Judges 6: Gideon (Part I)

Judges 6: The Midianite Oppression / The Call of Gideon / Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal / The Sign of the Fleece

These three chapters examine the work of one of the great judges Gideon.

The Midianite Oppression: Judges 6.1-10
By now the biblical author has employed the unfaithfulness cycle enough times that the reader intuitively understands it and the author does not have to give a long explanation. The cycle has become a type scene that the reader understands through past iterations of the same type scene. This time it is Midian that conquers Israel, a naiton that prevails seven years, forcing the Israelites into caves and strongholds in the mountains. The Midianites seem to camp next to Israel whenever the Israelites plant their seeds to sustain themselves. The Midianites and their camels destroy everything and are innumerable - like locusts.

The people cry out to the Lord, who delivers a prophet warning Israel that they have not given heed to the Lord's voice. The identity of this prophet is a mystery.

The Call of Gideon: Judges 6.11-27
The Call of Gideon reads almost like a comedy of errors. The angel of the Lord comes to a man named Gideon and sits under an oak tree at Ophrah as Gideon beats out wheat in a wine press (normally this would be done on a windy hill, but Israel at this time is under Midianite oppression. The angel of the Lord tells Gideon, who is no warrior, "The Lord is with you (singular), you mighty warrior." Gideon misinterprets the statement, and responds that there seems to be little proof that the Lord is with the people ("us"). The Lord ("the angel of" part has dropped) responds, "Go in this might of yours and deliver from the hand of Midian, I hereby commission you." Gideon answers that he is the least member of the weakest tribe of Manasseh - again, he does not seem to be a mighty warrior at all. The Lord asserts that he will be with Gideon as he strikes down the Israelites. This is apparently enough to convince Gideon, who tells God to stay put as he runs to his house to fetch a present.

Gideon prepares a kid and unleavened cakes for the Lord, and brings them out along with the broth. The angel of God (now again an angel, and now "God" rather than "the Lord") commands him to put the food on the rock and pour out the broth. The angel of the Lord (now "the Lord") touches the food and fire springs up to consume the food - in much the same way food is sacrificed by priests to God. The angel disappears.

Gideon freaks out, having just seen the face of God, but the Lord reassures him that he will not die. Gideon builds an altar at the place of his theophany and calls it "The Lord is Peace."

That night the Lord commands Gideon pull down the altar of Baal (the Canaanite storm god) and cut down the sacred pole beside it. He is to build an altar atop the stronghold there and make a burnt offering with the wood from the pole and a bull of his father's. Afraid of getting caught, Gideon does this that night, along with ten of his servants.

Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal: Judges 6.28-35
When word gets out that Gideon destroyed the altar of Baal, the townspeople want to kill him. But his father Joash comes to his rescue, saying if Baal is a God he can contend for himself. From that day forward Gideon is called Jerubbaal: "Let Baal contend against him."

When the Midianites and the Amalekites and people from the east come to camp against Israel, the spirit of the Lord takes possession of Gideon as was promised. Gideon sounds the trumpet, summoning first his clan the Abiezrites, then all of Manasseh, then Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali.

The Sign of the Fleece: Judges 6.36-40
Gideon devises a test to see whether God will deliver Israel by his hand. Gideon puts a fleece out at night and says to God that if there is dew on it in the morning, but none on the ground, God will deliver Israel by God's hand. In the morning there is no dew on the ground but the fleece pours out enough water to fill a bowl. Gideon then begs the Lord to do the trick in reverse, so that the fleece stays dry as the ground gathers dew. This too the Lord does.