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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Judges 6:11 - 6:24
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The Angel of the Lord Appears to Gideon
v. 11. And there came an Angel of the Lord, the Angel in the extraordinary sense of the term, the Son of God, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash, the Abiezrite, in the territory of Manasseh, apparently in the northwestern part of the plain, not far from the territories of Asher, Naphtali, and Zebulun; and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, the place where the grapes were pressed out, not an exposed threshing-floor, to hide it from the Midianites, bands of whose raiders might be expected at any time.
v. 12. And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him, Gideon, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. The reference was not only to his physical strength, but to the determination and energy which was apparent in his entire appearance.
v. 13. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, for he realized that this man was not a common man, if the Lord be with us, why, then, is all this befallen us? Cf Deu_31:17. And where be all His miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? These words did not arise from doubt and unbelief, but from a deep feeling of Israel's dishonor. But now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. It was the only conclusion which Gideon found possible.
v. 14. And the Lord looked upon him, for He it was that appeared in the form of the Angel, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have not I sent thee, or, Do not I send thee?
v. 15. And he said unto Him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? acknowledging the speaker as the Lord God. Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, my division of a thousand families is the lowliest in the tribe, and I am the least in my father's house, he occupied no position of influence and authority.
v. 16. And the Lord said unto him, in taking away this objection,Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man; their entire host would fall before him as though it consisted of but a single man.
v. 17. And he, Gideon, said unto Him, If now I have found grace in Thy sight, then show me a sign that Thou talkest with me, literally, "whether thou art He who speaks with me," whether He had this divine authority thus to send him, in other words, whether He were God.
v. 18. Depart not hence, I pray Thee, until I come unto Thee and bring forth my present, a sacrificial gift offered to God, from whose acceptance he would obtain evidence of the deity of the messenger, and set it before thee. And He said, I will tarry until thou come again.
v. 19. And Gideon went in and made ready a kid, preparing it for food, and unleavened cakes of an ephod of flour (almost twenty-six quarts). 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, set it down before his Visitor.
v. 20. And the Angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, which He pointed out to him, and pour out the broth, namely, over the food. And he did so.
v. 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, disappearing as suddenly as He had come.
v. 22. And when Gideon perceived that He was an Angel of the Lord, the Lord Himself, as He had revealed Himself to Abraham and to Joshua, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! an expression of dismay and of the fear of death, since he, a sinful human being, had spoken with Jehovah, for because I have seen an Angel of the Lord face to face!
v. 23. And the Lord said unto him, no longer in visible form, but by the voice of the unseen God, Peace be unto thee; fear not; thou shalt not die.
v. 24. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom ("The Lord is peace"); unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. This altar was not to serve for sacrifices, but as a memorial and witness of the theophany vouchsafed to Gideon, and of his expression that Jehovah did not desire to destroy Israel in His wrath, but had only thoughts of peace toward the people. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, has given us thousands of proofs that He is all-powerful, but also gracious and merciful. Therefore we should trust in His power and grace.