GIDEON

Judges 6:1–18


MIDIANITE OPPRESSION (6:1–6) 

• the people turned back to idolatry after Barak and Deborah died 
(6:1a; cf. 2:11; 3:7; 10:6) 

• so God removed Israel's protection (cf. Num 14:9) and this fourth 
oppression lasted for 7 years (6:1b) 

• the Midianites, Amalekites, and sons of the east invaded the central 
region in the territory of Manasseh and Issachar (6:1–10:5) 

• Gideon was from the tribe of Manasseh (6:15) and lived in the town 
of Ophrah (6:11, 24; 8:27, 32) 

• Midianites came from the Arabian desert, probably up Wadi Sirhan 
east of Amman; Amalekites probably came from the Negeb 

• they crossed the Jordan, hit the Plain of Jezreel, and raided as far 
south and west as Gaza, near the Mediterranean Sea (6:3–4) 

• they murdered people at will (8:18–21) 

• families fled their homes, farms, and towns and hid in the 
mountains, in caves, and on the mountain-tops (6:2; cf. Lev 26:6) 

• their clean-earth policy left the land ravaged: they are compared to 
a plague of locusts—swarms of them came soon after the wheat 
harvest in May and June (6:3, 11) 

• they camped in tents and plundered the surrounding area (6:4–5) 

• they took Israel's food, sheep, oxen, and donkeys for themselves 
(6:4) 

• camels enabled them to move quickly over great distances for 
several days without water—their advantage (6:5) 

• people hid their food supplies (6:11) 

• the raids came every year and soon left Israel desperate for food 
(6:6; cf. Lev 26:5, 10) 

• the most threatened areas were the rich, fertile plains, such as the 
Plain of Jezreel (6:33) 

• up to the twentieth century bedouin Arabs came up the Wadi of 
Jezreel and Wadi Sherrar to ravage the same area (Thomson) 
ISRAEL CRIES FOR DELIVERANCE (6:7) 

• God was faithful to the Covenant and delivered his people every time 
they cried out (3:9, 15; 4:3; 6:6–7; 10:10–16; Neh 9:26–31) 

• God delivered Israel 13 times over 350 years—showing the love, 
patience, forgiveness, and grace of God (cf. Judg 2:1c) 
GOD SENDS A PROPHET (6:8–10) 

• sending an unnamed prophet to rebuke Israel suggests their 
apostasy has reached its lowest point yet: apparently no prophets 
were sent before deliverance from the previous three oppressions (but 
see Neh 9:26) 

• a prophet is sent because Israel needs to know why they have been 
oppressed before God delivers them: "the LORD gave them into the 
hands of Midian" (6:1b) because they "have not listened to My voice" 
(6:10b) 

• this unnamed prophet reminds Israel of God's grace—the Exodus 
from Egypt and the Conquest of Canaan (6:8b–9), repeats God's 
prohibition of idolatry (6:10a; cf. Deut 6:13–15), and levels God's 
accusation of disobedience to the Sinaitic Covenant (6:10b)—a risky 
proposition for a prophet (Neh 9:26) 

• their suffering is cursing for disobedience to the Covenant (= first 
cycle of discipline, Lev 26:14–17; cf. Deut 28:15, 29–34, 48) 

• their suffering was a result of disobedience and idolatry—"you shall 
not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have 
not listened to My voice" (6:10b) 

• they wanted to escape from their circumstances but God wanted 
them to reflect on their circumstances: holiness is more important 
than deliverance, peace, and prosperity 

• the purpose of discipline is to wake us up and bring us back to God 

• discipline was the only way God could preserve his rule and his 
fledgling Kingdom 


GIDEON'S CALL
Judges 6:11–18

THE ANGEL OF THE LORD 

• the Angel of the LORD appears 20 times in the Book of Judges and 
80 times in the Old Testament 

• he is Jehovah (Gen 16:7–13; 22:15–18; Judg 6:11–23; cf. Lev 
26:44–45 with Judg 2:1–5) and God (Exod 3:1–6; Zech 12:8) 

• he is also called the Angel of God (Judg 6:20; 13:6, 9) and is 
identified as God (Gen 31:11–13; Judg 13:8–22) and Jehovah (Exod 
13:21 with 14:19; Judg 13:23) 

• he is also distinct from Jehovah—another person of the Trinity (Gen 
16:11; cf. Exod 23:20; Num 20:16; 22:31; Zech 1:12–16) 

• he is the second person of the Trinity—the preincarnate Christ: (1) 
the visible God: God the Son appears in bodily form in both the Old 
and New Testaments, (2) disappearance: the Angel of the LORD no 
longer appears after the incarnation of Jesus, (3) similar function: both 

the Angel of the LORD and Jesus Christ were sent by God the Father to 
reveal truth and lead, defend, and judge Israel, (4) process of 
elimination: the Angel of the LORD cannot be the first or third person 
of the Trinity (John 1:18) 

• he is a messenger from heaven—a foreshadowing of his coming in 
the flesh (Gen 21:17; 22:11, 15; Judg 13:20; 1 Chron 21:16) 

• a study of the Angel of the LORD reveals the preincarnate work of 
Christ for his people:

(1) comforts and assures Hagar (Gen 16:7–13), 

(2) helps Hagar (21:14–19),

(3) stops the sacrifice of Isaac (22:9–12), 

(4) blesses Abraham (22:15–18),

(5) makes a man successful in his 
endeavor (24:7, 40),

(6) calls Moses (Exod 3:2–10) and Gideon (Judg 6:11–14),

(7) leads Israel in the wilderness and to the promised land 
(Exod 23:20–23; Judg 2:1),

(8) warns Balaam (Num 22:22–35) and Israel (Judg 2:1–5),

(9) reveals the birth and call of Samson (Judg 13:2–23),

(10) punishes sin (1 Chr 21:9–30),

(11) protects and delivers the righteous (Psa 34:7),

(12) protects Judah (2 Kings 19:35), 

(13) feeds Elijah in the wilderness (1 Kings 19:4–8),

(14) gives a prophecy to Elijah (2 Kings 1:2–4),

(15) gives guidance to Jacob (Gen 31:11–13) and to Elijah (2 Kings 1:15–16), and

(16) has authority over angels who patrol the earth (Zech 1:8–11)—God the Son was 
very active in the Old Testament 

• the Angel of the LORD exercises the prerogatives of God and is the 
most frequent theophany in the Old Testament 
THE ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARS TO GIDEON (6:11–13) 

• Gideon was about 30 years old when the Angel of the LORD 
appeared to him (cf. Judg 8:20) 

• he was beating out wheat in a winepress for safety instead of with 
animals on a threshing floor (vineyards are in hidden wadis or on 
wooded hills whereas threshing floors are in open country on hills to 
catch the wind to winnow grain) 

• many hidden grain pits were found in excavations at Kiriath-sepher 
(1926–1928) dating to the period of the Judges 

• the promise "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior!" indicates 
Gideon was not a Baal worshiper like his father (cf. 6:25–27) 

• his cynicism shows his ignorance of covenant curses and the need 
for the prophet's message in 6:8–10 (cf. Isa 59:1–2) 
THE ANGEL OF THE LORD'S CALL AND GIDEON'S EXCUSE (6:14– 16) 

• God calls Gideon to deliver Israel from the Midianites (6:14) but 
Gideon feels inadequate and makes excuses (6:15) 

• God promises a second time to be with him and promises him victory 
over the Midianites (6:16)—these promises require faith 

• God is with you means God is a friend who goes wherever you go 
(Josh 1:9) and helps in everything you do (Gen 21:22; 39:3) 

• all he needs to be successful will be provided by God—he may not be 
adequate but God is adequate (cf. Exod 3:10–12) 


GIDEON'S REQUEST FOR A SIGN (6:17–18) 

• he asks for a sign or miracle to be certain his call is from God and 
that this messenger is from God or is God Himself (6:17) 

• but first he wants to bring an offering to the Angel: it will take time 
to butcher a kid and bake unleavened bread (6:18) 

• the sign takes place in 6:19–24: the Angel of the LORD 
supernaturally consumes Gideon's offering with fire in the vineyard