Judges 6:11-15

 

Judges 6:11

And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

 

Here we have an angel of the Lord which is not the prophet that we saw in previous verses but here we have a Christophany, which is a pre-Bethlehem appearance of Christ.  The Lord sat under an oak tree in Ophrah which was located about 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Jerusalem.   The Abiezrites were descendants of Abiezer, the son of Gilead.  They were one of the families of the tribe of Manasseh of which Gideon and his father’s house were a member.  Gilead was also the son of Machir who was a son of Manasseh.  Gideon was in close proximity to that oak tree where the Lord was seated as he was threshing wheat in secret to hide it from the Midianites or else they would steal that wheat too.

 

Judges 6:12

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

 

The angel of the Lord now approaches Gideon and says to him that the Lord is with him and calls him a mighty man of valour which carries with it the meaning of Gideon being a mighty warrior.  I am sure that surprised Gideon greatly.

 

Judges 6:13

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.

 

Gideon answered the Lord as one who answers a man.  We can tell this was not a regular angel with a divine appearance but the appearance of a man since Gideon did not fear.  Gideon does not understand what happened and why the Israelites were being attacked by the Midianites.  He probably did not know that there was much sinning going on as he may have been sequestered on his farm doing chores instead of being involved with those who sinned against the Lord.  He wonders why they are under siege because he was told of all the miracles that the Lord performed to bring Israel out of Egypt.  He believes that the Lord had forsaken them by handing them over to the Midianites not knowing that it was the sin of Israel which caused the Lord to deal with them.  Gideon was not expecting that the Lord was going to deliver Israel through him. 

 

Judges 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?

 

The Lord is telling Gideon that he is to go in his might and that might is going to save Israel from the Midianites.  The phrase “in this thy might” carries with it the meaning of “ability or strength” and that is what has Gideon confused because he knows his own strengths and weaknesses and being a warrior is not one of his strengths.  Then the Lord places an appendage, “have not I sent thee?”  That is the phrase that will give Gideon the strength to accomplish the task which the Lord is sending him to do.  Just as the Lord was with Moses, Joshua, Deborah, and others, He will be with Gideon to accomplish this task.

 

Judges 6:15

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.

 

Just as Moses made all kinds of excuses, Gideon is now doing the same thing telling the Lord why he will not be able to complete the task even though the Lord told him twice that he would be with him.  He used the excuse that his family is very poor being in the tribe of Manasseh and then goes one step further that he was the least in his father’s house.  What Gideon meant by being the least was that he was the youngest in his family.  Jeremiah suffered from the same mindset.  Jeremiah 1:6 (KJV)   Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.  Remember Joseph was the second youngest of all his brethren and God used him to save his parents and brethren during the famine.

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