. 3:17). From henceforth let no man trouble me, etc. (Gal. 6:17). Stand fast in the faith, etc. (1Co. 16:13). Making conscience of ones religious principles, and not a matter of convenience and time-serving. Holding fast the profession of the faith without wavering. Deeds confirm words. Speaking for Christ before kings as well as mean men (Psa. 119:46). Maintaining ones principles with all good conscience before, the world with few or with manyfaithful among the faithless; true as steel; the same whatever wind may blow; esteeming it a small matter to be judged of mans judgment, knowing that he that judgeth us is the Lord.
The presence of the dew makes every root take a deeper hold of the earth.
6. Purity. The more strength there is in a plant the better it throws off its impurities. The strength is given by the dew. Where every feature of the Christian character becomes strong through the Spirit (Eph. 3:16), the wish becomes stronger than ever to be found without spot and blameless (2Pe. 3:14; 1Jn. 3:3). There is a fixed purpose to cleanse ones self from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, etc. (2Co. 7:1). The command looked at is, Be ye holy for I am holy. The pattern copied is one in whom there is no guile. The position occupied by such is, to be separate from sinners and to belong to God, while the whole world lieth in wickedness (1Jn. 5:19). The twofold aim in life is to be pure in heart (Psa. 51:7-10; Psa. 139:23-24) and to keep the garments clean (Rev. 3:4; Rev. 16:15).
7. Delight in Christs fellowship. When flowers are filled with dewdrops, they put forth their best blossoms under the shining of the sun. Christians, when filled with the Spirit, long for the presence and fellowship of Christ. Then Christian character unfolds itself most beautifully, when beholding His excellence, basking in His radiance. When the soul is refreshed with the consciousness of the Divine love, and receives new proofs of its being in covenant with God as its own God, it instinctively longs to possess the virtues of the Christian character. Christ is incomparably more precious than other objects. Like the stars disappearing in presence of the sun, all rivals sink out of view.
II. The granting or witholding of this blessing is entirely in Gods hands. On the one night He gave the dew here and refused it there; the next night, He withheld it from the first spot and gave it to the second. Thus he showed that the giving or withholding of the gift rested entirely with Him. The Holy Spirit is said to be sent from the Father, and to proceed from the Father (Joh. 15:26). God calls Him my Spirit on many occasions. He is generally called the Spirit of God, or the Spirit of the Lord. In the Old Testament when He is given, God is said to pour Him out (Isa. 44:3; Joe. 2:28; Zec. 12:10; Isa. 32:15), or to put Him on His people (Eze. 36:27; Eze. 37:13-14). In the New Testament, God is said to give His Spirit (Joh. 3:34; 2Co. 1:22; 1Th. 4:8, etc). Comp. Php. 2:13.
III. God gives this blessing in answer to prayer. It was at Gideons earnest prayers that the dew was given or withheld. Thus it was with Elijah (see 1Ki. 17:1; comp. 1Ki. 18:42-45). When the land was scorched through want of dew and rain, the King of Israel supplicates that the needed blessing might be restored, in answer to penitence and prayer, and his supplication was heard (1Ki. 8:35-36, with 2Ch. 7:1). So it is declared, our Heavenly Father gives His Holy Spirit to them that ask Him (Luk. 11:13). When so large an outpouring of the Spirit took place on the day of Pentecost, it was found that the whole company of Christs disciples in the upper room were engaged for ten days together in prayer and supplication (Act. 1:14, with Jdg. 2:2-4). There was a similar scene in Act. 4:31-37.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(33) Then all the Midianites.See Jdg. 6:3. They came down for their usual annual raid to get the wheat which, doubtless, thousands besides Gideon had been gathering in and threshing in secret places as soon as it was barely ripe.
In the valley of Jezreel.As the Philistines did afterwards (1Sa. 29:1; 1Sa. 29:11). Crossing the fords near Bethshean, they were probably encamped, not in the broad part of the plain of Jezreel, but in the valley between Gilboa and Little Hermon. The word Jezreel means Gods sowing. (See Hos. 2:22.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
PREPARATIONS FOR WAR, Jdg 6:33-35.
33. Pitched in the valley of Jezreel For purposes of plunder and oppression, as is explained in Jdg 6:3-6. This was a fresh invasion.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gideon Goes Forth in the Name of Yahweh And Is Reduced to Three Hundred Men ( Jdg 6:33 to Jdg 7:8 ).
Jdg 6:33
‘ Then all the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east assembled themselves together, and they passed over and pitched in the Valley of Jezreel.’
This was in accordance with their usual practise in their regular attacks on the region. It was harvest time and once again they anticipated good booty and ample revenge on Israel. It was there for the taking. So they passed over the Jordan and settled themselves in the valley of Jezreel from where they could comb out and gather their booty. Jezreel was east of the plain of Esdraelon, and near Taanach and Megiddo.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
EXPOSITION
Jdg 6:33
The Midianites, etc. See Jdg 6:3, note. The valley of Jezreel. Rather, the plain, “the great plain of Esdraelon,” as the Book of Judith styles it (Judith 1:8; see Jdg 4:13, note). The great plain of Jezreel, or Esdraelon (which is the Greek form of the name), through which the Kishon flows, is eight hours in length from east to west, and five hours (twelve miles) in breadth from north to south. It is described as “a very extensive and fertile plain shut in between the mountain ranges of Samaria and Mount Carmel on the south, and of Galilee on the north,” and extending from the Mediterranean at the Gulf of Caipha, or Haipha, to the valley of the Jordan. The access to it from the fords of Jordan in the neighbourhood of Bethshan (or Beishan, called by the Greeks Scythopolis) made it the natural place for invasion by the wild tribes east of Jordan, as it is to this day. Particular parts of this great ,plain are called “the valley, of Megiddo” and “the plain of Samaria.” For a full account of the plain of Esdraelon see Stanley, ‘Sinai and Palestine,’ ch. 9. Went over, i.e. crossed the Jordan. It appears from verses 3-5 that these invasions were repeated at certain seasons. When they had plundered all they could get, and eaten up all the produce of the land, they would go back for a while to their own country east of Jordan, and then return again. So they did now, but they met with a different reception this time.
Jdg 6:34
The Spirit of the Lord, etc. See Jdg 3:10; Jdg 11:29; Jdg 13:25; Jdg 14:6, Jdg 14:19; cf. Isa 11:2; Isa 61:1; Joh 20:22; Act 13:2; Act 20:28; and 1Co 12:4. Abi-ezer. His own family (1Co 12:11; see Jos 17:2). In Num 26:30 the name appears as Jeezer, by a very defective transliterationAiezer represents the Hebrew letters. The b has probably fallen out by accident. Here we have the immediate fruit of Gideon s daring in the cause of God. The whole family of Abi-ezer, numbering probably thousands, sprang to his side.
Jdg 6:35
He sent messengers, etc. Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali were the adjacent tribesManasseh (i.e. the half tribe of Manasseh, west of Jordan) on the south, Asher on the west, and Zebulun and Naphtali on the north. Three of these were the very tribes who had fought under Barak, and it is pleasing to see Asher now joined with them instead of abiding in his breaches. This ready compliance with the call was the consequence of the Spirit of the Lord being upon Gideon. Came up. No doubt Gideon was eneamped upon one of the southern hills that overlooked the plain, probably Gilboa, just as Barak was on Mount Tabor (see ch. 8:8-12). To meet them, i.e. Gideon and the Abi-ezrites.
Jdg 6:36
If thou wilt save, etc. There is something touching in Gideon’s diffidence of himself, even now that he found himself at the head of a large force. The thought that he was “the least in his father’s house” seems still to possess him, and he can hardly believe it possible that he is to save Israel. In his humility he craves a sign that he is indeed chosen and called.
Jdg 6:37-40
It is difficult to guess what led to this somewhat quaint sign which Gideon asked. Possibly the dews were usually heavy upon the hill of Gilead (Jdg 7:3, note) where Gideon was encamped, as they seem to have been on Mount Gilboa (2Sa 1:21) and on Hermon (Psa 133:3), and sheep-skins may have been a common protection against the cold nights, as in Afghanistan; and he may have noticed how often in the morning both the skin that covered him, and the ground around, was wet with the heavy dew. And this may have suggested the double test, by which his faith was, through God’s condescending mercy, confirmed and established.
HOMILETICS
Jdg 6:33-40
The Divine side of human history.
This section reveals an extraordinary change in the whole aspect of things in Israel. At the beginning of the chapter we see the people utterly cowed before their enemies, skulking in caves and dens and hiding-places, while their insolent masters take possession of their land, their food, their substance, and all that they had. For seven years had this state of things endured. It had become a matter of course that, when the season came, the Midianites and their allies should swarm across the Jordan, cover the land, devour everything, stay as long as they pleased, and then return unresisted to their own country. But at the close of the chapter a change, like the sudden melting of the snow in the spring, has taken place. There are indeed the same Midianite hosts, “like grasshoppers for multitude, and their camels without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude” (Jdg 7:12); there are the same kings in all their pride of power, and the same princes as greedy as ravens for their prey, and as hungry as wolves in pursuit of the spoil (Jdg 7:25, note). But when they have reached the well-known plain of Jezreel, instead of tame submission, instead of the frightened people running like rabbits to their holes, they find a nation in arms. Manasseh was up and in the field; Naphtali and Zebulun had flocked armed to the national standard; Asher had answered the call of the trumpet; and 32,000 men were at the feet of their leader. Instead of running, hiding, and yielding, there was arming, and combining, and defiance throughout the land. Now what was the cause of this great change? The respective numbers of the Midianites and Israelites were the same, the respective qualities of the nations were the same, the shape of the ground was the same, the resources of the two peoples were the same; whence the difference? The difference lay in the motive power of the will of God. Before, his will was to give Israel up into the hands of Midian to punish their idolatry; now, his will was to deliver them on their true repentance. It is just the lesson taught by the prophet Isaiah in the sublime message which he delivered to Sennacherib: “Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the house-tops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.” What regulates the world is the motive power of the will of God acting upon and through the wills and the capacities of men. There are in the men virtue, courage, sagacity, ability, prudence, wisdom, counsel, on the one hand; or meanness, cowardice, blindness, weakness, rashness, folly, inconsequence, on the other; and these qualities have each their own proper force and momentum; but it is the will of God which gives to them their direction and their results. It is to be noted too that God in his providence raises the instruments and gives the qualities which are to accomplish his will. As was observed before, God’s agents are reasonable men, and it is by their great qualities that they accomplish the work committed to them. But who gives them those great qualities? How came Abraham, and Joseph, and Moses, and Samuel, and David, and Judas Maccabeus to appear on the world’s stage just when they did? It is very true that Abraham’s faith, and Joseph’s prudence, and the wisdom of Moses, and the integrity of Samuel, and the heroism of David and Judas accomplished those great results at critical moments in their country’s history which have made their names famous for ever. And if we are looking at events on their human side, it is quite true to say that Abraham founded the Hebrew race, and that David founded the Jewish monarchy, and Judas rescued his country from destruction. But it is of supreme importance, if we would see God in history, and in the history of our own times in particular, to recognise in the sages, and heroes, and reformers, and also in the philosophers, and discoverers, and inventors, whose several labours have changed the aspect of the world at particular epochs, God’s special instruments sent for that very thing; and to recognise in the changes brought about, not merely the action of those instruments, but the results of the will of God. As long as God is pleased to preserve a nation in greatness and power, he continues to raise up among them warriors, divines, men of genius, and statesmen. When the set time of decadence is come there arise no great men among them; their mighty men become as women (Jer 51:30), and counsel perishes from the wise (Jer 18:18). In applying these truths to our own Church and country it behoves us to remember that we owe all our own national prosperity, both in spiritual and temporal things, to the undeserved mercy of God; that the continuance of that prosperity depends upon the continuance of his favour; and that the only way by which to preserve that favour is to walk in righteousness and godliness. Unless God wills to maintain our power and greatness among the nations, all the courage and policy in the world will not suffice to do so; and even courage and policy may cease to grow among us. The example of Gideon further teaches us that boldness on God’s side is the prelude of triumph over foes, and that what makes leaders of the right stamp is their investiture by the Holy Spirit of God.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR
Jdg 6:33-40
The crisis and the confirmation.
Gideon’s first task demanded moral rather than physical courage. It was restricted in its sphere. It witnessed to the principle that sin must be removed ere national or individual calamities can be permanently cured, or God’s help vouchsafed. The stage now clears for the larger life and wider influence.
I. THE ENEMY PRESENTS HIMSELF IN SUDDEN, OVERWHELMING FORCE. A remarkable juncture. Esdraelon, the battle-field of Canaan. Here thrones and kingdoms had been lost and won. To the heart of flesh it would have been the death-knell of hope. There was no proportion between the extent of his possible preparation and the magnitude of the crisis. Many would have advised a policy of temporizing inaction. To the sent of God the circumstances pointed all the other way. Elijah at Horeb. Paul at Athens. The Son of man longing for his “hour.” Are you in a minority; the only Christian in your office; with everything to discourage and tempt you? “Let not your heart be troubled.” Outward difficulties are balanced and overpowered by spiritual reinforcements. “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him.”
II. GIDEON‘S SUMMONS TO ARMS MEETS WITH UNEXPECTED SUCCESS. “He blew a trumpet,” i.e. he used the means. But probably he did not expect anything like the result. He was touching chords that vibrated in unforeseen directions. He didn’t know the moral power he had acquired by his first work. We never can gauge the extent of our moral influence. Jerubbaal is the magnet. Strong in God, in himself, at home, throughout the nation. We are all guilty herein; we think God’s people fewer and worse than they are. How much one steadfast, heroic soul can effect; how many others he can fire with enthusiasm and endue with courage by his example and actions!
III. SUDDEN SUCCESS OCCASIONS HUMILITY AND DOUBT. Clearly this man is not as others. He becomes strong against odds and vast oppositions, weak and hesitating when all goes well. Adversity and difficulty are plainer in their problems to the spiritual man than prosperity. But perhaps it was the quality of his soldiery he mistrusted. They did not seem of the right stuff for a duel a outrance. Perhaps the very suddenness of his power terrified him.
IV. HE SEEKS FOR WISDOM AND CONFIRMATION OF THE HEAVENLY GRACE.
1. Probably the very scene of his first visionAssociation helps an imaginative, spirit. Spiritual associations are mightiest.
2. He proposes a sign that shall reveal his duty. Under ordinary circumstances this is dangerous and misleading. But the whole background of Gideon’s career is miraculous, and he had a warrant to expect miracles. We have a complete revelation and a Divine example. The dew abundant in Canaan; the wetting of the fleece a rustic idea. The doubt is then suggested, What if all this be natural? Therefore
3. The proof is reversed. As in experimental science the test of variations is employed, so here in spiritual divination. God accommodates himself to our weakness that he may vanquish it. Henceforth the path is clear and his mind is made up. Have we done all that conscience and revelation have made plain and obligatory? Have we gone to the Divine footstool for the wisdom and strength we required?M.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
The Midianite marauders being encamped in the Plain of Jezreel, the Spirit of Jehovah takes possession of Gideon. The double sign of the fleece
Jdg 6:33-40
33Then [And] all the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and the children [sons] of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched [encamped] in the 34valley [plain] of Jezreel. But [And] the Spirit of the Lord [Jehovah] came upon Gideon, and he blew a [the] trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him. 35And 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.26 36And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said, 37Behold, I will [omit: will] put a fleece of wool in the [threshing] floor: and if the dew [shall] be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth [ground] besides, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said. 38And it was so: for [and when] he rose up early on the morrow, and [he] thrust [pressed27] the fleece together, and wringed2 the [omit: the] dew out of the fleece, a [the28] bowl-full of water. 39And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot [kindled] against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove [try], 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. 40And God did so that night: for [and] it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[1 Jdg 6:35., to meet them, i.e., Gideon and the Manassites already in the field. Dr. Cassel (De Wette, also) substitutes him. The LXX. change the number at the other end of the sentence, probably because they thought that the mountaineers of Asher and Naphtali, descending into the plain, did not make a good subject for , to go up, and render: . As to what may be called the military meaning of , cf. the Com. on Jdg 1:1, p. 26.Tr.]
[2 Jdg 6:38.The words rendered thrust together and wringed by the E. V., are (from ) and (from ). Dr. Cassel translates the first by wringing, the second by pressing. The difference between them seems to be slight, if any. In the text, one clause expresses the action, the other the result. The primary idea of , according to Gesenius, is to straiten, to bring into a narrow compass; that of , to suck. The action of wringing, though likely enough to be used by Gideon, is not expressed by either term. However, it lies nearer than . De Wette: Er druckte die Wolle aus, und presste Thau aus der Schur, etc.Tr.]
[3 Jdg 6:38., the bowl, namely, the one he used to receive the water. On the bowl, compare our authors remarks on Jdg 5:25.Tr.]
EXEGETICAL AND DOCTRINAL
Jdg 6:33-35. It was high time that a new spirit bestirred itself in Israel. The Bedouin hordes already pressed forward again from the desert regions beyond the Jordan, and were settling down, like a heavy cloud, on the plain of Jezreel. Gideon, by his bold deed against Baal, and because the idol-god did nothing whatever to avenge the insult to its altar, had acquired authority and distinction among his people. As now the enemy who oppressed and plundered Israel was near, the Spirit of God filled him, literally, put him on. What he had done against the altar of Baal in his fathers house, that he would attempt against the enemy in the open field. He sounds the trumpet on the mountains. Though the youngest in his family, and that the least in Manasseh, the people obeyed his call, and ranged themselves under him ()such power is there in one courageous deed, in the vigorous resolution of one man in a servile age. Even Asher, who had held back from Barak, furnished men. Nor were the brave sons of Zebulun and Naphtali wanting on this occasion. In a short time Gideon stood at the head of a not inconsiderable army.
Jdg 6:36. And Gideon said unto God. The success thus far enjoyed by Gideon, has not lifted him up. He cannot yet believe that he is called to conduct so great an undertaking. He is aware also of the dangers to which he exposes his house and country. True, the divine manifestation which roused his soul, is still acting on him. But time, even a few eventful days, envelops such memories in shadowy dimness. In his humility, he is seized by a longing for renewed certainty. He desires to be assured, whether it was indeed destined for him to become the deliverer. He has recourse to no superstitious use of the lot. He turns in prayer to the God who has already shown his wonders to him, and who, as angel, has conversed with him. Now, as in Jdg 6:20, where the angel manifests his supernatural character, the narrator used Elohim, with the article, because from Jehovah alone, who is the true Elohim, the only one to whom this name justly belongs, angels proceed; so here again, when Gideon asks for a new sign, he makes him pray to the Elohim, and continues to employ this term as long as he speaks of the miracle.
Jdg 6:37-40. Behold, I put a fleece of wool in the threshing-floor. The sign he asks for is such as would naturally suggest itself to a person in rural life. The holy land is favored with heavy, fertilizing dews, which impart to its fields that beautiful and juicy verdure, by which it forms so grateful a contrast with the dry and dewless steppes on which nothing but the palm grows (cf. Ritter, xv. 157; xvi. 42, etc. [Gages Transl. ii: 164]). Wool, spread on the open threshing-floor, especially attracts the dew. Gideon proposes to consider it a divine affirmative sign, if only the wool absorb dew, while the ground around be dry. It takes place. He finds the wool wet; after wringing (, from = ) the fleece, and pressing it (, from = ), he can fill a whole bowl full with the water; the ground round about is dry. Though very remarkable, he thinks nevertheless, that it may possibly be explained on natural principles. Perhaps the dew, already dried up from the ground, was only longer retained by the fleece. In his humility and necessity for assurance, and in the purity of his conscience, which is known to God, he ventures once more to appeal to God. If now the reverse were to take place, leaving the wool dry and the ground wet, there could be no doubt that God had wrought a miracle. No other explanation would be possible. This also comes to pass, and Gideon knows now beyond all doubt, that God is with him. The navet of an uncommon depth of thought reveals itself in this choice of a sign for which the hero asks. Faith in Gods omnipotence lies at its base. Such a request could only be made by one who knew that the whole creation was in the hands of God. Relying on the grace and power of God, he casts lots with the independent laws of nature. The childlike faith which animates him, sounds the depths of an unfathomable wisdom. Hence, in the ancient church, his miraculous sign became the type of the highest and most wonderful miracle known to the church, the birth of Jesus from the Virgin Mary. Origen already speaks of the advent of the Son of God as the fall of the divine dew. The development of this type in pictures and customs, I have elsewhere attempted to trace, whither I must here refer the reader (Weihnachten, p. 248, etc.).
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Gerlach: Gideon does not put on the Spirit of the Lord, but the Spirit puts him on. He clothes him, as with a suit of armor, so that in his strength he becomes invulnerable, invincible.
[Bp. Hall: Of all the instruments that God did use in so great a work, I find none so weak as Gideon, who yet of all others was styled valiant. The same: The former miracle was strong enough to carry Gideon through his first exploit of ruinating the idolatrous grove and altar; but now, when he saw the swarm of the Midianites and Amalekites about his ears, he calls for new aid; and, not trusting to the Abiezrites, and his other thousands of Israel, he runs to God for a further assurance of victory. The refuge was good, but the manner of seeking it savors of distrust. There is nothing more easy than to be valiant when no peril appeareth; but when evils assail us upon equal terms, it is hard, and commendable, not to be dismayed. If God had made that proclamation now, which afterwards was commanded to be made by Gideon, Let the timorous depart, I doubt whether Israel had not wanted a guide: yet how willing is the Almighty to satify our weak desires! What tasks is He content to be set by our infirmity!Keil: Gideons prayer for a sign sprang not from want of faith in Gods promise of victory, but from the weakness of the flesh, which paralyzes the faith and energy of the spirit, and often makes the servants of God so anxious and timorous that God must assist them by miracles. Gideon knew himself and his own strength, and that for victory over the enemy this would not suffice.Scott: Even they who have the Spirit of God, and by the trumpet of the gospel call others to the conflict, cannot always keep out disquieting fears, in circumstances of peculiar danger and difficulty. In this struggle against involuntary unbelief, the Lord himself, the Author and Finisher of his peoples faith, is their refuge; to Him they make application, and He will help them; and when they are encouraged, they will be enabled to strengthen their brethren.Bush: The result went, 1. To illustrate the divine condescension. God, instead of being offended with his servant, kindly acceded to his request. A fellow creature who had given such solemn promises, would have been quite indignant at finding his veracity seemingly called in question. 2. To show the efficacy of prayer. It was prayer that prevailed in this instance. With great humility and much tenderness of spirit, Gideon besought the divine interposition.TR.]
Footnotes:
[26][Jdg 6:35., to meet them, i.e., Gideon and the Manassites already in the field. Dr. Cassel (De Wette, also) substitutes him. The LXX. change the number at the other end of the sentence, probably because they thought that the mountaineers of Asher and Naphtali, descending into the plain, did not make a good subject for , to go up, and render: . As to what may be called the military meaning of , cf. the Com. on Jdg 1:1, p. 26.Tr.]
[27][Jdg 6:38.The words rendered thrust together and wringed by the E. V., are (from ) and (from ). Dr. Cassel translates the first by wringing, the second by pressing. The difference between them seems to be slight, if any. In the text, one clause expresses the action, the other the result. The primary idea of , according to Gesenius, is to straiten, to bring into a narrow compass; that of , to suck. The action of wringing, though likely enough to be used by Gideon, is not expressed by either term. However, it lies nearer than . De Wette: Er druckte die Wolle aus, und presste Thau aus der Schur, etc.Tr.]
[28][Jdg 6:38., the bowl, namely, the one he used to receive the water. On the bowl, compare our authors remarks on Jdg 5:25.Tr.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
The year of deliverance to Israel was come, and therefore the Lord inclined the hearts of their enemies to gather together. See Jdg 4:6-7 ; Mic 4:12-13 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 6:33 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.
Ver. 33. Then all the Midianites, &c. ] In the worst time that could be for themselves; for now the reformation was begun in Israel, Jdg 6:25 and a door of hope opened unto them.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Then all: Psa 3:1, Psa 27:2, Psa 27:3, Psa 118:10-12, Isa 8:9, Isa 8:10, Rom 8:35-39
children: Jdg 6:3, Jdg 8:10, Jdg 8:11, 1Ch 5:19, Job 1:3
went over: Jdg 7:24, Jos 3:16
the valley: Jos 17:16, Jos 19:18, 1Ki 18:45, 1Ki 21:1
Reciprocal: Gen 29:1 – came Num 31:7 – the males Jdg 7:8 – in the valley Jdg 7:12 – the Midianites 1Sa 29:1 – Jezreel Eze 25:4 – men Hos 1:5 – in
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 6:33-34. Then all the Midianites were gathered together, &c. As was their usual custom every year, that they might waste the country. And pitched in the valley of Jezreel Not Jezreel in Judah, but another place of that name in the borders of Manasseh and Issachar, which was not far distant from Ophrah, where Gideon dwelt. But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon Inspiring him with extraordinary wisdom, and courage, and zeal, to vindicate Gods honour and his countrys liberty. The Hebrew is, The Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon; clothed him as a robe, to put honour upon him; clothed him as a coat of mail, to put a defence upon him. Those are well clad that are thus clothed. Abi-ezer That is, the Abi- ezrites, his kindred, and their servants, and others; who, finding no harm coming to him for destroying Baal, but rather a blessing from God, in giving him strength and courage for so great an attempt, changed their minds, and followed him as the person by whose hands God would deliver them.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 6:33-40. The Midianite Raid, and the Sign of the Fleece.The broad and deep Vale of Jezreel, lying between Gilboa and Moreh, leads up from Jordan to the Great Plain.
Jdg 6:34. Gideon now felt the Divine impulsethe spirit of Yahweh came upon him, lit clothed itself with him, put him on like a garment, possessed him, inspired him. He then blew his trumpet to awaken others. It was his own Abiezer clansmen who answered his call, and they apparently became his famous three hundred.
Jdg 6:36-40. The sign of the fleece is probably the record of a dream. Gideon had often seen the heavy dew fall on a summer night upon the hills of Manasseh, and his perceptions wove themselves into mysterious visions, in which he seemed to have power to bend the Divine will to his own. He thus became more than ever convinced that Yahweh designed to save Israel by his hand.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
The mobilizing of four tribes in fear 6:33-35
Some time later Israel’s enemies from the East again crossed the Jordan and massed their forces in the Valley of Jezreel near Gideon’s home (Jdg 6:33). They numbered 135,000, or 135 units, depending on the meaning of eleph here (Jdg 8:10). "Thousand" seems preferable (cf. Jdg 7:12). This foray appears to have been the Midianites’ annual invasion.
Gideon wished to reconfirm the Lord’s promise to be with him and to lead him in victory against the enemy. Perhaps considerable time had elapsed between Gideon’s call (Jdg 6:11-32) and this new threat of attack. The Spirit of the Lord came upon (lit. clothed) Gideon in a special way strengthening and defending him for his great task (Jdg 6:34; cf. Gen 28:20; Isa 59:17). He then sent out a call for men from several of the other tribes to join him and his family to fight the Midianites (Jdg 6:34-35).
"When the ’spirit of the LORD’ first appears in Jdg 3:10, it possesses Othniel, the first judge; and deliverance follows immediately. Here, however, when the spirit possesses Gideon, and despite the auspicious sign that several tribes fall into place when Gideon sounds the trumpet (Jdg 6:34-35), Gideon hesitates (Jdg 6:36-40). Apparently, the spirit is not effective apart from human participation . . ." [Note: McCann, pp. 65-66. Cf. 11:29-40; 13:1-25.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Gideon’s personal struggle to believe God’s promise 6:33-7:18
"The primary matter in the Gideon narrative is not the deliverance itself, but rather something more personal, namely, Gideon’s struggle to believe God’s promise. . . .
"Jdg 6:33 to Jdg 7:18 is arranged in the following concentric pattern:
"A The Spirit-endowed Gideon mobilized four tribes against the Midianites, though lacking confidence in God’s promise (Jdg 6:33-35).
B Gideon sought a sign from God with the fleece to confirm the promise that the Lord would give Midian into his hand (Jdg 6:36-40).
C. With the fearful Israelites having departed, God directed Gideon to go down to the water for the further reduction of his force (Jdg 7:1-8).
C’ With fear still in Gideon himself, God directed Gideon to go down to the enemy camp to overhear the enemy (Jdg 7:9-11).
B’ God provided a sign to Gideon with the dream of the Midianite to confirm the promise that the Lord would give Midian into his hand (Jdg 7:12-14).
A’ The worshiping Gideon mobilized his force of 300 for a surprise attack against the Midianites, fully confident in God’s promise (Jdg 7:15-18).
"The reduction of Gideon’s army is a familiar story often told from the perspective of emphasizing God’s ability to deliver whether by many or by few. While this is true, such an explanation falls short of doing justice in this context. The context is dealing with a struggle within Gideon himself." [Note: Tanner, p. 157.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
“THE PEOPLE ARE YET TOO MANY”
Jdg 6:33-40; Jdg 7:1-7
ANOTHER day of hope and energy has dawned. One hillside at least rises sunlit out of darkness with the altar of Jehovah on its summit and holier sacrifices smoking there than Israel has offered for many a year. Let us see what elements of promise, what elements of danger or possible error mingle with the, situation. There is a man to take the lead, a young man, thoughtful, bold, energetic, aware of a Divine call and therefore of some endowment for the task to be done. Gideon believes Jehovah to be Israels God and Friend, Israel to be Jehovahs people. He has faith in the power of the Unseen Helper. Baal is nothing, a mere name-Bosheth, vanity. Jehovah is a certainty; and what He wills shall come about. So far strength, confidence. But of himself and the people Gideon is not sure. His own ability to gather and command an army, the fitness of any army the tribes can supply to contend with Midian, these are as yet unproved. Only one fact stands clear, Jehovah the supreme God with Whom are all powers and influences. The rest is in shadow. For one thing, Gideon cannot trace the connection between the Most High and himself, between the Power that controls the world and the power that dwells in his own will or the hearts of other men. Yet with the first message a sign has been given, and other tokens may be sought as events move on. With that measure of uncertainty which keeps a man humble and makes him ponder his steps Gideon finds himself acknowledged leader in Manasseh and a centre of growing enthusiasm throughout the northern tribes.
For the people generally this at least may be said, that they have wisdom enough to recognise the man of aptitude and courage, though he belongs to one of the humblest families and is the least in his fathers household. Drowning men indeed must take the help that is offered, and Israel is at present almost in the condition of a drowning man. A little more and it will sink under the wave of the Midianite invasion. It is not a time to ask of the rank of a man who has character for the emergency. And yet, so often is the hero unacknowledged, especially when he begins, as Gideon did, with a religious stroke, that some credit must be given to the people for their ready faith. As the flame goes up from the altar at Ophrah men feel a flash of hope and promise. They turn to the Abiezrite in trust and through him begin to trust God again. Yes: there is a reformation of a sort, and an honest man is at the head of it. So far the signs of the time are good.
Then the old enthusiasm is not dead. Almost Israel had submitted, but again its spirit is rising. The traditions of Deborah and Barak, of Joshua, of Moses, of the desert march and victories linger with those who are hiding amongst the caves and rocks. Songs of liberty, promises of power are still theirs; they feel that they should be free. Canaan is Jehovahs gift to them and they will claim it. So far as reviving human energy and confidence avail, there is a germ out of which the proper life of the people of God may spring afresh. And it is this that Gideon as a reformer must nourish, for the leader depends at every stage on the desires that have been kindled in the hearts of men. While he goes before them in thought and plan he can only go prosperously where they intelligently, heartily will follow. Opportunism is the base lagging behind with popular coldness, as moderatism in religion is. The reformer does not wait a moment when he sees an aspiration he can guide, a spark of faith that can be fanned into flame. But neither in church nor state can one man make a conquering movement. And so we see the vast extent of duty and responsibility. That there may be no opportunism every citizen must be alive to the morality of politics. That there may be no moderatism every Christian must be alive to the real duty of the church.
Now have the heads of families and the chief men in Israel been active in rallying the tribes? Or have the people waited on their chiefs and the chiefs coldly held back?
There are good elements in the situation, but others not so encouraging. The secular leaders have failed; and what are the priests and Levites doing? We hear nothing of them. Gideon has to assume the double office of priest and ruler. At Shiloh there is an altar. There too is the ark, and surely some holy observances are kept. Why does Gideon not lead the people to Shiloh and there renew the national covenant through the ministers of the tabernacle? He knows little of the moral law and the sanctities of worship; and he is not at this stage inclined to assume a function that is not properly his. Yet it is unmistakable that Ophrah has to be the religious centre. Ah! clearly there is opportunism among secular leaders and moderatism among the priests. And this suggests that Judah in the south, although the tabernacle is not in her territory, may have an ecclesiastical reason for holding aloof now, as in Deborahs time she kept apart. Simeon and Levi are brethren. Judah, the vanguard in the desert march, the leading tribe in the first assault on Canaan, has taken Simeon into close alliance. Has Levi also been almost absorbed? There are signs that it may have been so. The later supremacy of Judah in religion requires early and deep root; and we have also to explain the separation between north and south already evident, which was but half overcome by Davids kingship and reappeared before the end of Solomons reign. It is very significant to read in the closing chapter, of Judges of two Levites both of whom were connected with Judah. The Levites were certainly respected through the whole land, but their absence from all the incidents of the period of Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, and Jephthah compels the supposition that they had most affinity with Judah and Simeon in the south. We know how people can be divided by ecclesiasticism; and there is at least some reason to suspect that while the northern tribes were suffering and fighting Judah went her own way, enjoying peace and organising worship.
Such then is the state of matters so far as the tribes are concerned at the time when Gideon sounds the trumpet in Abiezer and sends messengers throughout Manasseh, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali. The tribes are partly prepared for conflict, but they are weak and still disunited. The muster of fighting men who gather at the call of Gideon is considerable and perhaps astonishes him. But the Midianites are in enormous numbers in the plain of Jezreel between Moreh and Gilboa, having drawn together from their marauding expeditions at the first hint of a rising among the Hebrews. And now as the chief reviews his troops his early apprehension returns. It is with something like dismay that he passes from band to band. Ill-disciplined, ill-assorted, these men do not bear the air of coming triumph. Gideon has too keen sight to be misled by tokens of personal popularity; nor can he estimate success by numbers. Looking closely into the faces of the men he sees marks enough of hesitancy, tokens even of fear. Many seem as if they had gathered like sheep to the slaughter, not as lions ready to dash on the prey. Assurance of victory he cannot find in his army; he must seek it elsewhere.
It is well that multitudes gather to the church today for worship and enter themselves as members. But to reckon all such as an army contending with infidelity and wickedness-that would indeed be a mistake. The more tale of numbers gives no estimation of strength, fighting strength, strength to resist and to suffer. It is needful clearly to distinguish between those who may be called captives of the church or vassals simply, rendering a certain respect, and those others, often a very few and perhaps the least regarded, who really fight the battles. Our reckoning at present is often misleading so that we occupy ground which we cannot defend. We attempt to assail infidelity with an ill-disciplined host, many of whom have no clear faith, and to overcome worldliness by the cooperation of those who are more than half-absorbed in the pastimes and follies of the world. There is need to look back to Gideon, who knew what it was to fight. While we are thankful to have so many connected with the church for their own good we must not suppose that they represent aggressive strength; on the contrary we must clearly understand that they will require no small part of the available time and energy of the earnest. In short we have to count them not as helpers of the churchs forward movement but as those who must he helped.
Gideon for his work will have to make sharp division. Three hundred who can dash fearlessly on the enemy will be more to his purpose than two-and-thirty thousand most of whom grow pale at the thought of battle, and he will separate by and by. But first he seeks another sign of Jehovah. This man knows that to do anything worthy for his fellow men he must be in living touch with God. The idea has no more than elementary form; but it rules. He, Gideon, is only an instrument, and he must be well convinced that God is working through him. How can he be sure? Like other Israelites he is strongly persuaded that God appears and speaks to men through nature; and he craves a sign in the natural world which is of Gods making and upholding. Now to us the sign Gideon asked may appear rude, uncouth, and without any moral significance. A fleece which is to be wet one morning while the threshing floor is dry, and dry next morning while the threshing floor is wet, supplies the means of testing the Divine presence and approval. Further it may be alleged that the phenomena admit of natural explanation. But this is the meaning. Gideon, providing the fleece, identifies himself with it. It is his fleece, and if Gods dew drenches it that will imply that Gods power shall enter Gideons soul and abide in it even though Israel be dry as the dusty floor. The thought is at once simple and profound, child-like and Hebrew-like, and carefully we must observe that it is a nature sign, not a mere portent, Gideon looks for. It is not whether God can do a certain seemingly impossible thing. That would not help Gideon. But the dew represents to his mind the vigour he needs, the vigour Israel needs if he should fail; and in reversing the sign, “Let the dew be on the ground and the fleece be dry,” he seems to provide a hope, even in prospect of his own failure or death. Gideons appeal is for a revelation of the Divine in the same sphere as the lightning storm and rain in which Deborah found a triumphant proof of Jehovahs presence; yet there is a notable contrast. We are reminded of the “still small voice” Elijah heard as he stood in the cave mouth after the rending wind and the earthquake and the lightning. We remember also the image of Hosea, “I will be as the dew unto Israel.” There is a question in the Book of Job, “Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?” The faith of Gideon makes answer, “Thou, O Most High, dost give the dews of heaven.” The silent distillation of the dew is profoundly symbolic of the spiritual economy and those energies that are “not of this noisy world but silent and Divine.” There is much of interest and meaning that lies thus beneath the surface in the story of the fleece.
Assured that yet another step in advance may be taken, Gideon leads his forces northward and goes into camp beside the spring of Harod on the slope of Gilboa. Then he does what seems a strange thing for a general on the eve of battle. The army is large, but utterly insufficient in discipline and morale for a pitched battle with the Midianites. Men who have hastily snatched their fathers swords and pikes of which they are half afraid are not to be relied upon in the heat of a terrible struggle. Proclamation is therefore made that those who are fearful and trembling shall return to their homes. From the entrenchment of Israel on the hillside, where the name Jalid or Gilead still survives, the great camp of the desert people could be seen, the black tents darkening all the valley toward the slope of Moreh a few miles away. The sight was enough to appal even the bold. Men thought of their families and homesteads. Those who had anything to lose began to reconsider and by morning only one-third of the Hebrew army was left with the leader. So perhaps it would be with thousands of Christians if the church were again called to share the reproach of Christ and resist unto blood. Under the banner of a popular Christianity many march to stirring music who, if they supposed struggle to be imminent, would be tempted to leave the ranks. Yet the fight is actually going on. Camp is set against camp, army is mingled with army; at the front there is hot work and many are falling. But in the rear it would seem to be a holiday; men are idling, gossiping, chaffering as though they had come out for amusement or trade, not at all like those who have pledged life in a great cause and have everything to win or lose. And again, in the thick of the strife, where courage and energy are strained to the utmost, we look round and ask whether the fearful have indeed withdrawn, for the suspicion is forced upon us that many who call themselves Christs are on the other side. Did not some of those who are striking at us lift their hands yesterday in allegiance to the great Captain? Do we not see some who have marched with us holding the very position we are to take, bearing the very standards we must capture? Strangely confused is the field of battle, and hard is it to distinguish friends from foes. If the fearful would retire we should know better how we stand. If the enemy were all of Midian the issue would be clear. But fearful and faint-hearted Israelites who may be found any time actually contending against the faith are foes of a kind unknown in simpler days. So frequently does something of this sort happen that every Christian has need to ask himself whether he is clear of the offence. Has he ever helped to make the false world strong against the true, the proud world strong against the meek? Many of those who are doubtful and go home may sooner be pardoned than he who strikes only where a certain false eclat is to be won.
Just for a handful of silver he left us,
Just for a riband to stick in his coat-
Found the one gift of which fortune bereft us,
Lost all the others she lets us devote.
“We shall march prospering-not thro his presence;
Songs may inspirit us-not from his lyre;
Deeds will be done-while he boasts his quiescence,
Still bidding crouch whom the rest bade aspire.”
In the same line of thought lies another reflection. The men who had hastily snatched their fathers swords and pikes of which they were half afraid represent to us certain modern defenders of Christianity-those who carry edged weapons of inherited doctrine with which they dare not strike home. The great battleaxes of reprobation, of eternal judgment, of Divine severity against sin once wielded by strong hands, how they tremble and swerve in the grasp of many a modern dialectician. The sword of the old creed, that once like Excalibur cleft helmets and breastplates through, how often it maims the hands that try to use it but want alike the strength and the cunning. Too often we see a wavering blow struck that draws not a drop of blood nor even dints a shield, and the next thing is that the knight has run to cover behind some old bulwark long riddled and dilapidated. In the hands of these unskilled fighters too well armed for their strength the battle is worse than lost. They become a laughing stock to the enemy, an irritation to their own side. It is time there was a sifting among the defenders of the faith and twenty and two thousand went back from Gilead. Is the truth of God become mere tin or lead that no new sword can be fashioned from it, no blade of Damascus firm and keen? Are there no gospel armourers fit for the task? Where the doctrinal contest is maintained by men who are not to the depth of their souls sure of the creeds they found on, by men who have no vision of the severity of God and the meaning of redemption, it ends only in confusion to themselves and those who are with them.
Ten thousand Israelites remain who according to their own judgment are brave enough and prepared for the fight; but the purpose of the commander is not answered yet. He is resolved to have yet another winnowing that shall leave only the men of temper like his own, men of quick intelligence no less than zeal. At the foot of the hill there flows a stream of water, and towards it Gideon leads his diminished army as if at once to cross and attack the enemy in camp. Will they seize his plan and like one man act upon it? Only on those who do can he depend. It is an effective trial. With the hot work of fighting before them the water is needful to all, but in the way of drinking men show their spirit. The most kneel or lie down by the edge of the brook, that by putting their lips to the water they may take a long and leisurely draught. A few supply themselves in quite another way. As a dog whose master is passing on with rapid strides, coming to a pool or stream by the way, stops a moment to lap a few mouthfuls of water and then is off again to his masters side, so do these-three hundred of the ten thousand-bending swiftly down carry water to their mouths in the hollow of the hand. Full of the days business they move on again before the nine thousand seven hundred have well begun to drink. They separate themselves and are by Gideons side, beyond the stream, a chosen band proved fit for the work that is to be done. It is no haphazard division that is made by the test of the stream. There is wisdom in it, inspiration. “And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you and deliver the Midianites into thine hand.”
Many are the commonplace incidents, the seemingly small points in life that test the quality of men. Every day we are led to the stream side to show what we are, whether eager in the Divine enterprise of faith or slack and self-considering. Take any company of men and women who claim to be on the side of Christ, engaged and bound in all seriousness to His service. But how many have it clearly before them that they must not entangle themselves more than is absolutely needful with bodily and sensuous cravings, that they must not lie down to drink from the stream of pleasure and amusement? We show our spiritual state by the way in which we spend our leisure, our Saturday afternoons, our Sabbaths. We show whether we are fit for Gods business by our use of the flowing stream of literature, which to some is an opiate, to others a pure and strengthening draught. The question simply is whether we are so engaged with Gods plan for our life, in comprehending it, fulfilling it, that we have no time to dawdle and no disposition for the merely casual and trifling. Are we in the responsible use of our powers occupied as that Athenian was in the service of his country of whom it is recorded: “There was in the whole city but one street in which Pericles was ever seen, the street which led to the marketplace and the council house. During the whole period of his administration he never dined at the table of a friend”? Let no one say there is not time in a world like this for social intercourse, for literary and scientific pursuits, or the practice of the arts. The plan of God for men means life in all possible fulness and entrance into every field in which power can be gained. His will for us is that we should give to the world as Christ gave in free and uplifting ministry, and as a man can only give what he has first made his own the Christian is called to self-culture as full as the other duties of life will permit. He cannot explore too much, he cannot be too well versed in the thoughts and doings of men and the revelations of nature, for all he learns is to find high use. But the aim of personal enlargement and efficiency must never be forgotten, that aim which alone makes the self of value and gives it real life-the service and glory of God. Only in view of this aim is culture worth anything. And when in the providence of God there comes a call which requires us to pass with resolute step beyond every stream at which the mind and taste are stimulated that we may throw ourselves into the hard fight against evil there is to be no hesitation. Everything must yield now. The comparatively small handful who press on with concentrated purpose, making Gods call and His work first and all else, even their own needs, a secondary affair-to these will be the honour and the joy of victory.
We live in a time when people are piling up object after object that needs attention and entering into engagement after engagement that comes between them and the supreme duty of existence. They form so many acquaintances that every spare hour goes in visiting and receiving visits: yet the end of life is not talk. They are members of so many societies that they scarcely get at the work for which the societies exist: yet the end of life is not organising. They see so many books, hear so much news and criticism that truth escapes them altogether: yet the end of life is to know and do the Truth. Civilisation defeats its own use when it keeps us drinking so long at this and the other spring that we forget the battle. We mean to fight, we mean to do our part, but night falls while we are still occupied on the way. Yet our Master is one who restricted the earthly life to its simplest elements because only so could spiritual energy move freely to its mark.
In the incidents we have been reviewing voluntary churches may find hints at least towards the justification of their principle. The idea of a national church is on more than one side intelligible and valid. Christianity stands related to the whole body of the people, bountiful even to those who scorn its laws, pleading on their behalf with God, keeping an open door and sending forth a perpetual call of love to the weak, the erring, the depraved. The ideal of a national church is to represent this universal office and realise this inclusiveness of the Christian religion; and the charm is great. On the other hand a voluntary church is the recognition of the fact that while Christ stands related to all men it is those only who engage at expense to themselves in the labour of the gospel who can be called believers, and that these properly constitute the church. The Hebrew people under the theocracy may represent the one ideal; Gideons sifting of his army points to the other; neither, it must be frankly confessed, has ever been realised. Large numbers may join with some intelligence in worship and avail themselves of the sacraments who have no sense of obligation as members of the kingdom and are scarcely touched by the teaching of Christianity as to sin and salvation. A separated community again, depending on an enthusiasm which too often fails, rarely if ever accomplishes its hope. It aims at exhibiting an active and daring faith, the militancy, the urgency of the gospel, and in this mission what is counted success may be a hindrance and a snare. Numbers grow, wealth is acquired, but the intensity of belief is less than it was and the sacrifices still required are not freely made. Nevertheless is it not plain that a society which would represent the imperative claim of Christ to the undivided faith and loyalty of His followers must found upon a personal sense of obligation and personal eagerness? Is it not plain that a society which would represent the purity, the unearthliness, the rigour, we may even say, of Christs doctrine, His life of renunciation and His cross must show a separateness from the careless world and move distinctly in advance of popular religious sentiment? Israel was Gods people, yet when a leader went forth to a work of deliverance he had to sift out the few keen and devoted spirits. In truth every reformation implies a winnowing, and he does little as a teacher or a guide who does not make division among men.