This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/10/03/judges-6-commentary/
Judges 6 Commentary
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Chapter 6 finds Israel in trouble again. As everywhere else in this Book, pain and suffering are expected and fully deserved. God's contract with Abraham hasn't performed well. We know the culprit. Israel has not kept the faith. It's a fact that the visiting angel of the LORD underlines. And we are able to see it right here in this chapter. Gideon’s father is a worshipper of Baal as evidenced by the presence of Baal’s altar in his backyard.
These were hard times for the faithful. The worship of the LORD was no longer open activity. You risked your life if you went up against Baal. The fearful Gideon had to discrete Baal’s altar in the night. The LORD God wasn’t anywhere in the picture of Israel. Israel broke the very first and most important commandment. You cannot feel for them. Nothing in this chapter is abnormal. Only one item catches up by surprise; the intervention of the LORD via doubting and fearful Gideon.
The intervention by itself speaks of unimaginable compassion only comparable with the LORD’s mercies at the Cross. Israel has done nothing deserving of good words. At this moment you cannot tell an Israelite from a Canaanite. They are all Baal worshippers.
Midian's rule over Israel is ruthless. The power of Midian was so oppressive that Israel prepared shelters for themselves in the mountain clefts, caves, and strongholds. Midian’s strategy may interest the saint today. The enemy still ruins saints’ blessings: incomes and investments. An impoverished saint is a mission accomplished in the dark camp. Some losses are not natural.
Gideon is the chosen instrument of salvation. Yes, the same doubting and fearful Gideon. It is a fact of redemption that the saved are picked not from a pile of gems but from the ash heap.
The LORD must introduce himself to Israel again. There is hope that Israel can begin to see the worthlessness of Baal’s altar. The LORD instructs Gideon to pull it down and instead erect the altar of the LORD. There is a chance that the miracle of salvation can be associated with this new altar. In the next chapter, Gideon would defeat a huge army with only 300 men. Will the miracle help Israel turn back to the LORD?
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