14 Yahweh looked at him, and said, “Go in this your might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Haven’t I sent you?”
15 He said to him, “O Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
16 Yahweh said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
KJVKing James Version
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.
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
14 And the LORD turned towards him, and said: 'Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian; have not I sent thee?'
15 And he said unto him: 'Oh, my lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest 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.'
Exodus 3:11(v15)Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
Joshua 1:5-9(v14)No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor…
1 Samuel 9:21(v15)Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my family the least of all the families of the tribe of…
Hebrews 11:34(v14)quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, grew mighty in war, and caused foreign armies to…
1 Samuel 12:11(v14)Yahweh sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in…
Show all 26 cross-references
Exodus 4:10(v15)Moses said to Yahweh, “O Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech,…
Joshua 1:5(v16)No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor…
Judges 4:6(v14)She sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh Naphtali, and said to him, “Hasn’t Yahweh, the God of Israel, commanded, ‘Go and…
Jeremiah 1:6(v15)Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Behold, I don’t know how to speak; for I am a child.”
Acts 11:21(v16)The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
Exodus 3:12(v16)He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt,…
Ephesians 3:8(v15)To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
1 Chronicles 14:9-10(v14)Now the Philistines had come and made a raid in the valley of Rephaim. David inquired of God, saying, “Shall I go up against the…
Mark 16:20(v16)They went out, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.
Hebrews 11:32(v14)What more shall I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,
1 Samuel 18:23(v15)Saul’s servants spoke those words in the ears of David. David said, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be the king’s son-in-law, since I…
Jeremiah 50:45(v15)Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the land of the…
Micah 5:2(v15)But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose…
Luke 1:34(v15)Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
1 Corinthians 15:9(v15)For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.
Isaiah 41:10(v16)Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will…
Genesis 32:10(v15)I am not worthy of the least of all the loving kindnesses, and of all the truth, which you have shown to your servant; for with just my…
Exodus 18:21-25(v15)Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men which fear God: men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be…
Isaiah 41:14-16(v16)Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,” says Yahweh. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I…
Matthew 28:20(v16)teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Judges 6:12(v16)Yahweh’s angel appeared to him, and said to him, “Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv14–15That is, Christ appearing in visible form.
That is, Christ appearing in visible form.
Which I have given thee.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv14–16Jdg 6:14 And the LORD looked upon him, and…
Jdg 6:14 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?
Ver. 14. And the Lord looked upon him.] As well liking his speech, for the main, and the publicness of his spirit, sensible of the common calamity.
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Go in this thy might.] As thou now lustily belabourest the wheat thou art threshing out, so arise and thresh the mountains, the Midianites, another while. {Isa 41:15 Mic 4:13} Or, in this thy might, which I now give thee.
And thou shalt save Israel.] God could have saved them without Gideon, or any other instrument. But in most of his works he acteth, as I may so speak, in concert with the creature. It is seldom that he hath an immediate attingence with effects: he useth, and delighteth to use the service of men.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv14–16The Lord looked upon him, with a settled and…
The Lord looked upon him, with a settled and pleasant countenance, as a testimony of his favour to him, and of his readiness to help him.
Go in this thy might; or, go now, or at this time, in thy might; the strength which thou hast already received, and dost now further receive from me, is sufficient with my help.
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Have not I sent thee? I do hereby give thee command and commission for this work, and therefore am obliged in honour to assist thee in it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv14–16And he said unto him, oh my Lord,.... Whether…
And he said unto him, oh my Lord,.... Whether he had yet suspected who he was, or took him still for some eminent person, is not certain; it is very probable he began to think he was some extraordinary person sent of God, and speaking in his name, and therefore expostulates with him about the work he put him upon:
wherewith shall I save Israel? in what way is it possible for me to do it, who had neither men nor money sufficient for such an undertaking?
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behold, my family is poor in Manasseh; of which tribe he was, and the "thousand" in it, as the word (l) here used signifies, was the meanest of all the thousands in that tribe; some render it, "my father" (m):
and I am the least in my father's house; perhaps the youngest son; though some take him, and others his father, to be the Chiliarch, or head of the thousand; but by these words of his it does not seem as if either was true; not but that he was of some wealth and substance, power and authority, by having such a number of servants as to take "ten" of them with him, Jdg 6:27 however, this he says in great humility and modesty, having no high thoughts of himself and family, nor any dependence on his own strength, and on an arm of flesh.
(l) "chilias, mea", Montanus, Drusius; "mea millenaria", Tigurine version; "mille meum", Piscator. (m) "Pater meus", Pagninus; so some in Drusius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv14–16Looked - With a settled and pleasant countenance, as…
Looked - With a settled and pleasant countenance, as a testimony of his favour, and readiness to help him. Go - Or, go now, in thy might: in the strength which thou hast already received, and dost now farther receive from me. Have not I sent thee - I do hereby give thee command and commission for this work. God's fitting men for his work, is a sure evidence of his calling them to it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv14–16Verse 14. Go in this thy might] What does…
Verse 14. Go in this thy might] What does the angel mean? He had just stated that Jehovah was with him; and he now says, Go in THIS thy might, i.e., in the might of Jehovah, who is with thee.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv14–16Jdg 6:14. The Lord looked upon him — With…
Jdg 6:14. The Lord looked upon him — With a settled, pleasant, and animating countenance, as a testimony of his favour and readiness to help him. And said, Go in this thy might — In the power of this commission which I have now given thee; and in the strength which thou hast already received, and dost now further receive from me. Have not I sent thee? — Have not I hereby given thee a commission, a command to do this work? God’s fitting men for this work is a sure evidence of his calling them to it.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv14–15The Lord looked upon him - That gracious look…
The Lord looked upon him - That gracious look conferred immediate strength (compare Eph 6:10; 2Co 12:9; Joh 20:22; Act 3:6) The change of phrase from “the angel of the Lord” to “the Lord” is remarkable. When messages are delivered by the Angel of the Lord, the form of the message is as if God Himself were speaking (compare Jdg 2:1).
The sending implied a valid commission and sufficient powers. Compare Exo 3:10; Isa 44:26; Eze 2:3; Zec 2:11; Mal 3:1; Luk 10:3; Joh 20:21; and the term APOSTLE, as applied to our Lord Heb 3:1 and to the Twelve.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv14–15Lord, Jehova. (Haydock) --- The Chaldean and Septuagint have,…
Lord, Jehova. (Haydock) --- The Chaldean and Septuagint have, "the angel of the Lord," as the best interpreters understand it. (Calmet) --- Upon him, with benevolence and an air of authority, that he might know that he was speaking to some one more than man. (Haydock) --- Strength, with which I have endued thee. (Menochius) --- Though Gedeon was naturally brave, he was no more disposed to attack the Madianites than the rest of his dispirited countrymen; and, even after he was strengthened from above, he was so conscious of his own inability to effect so great a deliverance, that he stood in need of the most convincing miracles, to make him act as the judge of Israel. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn v14the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in…
the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might . . . have not I sent thee?--The command and the promise made Gideon aware of the real character of his visitor; and yet like Moses, from a sense of humility, or a shrinking at the magnitude of the undertaking, he excused himself from entering on the enterprise. And even though assured that, with the divine aid, he would overcome the Midianites as easily as if they were but one man, he still hesitates and wishes to be better assured that the mission was really from God. He resembles Moses also in the desire for a sign; and in both cases it was the rarity of revelations in such periods of general corruption that made them so desirous of having the fullest conviction of being addressed by a heavenly messenger. The request was reasonable, and it was graciously granted [Jdg 6:18].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv14–1614. The Lord looked upon him — This clearly…
14. The Lord looked upon him — This clearly shows that this Angel was the manifestation of Jehovah himself and this looking upon him was an impressive gaze which made him conscious of the Divine Presence, and imparted to him a divine power.
In this thy might — The might and strength which I herewith impart.
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Have not I sent thee — Language of divine assurance. Compare marginal references.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv14–1614. the Lord turned towards him] The narrator lets…
14. the Lord turned towards him] The narrator lets us into the secret, though Gideon has not yet recognized who the Traveller is; LXX here and in Jdg_6:16 (cf. LXX Exo_4:24) reads ‘the angel of the Lord,’ an obvious way of introducing consistency.
Go in this thy might] See on Jdg_6:12. Gideon’s natural qualities were capable of being set to higher tasks. ‘God takes men as they are and makes them what they are not.’
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have not I sent thee?] do not I send thee? The language of the speaker both here and in Jdg_6:16 seems to us to betray his real character; but Gideon does not see through the disguise till Jdg_6:22.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv14–16(14) The Lord looked upon him.—Here, as in Gen_18:13;…
(14) The Lord looked upon him.—Here, as in Gen_18:13; Gen_18:17; Gen_18:20, the angel speaks as the Lord, and it has been hence inferred that this angel was no created angel, but “the angel of the covenant,” “the captain of the Lord’s host.” The only other possible conclusion is to say that the angel only speaks as the mouth of God (comp. Rev_21:15; Rev_22:6-7). No doubt the expression is here literal, but it involves the sense of favour and acceptance (Psa_25:6; Vulg., respexit). The look inspired him with fresh force. The reason why the LXX. retain the phrase “the angel of the Lord” throughout is because they had the true Alexandrian dislike for all anthropomorphic expressions—i.e., for all expressions which seemed to them to lower the invisible and unapproachable majesty of the Almighty.
Have not I sent thee?—See 1Sa_12:11 : “The Lord sent Jerubbaal.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv14–15The assuring thought of God"s servant.
The assuring thought of God"s servant.
"Have not I sent thee?" This is one of those words by which the saint has often been "strengthened with all might in the inner man." It lifted the heroes of Israel, the reformers, the men of the commonwealth of England, above the common weaknesses of their age and race. "A man, a woman, with a mission why not? Some careers are wholly explained by it; some simple achievement critical in history; and many unostentatious, secret services rendered in the Master" s name, under the influence of overpowering impulses, more or less transient or permanent.
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I THE LIFE IS THEREBY CONSECRATED AND DIRECTED. A man is not at liberty to follow his own private aims when the heavenly voice speaks thus within him. A higher plane of life and action is thereby created. An unseen influence isolates and consecrates him. This usually imparts greater definiteness to his conduct. He does not "beat the air.
II THE MOST DIFFICULT DUTIES ARE IN THIS FAITH RENDERED PRACTICABLE. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" "All things are possible to them that believe." The fatalists of history Caesars and Napoleons have left their mark and proved the strength of a ruling idea. But this conviction is reasonable and of infinite power. The greatest changes the world has seen have been wrought under its influence apostolic mission, reformation, missionary enterprise at home andabroad, Sunday school origin and extension. And so in the things of the individual life and private sphere.
III THROUGH ITS INFLUENCE A PRESENT CONSOLATION AND AN ETERNAL REWARD ARE SECURED. Has God sent us? Then he will take note of our behaviour, and sustain our flagging strength. Has God sent us? our service cannot be for earthly gain. He is our Master; and as he sends no man "a warfare at his own charges," so the saint is sustained by the hope of the "crown of glory that fadeth not away. M.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible1887 · Public DomainOn v15"The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of…
GIDEON, ICONOCLAST AND REFORMER
Jdg_6:15-32
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"The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour":-so has the prophetic salutation come to the young man at the threshing floor of Ophrah. It is a personal greeting and call "with thee"-just what a man needs in the circumstances of Gideon. There is a nation to be saved, and a human leader must act for Jehovah. Is Gideon fit for so great a task? A wise humility, a natural fear have held him under the yoke of daily toil until this hour. Now the needed signs are given; his heart leaps up in the pulses of a longing which God approves and blesses. The criticism of kinsfolk, the suspicious carping of neighbours, the easily affronted pride of greater families no longer crush patriotic desire and overbear yearning faith. The Lord is with thee, Gideon, youngest son of Joash, the toiler in obscure fields. Go in this thy might; be strong in Jehovah.
But the assurance must widen if it is to satisfy. With me-that is a great thing for Gideon; that gives him free air to breathe and strength to use the sword. But can it be true? Can God be with one only in the land? He seems to have forsaken Israel and sold His people to the oppressor. Unless He returns to all in forgiveness and grace nothing can be done; a renewal of the nation is the first thing, and this Gideon desires. Comfort for himself, freedom from Midianite vexation for himself and his fathers house would be no satisfaction if, all around, he saw Israel still crushed under heathen hordes. To have a hand in delivering his people from danger and sorrow is Gideons craving. The assurance given to himself personally is welcome because in it there is a sound as of the beginning of Israels redemption. Yet "if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us?" God cannot be with the tribes, for they are harassed and spoiled by enemies, they lie prone before the altars of Baal.
There is here an example of largeness in heart and mind which we ought not to miss, especially because it sets before us a principle often unrecognised. It is clear enough that Gideon could not enjoy freedom unless his country was free, for no man can be safe in an enslaved land; but many fail to see that spiritual redemption, in like manner, cannot be enjoyed by one unless others are moving towards the light. Truly salvation is personal at first and personal at last; but it is never an individual affair only. Each for himself must hear and answer the divine call to repentance; each as a moral unit must enter the strait gate, press along the marrow way of life, agonise and overcome. But the redemption of one soul is part of a vast redeeming purpose, and the fibres of each life are interwoven with those of other lives far and wide. Spiritual brotherhood is a fact but faintly typified by the brotherhood of the Hebrews, and the struggling soul today, like Gideons long ago, must know God as the Saviour of all men before a personal hope can be enjoyed worth the having. As Gideon showed himself to have the Lord with him by a question charged not with individual anxiety but with keen interest in the nation, so a man now is seen to have the Spirit of God as he exhibits a passion for the regeneration of the world. Salvation is enlargement of soul, devotion to God and to man for the sake of God. If anyone thinks he is saved while he bears no burdens for others, makes no steady effort to liberate souls from the tyranny of the false and the vile, he is in fatal error. The salvation of Christ plants always in men and women His mind, His law of life, Who is the Brother and Friend of all.
And the church of Christ must be filled with His Spirit, animated by His law of life, or be unworthy the name. It exists to unite men in the quest and realisation of highest thought and purest activity. The church truly exists for all men, not simply for those who appear to compose it. Salvation and peace are with the church as with the individual believer, but only as her heart is generous, her spirit simple and unselfish. Doubtful and distressed as Gideon was the church of Christ should never be, for to her has been whispered the secret that the Abiezrite had not read, how the Lord is in the oppression and pain of the people, in the sorrow and the cloud. Nor is a church to suppose that salvation can be hers while she thinks of any outside with the least touch of Pharisaism, denying their share in Christ. Better no visible church than one claiming exclusive possession of truth and grace; better no church at all than one using the name of Christ for privilege and excommunication, restricting the fellowship of life to its own enclosure.
But with utmost generosity and humaneness goes the clear perception that Gods service is the sternest of campaigns, beginning with resolute protest and decisive deed, and Gideon must rouse himself to strike for Israels liberty first against the idol worship of his own village. There stands the altar of Baal, the symbol of Israels infidelity; there beside it the abominable Asherah, the sign of Israels degradation. Already he has thought of demolishing these, but has never summoned courage, never seen that the result would justify him. For such a deed there is a time, and before the time comes the bravest man can only reap discomfiture. Now, with the warrant in his soul, the duty on his conscience, Gideon can make assault on a hateful superstition.
The idolatrous altar and false worship of ones own clan, of ones own family-these need courage to overturn and, more than courage, a ripeness of time and a Divine call. A man must be sure of himself and his motives, for one thing, before he takes upon him to be the corrector of errors that have seemed truth to his fathers and are maintained by his friends. Suppose people are actually worshipping a false god, a world power which has long held rule among them. If one would act the part of iconoclast the question is, By what right? Is he himself clear of illusion and idolatry? Has he a better system to put in place of the old? He may be acting in mere bravado and self-display, flourishing opinions which have less sincerity than those which he assails. There were men in Israel who had no commission and could have claimed no right to throw down Baals altar, and taking upon them such a deed would have had short shrift at the hands of the people of Ophrah. And so there are plenty among us who if they set up to be judges of their fellow men and of beliefs which they call false, even when these are false, deserve simply to be put down with a strong hand. There are voices, professing to be those of zealous reformers, whose every word and tone are insults. The men need to go and learn the first lessons of truth, modesty, and earnestness. And this principle applies all round-to many who assail modern errors as well as to many who assail established beliefs. On the one hand, are men anxious to uphold the true faith? It is well. But anxiety and the best of motives do not qualify them to attack science, to denounce all rationalism as godless. We want defenders of the faith who have a Divine calling to the task in the way of long study and a heavenly fairness of mind, so that they shall not offend and hurt religion more by their ignorant vehemence than they help it by their zeal. On the other hand, by what authority do they speak who sneer at the ignorance of faith and would fain demolish the altars of the world? It is no slight equipment that is needed. Fluent sarcasm, confident worldliness, even a large acquaintance with the dogmas of science will not suffice. A man needs to prove himself a wise and humane thinker, he needs to know by experience and deep sympathy those perpetual wants of our race which Christ knew and met to the uttermost. Some facile admiration of Jesus of Nazareth does not give the right to free criticism of His life and words, or of the faith based upon them. And if the plea is a rare respect for truth, an unusual fidelity to fact, humanity will still ask of its would be liberator on what fields he has won his rank or what yoke he has borne. Successful men especially will find it difficult to convince the world that they have a right to strike at the throne of Him who stood alone before the Roman Pilate and died on the Cross.
Gideon was not unfit to render high service. He was a young man tried in humble duty and disciplined in common tasks, shrewd but not arrogant, a person of clear mind and a patriot. The people of the farm and a good many in Ophrah had learned to trust him and were prepared to follow when he struck out a new path. He had Gods call and also his own past to help him. Hence when Gideon began his undertaking, although to attempt it in broad day would have been rash and he must act under cover of darkness, he soon found ten men to give their aid. No doubt he could in a manner command them, for they were his servants. Still a business of the kind he proposed was likely to rouse their superstitious fears, and he had to conquer these. It was also sure to involve the men in some risk, and he must have been able to give them confidence in the issue. This he did, however, and they went forth. Very quietly the altar of Baal was demolished and the great wooden mast, hateful symbol of Astarte, was cut down and split in pieces. Such was the first act in the revolution.
We observe, however, that Gideon does not leave Ophrah without an altar and a sacrifice. Destroy one system without laying the foundation of another that shall more than equal it in essential truth and practical power, and what sort of deliverance have you effected? Men will rightly execrate you. It is no reformation that leaves the heart colder, the life barer and darker than before; and those who move in the night against superstition must be able to speak in the day of a Living God who will vindicate His servants. It has been said over and over again and must yet be repeated, to overturn merely is no service. They that break down need some vision at least of a building up, and it is the new edifice that is the chief thing. The world of thought today is infested with critics and destroyers and may well be tired of them. It is too much in need of constructors to have any thanks to spare for new Voltaires and Humes. Let us admit that demolition is the necessity of some hours. We look back on the ruins of Bastilles and temples that served the uses of tyranny, and even in the domain of faith there have been fortresses to throw down and ramparts that made evil separations among men. But destruction is not progress; and if the end of modern thought is to be agnosticism, the denial of all faith and all ideals, then we are simply on the way to something not a whit better than primeval ignorance.
The morning sun showed the gap upon the hill where the symbols had stood of Baal and Astarte, and soon like an angry swarm of bees the people were buzzing round the scattered stones of the old altar and the rough new pile with its smoking sacrifice. Where was he who ventured to rebuke the city? Very indignant, very pious are these false Israelites. They turn on Joash with the fierce demand, "Bring out thy son that he may die." But the father too has come to a decision. We get a hint of the same nature as Gideons, slow, but firm when once roused; and if anything would rouse a man it would be this brutal passion, this sudden outbreak of cruelty nursed by heathen custom, his own conscience meanwhile testifying that Gideon was right. Tush! says Joash, will you plead for Baal? Will you save him? Is it necessary for you to defend one whom you have worshipped as Lord of heaven? Let him ply his lightnings if he has any. I am tired of this Baal who has no principles and is good only for feast days. He that pleads for Baal, let him be the man to die. Unexpected apology, serious too and unanswerable. Conscience that seemed dead is suddenly awakened and carries all before it. There is a quick conversion of the whole town because one man has acted decisively and another speaks strong words which cannot be gainsaid. To be sure Joash uses a threat-hints something of taking a very short method with those who still protest for Baal; and that helps conversion. But it is force against force, and men cannot object who have themselves talked of killing. By a rapid popular impulse Gideon is justified, and with the new name Jerubbaal he is acknowledged as a leader in Manasseh.
False religion is not always so easily exposed and upset. Truth may be so mixed with the error of a system that the moral sense is confused and faith clings to the follies and lies conjoined with the truth. And when we look at Judaism in contact with Christianity, at Romanism in contact with the Protestant spirit, we see how difficult it may be to liberate faith. The Apostle Paul, wielding the weapon of a singular and keen eloquence, cannot overcome the Pharisaism of his countrymen. At Antioch, at Iconium he does his utmost with scant success. The Protestant reformation did not so swiftly and thoroughly establish itself in every European country as in Scotland. Where there is no pressure of outward circumstances forcing new religious ideas upon men there must be all the more a spirit of independent thought if any salutary change is to be made in creed and worship. Either there must be men of Berea who search the Scriptures daily, men of Zurich and Berne with the energy of free citizens, or reformation must wait on some political emergency. And in effect conscience rarely has free play, since men are seldom manly, but more or less like sheep. Hence the value, as things go in this world, of leaders like Joash, princes like Luthers Elector, who give the necessary push to the undecided and check forward opponents by a significant warning. It is not the ideal way of reforming the world, but it has often answered well enough within limits. There are also cases in which the threats of the enemy have done good service, as when the appearance of the Spanish Armada on the English coast did more to confirm the Protestantism of the country than many years of peaceful argument. In truth, were there not occasionally something like master strokes in Providence the progress of humanity would be almost imperceptible. Men and nations are urged on although they have no great desire to advance; they are committed to a voyage and cannot return; they are caught in currents and must go where the currents bear them. Certainly in such cases there is not the ardour, and men cannot reap the reward belonging to the thinkers and brave servants of the truth. Practically, whether Protestants or Romanists, they are spiritually inert. Still it is well for them, well for the world, that a strong hand should urge them forward, since otherwise they would not move at all. Of many in all churches it must be said they are not victors in a fight of faith, they do not work out their own salvation. Yet they are guided, warned, persuaded into a certain habit of piety and understanding of truth, and their children have a new platform, somewhat higher than their fathers, on which to begin life.
At Ophrah of the Abiezrites, though we cannot say much for the nature of the faith in God which has replaced idolatry, still the way is prepared for further and decisive action. Men do not cease from worshipping Baal and become true servants of the Most Holy in a single day; that requires time. There, are better possibilities, but Gideon cannot teach the way of Jehovah, nor is he in the mood for religious inquiry. The conversion of Abiezer is quite of the same sort as in early Christian times was effected when a king went over to the new faith and ordered his subjects to be baptised. Not even Gideon knows the value of the faith to which the people have returned, in the strength of which they are to fight. They will be bold now, for even a little trust in God goes a long way in sustaining courage. They will face the enemy now to whom they have long submitted. But of the purity and righteousness into which the faith of Jehovah should lead them they have no vision.
Now with this in view many will think it strange to hear of the conversion of Abiezer. It is a great error however to despise the day of small things. God gives it and we ought to understand its use. Conversion cannot possibly mean the same in every period of the worlds history; it cannot even mean the same in any two cases. To recognise this would be to clear the ground of much that hinders the teaching and the success of the gospel. Where there has been long familiarity with the New Testament, the facts of Christianity and the high spiritual ideas it presents, conversion, properly speaking, does not take place till the message of Christ to the soul stirs it to its depths, moves alike the reason and the will, and creates fervent discipleship. But the history of Israel and of humanity moves forward continuously in successive discoveries or revelations of the highest, culminating in the Christian salvation. To view Gideon as a religious reformer of the same kind as Isaiah is quite a mistake. He had scarcely an idea in common with the great prophet of a later day. But the liberty he desired for his people and the association of liberty with the worship of Jehovah made his revolution a step in the march of Israels redemption. Those who joined him with any clear purpose and sympathy were therefore converted men in a true if very limited sense. There must be first the blade and then the ear before there can be the full corn. We reckon Gideon a hero of faith, and his hope was truly in the same God Whom we worship-the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet his faith could not be on a level with ours, his knowledge being far less. The angel who speaks to him, the altar he builds, the Spirit of the Lord that comes upon him, his daring iconoclasm, the new purpose and power of the man are in a range quite above material life-and that is enough.
There are some circles in which honesty and truth speaking are evidence of a work of grace. To become honest and to speak truth in the fear of God is to be converted, in a sense, where things are at that pass. There are people who are so cold that among them enthusiasm for anything good may be called superhuman. Nobody has it. If it appears it must come from above. But these steps of progress, though we may describe them as supernatural, are elementary. Men have to be converted again and again, ever making one gain a step to another. The great advance comes when the soul believes enthusiastically in Christ, pledging itself to Him in full sight of the cross. This and nothing less is the conversion we need. To love freedom, righteousness, charity only prepares for the supreme love of God in Christ, in which life springs to its highest power and joy.
Now are we to suppose that Gideon alone of all the men of Israel had the needful spirit and faith to lead the revolution? Was there no one but the son of Joash? We do not find him fully equipped, nor as the years go by does he prove altogether worthy to be chief of the tribes of God. Were there not in many Hebrew towns souls perhaps more ardent, more spiritual than his, needing only the prophetic call, the touch of the Unseen Hand to make them aware of power and opportunity? The leadership of such a one as Moses is complete and unquestionable. He is the man of the age; knowledge, circumstances, genius fit him for the place he has to occupy. We cannot imagine a second Moses in the same period. But in Israel as well as among other peoples it is often a very imperfect hero who is found and followed. The work is done, but not so well done as we might think possible. Revolutions which begin full of promise lose their spirit because the leader reveals his weakness or even folly. We feel sure that there are many who have the power to lead in thought where the world has not dreamt of climbing, to make a clear road where as yet there is no path; and yet to them comes no messenger, the daily task goes on and it is not supposed that a leader, a prophet is passed by. Are there no better men that Ehud, Gideon, Jephthah must stand in the front?
One answer certainly is that the nation at the stage it has reached cannot as a whole esteem a better man, cannot understand finer ideas. A hundred men of more spiritual faith were possibly brooding over Israels state, ready to act as fearlessly as Gideon and to a higher issue. But it could only have been after a cleansing of the nations life, a suppression of Baal worship much more rigorous than could at that time be effected. And in every national crisis the thought of which the people generally are capable determines who must lead and what kind of work shall be done. The reformer before his time either remains unknown or ends in eclipse; either he gains no power or it passes rapidly from him because it has no support in popular intelligence or faith.
It may seem well nigh impossible in our day for any man to fail of the work he can do; if he has the will we think he can make the way. The inward call is the necessity, and when that is heard and the man shapes a task for himself the day to begin will come. Is that certain? Perhaps there are many now who find circumstance a web from which they cannot break away without arrogance and unfaithfulness. They could speak, they could do if God called them; but does He call them? On every side ring the fluent praises of the idols men love to worship. One must indeed be deft in speech and many other arts who would hope to turn the crowd from its folly, for it will only listen to what seizes the ear, and the obscure thinker has not the secret of pleasing. While those who see no visions lead their thousands to a trivial victory, many an uncalled Gideon toils on in the threshing floor. The duties of a low and narrow lot may hold a man; the babble all around of popular voices may be so loud that nothing can make way against them. A certain slowness of the humble and patient spirit may keep one silent who with little encouragement could speak words of quickening truth. But the day of utterance never comes.
To these waiting in the market place it is comparatively a small thing that the world will not hire them. But does the church not want them? Where God is named and professedly honoured, can it be that the smooth message is preferred because it is smooth? Can it be that in the church men shrink from instead of seeking the highest, most real and vital word that can be said to them? This is what oppresses, for it seems to imply that God has no use in His vineyard for a man when He lets him wait long unregarded; it seems to mean that there is no end for the wistful hope and the words that burn unspoken in the breast. The unrecognised thinker has indeed to trust God largely. He has often to be content with the assurance that what he would say but cannot as yet shall be said in good time, that what he would do but may not shall be done by a stronger hand. And further, he may cherish a faith for himself. No life can remain forever unfruitful, or fruitful only in its lower capacities. Purposes broken off here shall find fulfilment. Where the highways of being reach beyond the visible horizon leaders will be needed for the yet advancing host, and the time of every soul shall come to do the utmost that is in it. The day of perfect service for many of Gods chosen ones will begin where beyond these shadows there is light and space. Were it not so, some of the best lives would disappear in the darkest cloud.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv14, 16Yahweh looked at him
Yahweh looked at him
"Yahweh looked at Gideon"
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from the hand
Here "hand" represents power or control. (See: Metonymy)
of Midian
Here "Midian" represents the people of Midian. AT: "of the Midianites" (See: Metonymy)
Have I not sent you?
Yahweh uses a question to ensure Gideon that he is sending him. Here "sent" means Yahweh has appointed Gideon with a specific task. AT: "I, Yahweh, am sending you!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Please, Lord
Gideon now calls the person "Lord" instead of "my master" as in Judges 6:13. Here it seems Gideon either knows or suspects that he is speaking with Yahweh.
how can I deliver Israel?
Gideon uses a question to emphasize that he does not think he can rescue the Israelites. AT: "I cannot possibly rescue the Israelites!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
See, my family
"Look at my family and me and you will see that it"
in Manasseh
"in the tribe of Manasseh"
in my father's house
Here "house" represents a family. AT: "in my father's family" or "in my family" (See: Metonymy)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv14–15 That is, Christ appearing in visible form.
That is, Christ appearing in visible form.
Which I have given thee.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv14–16 Jdg 6:14 And the LORD looked upon him, and…
Jdg 6:14 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?
Ver. 14. And the Lord looked upon him.] As well liking his speech, for the main, and the publicness of his spirit, sensible of the common calamity.
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Go in this thy might.] As thou now lustily belabourest the wheat thou art threshing out, so arise and thresh the mountains, the Midianites, another while. {Isa 41:15 Mic 4:13} Or, in this thy might, which I now give thee.
And thou shalt save Israel.] God could have saved them without Gideon, or any other instrument. But in most of his works he acteth, as I may so speak, in concert with the creature. It is seldom that he hath an immediate attingence with effects: he useth, and delighteth to use the service of men.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv14–16 The Lord looked upon him, with a settled and…
The Lord looked upon him, with a settled and pleasant countenance, as a testimony of his favour to him, and of his readiness to help him.
Go in this thy might; or, go now, or at this time, in thy might; the strength which thou hast already received, and dost now further receive from me, is sufficient with my help.
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Have not I sent thee? I do hereby give thee command and commission for this work, and therefore am obliged in honour to assist thee in it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv14–16 And he said unto him, oh my Lord,.... Whether…
And he said unto him, oh my Lord,.... Whether he had yet suspected who he was, or took him still for some eminent person, is not certain; it is very probable he began to think he was some extraordinary person sent of God, and speaking in his name, and therefore expostulates with him about the work he put him upon:
wherewith shall I save Israel? in what way is it possible for me to do it, who had neither men nor money sufficient for such an undertaking?
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behold, my family is poor in Manasseh; of which tribe he was, and the "thousand" in it, as the word (l) here used signifies, was the meanest of all the thousands in that tribe; some render it, "my father" (m):
and I am the least in my father's house; perhaps the youngest son; though some take him, and others his father, to be the Chiliarch, or head of the thousand; but by these words of his it does not seem as if either was true; not but that he was of some wealth and substance, power and authority, by having such a number of servants as to take "ten" of them with him, Jdg 6:27 however, this he says in great humility and modesty, having no high thoughts of himself and family, nor any dependence on his own strength, and on an arm of flesh.
(l) "chilias, mea", Montanus, Drusius; "mea millenaria", Tigurine version; "mille meum", Piscator. (m) "Pater meus", Pagninus; so some in Drusius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv14–16 Looked - With a settled and pleasant countenance, as…
Looked - With a settled and pleasant countenance, as a testimony of his favour, and readiness to help him. Go - Or, go now, in thy might: in the strength which thou hast already received, and dost now farther receive from me. Have not I sent thee - I do hereby give thee command and commission for this work. God's fitting men for his work, is a sure evidence of his calling them to it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv14–16 Verse 14. Go in this thy might] What does…
Verse 14. Go in this thy might] What does the angel mean? He had just stated that Jehovah was with him; and he now says, Go in THIS thy might, i.e., in the might of Jehovah, who is with thee.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv14–16 Jdg 6:14. The Lord looked upon him — With…
Jdg 6:14. The Lord looked upon him — With a settled, pleasant, and animating countenance, as a testimony of his favour and readiness to help him. And said, Go in this thy might — In the power of this commission which I have now given thee; and in the strength which thou hast already received, and dost now further receive from me. Have not I sent thee? — Have not I hereby given thee a commission, a command to do this work? God’s fitting men for this work is a sure evidence of his calling them to it.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv14–15 The Lord looked upon him - That gracious look…
The Lord looked upon him - That gracious look conferred immediate strength (compare Eph 6:10; 2Co 12:9; Joh 20:22; Act 3:6) The change of phrase from “the angel of the Lord” to “the Lord” is remarkable. When messages are delivered by the Angel of the Lord, the form of the message is as if God Himself were speaking (compare Jdg 2:1).
The sending implied a valid commission and sufficient powers. Compare Exo 3:10; Isa 44:26; Eze 2:3; Zec 2:11; Mal 3:1; Luk 10:3; Joh 20:21; and the term APOSTLE, as applied to our Lord Heb 3:1 and to the Twelve.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv14–15 Lord, Jehova. (Haydock) --- The Chaldean and Septuagint have,…
Lord, Jehova. (Haydock) --- The Chaldean and Septuagint have, "the angel of the Lord," as the best interpreters understand it. (Calmet) --- Upon him, with benevolence and an air of authority, that he might know that he was speaking to some one more than man. (Haydock) --- Strength, with which I have endued thee. (Menochius) --- Though Gedeon was naturally brave, he was no more disposed to attack the Madianites than the rest of his dispirited countrymen; and, even after he was strengthened from above, he was so conscious of his own inability to effect so great a deliverance, that he stood in need of the most convincing miracles, to make him act as the judge of Israel. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v14 the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in…
the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might . . . have not I sent thee?--The command and the promise made Gideon aware of the real character of his visitor; and yet like Moses, from a sense of humility, or a shrinking at the magnitude of the undertaking, he excused himself from entering on the enterprise. And even though assured that, with the divine aid, he would overcome the Midianites as easily as if they were but one man, he still hesitates and wishes to be better assured that the mission was really from God. He resembles Moses also in the desire for a sign; and in both cases it was the rarity of revelations in such periods of general corruption that made them so desirous of having the fullest conviction of being addressed by a heavenly messenger. The request was reasonable, and it was graciously granted [Jdg 6:18].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv14–16 14. The Lord looked upon him — This clearly…
14. The Lord looked upon him — This clearly shows that this Angel was the manifestation of Jehovah himself and this looking upon him was an impressive gaze which made him conscious of the Divine Presence, and imparted to him a divine power.
In this thy might — The might and strength which I herewith impart.
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Have not I sent thee — Language of divine assurance. Compare marginal references.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–16 14. the Lord turned towards him] The narrator lets…
14. the Lord turned towards him] The narrator lets us into the secret, though Gideon has not yet recognized who the Traveller is; LXX here and in Jdg_6:16 (cf. LXX Exo_4:24) reads ‘the angel of the Lord,’ an obvious way of introducing consistency.
Go in this thy might] See on Jdg_6:12. Gideon’s natural qualities were capable of being set to higher tasks. ‘God takes men as they are and makes them what they are not.’
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have not I sent thee?] do not I send thee? The language of the speaker both here and in Jdg_6:16 seems to us to betray his real character; but Gideon does not see through the disguise till Jdg_6:22.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–16 (14) The Lord looked upon him.—Here, as in Gen_18:13;…
(14) The Lord looked upon him.—Here, as in Gen_18:13; Gen_18:17; Gen_18:20, the angel speaks as the Lord, and it has been hence inferred that this angel was no created angel, but “the angel of the covenant,” “the captain of the Lord’s host.” The only other possible conclusion is to say that the angel only speaks as the mouth of God (comp. Rev_21:15; Rev_22:6-7). No doubt the expression is here literal, but it involves the sense of favour and acceptance (Psa_25:6; Vulg., respexit). The look inspired him with fresh force. The reason why the LXX. retain the phrase “the angel of the Lord” throughout is because they had the true Alexandrian dislike for all anthropomorphic expressions—i.e., for all expressions which seemed to them to lower the invisible and unapproachable majesty of the Almighty.
Have not I sent thee?—See 1Sa_12:11 : “The Lord sent Jerubbaal.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv14–15 The assuring thought of God"s servant.
The assuring thought of God"s servant.
"Have not I sent thee?" This is one of those words by which the saint has often been "strengthened with all might in the inner man." It lifted the heroes of Israel, the reformers, the men of the commonwealth of England, above the common weaknesses of their age and race. "A man, a woman, with a mission why not? Some careers are wholly explained by it; some simple achievement critical in history; and many unostentatious, secret services rendered in the Master" s name, under the influence of overpowering impulses, more or less transient or permanent.
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I THE LIFE IS THEREBY CONSECRATED AND DIRECTED. A man is not at liberty to follow his own private aims when the heavenly voice speaks thus within him. A higher plane of life and action is thereby created. An unseen influence isolates and consecrates him. This usually imparts greater definiteness to his conduct. He does not "beat the air.
II THE MOST DIFFICULT DUTIES ARE IN THIS FAITH RENDERED PRACTICABLE. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" "All things are possible to them that believe." The fatalists of history Caesars and Napoleons have left their mark and proved the strength of a ruling idea. But this conviction is reasonable and of infinite power. The greatest changes the world has seen have been wrought under its influence apostolic mission, reformation, missionary enterprise at home andabroad, Sunday school origin and extension. And so in the things of the individual life and private sphere.
III THROUGH ITS INFLUENCE A PRESENT CONSOLATION AND AN ETERNAL REWARD ARE SECURED. Has God sent us? Then he will take note of our behaviour, and sustain our flagging strength. Has God sent us? our service cannot be for earthly gain. He is our Master; and as he sends no man "a warfare at his own charges," so the saint is sustained by the hope of the "crown of glory that fadeth not away. M.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v15 "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of…
GIDEON, ICONOCLAST AND REFORMER
Jdg_6:15-32
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"The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour":-so has the prophetic salutation come to the young man at the threshing floor of Ophrah. It is a personal greeting and call "with thee"-just what a man needs in the circumstances of Gideon. There is a nation to be saved, and a human leader must act for Jehovah. Is Gideon fit for so great a task? A wise humility, a natural fear have held him under the yoke of daily toil until this hour. Now the needed signs are given; his heart leaps up in the pulses of a longing which God approves and blesses. The criticism of kinsfolk, the suspicious carping of neighbours, the easily affronted pride of greater families no longer crush patriotic desire and overbear yearning faith. The Lord is with thee, Gideon, youngest son of Joash, the toiler in obscure fields. Go in this thy might; be strong in Jehovah.
But the assurance must widen if it is to satisfy. With me-that is a great thing for Gideon; that gives him free air to breathe and strength to use the sword. But can it be true? Can God be with one only in the land? He seems to have forsaken Israel and sold His people to the oppressor. Unless He returns to all in forgiveness and grace nothing can be done; a renewal of the nation is the first thing, and this Gideon desires. Comfort for himself, freedom from Midianite vexation for himself and his fathers house would be no satisfaction if, all around, he saw Israel still crushed under heathen hordes. To have a hand in delivering his people from danger and sorrow is Gideons craving. The assurance given to himself personally is welcome because in it there is a sound as of the beginning of Israels redemption. Yet "if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us?" God cannot be with the tribes, for they are harassed and spoiled by enemies, they lie prone before the altars of Baal.
There is here an example of largeness in heart and mind which we ought not to miss, especially because it sets before us a principle often unrecognised. It is clear enough that Gideon could not enjoy freedom unless his country was free, for no man can be safe in an enslaved land; but many fail to see that spiritual redemption, in like manner, cannot be enjoyed by one unless others are moving towards the light. Truly salvation is personal at first and personal at last; but it is never an individual affair only. Each for himself must hear and answer the divine call to repentance; each as a moral unit must enter the strait gate, press along the marrow way of life, agonise and overcome. But the redemption of one soul is part of a vast redeeming purpose, and the fibres of each life are interwoven with those of other lives far and wide. Spiritual brotherhood is a fact but faintly typified by the brotherhood of the Hebrews, and the struggling soul today, like Gideons long ago, must know God as the Saviour of all men before a personal hope can be enjoyed worth the having. As Gideon showed himself to have the Lord with him by a question charged not with individual anxiety but with keen interest in the nation, so a man now is seen to have the Spirit of God as he exhibits a passion for the regeneration of the world. Salvation is enlargement of soul, devotion to God and to man for the sake of God. If anyone thinks he is saved while he bears no burdens for others, makes no steady effort to liberate souls from the tyranny of the false and the vile, he is in fatal error. The salvation of Christ plants always in men and women His mind, His law of life, Who is the Brother and Friend of all.
And the church of Christ must be filled with His Spirit, animated by His law of life, or be unworthy the name. It exists to unite men in the quest and realisation of highest thought and purest activity. The church truly exists for all men, not simply for those who appear to compose it. Salvation and peace are with the church as with the individual believer, but only as her heart is generous, her spirit simple and unselfish. Doubtful and distressed as Gideon was the church of Christ should never be, for to her has been whispered the secret that the Abiezrite had not read, how the Lord is in the oppression and pain of the people, in the sorrow and the cloud. Nor is a church to suppose that salvation can be hers while she thinks of any outside with the least touch of Pharisaism, denying their share in Christ. Better no visible church than one claiming exclusive possession of truth and grace; better no church at all than one using the name of Christ for privilege and excommunication, restricting the fellowship of life to its own enclosure.
But with utmost generosity and humaneness goes the clear perception that Gods service is the sternest of campaigns, beginning with resolute protest and decisive deed, and Gideon must rouse himself to strike for Israels liberty first against the idol worship of his own village. There stands the altar of Baal, the symbol of Israels infidelity; there beside it the abominable Asherah, the sign of Israels degradation. Already he has thought of demolishing these, but has never summoned courage, never seen that the result would justify him. For such a deed there is a time, and before the time comes the bravest man can only reap discomfiture. Now, with the warrant in his soul, the duty on his conscience, Gideon can make assault on a hateful superstition.
The idolatrous altar and false worship of ones own clan, of ones own family-these need courage to overturn and, more than courage, a ripeness of time and a Divine call. A man must be sure of himself and his motives, for one thing, before he takes upon him to be the corrector of errors that have seemed truth to his fathers and are maintained by his friends. Suppose people are actually worshipping a false god, a world power which has long held rule among them. If one would act the part of iconoclast the question is, By what right? Is he himself clear of illusion and idolatry? Has he a better system to put in place of the old? He may be acting in mere bravado and self-display, flourishing opinions which have less sincerity than those which he assails. There were men in Israel who had no commission and could have claimed no right to throw down Baals altar, and taking upon them such a deed would have had short shrift at the hands of the people of Ophrah. And so there are plenty among us who if they set up to be judges of their fellow men and of beliefs which they call false, even when these are false, deserve simply to be put down with a strong hand. There are voices, professing to be those of zealous reformers, whose every word and tone are insults. The men need to go and learn the first lessons of truth, modesty, and earnestness. And this principle applies all round-to many who assail modern errors as well as to many who assail established beliefs. On the one hand, are men anxious to uphold the true faith? It is well. But anxiety and the best of motives do not qualify them to attack science, to denounce all rationalism as godless. We want defenders of the faith who have a Divine calling to the task in the way of long study and a heavenly fairness of mind, so that they shall not offend and hurt religion more by their ignorant vehemence than they help it by their zeal. On the other hand, by what authority do they speak who sneer at the ignorance of faith and would fain demolish the altars of the world? It is no slight equipment that is needed. Fluent sarcasm, confident worldliness, even a large acquaintance with the dogmas of science will not suffice. A man needs to prove himself a wise and humane thinker, he needs to know by experience and deep sympathy those perpetual wants of our race which Christ knew and met to the uttermost. Some facile admiration of Jesus of Nazareth does not give the right to free criticism of His life and words, or of the faith based upon them. And if the plea is a rare respect for truth, an unusual fidelity to fact, humanity will still ask of its would be liberator on what fields he has won his rank or what yoke he has borne. Successful men especially will find it difficult to convince the world that they have a right to strike at the throne of Him who stood alone before the Roman Pilate and died on the Cross.
Gideon was not unfit to render high service. He was a young man tried in humble duty and disciplined in common tasks, shrewd but not arrogant, a person of clear mind and a patriot. The people of the farm and a good many in Ophrah had learned to trust him and were prepared to follow when he struck out a new path. He had Gods call and also his own past to help him. Hence when Gideon began his undertaking, although to attempt it in broad day would have been rash and he must act under cover of darkness, he soon found ten men to give their aid. No doubt he could in a manner command them, for they were his servants. Still a business of the kind he proposed was likely to rouse their superstitious fears, and he had to conquer these. It was also sure to involve the men in some risk, and he must have been able to give them confidence in the issue. This he did, however, and they went forth. Very quietly the altar of Baal was demolished and the great wooden mast, hateful symbol of Astarte, was cut down and split in pieces. Such was the first act in the revolution.
We observe, however, that Gideon does not leave Ophrah without an altar and a sacrifice. Destroy one system without laying the foundation of another that shall more than equal it in essential truth and practical power, and what sort of deliverance have you effected? Men will rightly execrate you. It is no reformation that leaves the heart colder, the life barer and darker than before; and those who move in the night against superstition must be able to speak in the day of a Living God who will vindicate His servants. It has been said over and over again and must yet be repeated, to overturn merely is no service. They that break down need some vision at least of a building up, and it is the new edifice that is the chief thing. The world of thought today is infested with critics and destroyers and may well be tired of them. It is too much in need of constructors to have any thanks to spare for new Voltaires and Humes. Let us admit that demolition is the necessity of some hours. We look back on the ruins of Bastilles and temples that served the uses of tyranny, and even in the domain of faith there have been fortresses to throw down and ramparts that made evil separations among men. But destruction is not progress; and if the end of modern thought is to be agnosticism, the denial of all faith and all ideals, then we are simply on the way to something not a whit better than primeval ignorance.
The morning sun showed the gap upon the hill where the symbols had stood of Baal and Astarte, and soon like an angry swarm of bees the people were buzzing round the scattered stones of the old altar and the rough new pile with its smoking sacrifice. Where was he who ventured to rebuke the city? Very indignant, very pious are these false Israelites. They turn on Joash with the fierce demand, "Bring out thy son that he may die." But the father too has come to a decision. We get a hint of the same nature as Gideons, slow, but firm when once roused; and if anything would rouse a man it would be this brutal passion, this sudden outbreak of cruelty nursed by heathen custom, his own conscience meanwhile testifying that Gideon was right. Tush! says Joash, will you plead for Baal? Will you save him? Is it necessary for you to defend one whom you have worshipped as Lord of heaven? Let him ply his lightnings if he has any. I am tired of this Baal who has no principles and is good only for feast days. He that pleads for Baal, let him be the man to die. Unexpected apology, serious too and unanswerable. Conscience that seemed dead is suddenly awakened and carries all before it. There is a quick conversion of the whole town because one man has acted decisively and another speaks strong words which cannot be gainsaid. To be sure Joash uses a threat-hints something of taking a very short method with those who still protest for Baal; and that helps conversion. But it is force against force, and men cannot object who have themselves talked of killing. By a rapid popular impulse Gideon is justified, and with the new name Jerubbaal he is acknowledged as a leader in Manasseh.
False religion is not always so easily exposed and upset. Truth may be so mixed with the error of a system that the moral sense is confused and faith clings to the follies and lies conjoined with the truth. And when we look at Judaism in contact with Christianity, at Romanism in contact with the Protestant spirit, we see how difficult it may be to liberate faith. The Apostle Paul, wielding the weapon of a singular and keen eloquence, cannot overcome the Pharisaism of his countrymen. At Antioch, at Iconium he does his utmost with scant success. The Protestant reformation did not so swiftly and thoroughly establish itself in every European country as in Scotland. Where there is no pressure of outward circumstances forcing new religious ideas upon men there must be all the more a spirit of independent thought if any salutary change is to be made in creed and worship. Either there must be men of Berea who search the Scriptures daily, men of Zurich and Berne with the energy of free citizens, or reformation must wait on some political emergency. And in effect conscience rarely has free play, since men are seldom manly, but more or less like sheep. Hence the value, as things go in this world, of leaders like Joash, princes like Luthers Elector, who give the necessary push to the undecided and check forward opponents by a significant warning. It is not the ideal way of reforming the world, but it has often answered well enough within limits. There are also cases in which the threats of the enemy have done good service, as when the appearance of the Spanish Armada on the English coast did more to confirm the Protestantism of the country than many years of peaceful argument. In truth, were there not occasionally something like master strokes in Providence the progress of humanity would be almost imperceptible. Men and nations are urged on although they have no great desire to advance; they are committed to a voyage and cannot return; they are caught in currents and must go where the currents bear them. Certainly in such cases there is not the ardour, and men cannot reap the reward belonging to the thinkers and brave servants of the truth. Practically, whether Protestants or Romanists, they are spiritually inert. Still it is well for them, well for the world, that a strong hand should urge them forward, since otherwise they would not move at all. Of many in all churches it must be said they are not victors in a fight of faith, they do not work out their own salvation. Yet they are guided, warned, persuaded into a certain habit of piety and understanding of truth, and their children have a new platform, somewhat higher than their fathers, on which to begin life.
At Ophrah of the Abiezrites, though we cannot say much for the nature of the faith in God which has replaced idolatry, still the way is prepared for further and decisive action. Men do not cease from worshipping Baal and become true servants of the Most Holy in a single day; that requires time. There, are better possibilities, but Gideon cannot teach the way of Jehovah, nor is he in the mood for religious inquiry. The conversion of Abiezer is quite of the same sort as in early Christian times was effected when a king went over to the new faith and ordered his subjects to be baptised. Not even Gideon knows the value of the faith to which the people have returned, in the strength of which they are to fight. They will be bold now, for even a little trust in God goes a long way in sustaining courage. They will face the enemy now to whom they have long submitted. But of the purity and righteousness into which the faith of Jehovah should lead them they have no vision.
Now with this in view many will think it strange to hear of the conversion of Abiezer. It is a great error however to despise the day of small things. God gives it and we ought to understand its use. Conversion cannot possibly mean the same in every period of the worlds history; it cannot even mean the same in any two cases. To recognise this would be to clear the ground of much that hinders the teaching and the success of the gospel. Where there has been long familiarity with the New Testament, the facts of Christianity and the high spiritual ideas it presents, conversion, properly speaking, does not take place till the message of Christ to the soul stirs it to its depths, moves alike the reason and the will, and creates fervent discipleship. But the history of Israel and of humanity moves forward continuously in successive discoveries or revelations of the highest, culminating in the Christian salvation. To view Gideon as a religious reformer of the same kind as Isaiah is quite a mistake. He had scarcely an idea in common with the great prophet of a later day. But the liberty he desired for his people and the association of liberty with the worship of Jehovah made his revolution a step in the march of Israels redemption. Those who joined him with any clear purpose and sympathy were therefore converted men in a true if very limited sense. There must be first the blade and then the ear before there can be the full corn. We reckon Gideon a hero of faith, and his hope was truly in the same God Whom we worship-the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet his faith could not be on a level with ours, his knowledge being far less. The angel who speaks to him, the altar he builds, the Spirit of the Lord that comes upon him, his daring iconoclasm, the new purpose and power of the man are in a range quite above material life-and that is enough.
There are some circles in which honesty and truth speaking are evidence of a work of grace. To become honest and to speak truth in the fear of God is to be converted, in a sense, where things are at that pass. There are people who are so cold that among them enthusiasm for anything good may be called superhuman. Nobody has it. If it appears it must come from above. But these steps of progress, though we may describe them as supernatural, are elementary. Men have to be converted again and again, ever making one gain a step to another. The great advance comes when the soul believes enthusiastically in Christ, pledging itself to Him in full sight of the cross. This and nothing less is the conversion we need. To love freedom, righteousness, charity only prepares for the supreme love of God in Christ, in which life springs to its highest power and joy.
Now are we to suppose that Gideon alone of all the men of Israel had the needful spirit and faith to lead the revolution? Was there no one but the son of Joash? We do not find him fully equipped, nor as the years go by does he prove altogether worthy to be chief of the tribes of God. Were there not in many Hebrew towns souls perhaps more ardent, more spiritual than his, needing only the prophetic call, the touch of the Unseen Hand to make them aware of power and opportunity? The leadership of such a one as Moses is complete and unquestionable. He is the man of the age; knowledge, circumstances, genius fit him for the place he has to occupy. We cannot imagine a second Moses in the same period. But in Israel as well as among other peoples it is often a very imperfect hero who is found and followed. The work is done, but not so well done as we might think possible. Revolutions which begin full of promise lose their spirit because the leader reveals his weakness or even folly. We feel sure that there are many who have the power to lead in thought where the world has not dreamt of climbing, to make a clear road where as yet there is no path; and yet to them comes no messenger, the daily task goes on and it is not supposed that a leader, a prophet is passed by. Are there no better men that Ehud, Gideon, Jephthah must stand in the front?
One answer certainly is that the nation at the stage it has reached cannot as a whole esteem a better man, cannot understand finer ideas. A hundred men of more spiritual faith were possibly brooding over Israels state, ready to act as fearlessly as Gideon and to a higher issue. But it could only have been after a cleansing of the nations life, a suppression of Baal worship much more rigorous than could at that time be effected. And in every national crisis the thought of which the people generally are capable determines who must lead and what kind of work shall be done. The reformer before his time either remains unknown or ends in eclipse; either he gains no power or it passes rapidly from him because it has no support in popular intelligence or faith.
It may seem well nigh impossible in our day for any man to fail of the work he can do; if he has the will we think he can make the way. The inward call is the necessity, and when that is heard and the man shapes a task for himself the day to begin will come. Is that certain? Perhaps there are many now who find circumstance a web from which they cannot break away without arrogance and unfaithfulness. They could speak, they could do if God called them; but does He call them? On every side ring the fluent praises of the idols men love to worship. One must indeed be deft in speech and many other arts who would hope to turn the crowd from its folly, for it will only listen to what seizes the ear, and the obscure thinker has not the secret of pleasing. While those who see no visions lead their thousands to a trivial victory, many an uncalled Gideon toils on in the threshing floor. The duties of a low and narrow lot may hold a man; the babble all around of popular voices may be so loud that nothing can make way against them. A certain slowness of the humble and patient spirit may keep one silent who with little encouragement could speak words of quickening truth. But the day of utterance never comes.
To these waiting in the market place it is comparatively a small thing that the world will not hire them. But does the church not want them? Where God is named and professedly honoured, can it be that the smooth message is preferred because it is smooth? Can it be that in the church men shrink from instead of seeking the highest, most real and vital word that can be said to them? This is what oppresses, for it seems to imply that God has no use in His vineyard for a man when He lets him wait long unregarded; it seems to mean that there is no end for the wistful hope and the words that burn unspoken in the breast. The unrecognised thinker has indeed to trust God largely. He has often to be content with the assurance that what he would say but cannot as yet shall be said in good time, that what he would do but may not shall be done by a stronger hand. And further, he may cherish a faith for himself. No life can remain forever unfruitful, or fruitful only in its lower capacities. Purposes broken off here shall find fulfilment. Where the highways of being reach beyond the visible horizon leaders will be needed for the yet advancing host, and the time of every soul shall come to do the utmost that is in it. The day of perfect service for many of Gods chosen ones will begin where beyond these shadows there is light and space. Were it not so, some of the best lives would disappear in the darkest cloud.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv14, 16 Yahweh looked at him
Yahweh looked at him
"Yahweh looked at Gideon"
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from the hand
Here "hand" represents power or control. (See: Metonymy)
of Midian
Here "Midian" represents the people of Midian. AT: "of the Midianites" (See: Metonymy)
Have I not sent you?
Yahweh uses a question to ensure Gideon that he is sending him. Here "sent" means Yahweh has appointed Gideon with a specific task. AT: "I, Yahweh, am sending you!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Please, Lord
Gideon now calls the person "Lord" instead of "my master" as in Judges 6:13. Here it seems Gideon either knows or suspects that he is speaking with Yahweh.
how can I deliver Israel?
Gideon uses a question to emphasize that he does not think he can rescue the Israelites. AT: "I cannot possibly rescue the Israelites!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
See, my family
"Look at my family and me and you will see that it"
in Manasseh
"in the tribe of Manasseh"
in my father's house
Here "house" represents a family. AT: "in my father's family" or "in my family" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
Yahweh
strength
deliver
Israel
hand
Midian
send
Gideon
lord
family
Manasseh
ancestor
house
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.