Judges 6
DOYLYChap. VII. ver. 2. — lest Israel vaunt themselves] God knew the disposition of the Israelites, and foresaw that, from motives of vanity, they would be disposed to ascribe the victory to their own power and prowess, and not to Him: whereas He intended to shew to all the world that it was His miraculous work. Bp. Patrick.
Judges 6:4
4.— till thou come unto Gaza.] That is, they made an universal devastation from one end of the country to the other: for they came from the East, and destroyed as far as Gaza, which was on the western coast. Bp. Patrick.
Judges 6:5
5.— as grasshoppers] Rather, as locusts, which had Vol. I.
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.
Judges 6:10
10.— fear not the gods] Rather, worship not the gods. Dr. Wells.
Judges 6:11
11.— there came an angel of the Lord.] There came “the Angel of the Lord,” many years after His appearance at Bochim, to deliver His people, when they cried to Him, from their oppressors. Dr. Hales. That He was not a mere created angel, is plain from the incommunicable name Jehovah, which He assumes, and by which He suffers Himself to be frequently called, ver. 14, 16, 23, 24, &c. Therefore the Jews, according to their Targum, which styles Him the Word of the Lord, look upon this angel not merely as a heavenly messenger sent from God, but as the Son of God Himself, appearing in the form of an angel. Bp. Patrick, Stackhouse.
— Ophrah.— Gideon] Gideon was of the family of Abi-ezer, of the tribe of Manasseh; and so the Ophrah, where he dwelt, must be understood to be situated in the half tribe of Manasseh, on the west side of Jordan; and for this reason it is styled “Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites,” chap. viii. 32, to distinguish it from another Ophrah, which lay in the tribe of Benjamin. Dr. Wells.
— threshed wheat by the winepress.] The common mode of threshing corn was by treading it with oxen. The word here used signifies to thresh out with a stick.
Judges 6:25
- — throw down the altar of Baal] Baal’s altar must first be destroyed, ere God’s be built; both cannot stand together: the true God will have no society with idols, neither will He allow it to us. In this instance, He does not desire to have consecrated to Himself, the altar which had been abused to Baal; but, as one whose holy jealousy will admit no worship, till there be no idolatry, He first commands them to destroy the monuments of superstition, and then enjoins His own service. Bp. Hall.
Judges 6:26
- — in the ordered place,] Where the flesh and cakes were laid in order on the rock, ver. 20. Or the words may signify, as in the margin, “in an orderly manner.” Although Gideon was no priest, yet he was here required to offer a burnt sacrifice, by God’s special order; which would have been otherwise a presump-
Joash defendeth his son. Gideon’s signs Before CHRIST about 1240. cause 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.
Judges 6:31
- — if he be a god, let him plead for himself.] Let the injured god, he tells them, avenge his own cause: if Baal be what he has been supposed to be, you may safely trust to him to maintain his own honour. Pyle.
Judges 6:33
- — in the valley of Jezreel.] The city of Jezreel (which gave name to the valley) belonged to the half tribe of Manasseh, on the west of Jordan. In the history of the kings of Israel, this city is frequently mentioned, as, by reason of the pleasantness of the situation, some of them had a royal palace there, though their capital was Samaria. The vale of Jezreel is, according to Mr. Maundrell, of a vast extent, very fertile, but uncultivated, and only serving the Arabs for pasture. Some have supposed, however, that the valley of Jezreel, here mentioned, denotes some lesser valley, between mount Hermon and mount Gilboa. Dr. Wells.
Judges 6:34
- — the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon.] Exciting him now to put in execution the commission which God had given him to deliver Israel, and filling him with an extraordinary degree of courage for such an undertaking. Dr. Wells. The Spirit of the Lord, by which Gideon was animated to undertake the deliverance of his country, was a spirit of fortitude and prudence, and of all the virtues requisite in a commander. Dr. Hales.
Judges 6:36
- — If thou wilt save Israel, — as thou hast said,] He desires another miracle to confirm his faith, perhaps for the sake of those that were to follow him; or perhaps, wishing to know by a sign whether God would make him victorious at that particular time. Bp. Patrick. Of all the instruments which God used in so great a work, we find none so weak as Gideon. The former miracle was strong enough to carry him through his first exploit, of ruining the idolatrous grove and altar: but now, when he saw the swarm of the Midianites and Amalekites approaching, he called for new aid; and, not trusting to his thousands of Israel, flew to God for a further assurance of victory. The refuge was good, but the manner of seeking it savours of distrust. Bp. Hall.
Judges 6:39
- — let it now be dry only upon the fleece, &c.] If we understand that the miracle of the dew on the fleece was a kind of publick testimony to satisfy the officers and people under him, we then see the reason of its repetition, with the opposite variation: for, if there were any of his adherents who suspected deception in the first instance, when the threshingfloor was dry, and the fleece wet with dew, they might be convinced by the contrary effect, when the fleece was dry, and the threshingfloor wet with dew. Script. illustr.