AN UNLIKELY HERO: GIDEON AND THE THREE HUNDRED

AN UNLIKELY HERO: GIDEON AND THE THREE HUNDRED

By: Daniel McMillin

An Introduction to Judges

The beginning of the book sets the scene “after the death of Joshua” (Judges 1:1). This is meant to be a waking call for the Israelites as the Lord asks, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?” (Judges1:1). The story of Joshua conquering the land of Canaan and the Judges living in the land of Canaan are two polar opposite stories. “Joshua and Judges resemble two sides of one coin. The former is essentially a positive revelation and the latter a negative one. Joshua demonstrates that victory, success, and progress result when God’s people trust and obey Him consistently. Whereas Joshua reveals God’s faithfulness in giving Israel the Promised land, Judges emphasizes Israel’s unfaithfulness in subduing the land. Joshua highlights God’s hatred of sin, but Judges magnifies God’s grace toward sinners.”[1] The issue Israel faces in this period is they did not destroy the Canaanite’s and this will cost them. This will lead the people into spiritual apostasy, “instead of remaining loyal to Yahweh and worshiping Him exclusively, as He had commanded, the Israelites tolerated, then began to admire, and finally worshiped the gods of the Canaanites.”[2] Instead of destroying the Canaanites and their idols, they began to make covenants with them and worship their idols.

The book of Judges is like a drama. There is war, murder, romance, betrayal, and idolatry? Judges 2:6-23 provides us with a summary of the material that will follow in the narrative of the Judges. “When the Israelites turn to other gods, God removes his protection and power from them, and foreign raiders or invaders overrun Israel and oppress them. Then God raises up a deliverer who rescues Israel from their oppressors.”[3] We see that there is this downward spiral that occurs within the period of the Judges.

According to the Old Testament Law, God would give Israel these commandments. If they obeyed, they would be blessed. If they disobeyed, they would be cursed (Duet. 11:26-28). This is what sets up the story that follows in Judges 6-7.

We Need a Hero: Gideon’s Calling (Judges 6)

Israel’s Marks of Apostasy and God’s Judgment upon Them -v. 1-6

Rob Fleenor and Mark Ziese have divided this oppression into three parts.[4] (1) The Medianites deprive the Israelites of their produce (v. 3-5),[5] (2) The Midianites took the Israelites livestock (v. 4),[6] (3) The Medianites brought their own livestock to feed off the Israelite’s field (v. 5). “The story begins, as we expect all the stories in Judges to begin, with the framework report of Israel’s evil and the formulaic announcement that Yahweh handed them over to an enemy.”[7] This section of the story begins on a negative note where the people of Israel are in a bad place in the cycle. “Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (Judges 6:1). This should sound familiar when you are reading the Biblical text. The author has noted that prior to this occasion “the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals, and they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the LORD to anger” (Judges 2:11-13). “The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth” (Judges 3:7). “Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and defeated Israel, and they possessed the city of the palm trees. The sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years” (Judges 3:12-14). “Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud died. And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. The sons of Israel cried to the LORD; for he had nine hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years” (Judges 4:1-3). At this point, this is the fifth (of seven) time that this phrase has been used during the period of the Judges. One moment, the people of Israel would be at their highest and then at the next would be at their lowest. Notice how the author chooses to use the word “evil” to describe the nature of Israel’s actions, which would include their hearts and intents.

“The Lord gave them into the hands of Midian seven years” (Judges 6:1). We recognize that it was not by chance that the Israelites were defeated. It was not due to the efforts or abilities the Midianites. It did not matter about the size of their army, the knowledge they possessed, the tactics they implemented, or even the god they worshiped (in fact especially the gods they worshiped). But rather, it was the one true living God of Israel who delivered His people into the hands of their enemies. We can recognize two things at this point. The sovereignty of God and the justice of God. He sovereignly rules. PERIOD. It does not matter what kingdom or king is being discussed, God sovereignty rules. He rules over all creation as the Creator. He created all things and thus rules all things. He is in control. It took the humiliated king Nebuchadnezzar some time to recognize this fact, but he finally wrote, “He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth” (Dan. 4:35). But I also love the words found in Daniel’s prayer when that same king commanded the death of the wise men, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings” (Dan. 2:20-21).  We notice similar langue in God giving the Israelites into the hands of the Midianites in the opening of Daniel, “the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his,” that is, Nebuchadnezzar’s, “hand” (Dan. 1:2). This can in some way foreshadow God ultimately delivering His people into the hands of the Babylonians where they will be punished in the exile for seventy years. Of course, what Israel experienced in these seven years comes close to what they would be exposed to in Babylon. We not only may look forward to the Babylonian exile, but we may also look back to Egyptian captivity. In fact, we are reminded of how God delivered the Israelites out of the hand of the Egyptians within this passage. So as they are doing evil in the sight of the Lord and participating in idolatrous worship it is as though they are returning to Egypt in the exile. The people of Israel deserved to be punished for the sins they had committed. But as one author has noted that “the discipline God sent the Israelites for their apostasy was a blessing in disguise. Each foreign oppressor made life difficult for God’s people. But by afflicting the Israelites, the foreigners caused Israel to turn back to Yahweh eventually. God’s discipline was educative as s well as punitive. When God’s people departed from Him, He did not abandon them; He afflicted them to bring them back to Himself.”[8]

Our attention is then turned towards the Midian army that would approach Jerusalem and defeat the Israelites. They would “prevail” because of the Lord was on their side on the battlefield, but of course, this was in accordance with His will. Once the Israelites were defeated, we read of their pitiful decline in lifestyle. They once had lavish lives in the land filled with milk and honey but now are described as living in “dens” located “in the mountains” as well as “caves and the strongholds” (Judges 6:2). One minute they are living as God’s people and the next they are living like animals. They are still God’s people, but they are not enjoying the blessings of God’s people. They have been humiliated and humbled by God. Just as Nebuchadnezzar lived as an animal, the Israelites would also. We may imagine the fear and tension within this scene as the Israelites would leave their homes to run for the hills. They, of course, fled to the hills to seek refuge that they may hide form their enemies.

During this time, Israel was structured as an agricultural economy. They depended upon their harvest. And so the farmers would naturally resume their agricultural work and the shepherds would continue to do their normal duties. It was then that they had “sown” their seeds, and we read that the “Midianites,” “Amalekites,” and “the sons of the east,” entered the land and destroyed it. We may imagine the scene as these forces came together with the Midianites. In the Near Eastern region during the time of the Judges at least, they would have these major powers have their weaker allies come to fight battles with them.[9] This may be why the author describes the enemies in a two different manners. At one point he is describing the enemy forces in a collective sense when he calls them Midian and then refer to the allies in more detail on other occasions. They seized this opportunity to work “against” their enemies for pillaging, destroying, and creating chaos in Canaan. We may recognize that “the economic burden of the oppression sapped the spirit of the people.”[10] 

As these armies “would camp against them” they not only would take residency, but they would also “destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza” (Judges 6:4). They would literally transport their traveling tents and set them up to camp in the land of Israel as they ransacked and wreaked havoc upon the land. We recognize how devastating this real is when we see the details that follow. In the first place, they left “no sustenance in Israel” (Judges 6:4). The Israelites had nothing to eat or drink. Sustenance can be defined as “substances required by the body to sustain life and the methods of making them edible. Food consumed in Bible times included bread, milk products, fruit, meat, and fish.”[11] One reason for this is because of the second detail mentioned. The “sheep, oxen,” and “donkeys” were either taken from their land and transported to these other nations or they were killed in their fields (Judges 6:4). This may represent “collectively, the sum total of economically valuable animals, and were therefore special objects of destruction by enemies (1 Sam. 15:3; 22:19; Josh. 6:21), or of coveting and theft (Exod. 20:17; 22:4, 9-10 [Heb. 3, 8-9).”[12] “We may take it, therefore that the reference to the destruction or theft of these three types of animas in verse 4 indicates the utter destruction of Israel’s economic base.”[13] The phrase “as far as Gaza” may be taken to mean that their destruction could be seen “until one passes beyond the limits of Israelite settlement”[14] that is almost if not all of their land is destroyed by these forces. “The distance indicates the broad nature of the oppression.”[15]

As these nations would camp in the land of Canaan, they would bring their “livestock” to take advantage of the land where they could eat the Israelite’s crops and livestock. In the Old Testament, we see that locusts symbolizes overwhelming numbers (Judges 7:12; Jer. 46:23; Joel 2:25), and so, this imagery is to be recognized as a description of these armies. They were, as the author clarifies, “innumerable” (Judges 6:5). “Israel suffers a plague of Midianites just as the Egyptians had suffered a plague of locusts (Exod 10:4-19). Israel becomes very small—in significance, in self-esteem, and in possessions.”[16] At this point we see their strategy as something opportunistic, when an opportunity was presented, they would act. Once the farmers had sown, he seeds and the crops began to sprot, these invaders would come in and travel across the Jordan, brining their armies and livestock, to raid various cities as far as Gaza. They would set up camp, send their herds out to find some pastures that fit their liking and then attack by sending raiding parties.[17] Block wrote that “seven years of Medianite terror had a devastating effect on the Israelite economy and emotion. Like locusts, their innumerable hosts devoured every green plant in sight, leaving the land devastated, with nothing left over for the Israelite flocks and herds.”[18] It is interesting that the Midianites are portrayed as these camel riding warriors. They used camels as a means of transport as opposed to the chariots that many armies would normally use, such as the Canaanites. The point of this detail is to give the reader the impression that this army had the tactical advantage over Israel. They had the upper hand over them especially with God’s backing, though they would have bestowed that honor to their own gods.

“They came into the land to devastate it” (NASB), “they laid waste the land as they came in” (ESV), “they invaded the land to ravage it” (NIV), “they entered into the land to destroy it” (KJV), “they entered the land to ruin it” (Butler). Their purpose for entering Canaan was unanimous. They had a single, united, focused motive for being there: to tear down Israel. Not to completely annihilate them; but to knock them down a few pegs enough to where they would suffer hardship and watch everything, they had worked for only be destroyed. We may imagine how they felt like the things they worked for was taken from them unfairly and that God should have intervened. God should have protected them. They would probably be praying more as is the custom of humans in need of God. We only speak when we require something from Him. This imagination furthers the pride of the people as well as their neglect of God’s part in providing every blessing they enjoyed. It is true that “covenant unfaithfulness has brought covenant curse.”[19]

The Lord’s Response to Israel’s Cry -v. 6-10

Israel was obviously at a high point before we begin chapter 6. They were a nation that was divinely rescued from Egypt. The Lord would use Ten Plagues to convince Pharaoh to let them go. Then once they were released from captivity, they then crossed the red sea on dry land as well as surviving the wilderness while God, protected, provided, and piloted the people from the land that considered then slaves to the land that God made them citizens of. They were able to prosper when they obeyed the Lord but when they did not, they were surely punished.

Reality struck as the wrath of God was patiently withheld from them until this appointed time. They were once at a high point but now were at their lowest. But oh how the mighty have fallen. “Israel is ‘humiliated’ physically, socially, and spiritually.”[20] The emotion and economy was impoverished and Israel was left paralyzed. Though the text reads “Israel was brought very low because of Midian” (Judges 6:6) we understand that this was prefaced with “the Lord gave them into the hands of Midian” (Judges 6:1). It was only when they were at their lowest that they “cried to the Lord” for help because or “on account of Midian” (Judges 6:6). They had cried out like their fathers in captivity only once they were beaten, brought to their knees, starving, thirsty, poor, homeless, and deprived of all physical pleasures that they sought God out to help them. They finally recognized that they needed God. Whether their cry was genuine or not was irrelevant. They could be making such a petition out of faith, or they could have not. Nonetheless, we know, that God always answers the call. He answers not because we are worthy, innocent, or good. We are none of those things. Rather, God answers because we are in need. This cry is the first step that may lead to faith or be the product of faith. He answers the call for help while we are yet sinners and unrepentant just as the Israelites, because at this point “there is no hint of repentance, only a cry of pain.”[21] But God heard their cries and answered them when they called.

When Israel cried out and God answered (Judges 6:7), though it may not have been in a manner that they expected. The record informs us of an unnamed and thus unknown prophet who was sent[22] by God and acted as a proclaimer of God’s message, He spoke as an ambassador on God’s behalf.[23] Since this is a message from God, the reader is to receive these words respectfully. Though we do not know his name, which does not matter in the grand scheme of things, we know what he said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery. ‘I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before you and gave you their land, and I said to you, “I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have not obeyed Me” (Judges 6:8-10). Let us attempt to unpack all of this.

First, let us notice how God communicates Himself to the people of Israel. He is their “Lord,” emphasizing His sovereign role as the ruler of all creation of whom should be recognized as their true Master, since they had given this adoration and position to other gods or idols (Judges 6:8). I also notice that since the Lord is identified as the speaker, I recognize that these words are unique. They are not spoken by a human being, in fact, they are not the words of any creature. These are the words of God! They are therefore inspired, that is, God-breathed.[24] 

He also identifies Himself as their God, that is, the “God of Israel” (Judges 6:8). God has a special relationship with this nation. He is, of course, the only true and living God of the universe, though He distinctly has this relationship with His people of whom He has chosen, Israel. This is due to the promises He made to Eve (Gen. 3:15) and Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; 22:17) that from their line, the Messiah will be born. From that same line is Jacob who will later be renamed “Israel” (Gen. 32:22-32). He is their God because of the covenantal relationship He has with these people.

We may also note that the Lord reminds the people that He is their deliverer. They did not leave Egyptian captivity on their own accord; they needed God in order to escape. And then through the wilderness they needed God to save them from all of their enemies. They would have never conquered the land of Canaan if it were not for God who “gave” it to them (Judges 6:8-9). “The prophet enumerates all of God’s mighty acts of deliverance on behalf of Israel, in spite of the Israelites’ disregard for God’s covenant.”[25] All the acts of deliverance that God has done for Israel are in focus and thus there is this expectation that Israel should be morally obligated to be faithful to their God, their Lord, their Deliverer! “Salvation history is recalled to remind Israel of God’s expectations.”[26] This cycle of sin, servitude, supplication, and salvation should emphasize the grace of God towards sinful rebels.[27] But the people of Israel would ignore these facts.

Finally, the Lord says, “I am the Lord your God” (Judges 6:10). This conveys a personal relationship. The Creator of the universe is the Lord of His creatures, namely His people, the Israelites. It was the Lord who delivered them from Egypt and gave them their identity and who later gave them their land. Furthermore, they are able to rely upon Him since He is real. All other gods are fakes. They are cheap imitations or attempts at recognizing the divine. They would attribute their victory over Israel to their god and the Israelites would be afraid. They lost to the Midianites and may be doubting their God. But their God has communicated to them and told them, I am your God, I am with you, and you do not have to be afraid of these “gods” because they are not genuine, living, and powerful (Judges 6:10). All of these things that have been said about God are reminiscent of the opening of the Ten Commandments, before God gives the restrictions from idolatry and the moral obligations that should follow, the Great I AM declares to Israel, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Ex. 20:2).

When the Lord reminds His people “I am the Lord your God” they are meant to reflect upon what God has done. According to Daniel I Block, “this statement highlights God’s actions as expressive of a special relationship that he had by his sovereign grace established with Israel. Since he had demonstrated such grace in delivering them from all their enemies and providing them with their own land, and since he had committed himself to be their covenant Lord, surely his demand for exclusive and undivided allegiance to him was not too much to ask.”[28]

Let us review the content of this message. “The divine message consists of two parts: a survey of Yahweh’s past actions on Israel’s behalf (vv. 8b-9) and an indictment of Israel for her treacherous response (v.10).”[29] “The message of this prophet reminded the people of God’s grace and power (6:9, 10) rather than outlining a plan for the removal of the oppression (4:6, 7). The stage was now set for calling a reluctant deliverer.”[30] “The prophet in 6:8-10 rehearsed seven critical claims made repeatedly in the Old Testament. (1) The Lord had brought [Israel] up from Egypt... out from the house of slavery. (2) He had delivered them from all [their| oppressors, as recorded in this book, through the first four judges. (3) He had removed the sinful people who formerly lived in the land, dispossess[ing] them. (4) The Lord gave Israel the Promised Land. (5) The Lord was the God of Israel. (6) His people had no reason to fear the gods of the... land. (7) Israel had not obeyed the Lord. Israel had ignored these fundamental truths, resulting in the current oppression. Israel made no response to the message of the prophet.”[31]

The Lord informs them that it was not the gods of pagan nations that allowed these foreign nations to defeat them. It was the Lord because they did not obey Him (Judges 6:10). They literally did not listen to the voice of God and act accordingly, which gravely cost them. We now see that this is a stern rebuke against Israel for the sins they have committed, the evil that God has seen. But what had they not paid attention to? The words of the Lord spoken to them at Sinai, the Ten Commandments. The Lord said, “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Ex. 20:3-5). They were delivered from Egypt and yet what did they show for it? “Their response to the grace God had shown in saving them has been to willfully disregard the very first, foundational commandments he gave them. In effect they had repudiated the covenant Yahweh made with them; by what right can they now expect him to help them?”[32]

“Yahweh’s frustration begins to show for the first time. The effect of the prophet’s speech is to caution Israel against the presumption that their appeal to Yahweh will always get a favorable response, and to warn us, the readers, against drawing any simple equation between calling on Yahweh and repentance. This confronting speech by the prophet makes it clear that appealing to Yahweh is not a device by which Israel can automatically secure tis future. To call on Yahweh is to invoke a relationship, but the relationship (acknowledged in the speech) is one that lays certain obligations upon Israel, obligations she has not fulfilled (v. 10).”[33]

Now that the people have been reminded of who their God is, what He has done by His grace, and why they were in this position, their disobedience, they then anticipated the introduction of their deliverer.[34] “It is not clear whether or not Yahweh will help the Israelites, or what they will do if he doesn’t. Israel’s future as a nation in covenant with Yahweh hangs in balance.”[35]

Gideon’s Calling to Become Israel’s Deliverer -v. 11-24

The scene begins with an identification of our main character “Gideon.” He is found “beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save I from the Midianites” (Judges 6:11). Block explains this process as follows:

“This was a sign of the uncertainty of the times. In the absence of modern technology, grain was threshed by first beating the heads of the cut stalks with a flail, discarding the straw, and hen tossing the mixture of chaff and grain in the air, allowing the wind to bow away the chaff while the heavier kernels of grain fell to the floor. In the present critical circumstances this obviously would have been unwise. Threshing activity on the hilltops would only have aroused the attention of the marauding Midianites. Therefore Gideon resorts to beating the grain in a sheltered vat used for pressing grapes. Generally winepresses involved two excavated depressions in the rock, one above the other. The grapes would be gathered and trampled in the upper, while a conduit would drain the juices to the lower. The present location would have been satisfactory for beating out the grain, but separating the grain form the chaff in these circumstances would have been more difficult. Either he would have had to wait for a very windy day or the grain and chaff mixture would have to be carried quickly to an exposed area, tossed in the air, and the grain quickly whisked away to protect it from the Midianites.”[36]

And all of a sudden, “the angel of the Lord” appears and sits under an oak tree and begins to speak to Gideon (Judges 6:11-12). Before we notice what exactly He says, we want to attempt to identify who this “angel of the Lord” is. I believe that this is a possible theophany. A theophany is a “a visible manifestation of God.”[37] Gideon may have seen the preincarnate Lord under the oak tree speaking to him. “The narrator offers no clue in v. 11 how long the messenger had been sitting under the oak watching the thresher at work before he allowed himself to be seen by Gideon in v. 12. Suddenly he becomes visible and audible, initiating conversation by announcing the presence of Yahweh with Gideon.”[38]

The angel of the Lord says to Gideon, “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior” (Judges 6:12). This seems like a strange introduction, however, “if focuses Gideon’s (and the reader’s) attention on the central issue in the narrative: Where is Yahweh when you need him?”[39] These words would provide Gideon reassurance as well as his mission. He feels as though the Lord has abandoned him and his people. But as the Messenger has said, the Lord never left you, He is always with you and will continue to be with you. He did not say that the Lord will be with you, but that He currently is and will continue to be. This one of the most reassuring phrases in Scripture, to know that God will not abandon us when things are difficult, but He continues to be with us when life is tough, is incredibly inspiring. The Lord also instructs Gideon of his mission. He is meant to be a fighter for the Lord’s sake. He is to be a strong, skilled, and brave warrior.

While these words would inform Gideon of the Lord’s presence and mission for him, but Gideon questioned the accuracy of His words. He would say, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian” (Judges 6:13). It is evident that Gideon had not heard the testimony of God through his anonymous prophet which is why he questioned the Lord’s presence with an if-then (hypothetical) scenario. If He really was there for us, then where has He been? What has He been doing? Why did He not act when we needed Him most? Gideon felt that God had abandoned the Israelites. He had allowed them to be defeated by the pagans and so He must not be present. However, “the angel’s presence contradicted Gideon’s conclusion.”[40] To support his claims that the Lord was absent, he points out occasions when God was active (the Exodus from Egypt) in contrast to when He was not (the defeat by the Midianites). It is interesting that Gideon would remember the Hebrew stories since it was said in Judges 2:7, 10 that Israel would forget the wonderful works of God, but Gideon did not forget. At this point, however, Gideon is questioning the continuation of such works. It is important to remember that “Midian was not oppressing Israel because God had forgotten, but because God remembered Israel’s sin and sought to discipline His wayward people.”[41] God was active but not in a way that was favorable for the Israelites. It is interesting that “instead of acknowledging Israelite responsibility for the present crisis (v. 1), he blames God. Gideon is an example of those who know what God has done in the past, who have memorized the creed, but find it belied [to be contradicted] by present reality. Stories of past deliverance are irrelevant in light of the Midianite crisis.”[42]

“The angel allowed Gideon to speak but did not allow his object to stop the mission. The angel contradicted Gideon’s claim that God was not with them or had forgotten them, revealing the Lord’s plan to rescue Israel through Gideon.”[43] The angel of the Lord looks at Gideon and we may imagine He pauses for a moment to then say, “Go in this your strength,” He does not waste time to comment on Gideon’s remarks, rather, He commissions him to be like Moses, to become a deliverer. This is Gideon’s calling: to “deliver Israel from the hand of Midian” (Judges 6:14). The angel of the Lord asks the rhetorical question, “Have I not sent you?” The answer is, “Of course. Yes.” “This fearful and cynical farmer is hereby informed that God has indeed heard the people’s cry of pain, and he has personally chosen him to solve the problem.”[44]

Gideon responds by saying, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house” (Judges 6:15). Gideon has been called by God and immediately makes the excuse that he was unfit to be a Judge, a deliverer for God. He doubted his call. A normal response by the great heroes of faith. It is always interesting to me that men would argue with God that they were not worthy enough to do the thing which God has called them to do. They know Who God is, they know He is an all-knowing and all-powerful Being, and yet they try to tell God, “You got the wrong guy.”

We know that though Gideon makes an excuse for his character, that he is unfit, we know that he is not unqualified. He was a man of wealth, influence, intelligence, and ability. But “Gideon does not realize that in Yahweh’s work it does not matter what one’s social position is; the authorization of Yahweh is all he needs. Having no experience with the divine presence, he cannot imagine beyond his own human resources (or lack thereof).”[45]

Even when Gideon makes excuses for not answering the Lord’s call, the Lord reassures him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man” (Judges 6:16). The Lord assures him that they will be victorious. When armies go to war, they have no assurance they will be able to come home after the battle much less if they will win the war altogether especially before the battle begins. But the Lord is able to say such things since He is all-powerful, able to empower whoever He backs up, and all-knowing, able to know the outcome before it has ever begun since He is outside of time, space, and matter. Again, the Lord reassures him of his presence but this time in the future. When Gideon is on the battlefield against his foes, he may hold fast to the words of the Lord, “I will be with you” and know that it is in that moment the Lord is present and they will surely “defeat” their enemies. Notice the Lord’s choice of words when He tells Gideon how the Midianites will fall. They will be defeated by Israel “as one man” (Judges 6:16). Compare this to what we read in verse 5. Though the Midianites were many, as great as locusts, the Lord promises that “as one man” Israel can defeat the many Midianites in battle.  Not only that, but the way God communicates this victory is to say this will be an easy win for the Israelites, it will be as though “Gideon will smite Midian as if he were engaging a singer person.”[46]

At this point, Gideon has received reassurance of the Lord’s presence as well as his calling from the divine. However, he has not been convinced at this point. We may be quick to judge Gideon’s faith for being weak, but at this point, Gideon’s concerns have not been addressed. Now, his lack of faith is characterized in his need for signs, especially in light of the presence of the angel of the Lord and the Lord’s message, but nonetheless, Gideon will require more evidence since he is one of little faith. “The dialogue changed in tone as Gideon ceased to question and began to insist on a sign.”[47] He required signs that showed God’s presence and favor. He is seeking confirmation of these things in order to be assured that the Lord has not abandoned him or Israel and that He will bring them victory.

Gideon submitted a twofold sign to the Lord: Do not depart and divinely receive my offering. The Lord accepts the request and says, “I will wait until you return.” God would patiently wait for Gideon so that he may have the offering or tribute prepared.

When Gideon departed, he “went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the oak and presented them” (Judges 6:19). “Gideon goes home and prepares an offering, apparently based entirely on his own evaluation of what is appropriate.”[48] This sacrifice is not something that aligns itself with the Levitical pattern under the Old Testament. Some have suggested that it may more closely resemble that of sacrifice towards a god.[49] This would indicate that Gideon did not know how to honor the Lord because the idolatry that corrupted Israel was that lethal.

Then the angel of the Lord, who is identified now as “the angel of God,” says, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth” (Judges 6:20). Gideon should then be commended for what he has done, “And he did so” (Judges 6:20). He was obedient to the Lord’s instructions.

Once everything was in order, the angel of the Lord “put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread” once the staff came in contact with it, “fire spang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread” (Judges 6:21). It was instantaneous, as soon as the meat and bread touched, fire immediately bursts forth on the rock and consumes the entire offering.[50] After the angel of the Lord performed these signs He then “vanished from his sight” (Judges 6:21). We are not meant to believe that the angel merely teleported. But rather, as the text is literally translated from the Hebrew, “The angel of the Lord walked from his sight.” The question many of us may be asking at this point is, what just happened? What does it all mean? “While the narrative offers no interpretation of the act, its significance is clear: when a deity consumes the meal a worshiper has brought, this is a sign the latter has found favor in the deity’s sight.”[51] There should be no question that God has favor with Gideon and is most assuredly present. But sadly this will not be enough to convince him though it should be sufficient evidence.

“The wonderful fire and mysterious disappearance finally make the light dawn for Gideon. This is God’s messenger he has seen.”[52] At this point he is in shock. He begins to reflect upon what had just occurred and the implications thereof and says, “Alas,” which is an expression of surprise and an exclamation of emphasis, “O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face” (Judges 6:22). It is important to notes that “the double use of ‘face’ refers to being in God’s presence.”[53] Obviously, he recognizes that he was in the presence of the Lord. We may imagine that he would react in such a panicky way since to be in face to face with the divine would be dangerous. No man can look upon the face of God. The finite, in physical form cannot come into contact with the infinite. “It makes no difference to Gideon whether this is Yahweh himself or the messenger of Yahweh. To encounter the messenger face-to-face is as lethal potentially as encountering God himself.”[54] This was similar to Moses interactions with the Lord as they spoke “face to face” (Ex. 33:11).

The Lord quickly reassures Gideon that he is fine. He says, “Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die” (Judges 6:23). He is obviously saying this because he feared he would die for coming into contact with the angel of the Lord. He was rightfully frightened. But the Lord of Peace relieves him of his fears, anxieties, and troubles. How is the Lord speaking to him if the angel of the Lord has left his presence? Maybe the messenger returned, or God is speaking to Gideon, and he hears the voice of the Lord burst forth from the sky. “In any case, Gideon is encouraged to interpret this encounter with God. He may therefore get on with the mission to which he has been called.”[55]

Once the Lord reassures Gideon he will not die and he is finally at peace, he then builds and altar in honor of the Lord and named it Yahweh-shalom, that is, “The Lord is Peace” (Judges 6:24). This act demonstrates his acceptance to the cause of God by constructing this altar with the inscription. Since God had offered Gideon peace, he sought to acknowledge that gift of peace. It is then noted by the author that at the time of his writing, this statute that was assembled by Gideon is still standing “to this day” (Judges 6:24). This makes note of the veracity of this occasion and the impact it had on the people of Israel for generations to come.

The Fall of Baal: Death to the False gods -v. 25-27

That same night that Gideon builds up the altar in honor of Yahweh-shalom, God commands him to “take your father’s bull and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the later of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it” (Judges 6:25). God gives Gideon two commands. One negative, the other positive. Negative: destroy Baal’s altar. Positive: construct altar for the Lord. “The narrator is careful to emphasize that God wastes no time in engaging Gideon to challenge the prevailing religious establishment.”[56] And so, Gideon is to cut down the male god Baal and then the female counterpart Asherah. Shank has said:

“Stone altars, especially if they had protective barriers and other stone structures, required the strength of a bull to dismantle. The one burned by Gideon was made of wood. Gideon was to rescue all the times at the cult site: The stones of the Baal altar became the stones of the Lord’s altar, the wood of the Asherah statue provided the wood for a fire, and the seven-year-old bull was the sacrifice.”[57]

He was commissioned to “build an altar” for the Lord “on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner, and take a second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah” which he had cut down. “By commanding Gideon to build the altar on this pagan site, Yahweh is ordering him to reclaim this paganized land for himself. Then he was to commit the ultimate indignity against the pagan cult by offering to God the bull that he had sued to destroy the altar to Baal, and he was to se the wood of the Asherah image as fuel.”[58] This is quite a horrifying scene, if any pagans were watching, for it displays the annihilation of the gods the people in that region worshiped. But how puny of gods they were to be able to be cut down by an Israelite and consumed by fire.

After the Lord had commanded him to destroy Baal’s altar and construct an altar for the Lord, he “took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had spoken to him; and because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night” (Judges 6:27). This was quite an epic scene for us as the readers. “If the verse had ended at the midpoint, we the readers would be favorably impressed with Gideon. However, the second half of the verse represents a rare literary moment when the narrator offers us access to the internal motivation of character by explicit reference to an emotion. The reader cannot help but be disappointed that the real motivation for his hasty obedience was not an eagerness to obey God but fear of the consequences form the citizens of Oprah if he should tear down the altar of Baal in broad daylight.”[59] On the other hand, we are disappointed with Israel. “Gideon knows that his own family and his townsfolk will come to the defense of these pagan idols before they defend him, their kinsman, and fellow citizen.”[60] It is devastating to read about the position God’s people have found themselves in.

The god That Cannot Defend Himself: Israel’s Reaction to Baal’s Fall -v. 28-32

Once Gideon and the others destroyed the altar, we read about the cities reaction once they woke up in the morning. “When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was torn down, and the Asherah which was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar which had been built” (Judges 6:28). You may imagine the scene, “when the men of the city arise early the next day, they observe a shocking sight: the altar of Baal is smashed, the Asherah image is cut down, and the ashes of Joash’s bull are on the altar that had been built. Inadvertently they become witnesses to Gideon’s compliance with every element in God’s command.”[61] It is obvious that they did not care what the prophet of the Lord said. They cared more about the loss of their idols than they did about their standing with the true God of heaven. That is truly sad.

Everyone in city starts to turn to the neighbor and converse amongst themselves and asked, “Who did this thing?” Who would destroy our god’s statue? How would defile, defame, and destroy the item of our adoration? After examining the perimeter more, and the altar, they came to the conclusion that it must be “Gideon the son of Joash” who “did this thing” (Judges 6:29). At this point, they want to bring this criminal to justice. Which is ironic, because they are the true criminals in this case for their acts of treason against God as they traded the one true God for a plethora of gods.

The men of the city then gather like a mob to find Gideon’s father Joash to inquire answers and make demands, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has torn down the altar of Baal and indeed, he has cut down the Asherah which was beside it” (Judges 6:30). At this moment, we must recognize the intensity of this scene. At this point we know that Joash was the father of Gideon. He was an Israelite from the tribe of Manasseh. He is a pagan who constructed this idol and is the owner of this land. He is rich and influential in the community. But as we finally see him enter the scene his people want to know where his son is so they can kill him for destroying the altar. “The sentence that should have been imposed on idolators [Deut. 13:1-18] is pronounced upon the one who destroys the idol! The Canaanazation of Israelite society appears complete, leaving the reader amazed that Yahweh was still interested in delivering them!”[62] “Deuteronomy 13:12-18 was played out in reverse. When Israel learned of a place where the people worshiped idols, they were to investigate and then destroy the city. Here, when the Israelites learned that the idols had been destroyed, they investigated and threatened to kill the one responsible.”[63] At this point, the question we should be asking at this point is, will his father sell his son out?

In this moment, Joash would bravely stand up for his son as he spoke to all those “who stood against” his son, “Will you contend for Baal, or will you deliver him? Whoever will plead for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar” (Judges 6:31). Joash was obviously a very logical and rational individual. He reasoned with that if Baal were so powerful why would he need them to defend him? If you are powerful enough to come to a gods rescue to “deliver him” then is he really a god or are you to say you are more powerful than god which would make him no longer a god at all? Because if he is a god, he should be able to stand up for himself and come to his own defense. If he is a god then he should be able to plead his own case, fight for himself, and challenge his enemies. Does he need you to be his defense attorney? If this is an altar constructed in his honor that has been “torn down” and vandalized, then he should not require their assistance, he should be able to handle this on his own and a divine act will demonstrate his wrath and prove his existence. “The irony is obvious. Instead of people needing deliverance from a hostile god, the god requires deliverance form the people!”[64]

“Joash implied that, since the Baal belonged to Joash, they had no need to defend him.”[65] “To desecrate as sacred object is to desecrate the one in whose name that object exists.”[66] “Joash’s response leaves the reader wondering whether he himself has become convinced of the folly of his pagan ways. It sounds as though he has drawn the correct theological conclusions form his son’s actions.”[67]

The morning after the destruction of the altar, Gideon is given another name from his father, “Jerubbaal” which we are told means, “Let Baal contend against him” this is because Gideon chiefly destroyed the altar (Judges 6:32). His father had named him “Gideon” which means “hacker” or “hewer” (a person who cuts wood, stone, or other materials) which seems like a strange name to give a child, but this name will later have meaning as he will cut down the altar. “Joash’s explanation puts a positive spin on it, as if by hacking down Baal’s altar and the Asherah Gideon has contended against Baal, and Baal is now challenged to defend himself against Gideon.”[68] “If Baal took Gideon’s life, then Baal would prove himself to be a god. If he did not take Gideon’s life, then he should not be worshiped as a god.”[69]

Gideon’s Endowment of the Spirit of the Lord -v. 33-35

“Verse 33 brings the reader back to the broader reality, reminding the reader of the crisis that had precipitated the call of Gideon.”[70] Some time has passed in some way between verses 32 to 33 and the nations that attacked Israel in verses 1 through 6 would come together rand cross over and settle “in the valley of Jezreel” (Judges 6:33).

This verse is one of the most important gems of this story. It is this information that is key to the interpretation of what will follow within the framework of the narrative. It is here that we read that “the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon” (Judges 6:34). What does this mean? We understand from reading the text that Gideon was clothed (since the Spirit “came upon” him) with the Spirit of the Lord. This is what the text literally says, whether we understand what that was like or not. It is a theme that is found throughout this book. “God enables His instruments, the judges, in various ways. He granted them the power of His presence (2:18; 6:16) and the authority of His commission (6:14). But most important His Spirit came on the judges, clothing them with Himself as it were (3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14, 19)…enabled by God’s Spirit, the judges overcame opposition and provided deliverance for the Israelites.”[71] The book of Judges makes it very clear time after time again that any accomplishments that these Judges or deliverers do are because of God. God is to be given the credit. He is the true Deliverer!

After the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he then sounds the trumpet where “the Abiezrites were called together to follow him” (Judges 6:34). This was a call to war. After the battle cry, Gideon sends out a number of messengers to go all “throughout Manasseh” who were called to gather together to follow Gideon; it is from there that we are told that he sends them to “Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali” (Judges 6:35).

In Need of a Sign: Gideon’s Lack of Faith Exposed -v. 36-40

“These verses [v. 36-40] catch the reader totally by surprise. Even though Gideon has been empowered by Yahweh and is surrounded by a vast army of troops, he hesitates. He continues to test God with demands for signs, this time specially for assurance that God will indeed use him to provide deliverance for the nation.”[72] Before we enter into the great victory that awaits Israel, we are stuck waiting on Gideon to be ready to believe that God is able to deliver them. He says, “If You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken” (Judges 6:36). Again, Gideon requires more signs to see the legitimacy of the Lord’s promises for victory. He is not yet convinced and does not believe the Lord will deliver Israel and so he requires another sign. “Gideon’s problem is that with his limited experience with God he cannot believe that God always fulfills his word. The request for signs is not a sign of faith but of unbelief. Despite being clear about the will of God, being empowered by the Spirit of God, and being confirmed as a divinely chosen leader by the overwhelming response of his countrymen to his own summons to battle, he uses every means available to try to get out of the mission to which he has been called.”[73]

Gideon continues to say, “I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken” (Judges 6:37) and then “he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water” (Judges 6:38).

Once that was done, Gideon said to the Lord, “Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground” (Judges 6:39). Israel tested God (Ex. 17:2; 17:7; Num. 14:22; Deut. 6:16).

“God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground” (Judges 6:40). God performed this final sign to convince Gideon and give him what he needed to have a substantial faith. God was willing to give Gideon evidence and meet him where he was at in his faith. God knew he would request such signs and would be fully capable of performing these miracles. “Some believe Gideon went too far, using God much in the ways forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:9-14. Gideon’s request for God to restrain His anger indicated that Gideon knew he stood on dangerous ground. Based on Judges 7:1, we may say that Gideon’s doubts had subsided enough that he could take his pace at the head of the army.”[74]

The 300: An Unimaginable or Unlikely Victory (Judges 7)

God’s Chosen Army: The Reduction of Gideon’s Troops -v. 1-8

After some time, we read that Gideon, who is called by this newly given name “Jerubbaal,” is accompanied by those who had heard the trumpet call or the herald’s messages. We read that “all the people who were with him, rose early and camped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley” (Judges 7:1). We know from the Biblical text that the army he has assembled is approximately 32,000 men (22,000 + 10,000).  This position that they have used as their base for operations is strategically useful since it is located opposite of the Midianite forces who are camped on the north side of the Harod Valley and their camp is located near a spring to ensure refreshments and a barrier against any invading forces.

Gideon has done something incredible. He has gathered together a great number of troops to go to war with the Midianites and defeat them. Everything seems to be looking up and the people are eager for the battle. But then the unexpected happens. The Lord says, “the people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful” and in their arrogance, they may say, “My own power has delivered me,” I did not need God, I did it myself (Judges 6:2). This would not be what God had intended in delivering Israel from the Midianites. The purpose for calling Gideon to lead an army to defeat their enemies was so they would renew their faith and dependence upon the Lord. To rise up an army only to meet the enemy with a fair chance would defeat the point. But to fight the army with impossible odds would definitely reveal the Lord was at work in this fight. God wants them to understand, “You [Israel] cannot and will not win without me!” God did not want them to take credit for the victory. “Obviously the issue is not that God cannot win the victory but Israel’s potential response.”[75]

God tells Gideon exactly what to do and say to the army he has built up. He instructs him to say, “Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.” Anyone that did not want to be there, did not have to be there. If they were frightened this was their opportunity to leave. This is a reasonable reason to not desire to fight. War has often times been romanticized and champions in the battles have always been glorified from their efforts on the battlefield. Afterall, there is glory, honor, respect in fighting for one’s country. But it all comes at a cost. To take a life is a thing that is almost unfathomable for the human mind. It is an act that steals the soul from the body that God had made. It is to kill an individual who is equal in your essence, one who has been made in the image of God. Ever since the tragic death of Abel, humanity has never been the same. To anticipate taking a life is a scary thing. But it is not only fearful to take a life, but it is also frightening to even imagine that you may lose your life on the battlefield. There is usually no guarantee that any warrior will walk off the battlefield victorious and survive without a scratch. Those who would fit within the category of fearful amounted to “22,000 people” who then returned to Mount Gilead, those who remained amounted to “10,000” soldiers that were willing to fight.

“Yahweh no doubt increased Gideon’s anxiety by telling him the troops are still too many.”[76] The Lord requires a second test for the army, he says to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go” (Judges 7:4). And, of course, Gideon does exactly as the Lord commands. Right now, Gideon is unaware of what exactly God will do in testing them. All he knows, is that God will choose a certain group of people to stay and another to depart. He is thinning out the numbers. But not even Gideon could anticipate how drastically low this army will amount to at the end. Gideon “brought he people down to the water” and then the Lord commands Gideon to do something that is bizarre. He says, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink” (Judges 7:5). At this point, what we are reading is very strange. It was understandable that God would want men who were wholly committed to go to battle, who were not afraid to fight, and would not completely trust in God this request seems odd. This is one of the most memorable details of the entire story but when we take a step back, we can see how weird it is that God would ask Gideon to do this. But just as Gideon was testing God, God is now testing Gideon. I used to believe, as many have held and still teach, that the reason for God making this choice was to test the people’s courage and alertness. But this may have just been purely arbitrary, the purpose was to remove as many as possible and that certainly would have done it. Nonetheless, God knew what He was doing and chose the army.

Out of the 10,000 men that were tested, only “300 men” drank the water “putting their hand to their mouth” while “the rest of the people,” the 9,700 men that “kneeled to drink water” (Judges 7:6). Now, Gideon must have felt anxious. He knew that there would be two groups, but which group would he go to war with? He already lost 22,000 men from the other test and he could either maintain the majority of men he kept, amounting to 9,700, or lose all he had worked to accomplish with a miniature army of 300. He had worked to acquire an army and now anticipated which group would depart and which would stay to fight. The Lord tells Gideon “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his home” (Judges 7:7). The Lord has chosen the army that is fit for defeating the Midianites. “This handful of men represents the pure gold which Yahweh desires in his service.”[77] Gideon’s faith is here tested. He could see a small army and say, we will surely lose. We cannot beat such an enormous army as the Midianites have with so few of warriors. This is impossible even with God on our side. He could easily ignore the words of the Lord where He assures him that He will be present, and they will win. But we will not see his faith displayed until the battle begins. This is the army that God has chosen. Men who are fearless and among the minority of men that do not drink water like animals. God will use a small group to do great things. He will reveal that victory does not come from strength in numbers but by God’s might.

We are then told that “the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley” (Judges 7:8).

Spying on the Enemy’s Camp: Gideon Finally Has Faith -v. 9-14

“With the excess dross eliminated from Gideon’s forces, Yahweh seems eager to get on with the battle.”[78] Once it was nighttime, the Lord said to Gideon, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands” (Judges 7:9). Here God is testing Gideon’s faith and fear to see if he is willing to scout out the enemy camp. God gives Gideon two options, the first is mentioned here, Gideon may go by himself to spy on the camp or he may take someone with him if he is not willing to go alone. This second option reads, “But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp” (Judges 7:10). It is interesting that “this time God did not wait for Gideon to protest the reduction of his forces. He raised the issue himself when he addressed Gideon with a conditional clause.”[79]

“So he went with Purah his servant down to the outposts of the army that was in the camp” (Judges 7:11). Obviously, he chose the latter option since he brought Purah with him. It is evident, therefore, that he was very afraid. But God also tells Gideon that he “will hear what they say” and after listening to them, his “hands will be strengthened” and he will be ready to “go down against the camp” (Judges 7:11). “The fact that Gideon has had no experience with God working for Israel (cf. 6:13) no doubt contributed to his persistent faithlessness. To him the reduction of the forces to three hundred men must have seemed insane,”[80] reckless, or impossible. But he would press on and God would be patient. The purpose for sending Gideon to the enemy camp was that “He predicted that Gideon would overhear a conversation among the Midianites that would give him new courage to launch the attack.”[81] Gideon would need to pay attention and “hear what they say” in order to gain the confidence to go to war with them.

When Gideon and his servant came down to the camp what they found was that the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the sons of the east “were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore” (Judges 7:12). They saw a gigantic army with more than enough resources to wipe out their puny little army three times over or more. They could easily defeat them in combat. “Obviously, if Gideon was to find new courage, it would not come through any external alteration in Israel’s desperate circumstances.”[82]

We read about two soldiers conversing about a dream. One man “was relating a dream to his friend” and told him that he dreamed about “a loaf of barley bread” that “was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat” (Judges 7:13). That is a really weird dream to have. It is a very common thing to talk about our dreams because sometimes they are so strange and can be so crazy that we cannot help but want to share them with others. I would often have conversations with Cole Chapman about our dreams and share some of the strangest things we saw, heard, and experienced in our dreams. But we never thought about what they meant. Our dreams are not always necessarily symbolic. There is no rhyme or reason a lot of times. They ordinarily do not have a reason for why we thought up those things and there is no logical meaning behind the dream or why we ever have imagined it. But evidently, as is the case with many dreams in the Bible, there is a special meaning with this dream. “It is obvious to the author that Yahweh is exercising his own sovereign control over these historical events and that he has planted this dream in the Midianite’s mind, specifically for the purpose of bolstering Gideon’s spirit.”[83]

In this conversation, the friend responds, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand” (Judges 7:14). It is at this point we realize that this was no normal dream. This was a special dream, and his friend was given the ability to interpret this dream and find the meaning and explain it in terms that Gideon and others may understand. God provides an interpreter to this dream. He does not desire for this to be some obscure, unknown, mysterious dream because then it would be pointless. The dream would be useless without the interpretation. The interpretation follows: Gideon is the loaf of barely bread, the tent represents the Midianites. When Gideon will go against the Midianites, just like the loaf of barely bread, he and his army will tumble into the Midian camp and defeat them as though they were tents that are turned upside down and lay flat. What an incredible image this is!

Gideon’s Instructions: A Fight to Remember -v. 15-18

“When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship” (Judges 7:15). After worshiping the Lord, he returns “to the camp of Israel” and says to the troops, “Arise, for the Lord has given the camp of Midian into your hands” (Judges 7:15). This would be a speech that would spark a flame within the hearts of every soldier. He tells them, “prepare for war, we have already won!” Now, this seems insane after everything he has seen. We just noted that he saw that huge army that they Midianites had, but now he is saying, “we got this.” I though it was impossible, their army was too big, too great, too grand. But now he is ready to go up against them with these 300 soldiers. What is going on? Did he not see with his own eyes the grand army of the Midianites? Yes, but he saw by faith that they would be victorious because the Lord has given the Midianites into the hands of Israel! They had once been given into the hands of the Midianites by God (Judges 6:1) but now God will give the Midianites into the hands of Israel (Judges 7:15)! Now Gideon has mustered enough faith to go to battle. He knows they will win! He is expecting it. God has ensured it. In fact, according to Gideon, God has already delivered the Midianite camp into their hands.

“Having been assured of victory, Gideon immediately began to prepare for the battle. His actions and instructions in vv. 16-18 demonstrate great concern for detail; but like Yahweh’s instructions to Jshua before the storming of Jericho (Josh 6:1-5), the strategy appears to be absurd.”[84] But just as Joshua was victorious in that instance and the walls of Jericho collapsed, Gideon will be victorious against the might of the Midianites because the same God is backing this leader. Once Gideon had proclaimed God’s words of assurance, he went to work and “divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers” (Judges 7:16). At this point, we understand, “the outcome of this battle will not be determined by conventional standards of warfare.”[85] As soon as Gideon equipped his army, he instructed them, “look at me and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do” (Judges 7:17). It is like the game “Simon says,” what I do, you do. He gives them details as to what he will do, “when I and all who are with me blow the trumpet, then you also blow the trumpets all around the camp and say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’” (Judges 7:18).  “The narrator’s report of Gideon’s instructions to his troops makes no reference to specific directives from God, but the confidence exuded in Gideon’s words reflects an amazing personal transformation.”[86] These instructions will be evidently significant momentarily.

The Battle Belongs to the Lord: The Midianites Defeat -v. 19-25

“So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. When the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” (Judges 7:19-20). What is amazing about this story is that none of these men were equipped with swords. But the enemies were, and they would use them, just not against the 300.

“Each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled” (Judges 7:21). They are freaked out! They have been asleep and then hear these loud noises from the trumpet call and broken pitchers, they see fire that encompasses the entire camp,  and become frightened by the battle cry of the enemy. They are being ambushed and so they are equipping themselves for battle. “This is the natural response of those who have been awakened from the deepest of sleep.” But this would not be any normal battle. At best, “this is psychological warfare at its best.”[87]

“When they blew 300 trumpets, the Lord set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath” (Judges 7:22). The author adds this note of interpretation to make it very clear that this confusion was caused by God, this was God’s doing. God deserves the credit. The entire army was defeated by their own army. “Only a remnant survives, fleeing toward the desert form which they came.”[88] This is all due to the work of God.

“The men of Israel were summoned from Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian” (Judges 7:23). At this moment, we are reading about the remnant of an entire army that was once so mighty and large as locust and with their incredible camel warriors, who are now fleeing three hundred Israelites in the dark. But Gideon seems to be getting ahead of himself in this moment. “Having achieved the divinely intended goal with the three hundred core troops, Gideon appeared to forget the point of Yahweh’s reduction f the troops. Instead of operating by faith and seeking guidance from God, he relied on human strength and mobilized the troops of Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh.”[89] L.R. Klein describes this event as follows:

“Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against Midian and take the waters before them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were summoned and they took the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. They captured the two leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb, while they pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from across the Jordan” (Judges 7:24-25).

THE LEGACY OF GIDEON

God uses normal, flawed, and afraid individuals to do His will. He used Gideon and He uses us as instruments of His good will. God has a plan, and He will accomplish it. Even through people like us who have a sinful past and make mistakes. But He also uses people who have fears. It is ok to be afraid. We have fears because we do not always know the outcome. We are afraid of those things that are outside of our control. But that’s ok. Because that is where faith is required. Since God has spoken to us through His word, is present even through distress, and has delivered us from our sins; we should glorify Him and continue to trust in Him.  We are meant to trust God because He is the one who has got this. He is the one that is in control! We no longer have to worry. We no longer have to have fear. We have the Lord on our side! Can God use people who are afraid? Yes, but they must also be people of faith. They must trust, they must obey, they must preserve through the unknown and depend upon God. He is the One that is in control and is the only One who will provide safe passage. He is the only way to victory! Let us take care, let us not be so afraid of the mission at hand, let us pursue righteousness and persevere in this life as we trust in our most sovereign God. May we never forget that with God there is there is victory.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barber, Cyril J. Judges: A Narrative of God’s Power. Neptune, NJ. Loizeaux Brothers, 1990.

Block, Daniel L. Judges, Ruth. NAC. Nashville, TN. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.

Boling, Robert G. Judges. AB. Garden City, N.Y. Doubleday, 1975.

Butler, Trent. Judges. WBC. Nashville, TN. Thomas Nelson, 2009.

Chisholm, Robert B. A Commentary on Judges and Ruth. Grand Rapids, MI. Kregel, 2013.

Davis, Dale Ralph. Judges. Great Britain. Christian Focus Publications, 2019.

Evans, Mary J. Judges and Ruth: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL. InterVarsity Press, 2017.

Sasson, Jack M. Judges 1-12: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. AB. New Haven, CT. Yale University Press, 2014.

Webb, Barry G. The Book of Judges. NICOT. Grand Rapids, MI. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2012.

Wilcock, Michael. The Message of Judges. BST. Downers Grove, IL. InterVarsity Press, 1992.

Younger Jr., K. Lawson. Judges and Ruth. NIVAC. Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan, 2002.

END NOTES

[1] Thomas L. Constable. “A Theology of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth” in A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament (), 107.

[2] Constable, “A Theology of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth,” 107.

[3] J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Living God’s Word, 67.

[4] Fleenor and Ziese, Judges & Ruth, CPNIV (College Press, 2024), 108-109.

[5] They either took their harvested grain and used it or they would destroy the harvest. The Israelites economy would be harmed severely since they would have no seed or food produced for the following harvest.

[6] This would be an advantage in addition to the Midianites’ resources, however, it would be major blow to the Israelites’ food shortage as well as their inability to breed animals.

[7] Trent Butler, Judges, WBC (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2009), 196.

[8] Constable, “A Theology of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth,” 109.

[9] Butler, Judges, 197.

[10] Shank 169-170.

[11] Hazel W. Perkin, “Food and Food Preparation” in Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 801

[12] Barry G. Webb, The Book of Judges, NICOT (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2012), 223.

[13] Webb, The Book of Judges, 223.

[14] Webb, The Book of Judges, 223.

[15] Shank 169.

[16] Butler, Judges, 197.

[17] Daniel L. Block, Judges, Ruth, NAC (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 253.

[18] Block, Judges, Ruth, 253.

[19] Webb, The Book of Judges, 223.

[20] Butler, Judges, 197.

[21] Block, Judges, Ruth, 253.

[22] Webb notes that this word “sent” is “a technical term for commissioning a prophet as a messenger, and simply means that he ahs been summoned into God’s presence and given a message to deliver.” (The Book of Judges,224-225) This was a common practice in the OT where God would raise up a prophet and deliver His message to the Israelites (Deut. 18:18-22). However, as Webb notes, “the appearance of a prophet with a message of accusation, as here, indicates that the relationship has reached a point of crisis.” (The Book of Judges,225)

[23] “This segment is cast in the classic form of a judgment speech. Following a notice of the occasion of the speech (Israel’s cry in response to the Midianite oppression, v. 7), the narrator notes the divine commission of an official spokesman to confront the nation on his behalf.” (Block, Judges, Ruth, 255)

[24] When the spokesman says, “Thus said the Lord” this separates his words and begins the words of God. The message he will speak is inspired. “This statement is critical not only because it authenticates the prophet as an authorized spokesman for Yahweh btu also because it reminds the audience of the source of his message. It comes form Yahweh, the divine patron and covenant Lord of Israel, who has heard the cry of his people. In typical prophetic fashion, following the formula, the prophet’s speech is cast in the first person, as if God himself were addressing Israel.” (Block, Judges, Ruth, 255)

[25] K. Lawson Younger Jr., “Judges” in NIV Zondervan Study Bible, 444.

[26] Butler, Judges, 198.

[27] Constable, “A Theology of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth,” 108.

[28] Block, Judges, Ruth, 255-256

[29] Block, Judges, Ruth, 255.

[30] Shank 167

[31] Shank 170

[32] Webb, The Book of Judges, 226.

[33] Webb, The Book of Judges, 244.

[34] “This brief episode leaves the reader wondering how God will respond to the people’s persistent perfidy…the narrator’s purpose in inserting this prophetic scolding at this point is to set the stage for the call of Gideon. If God raises a deliver for Israel, it is an entirely gracious act.” (Block, Judges, Ruth, 256)

[35] Webb, The Book of Judges, 224.

[36] Block, Judges, Ruth, 258-259.

[37] Wick Broomall, “Theophany” in Wycliffe Dictionary of Theology, 520.

[38] Block, Judges, Ruth, 259.

[39] Block, Judges, Ruth, 259.

[40] Shank 173.

[41] Shank 173.

[42] Block, Judges, Ruth, 260.

[43] Shank 173.

[44] Block, Judges, Ruth, 261.

[45] Block, Judges, Ruth, 261.

[46] Block, Judges, Ruth, 263.

[47] Shank 174.

[48] Block, Judges, Ruth, 263.

[49] Block, Judges, Ruth, 263.

[50] Block, Judges, Ruth, 263.

[51] Block, Judges, Ruth, 263.

[52] Butler, Judges, 204.

[53] Shank 175.

[54] Block, Judges, Ruth, 264.

[55] Block, Judges, Ruth, 264.

[56] Block, Judges, Ruth, 265.

[57] Shank 177.

[58] Block, Judges, Ruth, 267.

[59] Block, Judges, Ruth, 267.

[60] Block, Judges, Ruth, 267.

[61] Block, Judges, Ruth, 268.

[62] Block, Judges, Ruth, 268.

[63] Shank 178.

[64] Block, Judges, Ruth, 269.

[65] Shank 179.

[66] Block, Judges, Ruth, 269.

[67] Block, Judges, Ruth, 269-270

[68] Block, Judges, Ruth, 270.

[69] Shank 179.

[70] Block, Judges, Ruth, 271.

[71] Constable, “A Theology of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth,” 109.

[72] Block, Judges, Ruth, 272.

[73] Block, Judges, Ruth, 272-273

[74] Shank 181.

[75] Block, Judges, Ruth, 275.

[76] Block, Judges, Ruth, 276.

[77] Block, Judges, Ruth, 277.

[78] Block, Judges, Ruth, 278.

[79] Block, Judges, Ruth, 278.

[80] Block, Judges, Ruth, 278.

[81] Block, Judges, Ruth, 278.

[82] Block, Judges, Ruth, 279.

[83] Block, Judges, Ruth, 279.

[84] Block, Judges, Ruth, 281.

[85] Block, Judges, Ruth, 281.

[86] Block, Judges, Ruth, 281.

[87] Block, Judges, Ruth, 283.

[88] Block, Judges, Ruth, 283.

[89] Block, Judges, Ruth, 283.

[90] L. R. Klein, “Triumph of Irony,” 57-58.