Judges 6-7: Gideon (1)

Stories about Gideon are among the best known stories of the Bible, yet there are details about his life and work that are little known. In particular, there were some consequences of his work which were positively harmful to God's people. As we take up the study of Gideon, however, we do note that a great deal of space is devoted to him; in the succession of judges, he is one of the most significant.

We are going to look at Gideon's story in two studies; the first will look at his influence for good; the second at his influence for ill in the life of the people of God. There are seven elements to that first part of the Gideon story.

(1) 6:1-6 -- the Midianite oppression

In spite of the victories over the Canaanites effected through Deborah and Barak, the cycle of disobedience commences with the notice that 'the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord' (6:1). How difficult it was for them -- as for us -- to learn the lessons of the past. Perhaps they presumed too much upon the forbearance and patience of the Lord in the past; perhaps they imbibed the view against which Paul argues in Romans 6:1ff -- 'shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?'. There is no doubt that grace abounded in times past, and although it was to abound in Israel's experience once more, it did not prevent a slipping into sin.

The form of the oppression was that the Midianites and Amalekites ravaged Israel's land and crops. This meant that the Israelites had to hide themselves in mountain dens and caves, refugees and fugitives in the land of promise. It may have been a land overflowing with milk and honey, but God's people were enjoying little of it.

The irony was that Israel had been warned of this in the past. In Deuteronomy 28, Moses spells out the curses which will be experienced as a consequence of disobedience, of failure to acknowledge God and listen to his voice:

If you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God, or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field...

You shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you ... a nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labours and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually, so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see (vv15,16,29, 33, 34).

The events that take place here, then, only serve to show the faithfulness of God -- faithful to his threats as to his promises, and to covenant curses as well as to covenant blessings.

(2) 6:7-10 -- the unnamed prophet

Perhaps for that reason, the Lord did something unusual in this circumstance. He was going to raise up a judge to deliver his people, but first he sent a prophet. This prophet is nameless in Scripture, but he came with a word of criticism and of rebuke to God's people.

This was their opportunity to repent and to seek the Lord again. Reminded of what God did for them, and what he said to them, his word to them now is 'But you have not obeyed my voice' (6:10). The message offers no remedy, and does not map out a programme of reform. There is simply the devastating critique 'but you did not obey'.

Sometimes we need to experience the wounding before the healing. Sometimes God needs to put his finger on the problem before sending the solution. That's what he does here, as he identifies the need and the deficiency. This, too, is an act of grace, as he brings home to the people the extent of their backsliding.

(3) 6:11-24 -- the call of Gideon

It is at this point that Gideon enters the story. God will again make provision for his people. In this extended commissioning narrative, several points stand out.

First, the PLACE. Gideon was threshing wheat at a winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites. There is little, at first glance, of significance to this, except that the threshing-floor in Scripture often becomes a place of decision and of commitment. It was at the threshing-floor that Ruth met with Boaz and received his pledge to undertake for her. It was at the threshing-floor that David did business with God following the sin of numbering the people, resulting in the Temple being built on that spot. It was on the threshing-floor of Satan that Peter was to be tested.

For Gideon, this place became a meeting-place with God, a trysting place, a place of confrontation, decision and commitment. There are such places in all our lives, places where God meets us, and where we do business with him.

Second, the PERPLEXITY. The angel of the Lord, speaking as God himself, greets Gideon with the words 'The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valour'. That is the great covenant promise of the Bible -- God will be with his people, unchangeably the same, constantly by their side.

Yet Gideon found it difficult to resolve the covenant pledge of God with the current providence of his people. 'If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?' (6:13). How many times have God's people asked this question, both individually and corporately? How do you resolve the issue if the promises and the providences appear to clash? It's one thing to say 'If God be for us, who can be against us?' but it is another thing to say 'If God is for us, why is this happening?' Too often we find ourselves saying the latter instead of the former.

Gideon's perplexity was compounded by his knowledge of God's mighty deeds in the past. He knew what God had done and therefore was capable of doing. But none of that lessened the nature of the emergency now confronting them with the Midian threat.

Third, the PROTESTATION. Gideon is commissioned to go and save Midian. He has the assurance that this is a direction from God; he will not be going in his own strength, but in the strength of the Lord. Yet he sees no reason to do so: 'Please Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house' (6:15).

It's a perfectly natural feeling. Gideon was not the first, nor was he the last to acknowledge his unfitness and inability for the task to what he was called. Indeed, it is arguable that when the call of God comes to us and demands of us that we do certain things, we need to reach this point of awareness of our own weakness.

And it is also arguable that this is the whole theme of the story of Gideon; for the Lord is continually going to weaken him and make him less than nothing. On a natural level the resources of Midian are going to far outstrip those of Gideon and of Israel. But it is through the things that are nothing that God accomplishes his work:

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God ... Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:29,31).

Fourth, the PROMISE. 'But I will be with you'. The word 'But' is a gloriously powerful little word. It cuts across and through all our protestations and objections. In spite of all that we are, God can do the impossible. His power can be perfected in our weakness. His grace can do wonderful things. How can Gideon recoil from the task with such a promise as this? God's presence will continue with him, and he will smite Midian like one man. Gideon may have wondered whether God was with them, but it is the only thing that can prepare and equip him now for the task before him.

Fifth, the PLEDGE. Gideon may be a man of faith (Hebrews 11:32), but he is always looking for a pledge, an assuring sign from God. Now he asks the angel to give him a sign of the presence of God with him. The sign comes with the preparation of the sacrifice meal in 6:19ff. After Gideon had laid out all the elements of the offering, the angel stretched out his hand 'and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes.' With that the angel disappeared, Gideon realised that he had come face to face with God and trembled at the thought. God spoke a further word of assurance to him, stating that he would not die. As a result, Gideon built an altar to the Lord, naming it for 'Jehovah Shalom' -- The Lord is Peace.

There are ironies in this passage -- the presence of the visitor is remarkable, yet Gideon asks for a sign. He receives the assurance he craves, yet trembles before the Lord. In all of this, God is graciously ministering to Gideon. He is the God of fire, yet he is the God of peace; he is the God of power yet he is also the God of holiness. There may also be deeper ironies -- Gideon wondered where the God of Egypt had gone; yet here was a sign from the God who answers by fire. There are echoes of the past here, all setting forth confidence for the future.

God is going to do a powerful work for Israel, yet he must first do a personal work in Gideon. That is the secret to spiritual growth, success and power. Like John the Baptist, Gideon must learn to say of his Master -- 'he must increase, but I must decrease'.

(4) 6:24-32 -- Gideon's probation

Before Midian is faced, there is a more immediate test. Having built a new altar for the Lord, Gideon must now destroy the old altar of Baal which was in his father's possession. Gideon obeys the commission of God, but fear mingles with faith, and the deed is carried out at night.

Gideon will have to face the enemy without, the Midian threat, looming always on the horizon. But first there is an enemy within; the Baal altar is a symbol of the fact that the main obstacles to progress are not outside the camp of Israel, but in the very heart of the people of God. Perhaps there was something symbolic in this: just as God had first to deal with Gideon to prepare him for his calling, so he commissioned Gideon to deal with the altar that had been domesticated within Gideon's own household.

The people were incensed with the discovery that their favourite shrine was ruined. They were ready to put Gideon to death, until Joash, his father, reasoned with them. Why should they fight on Baal's behalf? Could he not take care of himself? This is the etymology for the new name Gideon is given -- the name 'Jerubaal', meaning 'Let Baal contend against him'. It was a logical enough argument -- if Baal was god, he could look after himself.

For Gideon, however, the test is confirmation of the Lord's favour and blessing, and now 'the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon' (6:34). All he does now will be done in that power and with that help.

6:33-40 - Gideon's Assurance

The story of Gideon's fleece is an important one, and it raises several issues which are of relevance to us, particularly in the whole area of knowing and finding God's will. Before we look at this practical aspect of the passage, let's note some of the details here.

First, let's note the reason for the request. It was simply to give assurance to Gideon that God would do what he had promised. "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have said..." (6:36). Again we see Gideon as a man of faith, but as a man of weak faltering faith. He asks for a confirmatory sign, not once, but twice. Faith ought to be enough; God's word is never in danger of being broken, nor his promise in danger of remaining unfulfilled. Yet we are human, fallible and fallen. Matthew Henry says,

The purport of this is, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. He found his own faith weak and wavering, and therefore begged of God by this sign to perfect what was lacking in it.

Second, let's note the nature of the request. The first sign he requested was that there would be dew on the fleece. and that the ground would be dry. The second was that the fleece would be dry, and the ground wet. Which of these was the greater miracle? Undoubtedly the second. Wool naturally absorbs moisture; lest the first wonder be explained as a natural phenomenon, Gideon asks that the miracle be reversed, and that there be a miraculous element to it.

Although we often look at this passage as the basis for discussions on looking for signs to confirm God's will in our own lives, the older commentators were far more interested in the typology of the fleece and the ground. What did they represent? Matthew Henry says this:

Gideon 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 the Christ and his gospel they are dry as the heath in the wilderness. while the nations about are as a watered garden.

Nineteenth century commentator Andrew Fausett goes further. As the fleece was filled with dew, so Israel was going to be filled with divine grace, but, he says, "the fleece represents not only Israel, but Israel's antitype, Jesus, and, secondarily, his people who are one with him" (Judges, p124). The fleece represents Jesus, the lamb, who was as a root in dry ground while he was on the earth. He was full, but the world was dry. Now he has become saturated with the dew of resurrection, and he fills his church.

However, this is straining the exegesis. Gideon's fleece was not meant to be a type of Israel or of Christ. It was a personal confirmation to him of the promise of God, God graciously acceding to his request.

Third, let's note the spirit of his request. 'Let not your anger burn against me ... please let me test just once more with the fleece' (6:39). Gideon's weak faith is accompanied by an overwhelming sense of the glory, grandeur and holiness of God. He knows that he stands on no rights, that God is no man's debtor, and that there is no a priori reason why God should answer him. Still, he perseveres, eager for the assurance that God will honour him just as He has said.

So is there justification here for us to follow Gideon's example, and ask for signs of confirmation for God's will? It is difficult to answer this question either in the negative or in the affirmative. There is no magic formula for discovering God's will in certain situations of our lives. We need to remember that Gideon was not looking to know what God's will was; he knew that already. This was a request for assurance.

If we want to apply this to ourselves we need to remind ourselves of several principles. First, we have much more than Gideon ever had. We have a complete Bible. Gideon lived among shadows: we walk in the light. With more complete revelation comes more awareness of the will of God for our salvation and for our life's course. Our faith is to be in the word, not in the wool.

Second, often our efforts to know God's will are borne out of a reluctance on our part to do what we instinctively know that will to be. There are situations in life where we are genuinely perplexed, where we find ourselves in the wood in a place where two paths diverge. Which one will we take?

I suspect, however, that in the majority of cases. Christians rarely find themselves in such a position. Instead, we live our lives called to make the most of our resources, our talents, our gifts, our commonsense, to use our instincts and serve God with all that we are. So Paul counsels slaves, saying to them to obey their earthly masters 'doing the will of God from the heart' (Ephesians 6:6). The situation in which they find themselves IS the will of God for them, and they are to get on with obeying. He says to us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that the will of God for us is to give thanks in all circumstances.

These passages remind us that the will of God is often to be interpreted as the providence that closes us in to a particular situation. We are to be content with it and to serve God in it.

Third, we do not need any signs to confirm God's promises. That is what Gideon was looking for. But for us the promises of God are 'Yes' in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). We do not look to the fleece but to the Lamb. I'm not saying that in the sense of the typologists, but simply as a matter of revelation. We have no grounds for doubting the promise of God, certainly not on this side of the cross.

Finally, in these circumstances where faith is weak and doubts cloud our sky we are warranted to pray to God for more light, more assurance and more clarity. But we are not warranted to test the Lord. Gideon is here as an example to be avoided rather than as one to be followed.

© Iain D Campbell 2005