Judges 6 - Summary

Historical setting

The passage is set during the period of the judges, before the united monarchy of Israel was established. The timeline is uncertain, but traditions place it in the second half of the second millennium before Christ. At this time, Israel occupied the central highlands of Canaan, a land they believed had been given to them by their God. The region was not unified under a single ruler; instead, separate tribes held different areas. Judges describes a cycle in which Israel turns from their God, foreign powers oppress them, they cry out, and God raises up a leader.

The Midianites and Amalekites mentioned here were pastoral peoples who ranged across the desert regions east and south of Canaan. The passage shows them conducting raids into Israelite territory at harvest time, destroying crops and livestock. The reference to "children of the east" indicates other desert tribes joining the raids. Gideon's home, Ophrah, lay in the territory of Manasseh in the central highlands.

Life and customs

Threshing grain meant beating it to separate the chaff from the kernels. Normally this was done in an open threshing floor where the wind could carry away the chaff. Gideon threshes wheat "by the winepress" to hide it from raiders, showing how desperate the situation has become. A winepress was a rock-cut basin, not a suitable or efficient place for threshing, but it offered concealment.

The altar of Baal mentioned in verses 25 and 28 indicates that Gideon's own family participated in the worship of Baal, a Canaanite deity. The "grove" or Asherah pole was a wooden symbol associated with a Canaanite goddess. It was common in this period for Israelites to adopt the religious practices of the land they inhabited. Destroying these objects was therefore a radical act against both the religious practice of the time and the authority of Gideon's own father. A "fleece of wool" was used for its ability to absorb moisture differently from earth, making it a way to test divine intention through natural signs.

What the text says

The passage opens with Israel's wrongdoing and God's response: God delivers them to Midian for seven years (verse 1). The Midianites, Amalekites, and eastern peoples overwhelm Israel; the Israelites flee to mountain caves and strongholds (verses 2-3). Every harvest, the invaders destroy crops and livestock across the land down to Gaza, leaving no sustenance (verses 4-5). The description compares them to grasshoppers for multitude (verse 5). Israel becomes impoverished and cries to the LORD (verse 6).

When Israel cries out (verse 7), the LORD sends a prophet who reminds them that God brought them from Egypt and gave them the land, but they have not obeyed (verses 8-10). An angel of the LORD sits under an oak in Ophrah where Gideon, son of Joash, is threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it (verse 11). The angel calls him "mighty man of valour" and says the LORD is with him (verse 12). Gideon protests that the LORD has forsaken them (verse 13). The LORD tells him to save Israel with his own strength (verse 14). Gideon objects that his family is weak and he is the least in his father's house (verse 15). The LORD assures him he will strike down the Midianites (verse 16).

Gideon asks for a sign (verse 17). He prepares a meal: a kid, unleavened cakes, flesh in a basket, and broth in a pot (verse 19). The angel directs him to place the flesh and cakes on a rock and pour out the broth (verse 20). Fire rises from the rock and consumes the offering (verse 21). Gideon realizes he has seen an angel face to face and fears death (verse 22). The LORD assures him: "Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die" (verse 23).

Gideon builds an altar and names it Jehovahshalom (verse 24). That same night, the LORD tells him to take his father's best bullock and tear down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah pole (verse 25). He is to build an altar to the LORD on the rock, arrange wood, and sacrifice the bullock (verse 26). Fearing his father's household and the city men, Gideon does this at night with ten servants (verse 27). In the morning the people discover what was done and learn it was Gideon (verses 28-29). They demand his death (verse 30). His father Joash defends him, saying if Baal is a god, let him plead for himself (verse 31). From this day Gideon is called Jerubbaal, "Let Baal plead against him" (verse 32).

The Midianites and their allies gather in the valley of Jezreel (verse 33). The Spirit of the LORD comes upon Gideon; he blows a trumpet and Abiezer gathers to him (verse 34). He sends messengers to Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they come (verse 35). Gideon asks God for a sign: he will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor, and if dew is on the fleece only while the ground is dry, then he will know God will save Israel (verses 36-37). It happens as he said (verse 38). He asks God to reverse the sign: let the fleece be dry and the ground wet with dew (verse 39). God does so (verse 40).

Takeaways

• A leader reluctant and afraid receives reassurance through signs but remains hesitant, testing God repeatedly even after being commissioned.
• Destroying his father's Baal altar at night shows a man caught between obedience to God and fear of his own people, yet willing to act despite the cost.
• The doubting hero who asks for signs, not the confident warrior, is the one God chooses to lead Israel's rescue.