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CHAP. VI.

This chapter contains an account of Israel's fourth oppression by

the Midianites, and of their deliverance by Gideon, the fourth of their judges.

ND the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD; after the death of Deborah and Barak they fell into idolatry; (see v. 10.) and the LORD delivered them into 2 the hand of Midian seven years.* And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: [and] because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which [are] in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds, to secure themselves and their families, and their cattle from being plundered by them. 3 And [so] it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, probably Arabians, even they came up against them, when the 4 harvest was nearly ripe; And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor 5 ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers, or locusts, for multitude; [for] both they and their camels were without num6 ber and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites. and their confederates, being obliged to part with their money to buy corn; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.

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And it came to pass when the children of Israel cried unto 8 the LORD because of the Midianites, That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, probably when met together at some of their public festivals, which said unto them, Thus saith the Lord GoB of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, 9 and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians who pursued you, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, even the Canaanites, and gave 10 you their land; And I said unto you, I [am] the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; do not serve them, nor through fear be tempted to worship them; but ye have not obeyed my voice. `He probably said much more, but this was the substance, and it had a good effect; the people humbled themselves, and repented, and God appeared for them.

These were a contemptible people, who had no head; they were almost entirely destroyed about two hundred years before, see Numb. xxxi. Though descended from Abraham, they were great enemies to Israel, and full of revenge.

The Arabians especially did so; they lived in tents, and removed from place to place for pasture, till they had ate up the country, and then removed. These came up like locusts for multitude, and destroyed every thing before them.

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And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] unto Joash the Abiezrite; he appeared in the form of a weary traveller, sitting under an oak belonging to Joash, who was a worshipper of Baal: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the wine press, 12 to hide [it] from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD [is] with thee, thou mighty man of valour. Gideon perhaps was thinking of the oppression of Israel, revolving in his mind what could be done to deliver them; and the angel assured him of God's · 13 presence and help. 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, say, ing, 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; our melancholy condition shows that God is not with 14 us. And the LORD looked upon him, that is, the angel, God's representative, looked upon him in a powerful, efficacious manner, so as to inspire him with courage, and endow him with authority, and said, Go in this thy might, now bestowed upon thee, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites have not I sent thee? have I not given thee commission ? 15 therefore make no excuses nor delays. 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; with great modesty and diffidence declining the commission, his family, or tribe, being poor, and he having no means 16 to raise forces. And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man, destroy them to a man; as he did, ch. viii.

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And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me, by authority from God; and that I may be assured it is a divine com18 mission: a reasonable and proper request. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, a meat offering, and set [it] before thee, as Abraham and Lot did: and the angel condescended to his request, and he 19 said, I will tarry until thou come again. And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought [it] out unto him under the oak, and presented [it,] as a token of respect, and to accommodate him in his 20 journey, still taking him to be only a prophet. And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh, and the unleavened cakes, and lay [them] upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so; however strange the order might appear, ke 21 obeyed. Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that [was] in his hand, and touched the flesh and the

unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight; he ascended in the 22 smoke thereof. And when Gideon perceived that he [was] an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. These are evidently the words of a man quite surprised: so Jacob and 23 Manoah expressed themselves. And the LORD said unto him, in an audible voice, Peace [be] unto thee; fear not thou shalt not die; I am still with thee; fear no harm, but expect all 24 good, and success. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom, The Lord send peace: unto this day it [is] yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. It was not built for sacrifice, but as a memorial of this vision, and of God's speaking peace to him and his people; and it continued till the time this book was written.

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And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, in a dream or vision, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, which was set apart to be sacrificed to Baal in the second place, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath built for public use, and cut down the grove that [is] by it, where the im26 age was placed; And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, where the angel appeared, in the ordered place, or, in an orderly manner, as Moses commanded, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down ; a very ex27 traordinary command, as Gideon was no priest. Then Gideon

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took ten men of his servants, faithful men, in whom he could confide, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and [so] it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do [it] by day, that he did [it] by night, lest a tumult should be raised, and hinder him from doing it; this was a bold undertaking, and shewed great faith and courage.

And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, and came to worship before they went to their work, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that [was] by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar, 29 [that was] built, the flesh of it was not quite consumed. And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired, and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing: knowing him to be an enemy to 30 their idolatry, they suspected him first. Then the men of the city said unto Joash, who was the chief magistrate there, Bring out thy son, that he may die, without any trial: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that [was] by it. It is probable that Gideon

had before this informed his father of his commission, which con31 vinced him of his mistake, as appears in the next verse. And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? it is none of your business to inflict punishments for crimes; he that will plead for them, let him be put to death whilst [it is yet] morning; he who will plead for such a god as this, for worshipping whom ye now suffer suck calamities, deserves to die instantly if he [be] a god, let him plead for himself, because [one] hath cast down his altar; he probably said a great deal more, but this was the substance of 32 it. Therefore on that day, he, that is, Joash, called him, that is, Gideon, Jerubbaal, or, Baal's adversary, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar; let Baal look to himself, and do his worst.

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Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over Jordan, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel, as they were used to do every year, in order to ravage and eat up the produce of the country. 34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, a spirit of wisdom, courage, and zeal; and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer 35 was gathered after him. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him; and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them; God stirred up their hearts to come to him.

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And Gideon, who wanted to know whether this was the proper time, and to convince the assembled Israelites of his divine commission, said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, 37 as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; [and] if the dew be on the fleece only, and [ît be] dry upon all the earth [beside,] then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so : for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of $9 water. And Gideon, to convince Israel that this was a real sign from God, desired it might be inverted; but as this might look like diffidence, he made an humble apology, and said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once : let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon 40 all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

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REFLECTIONS.

GENEROUS solicitude for the good of others, is highly becoming a true Israelite. Gideon's head and heart were full of concern for oppressed Israel, and therefore the angel saluted him. He put himself among the rest if the Lord be with us. He had no comfort while Israel was in sorrow; he was chiefly concerned for the public interest, and could take no satisfaction in any message, while Israel was oppressed. Let us thus cultivate a concern for the public good, and esteem the wel fare of Jerusalem as our chief joy.

2. Those that would promote reformation, must begin at home. This is God's direction to Gideon; to take down his family altar; for others would not regard his remonstrances while Joash's altar stood; this is a good model for parents, masters, and ministers. Would they make their children, servants and people, wise and good, let them be cautious and watchful, and remove every thing that would be a reproach to them. Would we be rid of affliction, and serviceable to others, let us consider what idolatrous altars and groves are in our hearts and houses, and down with them; then we may exhort others with a good grace, and hope for success.

3. We here see the great condescension of God to the weakness of his servants. The angel, instead of chiding Gideon for his doubts and fears, looked favourably upon him, gave him another and another sign, comforted his terrified heart, and strengthened his weak faith. Thus graciously does God deal with his servants; he breaks not the bruised reed, but pities their infirmities, and takes a variety of methods to give the heirs of promise strong consolation. But while we have such encouragements, let us not tempt the Lord our God, but say, Lord, we believe, help thou our unbelief.

CHAP. VII.

Gideon's army is reduced by the divine command: a further intimation of success is given to confirm his faith; and the Midianites are attacked and defeated.

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HEN, next morning after the miracle, Jerubbaal, who [is] Gideon, and all the people that [were] with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, 2 by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that [are] with thee [are] too many for

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