JUDGES - CHAPTER 6
A
Bible Study - Commentary by Jim Melough
Copyright
2000 James Melough
6:1.
“And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord
delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.”
The
sorry cycle keeps repeating itself. Israel
is not long delivered until she forgets the God Who delivered her, and turns again to
the sin which brought the chastisement in the first place.
This
time the enemy used by God to be the instrument of His chastisement is Midian,
meaning contention: strife, and the character of his oppression was that
Israel was robbed of her proper food, just as under Jabin (representative of worldly
wisdom) she was deprived of weapons. It
is the Word known and obeyed that is a sword in the hand of the believer, and when
the wisdom of the world is substituted for the knowledge of God’s Word, the
believer is left defenseless.
But
the Word is the believer’s food as well as his weapon, and famine is the
concomitance of strife and contention. When
“Midian” rules, God’s people go hungry, for strife and contention are inimical
to the atmosphere of study and meditation, apart from which two exercises the
believer has neither food for his own soul, nor does he have anything to share with
others. The condition of Christendom
today advertises all too clearly that the “Midianite” rules.
6:2.
“And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the
Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and
caves, and strong holds.”
Israel’s
sorry condition becomes the more apparent when it is realized that dens are the homes
of animals, and caves (employed frequently as burying places) are used in Scripture
as symbols of death. Strife and
contention soon reduce God’s people to a state that is aptly portrayed by the
animals, for animals, like men, have bodies and souls, but unlike men, they do not
have spirits. The Midianite reduces the
spiritual life to a state of virtual nonexistence.
Spiritual activity all but ceases.
Nor
is it necessary to elaborate on the significance of the cave.
Where there are strife and contention, believers are reduced to virtually the
same state as marked them prior to conversion when they were spiritually dead in
trespasses and sins.
The
“strong holds” were simply remote fortresses into which the people withdrew in
their attempts to escape from the enemy. Many
a local church is the spiritual equivalent of such a strong hold.
The believers are forced to devote to the solution of problems arising from
strife and contention, time and energy that ought to have been directed to the spread
of the Gospel, and the building up of the household of faith.
6:3.
“And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the
Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;”
Amalek,
meaning people of lapping (or licking up), was related to Israel, for he was a
grandson of Esau; and as has been noted already, he represents the lusts of the
flesh. Nor is it strange to find these
two joined together in their suppression of Israel, for strife and contention, and
the lusts of the flesh, are rarely found apart.
Since the east is always connected with sin and departure from God, these
“children of the east” represent all who are found in opposition to God and His
people.
While
sowing is almost always used symbolically of the sowing of the good seed of the
Gospel, the present context indicates that here it is more likely to be the sowing of
the Word in teaching, for clearly it was Israel’s food that was being taken away,
and their literal food is but the symbol of the Word as our spiritual food.
Strife
and contention, indulgence of the lusts of the flesh, and general departure from God,
always have the same results: they tend to nullify the effects of the teaching that
is designed to build up believers and preserve them from these very evils.
6:4.
“And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth,
till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox,
nor ass.”
The
enemy’s “encamping” against Israel implies a prolonged concerted campaign
rather than just one quick incursion. Strife
and contention are not things of but a moment. The
effects are long lasting.
Gaza,
meaning she was strong, was a Philistine city, but the Philistine represents
apostate Christianity, and Gaza portrays the strength and power of the great harlot
system which heads up that apostasy. The
lesson is easily read. The enemy
doesn’t attack one of his staunchest allies. Genuine faith has no more powerful foe than the apostate system
masquerading as the true church, the bride of Christ. As the enemy forces carried off Israel’s food, so will the evil
spiritual forces they represent carry off the believer’s spiritual food, i.e.,
they will deprive him of the ability to find spiritual nourishment in the Scriptures,
for essential to an understanding of them is the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
Strife and contention, and indulgence of the lusts of the flesh, however, make
His ministry impossible.
In
addition to carrying away the food of the people, the enemy also carried off the food
of Israel’s animals, and in this God would show us the continuing evil effects of
contention and strife, and the indulgence of the flesh.
Without
food the sheep and the oxen would die or become weak and sick, but the sheep
represents the obedient submission that ought to mark us as believers; and the ox,
type of patient service, represents that willing service which we should render to
God. The death or illness of these
animals therefore becomes the symbolic announcement that the result of strife and
contention, and the indulgence of the flesh, is that submission and service are
weakened, or made to cease altogether.
The
ass, on the other hand, represents the natural body as the servant of the old nature:
the wild ass portraying the body’s unrestrained indulgence of the lusts of the
flesh, while the bridled ass portrays the body governed by the restraints of
morality, social custom, etc. Since the
ass would also die of hunger, this would seem to speak of the death of the physical
body, reminding us that in the Corinthian church this very same judgment had fallen
upon some of them, “For this cause (unjudged sin) many are weak and sickly among
you, and many sleep” (1 Co 11:30). It
is obvious, however, that not all the domestic animals would die.
Some would be able to find enough to keep themselves alive, but they would be
weak and sickly, and of little use to man. It
is the same with us. We may not actually
die as a result of allowing strife and contention in our midst, but we will be so
weakened spiritually as to be virtually as useless to God as if we were physically
dead.
The
camel is another type of the body, but as the servant of the new nature, for as the
camel traverses the desert as the servant of its master, so are believers to present
their bodies in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ, traversing the spiritual desert
of this world on the Master’s business. Significantly,
there is no mention of camels here, and the truth being declared is that these
disobedient Israelites represent believers who have ceased to present their bodies to
God.
6:5.
“For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as
grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and
they entered into the land to destroy it.”
It
is significant that here camels are listed among the animals owned by the enemy.
No message could be clearer. Contention
and strife, and fleshly lusts, cause “the camel” (the believer’s body) to come
under the control of the enemy. And the
phenomenal number of their camels points to the equally great number of believers who
have fallen prey to the enemy represented by this evil coalition.
Some
Biblical symbols have an evil as well as a good connotation, the context indicating
which applies, and here there is no doubt that the cattle and tents and camels, as
things belonging to the enemy, represent the things of the world, so that the
intrusion of these things into the land which God had given Israel, speaks of the
things of the world crowding into the believer’s life and usurping the time and
energy that should be given to spiritual things.
Few will deny that this is the present condition of much of Christendom.
Since
cattle furnished the animals used for sacrifice, their being found here in the
possession of the enemy, reminds us that the world is by no means irreligious.
It too has what it calls worship; and the tent (symbol of the pilgrim
lifestyle), but here also belonging to the enemy, would teach us that the world too
has its religious equivalent of true separation; while the camel in the possession of
the enemy, declares that the world, according to its own standards, would also render
what it calls religious service.
The
phenomenal numbers, “like grasshoppers,” would remind us that the world has an
abundance of all of these equivalents of spiritual things, and Satan is a master in
the use of them to lure us out of the path of obedience. And it is to be further noted that none of these things was in
itself bad. God had also given
Israel these same things. The
lesson isn’t difficult to read. In his
subtlety Satan distracts us with things that are not in themselves evil, knowing full
well that few believers can be tempted by obvious wrong.
The “weights” are just as effective in impeding spiritual progress as are
the sins, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily
beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Heb 12:1).
A
word of explanation is offered here in regard to the tent. It is not only the symbol of the pilgrim life, but it declares
also the transitoriness of natural life. Believers
and unbelievers alike are passing through this world on their way to eternity, the
one to dwell for ever in heaven; the other, to dwell for ever in the torment of the
lake of fire.
The
ominous truth is that “they entered into the land to destroy it.”
The things of the world will destroy the believer’s spiritual life, and ruin
his testimony, for the land, in Scripture, is the symbol of profession, genuine or
false.
6:6.
“And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the
children of Israel cried unto the Lord.”
Spiritual
Israel, the Church, is similarly “impoverished” by the spiritual equivalents of
the Midianites, Amalekites, and the children of the east, and her deliverance will
come only when she too cries unto the Lord in genuine repentance.
6:7.
“And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord
because of the Midianites,”
6:8.
“That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto
them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you
forth out of the house of bondage;
6:9.
“And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand
of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their
land:”
6:10.
“And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.”
The
first step in their deliverance was that they must hear the voice of God, and the
principle remains the same today. If we
would be delivered from our present bondage, we must hear and obey the Word of God.
His sending a prophet would teach us that God often uses a human instrument to
expose sin, and exhort to repentance - and for an obvious reason: the backslider
himself, having abandoned God’s Word, rarely turns back to it himself.
If he is to be recovered, it is almost invariably through the ministry of
another.
The
prophet reminded them of what God had done for them in the past.
He had freed them from Egyptian bondage, delivered them from the pursuing
tyrant, and from all who had oppressed them, driving out the Canaanites, and giving
Israel their land. And obedience on
their part was all that was needed to guarantee His continued blessing, but they had
chosen instead to disobey.
The
formula for recovery remains the same. Note
for example, the exhortation to the Ephesian church in Re 2:5, “Remember
therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent....”
If the remembrance of God’s past goodness doesn’t beget repentance,
nothing will.
The
reference to the Amorite, meaning a sayer, is significant. He represents the mere professor, who in spite of a verbal
acknowledgement of Christianity, is nevertheless an unbeliever; and it is to be
remembered that the strife and contention represented by Midian, is that which comes
from those professing to be believers. The
spiritual counterparts of the Midianites are those who mingle with God’s people,
but who have never been born again. Spiritually they are both Midianites and Amorites.
They will generate contention and strife in spite of professing to be also the
people of God. Israel’s having been warned not to fear the gods of the Amorites
reminds us that we are not to bow down to the gods of the spiritual Amorites in our
midst. We are not to worship money,
pleasure, fame, ease, worldly wisdom, etc.
6:11.
“And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in
Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by
the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.”
Ophrah
means dustiness: fawn-like (from its color); Joash, Jehovah has become man; Abiezer,
father of help; and Gideon, the cutter down.
Frequently
in Scripture, the mention of a tree, such as here, is intended to speak of Calvary,
and since clearly this angel was the Lord Himself, his sitting under this oak is
meant to remind us that God’s blessings to Israel were in anticipation of Calvary,
as His blessings to us are based on the work perfectly completed there.
Apart from the work of Christ on that tree, there could be no blessing for man
in any age, or under any circumstances. All
of us deserved to die.
But
its being in Ophrah dustiness, reminds us that disobedience brings death, as
our disobedience brought Christ “into the dust of death” (Ps 22:15).
Ophrah represents this world: the place of death (dustiness).
Even in the midst of Israel’s idolatry, for which they should have died, God
having Calvary in view, could draw near to give deliverance and blessing, if the
people would but repent and return to Him. Nor
has the principle changed. Those, who
because of sin, lie in the dust of death, can be delivered and blessed if they will
but repent and trust in Him, Who on Calvary’s tree, was brought into the dust of
death as our Substitute, dying there the death we should have died.
The
second meaning fawn-like points to Christ as the innocent One Who willingly
assumed responsibility for our sins.
Joash,
in the meaning of his name, Jehovah has become man, was the witness to the
truth that there could be no redemption for men apart from the Lord Jesus Christ’s
becoming man, so that He might die in man’s guilty place; while Abiezer, in the
meaning of his name, father of help, is the witness that God is that Father.
Without His “help” all men must have perished.
Like
all the judges, Gideon the cutter down is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
the meaning of his name reminds us that at Calvary He “cut down” Satan by the
seemingly impossible means of submitting Himself to death on man’s behalf.
The poet has expressed it very beautifully:
In
weakness and defeat He won the meed and crown.
Trod all His foes beneath His
feet
By
being trodden down.
Gideon’s
occupation is instructive. The land
might be under the heel of the Midianite plunderer ready to seize whatever Israel had
harvested, but Gideon would secure what he could for himself even if it meant
threshing the wheat in a very unsuitable place.
The winepress in Scripture speaks of judgment.
It is unclear whether he himself was innocent of idolatry, but the fact
remains that he must share in the judgment of the guilty nation of which he was a
part. So is it today. Those who seek to walk obediently cannot escape the spiritual
famine that has settled upon the professing church because of the disobedience of the
majority, but even in the midst of that famine they can, like Gideon, secure a
portion for themselves, though it entails “threshing by the winepress,” that is,
studying the Word and meditating upon it in the midst of sorrow and suffering, and
with much all around to discourage.
The
crying need of the hour is for more Gideons: men who will give themselves to the
study of Scripture, no matter what the cost.
6:12.
“And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is
with thee, thou mighty man of valor.”
Certainly
at the time the angel spoke to him there was little to indicate that he was “a
mighty man of valor,” but the Lord could make this announcement in view of what He
Himself was going to do with Gideon. The
statement was based also on what precedes, “The Lord is with thee.”
That is all that is needed to invest any man with the character of a Gideon,
for it implies the obedience that makes it possible for God to walk with us, and
“If God be for us who can be against us?” (Ro 8:31).
The Lord will not walk with the disobedient.
It
is to be noted, however, that Gideon’s threshing wheat sets before us in symbol a
prerequisite of service: he who would do God’s work must be devoted to the study of
God’s Word.
6:13.
“And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is
all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of,
saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us,
and delivered us into the hand of the Midianites.”
There
is a sense in which the Lord is always with His own, but obedience is a necessity if
He is to be with us in blessing. Israel’s
disobedience had forfeited His presence in that sense, as it does also with us.
Their sin was that of worshiping the Baals of Canaan; ours is of worshiping
the gods of our modern world: money, pleasure, ease, power, worldly knowledge, etc.
Gideon’s
question, “Where be all his miracles?” finds an echo in many a heart today, the
question itself declaring lack of knowledge regarding God’s ways.
In the OT age His miracles of blessing were in response to obedient faith;
those of judgment, in response to disobedience.
And in the OT age His miracles were tangible.
During this present age, they are not, but the same principle applies.
He works His intangible miracles of blessing in response to obedient faith,
and His intangible miracles of judgment in response to disobedience.
He, however, who looks for literal tangible miracles during this age of grace
will be disappointed. Such phenomena are
not for this present age.
Gideon’s
reference to God’s having delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage has its present
day counterpart in His having delivered the believer from the bondage to sin, Satan,
and death. That God had forsaken Israel,
however, was not correct. The very
judgment that had evoked their cry of supplication, was evidence that He hadn’t
forsaken them. He had permitted it in
order to bring them back to the place where He could bless them.
It is the same today, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth. If ye
endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the
father chasteneth not? But if ye be
without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not
sons” (Heb 12:6-8).
Had
it not been for Israel’s disobedience, Midian couldn’t have touched them.
It is our disobedience that has brought into our midst the strife and
contention which Midian represents, and which is robbing us of spiritual food, as
Midian robbed Israel of literal food.
6:14.
“And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou
shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?”
That
the might was God’s is beyond question, for clearly Gideon had none, nor do we.
The truth is that obedience makes God’s might available to us, for He will
not use a disobedient vessel. That might
or power is available to all who will confess that in themselves there is nothing but
weakness, for God assures us, “My strength is made perfect in weakness,” and Paul
continues, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the
power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore
I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in
distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Co
12:9-10).
The
implication of “Have not I sent thee?” is unmistakable.
There can be no failure in the work to which God sends a man.
The failures come when men, sent by men, presume to put their hands to a
spiritual work to which God hasn’t called them, and for which He hasn’t endowed
them.
6:15.
“And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my
family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
The
contemplation of our own abilities must evoke the same question in every honest
heart, but the man who would do exploits for God must have his eye, not on self, but
on Him Who by a word called the universe into existence. Then all difficulties disappear, for nothing is impossible to God.
The great danger, and also the assurance of defeat, lie in the presumptuous
spirit which imagines that man himself can do something.
The man who would be an instrument in the hand of the Almighty must be such a
man as Gideon - one willing to confess his poverty and his littleness.
Our
encouragement lies in remembering that in this, as in everything else, the Lord Jesus
Christ is our supreme Example. It was by
just such an attitude, by His willingness to take the place of a servant, that He
accomplished the mightiest victory time or eternity have ever known, or ever will.
The Lord’s earthly family was also poor; and He Himself despised.
It
is significant that Gideon was a Manassite meaning causing to forget, and
speaking of that principle essential to victorious Christian living, “This one
thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus” (Php 3:13). Occupation
with the past, either its failures or its victories, is one of the great hindrances
to spiritual progress, for the one will discourage us, and the other fill us with
pride and false confidence.
6:16.
“And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt
smite the Midianites as one man.”
This
is the all-sufficient answer to Gideon’s objections regarding his own ability, as
it is also to ours. God with us assures
victory, for none can stand against Him.
6:17.
“And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me
a sign that thou talkest with me.”
Some
have seen this as faithlessness on Gideon’s part, and certainly it may have been,
but it may be seen also as an indication of the godly fear that hesitates to act in
self-will, that is reluctant to run without being sent.
That spirit is conspicuously absent today, and in its place reigns a spirit of
brash boldness that doesn’t hesitate to speak and act without having the assurance
that the speech and action are being prompted by the Holy Spirit.
As
the vindication of Gideon’s divine call was revealed in the miraculous consumption
of his offering, by the fire out of the rock, so was the Lord’s ministry vindicated
by the miracles He performed.
6:18.
“Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my
present, and set it before thee. And he
said, I will tarry until thou come again.”
Just
exactly what kind of sign Gideon expected isn’t clear, but it seems to have been
connected in some way with the offering he intended bringing, though it is doubtful
that he anticipated anything as dramatic as the consumption of the sacrifice by fire
out of the rock. That he was
given such a spectacular sign, however, reminds us that God always does for us
“exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ep 3:20).
Nor could there have remained any doubt in Gideon’s mind that the Lord had
indeed called him. Much of the havoc in the assemblies today results from the
activity of those, who had they waited for clear indication of a call from God, would
have found that no such call had been given them.
The
offering represents worship, and inasmuch as Gideon offered it before he did anything
else, God would teach us that worship comes before service, and true worship consists
of an obedient life. If I am not walking
obediently I cannot serve.
6:19.
“And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an Ephah
of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it
out unto him under the oak, and presented it.”
As
noted already, it is unclear whether Gideon had ever bowed to the Baals of Canaan,
though there is no doubt that Joash his father did (see verse 25), and it is highly
unlikely that his son could have escaped the contagion.
If so, then this offering would mark the turning point in his life
corresponding to conversion. The kid is
a type of Christ as our Sin offering, and the cakes are figures of us as accepted in
Him, for the truth is that at conversion we not only present Christ to God as our Sin
offering, but we also present ourselves for His use, our lives being now no more our
own, but His, “Ye are not your own” (1 Co 6:19).
“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that
one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.... For the body is not one
member but many.... Now ye are the body of Christ....” (1 Co 12:12-27).
In
his putting the flesh in a basket, and the broth in a pot, God bids us see the
symbolic announcement of the fact that the Lord’s body and blood must be separated
in death to make atonement for man’s sin - the flesh in the basket speaking of his
life as a sacrifice to God; and the broth in the pot, the pouring out of that life at
Calvary.
His
presentation of his offering is also a figure of worship, for the essence of worship
is the presentation of Christ to God, and as noted already, the constituents of
Gideon’s offering are all figures of Christ. His
presenting the offering “under the oak” reminds us that as our life begins at
Calvary, so also does our worship center around that same tree, and will for all
eternity. Our service must also begin
there, being rendered out of love and gratitude for the price paid there to redeem
our souls.
6:20.
“And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened
cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth.
And he did so.”
The
flesh, which was that of a kid of the goats (the Sin offering) represents Christ
“made sin for us” (2 Co 5:21), while the unleavened cakes speak of us as men in
Christ. This command to place the cakes
on the rock doesn’t contradict the truth declared in verse 19, for we can’t
present Christ in worship unless we also present ourselves by living obedient lives.
The rock upon which they were laid is also a figure of Christ, for that rock
speaks of the solid foundation upon which our eternal security rests.
The placing of the flesh and the cakes on the same rock reminds us of how
completely we are identified with Christ in His death.
We have died vicariously in Him, God imputing His death to us.
The poured out broth, as noted already, speaks of His precious blood, apart
from the shedding of which there could be no remission of sin.
6:21.
“Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his
hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of
the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes.
Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.”
Since
the staff is generally recognized as a type of the Word of God, its touching the
sacrifice reminds us that the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ were the
fulfillment of Scripture, while the rising up of “fire out of the rock” reminds
us that it was through the Holy Spirit that He offered Himself without spot to God
(Heb 9:14), for fire is one of the Scriptural symbols of the Holy Spirit.
Our complete identification with Christ continues to be emphasized in that the
flesh and cakes lay on the same rock altar; each was touched by the same staff; and
each was consumed by the flame out of the rock.
The
fact that they were touched by the end of the staff declares the truth that
Christ was the fulfillment of all that was written in Scripture. He ended the need to present those symbolic sacrifices which had
been offered “year by year continually,” the need to repeat them advertising
their inadequacy to do more than cover sin temporarily.
His sacrifice needs no repetition.
A
practical lesson to be gleaned from this is that our worship must be according to the
written Word (the staff), and at the impulse of the Holy Spirit (the fire).
Much that is called worship today lacks the authority of the one, and the
power of the other. It is frequently forgotten that Christ Himself said, “God is a
Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (Jn
4:24), and that He said also, “... thy word is truth” (Jn 17:17).
6:22.
“And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said,
Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.”
6:23.
“And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not
die.”
This
in no way contradicts what is written in Ex 33:20, “Thou canst not see my face: for
there shall no man see me, and live.” A
theophany, the visible manifestation of a deity (often in human form) is not to be
confused with the actual appearance of God, for, “No man hath seen God at
any time; the only begotten of the Father, he hath declared him” (Jn 1:18).
One of the blessings promised the redeemed is that in a coming day, “They
shall see his face....” (Re 22:4).
The
assurances given Gideon are given also to us, “We
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ro 5:1); and there is no longer
need to fear God on account of sin. All
our sins have been blotted out by Christ’s blood, as it is written, “The blood of
Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7).
“Thou
shalt not die” is also the assurance given us.
Death may cause our bodies to “sleep,” but only until the moment of the
Lord’s return when those sleeping bodies will awake to a glorious resurrection and
transformation that will see them “fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Php
3:21).
6:24.
“Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it
Jehovah-shalom; unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezerites.”
Gideon’s
building this altar declares him to be a worshiper, reminding us that worship and
victorious Christian living can’t be separated. Since, however, worship is our giving something to God, the lesson
being taught is that acceptable worship begins with the presentation of ourselves to
Him, for without that obedience, every other expression of worship is but an empty
form.
Jehovah-shalom
means God is peace. Only the
obedient believer enjoys that peace which passeth understanding.
Only he knows God as the “God of peace.”
Its
being said that that altar continued until the date of writing (a date unknown),
declares that Gideon’s work was no fleeting thing, but rather a work of relative
permanence. Since that work, however, is
but a figure of Christ’s, it points also to the eternal efficacy of that work
accomplished at Calvary. And as noted
already, since Ophrah is a picture of this world, the presence of Gideon’s altar in
Ophrah reminds us that it is here on earth that an altar has been set up to God’s
glory as a result of Christ’s redemptive work.
And that worship which ascends from grateful redeemed hearts here on earth
will continue eternally.
It
is to be noted too, that this was the first of two altars set up by Gideon: the
second is mentioned in verse 26. The
first speaks of Christ’s presentation of an obedient life; the second, of the
offering up of that perfect life in death at Calvary.
We wont be able to worship at the Lord’s table if we haven’t first
presented God with the sacrifice of an obedient life during the preceding week.
6:25.
“And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy
father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down
the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:”
While
others slept, God spoke to Gideon. It is
during the world’s spiritual night, while men “sleep,” that God speaks to His
own. And God’s order for all time is
declared in that Gideon’s worship was followed by his being commissioned to serve.
We come in on the first day of the week to worship, and then go out to serve.
God’s
revelation of His will to Gideon at night reminds us that the revelation of His will
is hidden from the natural man, for he is still in nature’s darkness.
It reminds us too, that even the disciples didn’t understand fully until
after the Lord’s resurrection.
Scholars
disagree as to whether the reference is to one, or two bullocks - a young one, and
another of seven years old, though the following verse seems to indicate that there
were two. Whether one or two, the animal
or animals were to be used to tear down the altar of Baal, but since the bullock is a
type of Christ the mighty Servant, the lesson being taught is that it is He and He
alone Who overcomes the forces of evil; and though He may deign to use human
instruments, all the power is His.
The
grove is literally the images, and the lesson is that anything which would
take the place of Christ in the believer’s life is to be put away.
There are many such “gods” subtly vying for our loyalty and worship, e.g.,
money, pleasure, fame, etc.
6:26.
“And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the
ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood
of the grove which thou shalt cut down.”
That
rock, literally strong place, is a figure of Christ and His work so perfectly
completed at Calvary, the solid Foundation upon which everything else rests.
It is He Who is not only the basis, but also the substance of our worship, and
it is significant that the worship of Baal was to be replaced with the worship of
Jehovah. Man is either saved or lost.
He worships the gods of this world, or he worships God, but he cannot worship
both.
The
“ordered place” is literally in an orderly manner, reminding us that God
is to be worshiped, not as each man pleases, but, “in spirit and in truth,” i.e.,
as guided by the Holy Spirit, and according to the manner prescribed in Scripture.
The
second bullock, offered as a burnt sacrifice, reminds us that Christ is the essence
of worship. It is He Whom we present to
God the Father in worship. Its being a
burnt sacrifice reminds us also that the sacrifice of Christ was first for the glory
of the Father, and then for the redemption of a ruined creation - man, and the
earth upon which he lives. (An
interesting point relative to the second bullock of seven years is that the
Canaanites considered seven, the Biblical number of perfection or completeness, to be
an unlucky number, while the Israelites held it to be virtually sacred, thus, as
another has commented, “Offering the second bullock of seven years old to Yahweh
was a deliberate denial of the power of Baal and was an assertion of the victory of
Yahweh over Baal”.
And
as noted already, the first altar set up by Gideon stresses the Lord’s presentation
of a sinless life, while this second emphasizes the offering up of that perfect life
in death.
The
destruction of the altar of Baal, together “with the wood of the grove which thou
shalt cut down” declares that the moment of conversion should correspond with the
end of our worship of the false gods of earth, and the beginning of our worship of
the only true God. It is that
deliverance from our former bondage that evokes our present worship.
6:27.
“Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto
him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the
city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.”
Since
ten is the number that speaks of God as the Governor, Gideon’s taking these ten men
to throw down the altar of Baal, speaks of the obedience to God’s government that
ought to mark us as redeemed men and women. There
is perhaps additional significance connected with these ten men, for the hand which
is the symbol of service, and the foot which is the symbol of our walk or manner of
life, are both related to this number: we have ten fingers, and ten toes.
All our members are to be used for God’s glory.
Since
Christ is the true Gideon, the ten serves to remind us of His perfect obedience to
His Father’s will.
“...
and did as the Lord said unto him.” The
command was no sooner given than it was obeyed.
It would be well if the same ready obedience marked us in relation to God’s
commands.
His
obedience was not without fear of the men of his father’s household, and the men of
the city, but in spite of his fear, he obeyed. He
feared God more than he did man. The
same wholesome fear ought to govern us, for it is written, “The fear of man
bringeth a snare” (Pr 29:25); but, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom” (Ps 11:10).
It
is instructive to note that “he could not do it by day.” It would appear that he was governed, not only by fear, but also
by reality. He recognized that he was
outnumbered by his opponents, and since he couldn’t accomplish his task under their
eyes, he used discretion, and did it while they slept.
(This in no way negates the fact that had God commanded him to do it by day,
He would have given also the power. It
is to be noted, however, that Gideon’s doing it by night, and obviously by God’s
permission, furnishes us with a beautiful little picture of Calvary.
The victory won there, and foreshadowed in that of Gideon, was also
accomplished in the darkness which enveloped the scene from the sixth to the ninth
hour). God expects us also to use
discretion, but it is to be noted that God’s command was obeyed.
Discretion is not to be used to excuse disobedience.
Gideon’s fear apparently was not for himself (he knew he’d have to face
these men in the morning), but fear that he might be unable to carry out God’s
command.
6:28,
“And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar
of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second
bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.”
The
light of morning revealed the completeness of Gideon’s obedience.
All that God had commanded had been done.
In Scripture the morning is frequently associated with judgment, reminding us
that only on that “morning” when Christ comes in power and glory as the sun of
righteousness, will the world see the fullness of the victory won by Him at Calvary.
It should remind us also of that morning when we will stand at the judgment
seat of Christ. Our prayer should be for the wisdom to so live here on earth that
that morning might bear similar testimony to our obedience.
It
shouldn’t be forgotten that Gideon, like all the judges, is a type of Christ, so
that his obedience in connection with the destruction of the altar of Baal, is a
figure of the perfect obedience of the Lord in connection with the destruction of all
that pertains to Satan. That work too
was perfectly done, so that before Calvary He could say, “I have finished
the work thou hast given me to do,” and with His last breath declare in triumph,
“It is finished.” Nor should we miss
the significance of the fact that Gideon’s work was done in the darkness of night.
It was during the three hours of darkness that the type was fulfilled, and the
greater work accomplished by the true Gideon. But
it was by morning light (the resurrection morning) that the completeness of
Christ’s victory was revealed. He
stood revealed as the Victor over death, hell and the grave.
And
in Gideon’s fear we have the foreshadowing of the dread that filled the heart of
Christ on the night before Calvary, when His blood became as “great drops of blood
falling down to the ground,” and He prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Mt 26:39).
That
second bullock offered for a burnt offering is also a type of Christ, for it reminds
us that it was by the offering of Himself without spot to God, that God’s great
work was done.
That
altar to Jehovah, which replaced the one formerly used in connection with the worship
of Baal, would teach us that perpetual worship should be the response of every
redeemed heart for that perfectly completed work that has first glorified the Father,
but that has also secured the redemption of our souls.
The
second bullock offered as a burnt offering represents the worship that celebrates the
great work so perfectly accomplished at Calvary.
6:29.
“And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing?
And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done
this thing.”
The
Jews were equally ignorant of the identity of the One Who had done God’s work at
Calvary.
Inasmuch
as Joash means God has become man, we find in the link between Gideon and his
father the symbolic picture of the link between the Lord and His Father.
He Who stooped to become Son of man, never ceased to be God the Son.
He was “God manifest in flesh” (1 Tim 3:16).
In Christ we see fulfilled what is foreshadowed in the meaning of Joash’s
name God has become man.
6:30.
“Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may
die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the
grove that was by it.”
Almost
invariably in connection with those who are OT types of Christ, we find that they
were slain, or risked death, or underwent death symbolically, e.g., Moses in the
Nile; Isaac bound on the altar; Joseph in the pit; Daniel in the lions’ den, etc.
Gideon also, in doing God’s work, risked death; and significantly it was the
men of his own city who sought his life. Nor
should we fail to note that it was for doing good, for obeying God.
So was it also with Christ. It
was His own people the Jews who sought His life, but He didn’t just risk His life,
He gave it a ransom for your soul and mine.
6:31.
“And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal?
will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst
it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast
down his altar.”
It
would appear that Joash was one of the first to be won back to God as a result of his
son’s work, he concluding rightly that he was no God who couldn’t protect his own
altar.
The
phrase “while it is yet morning” would remind us that frequently in Scripture,
the morning is not only indicative of spiritual illumination, but that it is also
associated with judgment, two things which are inseparable, for it is only spiritual
enlightenment that enables us to judge rightly, while the ultimate judgment of all
men will be in the all-revealing light of God’s presence.
Joash, now enlightened, is able to judge correctly the worthlessness of
Canaan’s Baals, and the error of those who would contend for Baal.
6:32.
“Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead
against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.”
Jerubbaal
means Baal will be contended with: Baal will be taught, and as the new name
given Gideon, identifies him as the one who has successfully contended with Baal, and
who will teach Baal that the power of God is infinitely superior to that of Satan.
As always in Scripture, a new name signifies a new relationship with God.
This marks a new beginning for Gideon, whose victory of course is against
Satan, for as Paul reminds us, “... an idol is nothing ... there is none other God
but one” (1 Co 8:4), “But ... the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they
sacrifice to devils....” (1 Co 10:20). In
worshipping the Baals, they were in reality worshipping Satan.
It was he with whom Gideon had contended.
It was he who would be taught the superiority of God, for Gideon was simply
the instrument in the hand of the Almighty, and as noted already, Gideon’s victory
is but the foreshadowing of the greater victory won at Calvary.
6:33.
“Then all the Midianites and Amalekites and the children of the east were
gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.”
Midian,
as noted already, represents the spirit of contention and strife, and as the literal
Midianite ravaged Israel, so has the spirit which he represents wrought havoc in the
professing church.
Amalek
people of lapping (or licking up), more by what is recorded of him in
Scripture than by the meaning of the name, is clearly shown to be the representative
of the old nature and the flesh through which it works. The Amalekites were the first to attack Israel after her
deliverance from Egypt, and the type is fulfilled in experience, for invariably the
first attack upon the new convert comes from the old nature still within him.
The declaration of God concerning this enemy is, “I will utterly put out the
remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.... Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord
will have war with Amalek from generation to generation” (Ex 17:14-16).
Nothing is more destructive of spirituality than the activity of the old
nature, a truth symbolically demonstrated in the malicious activity of the Amalekites
against Israel.
That
the warfare between the flesh and the spirit is lifelong, is declared, not only in
the direct language of the NT, but here in the symbolic language of the Old: it is
perpetual, it will be “from generation to generation.”
With
the Midianites and the Amalekites were “the children of the east.”
They represent the forces of evil in general, for contrary to what is
generally taught, the east is synonymous, not with good, but with sin and departure
from God. Not one Biblical reference to the east has a good connotation.
Their
coming over, and pitching “in the valley of Jezreel” has also a spiritual
message. Jezreel, meaning it will be
sown of God, is in the same general vicinity as Esdraelon and Megiddo or
Armageddon, an area associated with numerous famous battles, and the place where the
final battle will be fought between the Lord and the rebel armies associated with the
beast at the end of the Tribulation.
As
a place associated with conflict, it is a fitting picture of this warring world, but
its meaning it will be sown of God, reminds us that it is in this same place
of conflict that the good seed of the Gospel is being sown.
Pertinent to that sowing is the question of our own obedience to the command
of Christ, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature”
(Mk 16:15). The sad truth is that that sowing has all too often been abandoned
under the influence of the evils represented by Midian, Amalek, and the children of
the east.
Our
individual delinquency however, will not prevent the sowing of that good seed.
Others, wiser than we, will be found willing to obey the Lord’s command,
their obedience winning them the crown forfeited by our disobedience (Re 3:11).
We
shouldn’t miss the significance of the gathering of the enemy in this particular
valley, for it is meant to remind us that what they represent is inimical to all that
is of God, particularly Gospel work, and the truth is that the spreading of the
Gospel is the very foundation of our spiritual well-being.
The believer who is busy in sowing that good seed is very unlikely to fall
victim to the enticements of the flesh.
We
might note also in passing that the valley is symbolic of the place of fruitfulness.
We are responsible to be fruitful for God, first, in producing the “fruits
of the Spirit” (Ga 5:22), and secondly, the fruits of the Gospel, i.e., the
begetting of spiritual sons and daughters, men and women led to the Savior.
Small wonder that Israel’s sorry history records with alarming frequency the
fact that the enemy was found “in the valley,” for that history is but the
prewritten history of the professing church written in symbolic language.
6:34.
“But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and
Abiezer was gathered after him.”
The
might of the enemy is great, but as John assures us, “... greater is he that is in
you, than he that is in the world” (1 Jn 4:4).
Gideon alone was nothing, but Gideon, with the Spirit of the Lord upon him,
was invincible, for the Spirit’s being upon him signifies his perfect submission to
God. Nothing can stand against the
obedience that makes the believer simply an instrument in the hand of the Holy
Spirit. If we but grasped that truth the
record of our lives would be one of victory rather than what is: almost invariably
one of defeat.
His
blowing the trumpet was to gather God’s people together - always the work of the
Holy Spirit. It was to unify them
against the common enemy, and one lesson at least being taught is that as God’s
redeemed people, we are to present a united front to the enemy.
First
to respond to the summons of Gideon’s trumpet was Abiezer father of help,
the family branch of Manasseh to which he himself belonged.
We too belong to that same spiritual family, for the God Who rules the
universe is our Father, of Whom the Psalmist has written, “God is our refuge and
strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore
will not we fear....” (Ps 46:1-2). As
Abiezer responded to the call of Gideon, so does our Father respond to our every cry.
It
is significant that the Abiezrites were the first to respond to Gideon’s summons,
for we have noted already that his father “Joash the Abiezrite” (v. 11) appears
to have been his first convert (vv. 31-32). But
God requires more than just words. As
James reminds us, “... faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (Jas
2:17). Joash demonstrated that he was
prepared to confirm his faith by his works. He
would take up the sword against the enemy.
6:35.
“And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after
him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they
came up to meet them.”
In
these tribal names God shows us the character of those He will use to do His work.
Manasseh, meaning causing to forget, would teach us that once a man has
put his hand to the plough, there is to be no looking back (Lk 9:62), as Paul
declares, “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Php 3:13-14).
Asher
happy reminds us that another prerequisite of useful service is that the man
be happy in the work God has given him to do. There
is no place in God’s harvest field or vineyard for the reluctant servant.
Zebulun
dwelling declares that he who would render effective service is he who dwells
“in the secret place of the most High” (Ps 91:1).
The reader is advised to read all of this Psalm to acquaint himself with the
power available to the man who abides in that same secret place.
He is attempting the impossible who attempts to render service without being
prepared to spend much time alone with God.
Naphtali
my wrestling: my tortuosity reminds us that we “wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph 6:12).
6:36.
“And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou
hast said,”
6:37.
“Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the
fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou
wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.”
Any
covering speaks of righteousness, either mere self-righteousness, or the
righteousness of Christ which clothes the believer, and since a fleece comes from a
sheep or lamb, the fleece here appears to be the righteousness of Christ.
Since
the removal of the animal’s fleece didn’t entail its death, as did the removal of
its skin, Gideon’s having the fleece designates him as one who had the
righteousness of Christ, i.e., he was a believer.
His having the fleece, rather than the skin, however, declares that his faith,
like that of all OT believers, was a faith which anticipated that Christ would
die, whereas that of the NT saint believes that Christ has died.
Since
water is a symbol of the Word, its being only in the fleece declares that only Christ
has the water of life, for as John declares “In Him was life” (Jn 1:4).
Its being dry everywhere else, reminds us that all other men are without that
spiritual life, for “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Ro
3:23).
The
use of the fleece to ascertain God’s will, declares that His will can be known only
through the written Word, and only by the man who knows Christ as Savior, for the
natural man “receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned” (1 Co 2:14).
6:38.
“And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece
together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.”
The
wringing out of the fleece may be viewed as a figure of the Lord’s death.
The water of life was in Him, and the wringing out represents His death, the
bowl full of water from the wrung-out fleece portraying the truth that it is by His
death that the water of life has been made available to men.
6:39.
“And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will
speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it
now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.”
6:40.
“And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there
was dew on all the ground.”
Here
the water on the ground, and not on the fleece, may speak of Christ’s life being
poured out at Calvary so that the water of life might be made available to men.
[Judges
7]