BIBLES NET. COM
Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
on the Whole Bible
Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page
|
[Previous] [Next] |
Matthew Henry |
J U D G E S
CHAP. VI.
Nothing that occurred in the quiet and peaceable times of Israel is
recorded; the forty years’ rest after the conquest of Jabin is passed
over in silence; and here begins the story of another distress and
another deliverance, by Gideon, the fourth of the judges. Here is,
I. The calamitous condition of Israel, by the inroads of the
Midianites,
II. The message God sent them by a prophet, by convincing them of sin,
to prepare them for deliverance,
III. The raising up of Gideon to be their deliverer.
1. A commission which God sent him by the hand of an angel, and
confirmed by a sign,
2. The first-fruits of his government in the reform of his father’s
house,
3. The preparations he made for a war with the Midianites, and the
encouragement given him by a sign,
| The Inroads of the Midianites. | B. C. 1249. |
|
|
|
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.
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.
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;
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.
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.
6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the
Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
We have here,
I. Israel’s sin renewed: They did evil in the sight of the Lord,
v. 1.
The burnt child dreads the fire; yet this perverse unthinking people,
that had so often smarted sorely for their idolatry, upon a little
respite of God’s judgments return to it again. This people hath a
revolting rebellious heart, not kept in awe by the terror of God’s
judgments, nor engaged in honour and gratitude by the great things he
had done for them to keep themselves in his love. The providence of God
will not change the hearts and lives of sinners.
II. Israel’s troubles repeated. This would follow of course; let all
that sin expect to suffer; let all that return to folly expect to
return to misery. With the froward God will show himself froward
and will walk contrary to those that walk contrary to him,
Now as to this trouble,
1. It arose from a very despicable enemy. God delivered them into the
hand of Midian
(v. 1),
not Midian in the south where Jethro lived, but Midian in the east that
joined to Moab
(Num. xxii. 4),
a people that all men despised as uncultivated and unintelligent; hence
we read not here of any king, lord, or general, that they had, but the
force with which they destroyed Israel was an undisciplined mob; and,
which made it the more grievous, they were a people that Israel had
formerly subdued, and in a manner destroyed (see
and yet by this time (nearly 200 years after) the poor remains of them
were so multiplied, and so magnified, that they were capable of being
made a very severe scourge to Israel. Thus God moved them to
jealousy with those who were not a people, even a foolish nation,
The meanest creature will serve to chastise those that have made the
great Creator their enemy. And, when those we are authorized to rule
prove rebellious and disobedient to us, it concerns us to enquire
whether we have not been so to our sovereign Ruler.
2. It arose to a very formidable height
(v. 2):
The hand of Midian prevailed, purely by their multitude. God had
promised to increase Israel as the sand on the sea shore; but their sin
stopped their growth and diminished them, and then their enemies,
though otherwise every way inferior to them, overpowered them with
numbers. They came upon them as grasshoppers for multitude
(v. 5),
not in a regular army to engage them in the field, but in a confused
swarm to plunder the country, quarter themselves upon it, and enrich
themselves with its spoils–bands of robbers, and no better. And sinful
Israel, being separated by sin from God, had not spirit to make head
against them. Observe the wretched havoc that these Midianites made
with their bands of plunderers in Israel. Here we have,
(1.) The Israelites imprisoned, or rather imprisoning themselves, in
dens and caves,
v. 2.
This was owing purely to their own timorousness and faint-heartedness,
that they would rather fly than fight; it was the effect of a guilty
conscience, which made them tremble at the shaking of a leaf, and the
just punishment of their apostasy from God, who thus fought against
them with those very terrors with which he would otherwise have fought
for them. Had it not been for this, we cannot but think Israel a match
for the Midianites, and able enough to make head against them; but the
heart that departs from God is lost, not only to that which is good,
but to that which is great. Sin dispirits men, and makes them sneak
into dens and caves. The day will come when chief captains and mighty
men will call in vain to rocks and mountains to hide them.
(2.) The Israelites impoverished, greatly impoverished,
v. 6.
The Midianites and the other children of the east that joined with them
to live by spoil and rapine (as long before the Sabeans and Chaldeans
did that plundered Job, free-booters) made frequent incursions into the
land of Canaan. This fruitful land was a great temptation to them; and
the sloth and luxury into which the Israelites had sunk by forty years’
rest made them and their substance an easy prey to them. They came up
against them
(v. 3),
pitched their camps among them
(v. 4),
and brought their cattle with them, particularly camels innumerable
(v. 5),
not a flying party to make a sally upon them and be gone presently, but
they resolved to force their way, and penetrated through the heart of
the country as far as Gaza on the western side,
v. 4.
They let the Israelites alone to sow their ground, but towards harvest
they came and seized all, and ate up and destroyed it, both grass and
corn, and when they went away took with them the sheep and oxen, so
that in short they left no sustenance for Israel, except what was
privately taken by the rightful owners into the dens and caves. Now
here we may see,
[1.] The justice of God in the punishment of their sin. They had
neglected to honour God with their substance in tithes and offerings,
and had prepared that for Baal with which God should have been served,
and now God justly sends an enemy to take it away in the season
thereof,
Hos. ii. 8, 9.
[2.] The consequence of God’s departure from a people; when he goes all
good goes and all mischiefs break in. When Israel kept in with God,
they reaped what others sowed
but now that God had forsaken them others reaped what they sowed. Let
us take occasion from this to bless God for our national peace and
tranquillity, that we eat the labour of our hands.
III. Israel’s sense of God’s hand revived at last. Seven years, year
after year, did the Midianites make these inroads upon them, each we
may suppose worse than the other
(v. 1),
until at last, all other succours failing, Israel cried unto the
Lord
(v. 6),
for crying to Baal ruined them, and would not help them. When God
judges he will overcome; and sinners shall be made either to bend or
break before him.
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto
the LORD because of the Midianites,
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;
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;
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.
Observe here,
I. The cognizance God took of the cries of Israel, when at length they
were directed towards him. Though in their prosperity they had
neglected him and made court to his rivals, and though they never
looked towards him until they were driven to it by extremity, yet, upon
their complain and prayer, he intended relief for them. Thus would he
show how ready he is to forgive, how swift he is to show mercy, and how
inclinable to hear prayer, that sinners may be encouraged to return and
repent,
II. The method God took of working deliverance for them.
1. Before he sent an angel to raise them up a saviour he sent a prophet
to reprove them for sin, and to bring them to repentance,
v. 8.
This prophet is not named, but he was a man, a prophet, not an angel,
as
Whether this prophet took an opportunity of delivering his message to
the children of Israel when they had met together in a general
assembly, at some solemn feast or other great occasion, or whether he
went from city to city and from tribe to tribe, preaching to this
purport, is not certain; but his errand was to convince them of sin,
that, in their crying to the Lord, they might confess that with sorrow
and shame, and not spend their breath in only complaining of their
trouble. They cried to God for a deliverer, and God sent them a prophet
to instruct them, and to make them ready for deliverance. Note,
(1.) We have reason to hope God is designing mercy for us if we find he
is by his grace preparing us for it. If to those that are sick he sends
a messenger, an interpreter, by whom he shows unto man his
uprightness, then he is gracious, and grants a recovery,
(2.) The sending of prophets to a people, and the furnishing of a land
with faithful ministers, is a token for good, and an evidence that God
has mercy in store for them. He thus turns us to him, and then causes
his face to shine,
2. We have here the heads of the message which this prophet delivered
in to Israel, in the name of the Lord.
(1.) He sets before them the great things God had done for them
(v. 8, 9):
Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; they had worshipped the
gods of the nations, as if they had had no God of their own to
worship and therefore might choose whom they pleased; but they are here
reminded of one whom they had forgotten, who was known by the title of
the God of Israel, and to him they must return. They had turned
to other gods, as if their own had been either incapable or unwilling
to protect them, and therefore they are told what he did for their
fathers, in whose loins they were, the benefit of which descended and
still remained to this their ungrateful seed.
[1.] He brought them out of Egypt, where otherwise they would have
continued in perpetual poverty and slavery.
[2.] He delivered them out of the hands of all that oppressed
them; this is mentioned to intimate that the reason why they were
not now delivered out of the hands of the oppressing Midianites was not
for want of any power or good-will in God, but because by their
iniquity they had sold themselves, and God would not redeem them until
they by repentance revoked the bargain.
[3.] He put them in quiet possession of this good land; this not only
aggravated their sin, and affixed the brand of base ingratitude to it,
but it justified God, and cleared him from blame upon account of the
trouble they were now in. They could not say he was unkind, for he had
given all possible proofs of his designing well for them; if ill befel
them notwithstanding, they must thank themselves.
(2.) He shows the easiness and equity of God’s demands and expectations
from them
(v. 10):
“I am the Lord your God, to whom you lie under the highest
obligations, fear not the gods of the Amorites,” that is, “do
not worship them, nor show any respect to them; do not worship them for
fear of their doing you any hurt, for what hurt can they do you while I
am your God? Fear God, and you need not fear them.”
(3.) He charges them with rebellion against God, who had laid this
injunction upon them: But you have not obeyed my voice. The
charge is short, but very comprehensive; this was the malignity of all
their sin, it was disobedience to God; and therefore it was this that
brought those calamities upon them under which they were now groaning,
pursuant to the threatenings annexed to his commands. He intends hereby
to bring them to repentance; and our repentance is then right and
genuine when the sinfulness of sin, as disobedience to God, is that in
it which we chiefly lament.
| The Call of Gideon. | B. C. 1249. |
|
|
|
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.
12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto
him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
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 hands of the Midianites.
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?
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.
16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and
thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy
sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not:
thou shalt not die.
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
Abi-ezrites.
It is not said what effect the prophet’s sermon had upon the people,
but we may hope it had a good effect, and that some of them at least
repented and reformed upon it; for here, immediately after, we have the
dawning of the day of their deliverance, by the effectual calling of
Gideon to take upon him the command of their forces against the
Midianites.
I. The person to be commissioned for this service was Gideon, the son
of Joash,
The father was now living, but he was passed by, and this honour put
upon the son, for the father kept up in his own family the worship of
Baal
(v. 25),
which we may suppose this son, as far as was in his power, witnessed
against. He was of the half tribe of Manasseh that lay in Canaan, of
the family of Abiezer; the eldest house of that tribe,
Hitherto the judges were raised up out of that tribe which suffered
most by the oppression, and probably it was so here.
II. The person that gave him the commission was an angel of the
Lord; it should seem not a created angel, but the Son of God
himself, the eternal Word, the Lord of the angels, who then appeared
upon some great occasions in human shape, as a prelude (says the
learned bishop Patrick) to what he intended in the fulness of time,
when he would take our nature upon him, as we say, for good and all.
This angel is here called Jehovah, the incommunicable name of
God
(v. 14, 16),
and he said, I will be with thee.
1. This divine person appeared here to Gideon, and it is observable how
he found him,
(1.) Retired–all alone. God often manifests himself to his people when
they are out of the noise and hurry of this world. Silence and
solitude befriend our communion with God.
(2.) Employed in threshing wheat, with a staff or rod (so
the word signifies), such as they used in beating out fitches and
cummin
but now used for wheat, probably because he had but little to thresh,
he needed not the oxen to tread it out. It was not then looked upon as
any diminution to him, though he was a person of some account and a
mighty man of valour, to lay his hand to the business of the
husbandman. He had many servants
(v. 27),
and yet would not himself live in idleness. We put ourselves in the way
of divine visits when we employ ourselves in honest business. Tidings
of Christ’s birth were brought to the shepherds when they were keeping
their flocks. The work he was about was an emblem of that greater work
to which he was now to be called, as the disciples’ fishing was. From
threshing corn he is fetched to thresh the Midianites,
(3.) Distressed; he was threshing his wheat, not in the
threshing-floor, the proper place, but by the wine-press, in
some private unsuspected corner, for fear of the Midianites. He himself
shared in the common calamity, and now the angel came to animate him
against Midian when he himself could speak so feelingly of the
heaviness of their yoke. The day of the greatest distress is God’s time
to appear for his people’s relief.
2. Let us now see what passed between the angel and Gideon, who knew
not with certainty, till after he was gone, that he was an angel, but
supposed he was a prophet.
(1.) The angel accosted him with respect, and assured him of the
presence of God with him,
He calls him a mighty man of valour, perhaps because he observed
how he threshed his corn with all his might; and seest thou a man
diligent in his business? whatever his business is, he shall stand
before kings. He that is faithful in a few things shall be ruler
over many. Gideon was a man of a brave active spirit, and yet buried
alive in obscurity, through the iniquity of the times; but he is here
animated to undertake something great, like himself, with that word,
The Lord is with thee, or, as the Chaldee reads it, the Word
of the Lord is thy help. It was very sure that the Lord was with
him when this angel was with him. By this word,
[1.] He gives him his commission. If we have God’s presence with us,
this will justify us and bear us out in our undertakings.
[2.] He inspires him with all necessary qualifications for the
execution of his commission. “The Lord is with thee to guide and
strengthen thee, to animate and support thee.”
[3.] He assures him of success; for, if God be for us, who can
prevail against us? If he be with us, nothing can be wanting to
us. The presence of God with us is all in all to our prosperity,
whatever we do. Gideon was a mighty man of valour, and yet he could
bring nothing to pass without the presence of God, and that presence is
enough to make any man mighty in valour and to give a man courage at
any time.
(2.) Gideon gave a very melancholy answer to this joyful salutation
(v. 13):
O my Lord! if the Lord be with us (which the Chaldee reads,
Is the Shechinah of the Lord our help? making that the same with
the Word of the Lord) why then has all this befallen us? “all
this trouble and distress from the Midianites’ incursions, which force
me to thresh wheat here by the wine-press–all this loss, and grief,
and fright; and where are all the miracles which our fathers told us
of?” Observe, In his reply he regards not the praise of his own
valour, nor does this in the least elevate him or give him any
encouragement, though it is probable the angel adapted what he said to
that which Gideon was at the same time thinking of; while his labouring
hands were employed about his wheat, his working head and daring heart
were meditating Israel’s rescue and Midian’s ruin, with which thought
he that knows the heart seasonably sets in, calls him a man of valour
for his brave projects, and open him a way to put them in execution;
yet Gideon, as if not conscious to himself of any thing great or
encouraging in his own spirit, fastens only on the assurance the angel
had given him of God’s presence, as that by which they held all their
comfort. Observe, The angel spoke in particular to him: The Lord is
with thee; but he expostulates for all: If the Lord be with
us, herding himself with the thousands of Israel, and admitting no
comfort but what they might be sharers in, so far is he from the
thoughts of monopolizing it, though he had so fair an occasion given
him. Note, Public spirits reckon that only an honour and joy to
themselves which puts them in a capacity of serving the common
interests of God’s church. Gideon was a mighty man of valour, but as
yet weak in faith, which makes it hard to him to reconcile to the
assurances now given him of the presence of God,
[1.] The distress to which Israel was reduced: Why has all this
(and all this was no little) befallen us? Note, It is
sometimes hard, but never impossible, to reconcile cross providences
with the presence of God and his favour.
[2.] The delay of their deliverance: “Where are all the miracles
which our fathers told us of? Why does not the same power which
delivered our fathers from the yoke of the Egyptians deliver us out of
the hands of the Midianites?” As if because God did not immediately
work miracles for their deliverance, though they had by their sins
forfeited his favour and help, it must be questioned whether ever he
had wrought the miracles which their fathers told them of, or, if he
had, whether he had now the same wisdom, and power, and good-will to
his people, that he had had formerly. This was his weakness. We must
not expect that the miracles which were wrought when a church was in
the forming, and some great truth in the settling, should be continued
and repeated when the formation and settlement are completed: no, nor
that the mercies God showed to our fathers that served him, and kept
close to him, should be renewed to us, if we degenerate and revolt from
him. Gideon ought not to have said either, First, That God
had delivered them into the hands of the Midianites, for by their
iniquities they had sold themselves, or, Secondly, That now they
were in their hands he had forsaken them, for he had lately sent them a
prophet
(v. 8),
which was a certain indication that he had not forsaken them.
(3.) The angel gave him a very effectual answer to his objections, by
giving him a commission to deliver Israel out of the hands of the
Midianites, and assuring him of success therein,
Now the angel is called Jehovah, for he speaks as one having
authority, and not as a messenger.
[1.] There was something extraordinary in the look he now gave to
Gideon; it was a gracious favourable look, which revived his spirits
that dropped, and silenced his fears, such a look as that with which
God’s countenance beholds the upright,
Ps. xi. 7.
He looked upon him, and smiled at the objections he made, which he gave
him no direct answer to, but girded and clothed him with such power as
would shortly enable him to answer them himself, and make him ashamed
that ever he had made them. It was a speaking look, like Christ’s upon
Peter
a powerful look, a look that strangely darted new light and life into
Gideon’s breast, and inspired him with a generous heat, far above what
he felt before.
[2.] But there was much more in what he said to him. First, He
commissioned him to appear and act as Israel’s deliverer. Such a one
the few thinking people in the nation, and Gideon among the rest, were
now expecting to be raised up, according to God’s former method, in
answer to the cries of oppressed Israel; and now Gideon is told, “Thou
art the man: Go in this thy might, this might wherewith thou art
now threshing wheat; go and employ it to a nobler purpose; I will
make thee a thresher of men.” Or, rather, “this might wherewith
thou art now endued by this look.” God gave him his commission by
giving him all the qualifications that were necessary for the execution
of it, which is more than the mightiest prince and potentate on earth
can do for those to whom he gives commissions. God’s fitting men for
work is a sure and constant evidence of his calling them to it. “Go,
not in thy might, that which is natural, and of thyself, depend not on
thy own valour; but go in this thy might, this which thou hast
now received, go in the strength of the Lord God, that is, the
strength with which thou must strengthen thyself.” Secondly, He
assured him of success. This was enough to put courage into him; he
might be confident he should not miscarry in the attempt; it should not
turn either to his own disgrace or the damage of his people (as baffled
enterprises do), but to his honour and their happiness: Thou shalt
save Israel from the hand of the Midianites, and so shalt not only
be an eye-witness, but a glorious instrument, of such wonders as thy
fathers told thee of. Gideon, we may suppose, looked as one
astonished at this strange and surprising power conferred upon him, and
questions whether he may depend upon what he hears: the angel ratifies
his commission with a teste meipso—an appeal to his own
authority; there needed no more. “Have not I commanded
thee–I that have all power in heaven and earth, and particular
authority here as Israel’s King, giving commissions
immediately–I who am that I am, the same that sent
Moses?”
(4.) Gideon made a very modest objection against this commission
(v. 15):
O my Lord! wherewith shall I save Israel? This question bespeaks
him either,
[1.] Distrustful of God and his power, as if, though God should be with
him, yet it were impossible for him to save Israel. True faith is often
weak, yet it shall not be rejected, but encouraged and strengthened.
Or,
[2.] Inquisitive concerning the methods he must take: “Lord, I labour
under all imaginable disadvantages for it; if I must do it, thou must
put me in the way.” Note, Those who receive commissions from God must
expect and seek for instructions from him. Or rather,
[3.] Humble, self-diffident, and self-denying. The angel had honoured
him, but see how meanly he speaks of himself: “My family is
comparatively poor in Manasseh” (impoverished, it may be, more than
other families by the Midianites), “and I am the least, that have the
least honour and interest, in my father’s house; what can I
pretend to do? I am utterly unfit for the service, and unworthy of the
honour.” Note, God often chooses to do great things by those that are
little, especially that are so in their own eyes. God delights to
advance the humble.
(5.) This objection was soon answered by a repetition of the promise
that God would be with him,
“Object not thy poverty and meanness; such things have indeed often
hindered men in great enterprises, but what are they to a man that has
the presence of God with him, which will make up all the deficiencies
of honour and estate. Surely I will be with thee, to direct and
strengthen thee, and put such a reputation upon thee that, how weak
soever thy personal interest is, thou shalt have soldiers enough to
follow thee, and be assured thou shalt smite the Midianites as one
men, as easily as if they were but one man and as effectually. All
the thousands of Midian shall be as if they had but one neck, and thou
shalt have the cutting of it off.”
(6.) Gideon desires to have his faith confirmed touching this
commission; for he would not be over-credulous of that which tended so
much to his own praise, would not venture upon an undertaking so far
above him, and in which he must engage many more, but he would be well
satisfied himself of his authority, and would be able to give
satisfaction to others as to him who gave him that authority. He
therefore humbly begs of this divine person, whoever he was,
[1.] That he would give him a sign,
And, the commission being given him out of the common road of
providence, he might reasonably expect it should be confirmed by some
act of God out of the common course of nature: “Show me a sign to
assure me of the truth of this concerning which thou talkest with me,
that it is something more than talk, and that thou art in earnest.”
Now, under the dispensation of the Spirit, we are not to expect signs
before our eyes, such as Gideon here desired, but must earnestly pray
to God that, if we have found grace in his sight, he would show
us a sign in our heart, by the powerful operations of his Spirit there,
fulfilling the work of faith, and perfecting what is lacking in
it.
[2.] In order hereunto, that he would accept of a treat, and so give
him a further and longer opportunity of conversation with him,
Those who know what it is to have communion with God desire the
continuance of it, and are loth to part, praying with Gideon, Depart
not hence, I pray thee. That which Gideon desired in courting his
stay was that he might bring out some provision of meat for this
stranger. He did not take him into the house to entertain him there,
perhaps because his father’s house were not well affected to him and
his friends, or because he desired still to be in private with this
stranger, and to converse with him alone (therefore he calls not for a
servant to bring the provision, but fetches it himself), or because
thus his father Abraham entertained angels unawares, not in his tent,
but under a tree,
Upon the angel’s promise to stay to dinner with him, he hastened to
bring out a kid, which, it is likely, was ready boiled for his own
dinner, so that in making it ready he had nothing to do but to put it
in the basket (for here was no sauce to serve it up in, nor the dish
garnished) and the broth in a vessel, and so he presented it,
Hereby he intended, First, To testify his grateful and generous
respects to this stranger, and, in him, to God who sent him, as one
that studied what he should render. He had pleaded the poverty of his
family
(v. 15)
to excuse himself from being a general, but not here to excuse himself
from being hospitable. Out of the little which the Midianites had left
him he would gladly spare enough to entertain a friend, especially a
messenger from heaven. Secondly, To try who and what this
extraordinary person was. What he brought out is called his
present,
v. 18.
It is the same word that is used for a meat-offering, and perhaps that
word is used which signifies both because Gideon intended to leave it
to this divine person to determine which it should be when he had it
before him: whether a feast or a meat-offering, and accordingly he
would be able to judge concerning him: if he ate of it as common meat,
he would suppose him to be a man, a prophet; if otherwise, as it
proved, he should know him to be an angel.
(7.) The angel gives him a sign in and by that which he had kindly
prepared for his entertainment. For what we offer to God for his glory,
and in token of our gratitude to him, will be made by the grace of God
to turn to our own comfort and satisfaction. The angel ordered him to
take the flesh and bread out of the basket, and lay it upon a hard and
cold rock, and to pour out the broth upon it, which, if he brought it
hot, would soon be cold there; and Gideon did so
(v. 20),
believing that the angel appointed it, not in contempt of his courtesy,
but with an intention to give him a sign, which he did, abundantly to
his satisfaction. For,
[1.] He turned the meat into an offering made by fire, of a sweet
savour unto himself, showing hereby that he was not a man who
needed meat, but the Son of God who was to be served and honoured by
sacrifice, and who in the fulness of time was to make himself a
sacrifice.
[2.] He brought fire out of the rock, to consume this sacrifice,
summoning it, not by striking the rock, as we strike fire out of a
flint, but by a gentle touch given to the offering with the end of his
staff,
Hereby he gave him a sign that he had found grace in his sight,
for God testified his acceptance of sacrifices by kindling them, if
public, with fire from heaven, as those of Moses and Elias, if private,
as this, with fire out of the earth, which was equivalent: both were
the effect of divine power; and this acceptance of his sacrifice
evidenced the acceptance of his person, confirmed his commission, and
perhaps was intended to signify his success in the execution of it,
that he and his army should be a surprising terror and consumption to
the Midianites, like this fire out of the rock.
[3.] He departed out of his sight immediately, did not walk off
as a man, but vanished and disappeared as a spirit. Here was as much of
a sign as he could wish.
(8.) Gideon, though no doubt he was confirmed in his faith by the
indications given of the divinity of the person who had spoken to him,
yet for the present was put into a great fright by it, till God
graciously pacified him and removed his fears.
[1.] Gideon speaks peril to himself
(v. 22):
When he perceived that he was an angel (which was not till he
had departed, as the two disciples knew not it was Jesus they had been
talking with till he was going,
then he cried out, Alas! O Lord God! be merciful to me, I am
undone, for I have seen an angel, as Jacob, who wondered that
his life was preserved when he had seen God,
Ever since man has by sin exposed himself to God’s wrath and curse an
express from heaven has been a terror to him, as he scarcely dares to
expect good tidings thence; at least, in this world of sense, it is a
very awful thing to have any sensible conversation with that world of
spirits to which we are so much strangers. Gideon’s courage failed him
now.
[2.] God speaks peace to him,
It might have been fatal to him, but he assures him it should not. The
Lord had departed out of his sight,
v. 21.
But though he must no longer walk by sight he might still live by
faith, that faith which comes by hearing; for the Lord said to him,
with an audible voice (as bishop Patrick thinks) these encouraging
words, “Peace be unto thee, all is well, and be thou satisfied
that it is so. Fear not; he that came to employ thee did not intend to
slay thee; thou shalt not die.” See how ready God is to revive
the hearts of those that tremble at his word and presence, and to give
those that stand in awe of his majesty assurances of his mercy.
3. The memorial of this vision which Gideon set up was a monument in
form of an altar, the rather because it was by a kind of sacrifice upon
a rock, without the solemnity of an altar, that the angel manifested
his acceptance of him; then an altar was unnecessary (the angel’s staff
was sufficient to sanctify the gift without an altar), but now it was
of use to preserve the remembrance of the vision, which was done by the
name Gideon gave to this memorial, Jehovah-shalom
(v. 24)–The
Lord peace. This is,
(1.) The title of the Lord that spoke to him. Compare
The same that is the Lord our righteousness is our peace
(Eph. ii. 14),
our reconciler and so our Saviour. Or,
(2.) The substance of what he said to him: “The Lord spoke
peace, and created that fruit of the lips, bade me be easy when I
was in that agitation.” Or,
(3.) A prayer grounded upon what he had said, so the margin understands
it: The Lord send peace, that is, rest from the present trouble,
for still the public welfare lay nearest his heart.
| Gideon Overturns the Altar of Baal; Gideon Rescued from the Mob. | B. C. 1249. |
|
|
|
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:
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.
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.
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.
29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And
when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash
hath done this thing.
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.
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.
32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let
Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
Here,
I. Orders are given to Gideon to begin his government with the
reformation of his father’s house,
A correspondence being settled between God and Gideon, by the
appearance of the angel to him, it was kept up in another way; the same
night after he had seen God, when he was full of thoughts concerning
what had passed, which probably he had not yet communicated to any,
The Lord said unto him in a dream, Do so and so. Note,
God’s visits, if gratefully received, shall be graciously repeated. Bid
God welcome, and he will come again. Gideon is appointed,
1. To throw down Baal’s altar, which it seems hi father had, either
for his own house or perhaps for the whole town. See the power of God’s
grace, that he could raise up a reformer, and the condescensions of his
grace, that he would raise up a deliverer, out of the family of one
that was a ring-leader in idolatry. But Gideon must not now think it
enough not to worship at that altar, which we charitably hope he had
not done, but he must throw it down; not consecrate the same altar to
God (tit is bishop Hall’s observation), but utterly demolish it. God
first commands down the monuments of superstition, and then enjoins his
own service. He must likewise cut down the grove that was by it,
the plantation of young trees, designed to beautify the place. The
learned bishop Patrick, by the grove, understands the image in the
grove, probably the image of Ashtaroth (for the word for a grove is
Ashereh), which stood upon or close by the altar.
2. To erect an altar to God, to Jehovah his God, which
probably was to be notified by an inscription upon the altar to that
purport–to Jehovah, Gideon’s God, or Israel’s. It would have been an
improper thing for him to build an altar, even to the God of Israel,
especially for burnt-offering and sacrifice, and would have been
construed into a contempt of the altar at Shiloh, if God, who has not
tied up himself to his own laws, had not bidden him to do it. But now
it was his duty and honour to be thus employed. God directs him to the
place where he should build it, on the top of the rock, perhaps
in the same place in which the angel had appeared to him, near to the
altar he had already built: and he must not do it in a hurry, but with
the decency that became a religious action (in an orderly
manner, as it is in the margin), according to the ancient law for
altars raised on particular occasions, that they must be of earth not
of hewn stone. The word here used for the rock on which the altar was
to be built signifies a fortress, or strong-hold, erected, some think,
to secure them from the Midianites; if so, it was no security while the
altar of Baal was so near it, but it was effectually fortified when an
altar to the Lord was built on the top of it, for that is the best
defence upon our glory. On this altar,
(1.) He was to offer sacrifice. Two bullocks he must offer: his
father’s young bullock, and the second bullock of seven years
old, so it should rather be read, not even the second as we
read it. The former, we may suppose, he was to offer for himself, the
latter for the sins of the people whom he was to deliver. It was
requisite he should thus make peace with God, before he made war on
Midian. Till sin be pardoned through the great sacrifice, no good is to
be expected. These bullocks, it is supposed, were intended for
sacrifices on the altar of Baal, but were now converted to a better
use. Thus, when the strong man armed is overcome and
dispossessed, the stronger than he divides the spoil, seizes that for
himself which was prepared for Baal. Let him come whose right
it is, and give it to him.
(2.) Ball’s grove, or image, or whatever it was that was the sanctity
or beauty of his altar, must not only be burnt, but must be used as
fuel for God’s altar, to signify not only that whatever sets up itself
in opposition to God shall be destroyed, but that the justice of God
will be glorified in its destruction. God ordered Gideon to do this,
[1.] To try his zeal for religion, which it was necessary he should
give proofs of before he took the field, to give proof of his valour
there.
[2.] That some steps might hereby to taken towards Israel’s
reformation, which must prepare the way for their deliverance. Sin,
the cause, must be taken away, else how should the trouble, which was
but the effect, come to an end? And it might be hoped that this example
of Gideon’s, who was now shortly to appear so great a man, would be
followed by the rest of the cities and tribes, and the destruction of
this one altar of Baal would be the destruction of many.
II. Gideon was obedient to the heavenly vision,
v. 27.
He that was to command the Israel of God must be subject to the God of
Israel, without disputing, and, as a type of Christ, must first save
his people from their sins, and then save them from their enemies.
1. He had servants of his own, whom he could confide in, who, we may
suppose, like him, had kept their integrity, and had not bowed the
knee to Baal, and therefore were forward to assist him in
destroying the altar of Baal.
2. He did not scruple taking his father’s bullock and offering it to
God without his father’s consent, because God, who expressly commanded
him to do so, had a better title to it than his father had, and it was
the greatest real kindness he could do to his father to prevent his
sin.
3. He expected to incur the displeasure of his father’s household by
it, and the ill-will of his neighbours, yet he did it, remembering how
much it was Levi’s praise that, in the cause of God, he said to his
father and mother, I have not seen him,
Deut. xxxiii. 9.
And, while he was sure of the favour of God, he feared not the anger of
men; he that bade him do it would bear him out. Yet,
4. Though he feared not their resentment when it was done, to prevent
their resistance in the doing of it he prudently chose to do it by
night, that he might not be disturbed in these sacred actions. And some
think it was the same night in which God spoke to him to do it, and
that, as soon as ever he had received the orders, he immediately
applied himself to the execution of them, and finished before
morning.
III. He was brought into peril of his life for doing it,
1. It was soon discovered what was done. Gideon, when he had gone
through with the business, did not desire the concealment of it, nor
could it be hid, for the men of the city rose early in the
morning, as it should seem, to say their matins at Baal’s altar,
and so to begin the day with their god, such a one as he was, a shame
to those who say the true God is their God, and yet, in the morning,
direct no prayer to him, nor look up.
2. It was soon discovered who had done it. Strict enquiry was made.
Gideon was known to be disaffected to the worship of Baal, which
brought him into suspicion, and positive proof immediately came against
him: “Gideon, no doubt, has done this thing.”
3. Gideon being found guilty of the fact, to such a pitch of impiety
had these degenerate Israelites arrived that they take it for law he
must die for the same, and require his own father (who, by patronising
their idolatry, had given them too much cause to expect he would comply
with them herein) to deliver him up: Bring out thy son, that he may
die. Be astonished, O heavens! at this, and tremble, O earth! By
the law of God the worshippers of Baal were to die, but these wicked
men impiously turn the penalty upon the worshippers of the God of
Israel. How prodigiously mad were they upon their idols! Was it not
enough to offer the choicest of their bullocks to Baal, but must the
bravest youth of their city fall as a sacrifice to that dunghill-deity,
when they pretended he was provoked? How soon will idolaters become
persecutors!
IV. He was rescued out of the hands of his persecutors by his own
father,
1. There were those that stood against Gideon, that not only appeared
at the first to make a demand, but insisted on it, and would have him
put to death. Notwithstanding the heavy judgments they were at this
time under for their idolatry, yet they hated to be reformed, and
walked contrary to God even when he was walking contrary to them.
2. Yet then Joash stood for him; he was one of the chief men of
the city. Those that have power may do a great deal for the protection
of an honest man and an honest cause, and when they so use their power
they are ministers of God for good.
(1.) This Joash had patronised Baal’s altar, yet now protects him that
had destroyed it,
[1.] Out of natural affection to his son, and perhaps a particular
esteem for him as a virtuous, valiant, valuable, young man, and never
the worse for not joining with him in the worship of Baal. Many that
have not courage enough to keep their integrity themselves yet have so
much conscience left as makes them love and esteem those that do. If
Joash had a kindness for Baal, yet he had a greater kindness for his
son. Or,
[2.] Out of a care for the public peace. The mob grew riotous, and, he
feared, would grow more so, and therefore, as some think, he bestirred
himself to repress the tumult: “Let it be left to the judges; it is not
for you to pass sentence upon any man;” he that offers it, let him
be put to death: he means not as an idolater, but as a disturber of
the peace, and the mover of sedition. Under this same colour Paul was
rescued at Ephesus from those that were as zealous for Diana as these
were for Baal,
Or,
[3.] Out of a conviction that Gideon had done well. His son, perhaps,
had reasoned with him, or God, who has all hearts in his hands, had
secretly and effectually influenced him to appear thus against the
advocates for Baal, though he had complied with them formerly in the
worship of Baal. Note, It is good to appear for God when we are called
to it, though there be few or none to second us, because God can
incline the hearts of those to stand by us from whom we little expect
assistance. Let us do our duty, and then trust God with our safety.
(2.) Two things Joash urges:–
[1.] That it was absurd for them to plead for Baal. “Will you that are
Israelites, the worshippers of the one only living and true God, plead
for Baal, a false god? Will you be so sottish, so senseless? Those
whose fathers’ god Baal was, and who never knew any other, are more
excusable in pleading for him than you are, that are in covenant with
Jehovah, and have been trained up in the knowledge of him. You that
have smarted so much for worshipping Baal, and have brought all this
mischief and calamity upon yourselves by it, will you yet plead for
Baal?” Note, It is bad to commit sin, but it is great wickedness indeed
to plead for it, especially to plead for Baal, that idol, whatever it
is, which possesses that room in the heart which God should have.
[2.] That it was needless for them to plead for Baal. If he were not a
god, as was pretended, they could have nothing to say for him; if he
were, he was able to plead for himself, as the God of Israel had often
done by fire from heaven, or some other judgment against those who put
contempt upon him. Here is a fair challenge to Baal to do either
good or evil, and the result convinced his worshippers of their
folly in praying to one to help them that could not avenge himself;
after this Gideon remarkably prospered, and thereby it appeared how
unable Baal was to maintain his own cause.
(3.) Gideon’s father hereupon gave him a new name
(v. 32);
he called him Jerubbaal: “Let Baal plead; let him plead against
him if he can; if he have any thing to say for himself against his
destroyer, let him say it.” This name was a standing defiance to Baal:
“Now that Gideon is taking up arms against the Midianites that worship
Baal, let him defend his worshippers if he can.” It likewise gave
honour to Gideon (a sworn enemy to that great usurper, and that had
carried the day against him), that encouragement to his soldiers, that
they fought under one that fought for God against this great competitor
with him for the throne. It is the probable conjecture of the learned
that that Jerombalus whom Sanchoniathon (one of the most ancient of all
the heathen writers) speaks of as a priest of the god Jao (a
corruption of the name Jehovah), and one to whom he was indebted
for a great deal of knowledge, was this Jerubbaal. He is called
Jerubbesheth
Baal, a lord, being fitly turned into Besheth,
shame.
| Gideon’s Fleece. | B. C. 1249. |
|
|
|
33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children
of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in
the valley of Jezreel.
34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a
trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.
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.
36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine
hand, as thou hast said,
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.
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.
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.
40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece
only, and there was dew on all the ground.
Here we have,
I. The descent which the enemies of Israel made upon them,
A vast number of Midianites, Amalekites, and Arabians, got together,
and came over Jordan, none either caring or daring to guard that
important and advantageous pass against them, and they made their
headquarters in the valley of Jezreel, in the heart of Manasseh’s
tribe, not far from Gideon’s city. Some think that the notice they had
of Gideon’s destroying Baal’s altar brought them over, and that they
came to plead for Baal and to make that a pretence for quarrelling with
Israel; but it is more likely that it was now harvest-time, when they
had been wont each year to make such a visit as this
(v. 3),
and that they were expected when Gideon was threshing,
God raised up Gideon to be ready against this terrible blow came. Their
success so many years in these incursions, the little opposition they
had met with and the great booty they had carried off, made them now
both very eager and very confident. But it proved that the measure
of their iniquity was full and the year of recompence had come;
they must now make an end to spoil and must be spoiled,
and they are gathered as sheaves to the floor
for Gideon to thresh.
II. The preparation which Gideon makes to attack them in their camp,
1. God by his Spirit put life into Gideon: The Spirit of the Lord
clothes Gideon (so the word is), clothed him as a robe, to put
honour upon him, clothed him as a coat of mail, to put defence upon
him. Those are well clad that are thus clothed. A spirit of
fortitude from before the Lord clothed Gideon; so the Chaldee. He
was of himself a mighty man of valour; yet personal strength and
courage, though vigorously exerted, would not suffice for this great
action; he must have the armour of God upon him, and this is
what he must depend upon: The Spirit of the Lord clothed him in
an extraordinary manner. Whom God calls to his work he will qualify and
animate for it.
2. Gideon with his trumpet put life into his neighbours, God working
with him; he blew a trumpet, to call in volunteers, and more
came in than perhaps he expected.
(1.) The men of Abiezer, though lately enraged against him for throwing
down the altar of Baal, and though they had condemned him to death as a
criminal, were now convinced of their error, bravely came in to his
assistance, and submitted to him as their general: Abiezer was
gathered after him,
v. 34.
So suddenly can God turn the hearts even of idolaters and persecutors.
(2.) Distant tribes, even Asher and Naphtali, which lay most remote,
though strangers to him, obeyed his summons, and sent him in the best
of their forces,
Though they lay furthest from the danger, yet, considering that if
their neighbours were over-run by the Midianites their own turn would
be next, they were forward to join against a common enemy.
III. The signs which God gratified him with, for the confirming both of
his own faith and that of his followers; and perhaps it was more for
their sakes than for his own that he desired them. Or, perhaps, he
desired by these to be satisfied whether this was the time of his
conquering the Midianites, or whether he was to wait for some other
opportunity. Observe,
1. His request for a sign
(v. 36, 37):
“Let me by this know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, let
a fleece of wool, spread in the open air, be wet with the
dew, and let the ground about it be dry.” The purport of this is,
Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. He found his own faith
weak and wavering, and therefore begged of God by this sign to perfect
what was lacking in it. We may suppose that God, who intended to give
him these signs, for the glorifying of his own power and goodness, put
it into his heart to ask them. Yet, when he repeated his request for a
second sign, the reverse of the former, he did it with a very humble
apology, deprecating God’s displeasure, because it looked so like a
peevish humoursome distrust of God and dissatisfaction with the many
assurances he had already given him
(v. 39):
Let not thy anger be hot against me. Though he took the boldness
to ask another sign, yet he did it with such fear and trembling as
showed that the familiarity God had graciously admitted him to did not
breed any contempt of God’s glory, nor presumption on God’s goodness.
Abraham had given him an example of this, when God gave him leave to be
very free with him
O let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. God’s favour must
be sought with great reverence, a due sense of our distance, and a
religious fear of his wrath.
2. God’s gracious grant of his request. See how tender God is of true
believers though they be weak, and how ready to condescend to their
infirmities, that the bruised reed may not be broken nor the smoking
flax quenched. Gideon would have the fleece wet and the
ground dry; but then, lest any should object, “It is natural for
wool, if ever so little moisture fall, to drink it in and retain it,
and therefore there was nothing extraordinary in this,” though the
quantity wrung out was sufficient to obviate such an objection, yet he
desires that next night the ground might be wet and the fleece dry, and
it is done, so willing is God to give to the heirs of promise strong
consolation
even by two immutable things. He suffers himself, not only to be
prevailed with by their importunities, but even to be prescribed to by
their doubts and dissatisfactions. These signs were,
(1.) Truly miraculous, and therefore abundantly serving to confirm his
commission. It is said of the dew that it is from the Lord, and
tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men
(Micah v. 7);
and yet God here in this matter hearkened to the voice of a man;
as to Joshua, in directing the course of the sun, so to Gideon in
directing that of the dew, by which it appears that it falls not by
chance, but by providence. The latter sign inverted the former, and, to
please Gideon, it was wrought backward and forward, whence Dr. Fuller
observes that heaven’s real miracles will endure turning, being
inside and outside both alike.
(2.) Very significant. He 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 Christ and his gospel they are dry as the heath in the
wilderness, while the nations about are as a watered
garden.
|
[Previous] [Next] |
Matthew Henry |
|
Back to Bibles Net . Com – Online Christian Library Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary – Free Download |
Copyright 2008. Bibles Net. Com. All Rights Reserved.