Gideon’s Call to Deliver Israel
Judges 6:1-32
INTRODUCTION: The Israelites are in trouble again. This time, God sends help through an unlikely leader—so that God will get the glory.
I. CONQUEST OF THE MIDIANITES (6:1-6)
A. The Oppression of Midian (v.1)
1. A desert people dwelling south and east of Palestine
2. The fourth of six oppressors in the book of Judges
a. Mesopotamia (3:8)
b. Moab (3:12)
c. Canaan (4:2)
d. Midian (6:1)
e. Ammon (10:7-8)
f. Philistia (13:1)
3. Another oppression caused by the sin of Israel
4. Lasting a total of seven years
NOTE: The seven years is typical of the seven year tribulation. Deliverance from Midian is recorded in the 7th book of the Bible (Judges), in the 7th chapter of that book and it occurs after seven years of oppression. Gideon begins his service by destroying the altar of Baal and sacrificing a seven year old bullock (v.25, 28). Historically, Midian was allied with Moab and Balaam in their opposition to Israel (Numbers 25:6-18; 31:8-9). After the time of Gideon, the Midianites are never again mentioned as a threat to Israel.
B. The Fear of the Israelites (v.2)
1. Their defeat in battle – “Midian prevailed”
2. Their hiding in caves
C. The Poverty of the Israelites (v.3-6)
1. The destruction of their crops and herds (v.3-5)
2. The resulting poverty of the land and people (v.6)
II. CRY OF THE ISRAELITES (6:7-10)
A. Israel Again Cries to the Lord (v.7)
B. The Lord Sends a Prophet to Them (v.8-10)
1. The Lord delivered them from Egypt (v.8-9)
2. The Lord gave them the land (v.9)
3. The Lord warned them of false gods (v.10)
4. “but ye have not obeyed my voice” (v.10)
NOTE: Sometimes we want deliverance from God while God wants obedience from us.
III. CALL OF GIDEON (6:11-16)
A. His circumstances (v.11)
1. He is working – God calls those who are already working
2. He is hiding
a. From fear of the Midianites
b. But also as a practical means of getting the wheat threshed and the family fed
3. God’s angel is watching him
B. God’s confidence in Gideon (v.12-13)
1. The angel appears to Gideon (v.12)
a. He assures him of God’s presence
b. He calls him a “mighty man of valour”
NOTE: The contrast between the words of the angel and the picture of Gideon hiding behind the winepress are striking. Surely, the Lord is not simply mocking him. He is showing Gideon what he could be with the Lord’s presence. If Gideon will look to the Lord who is with him, he will be a mighty man of valor.
2. Gideon replies with hard questions (v.13)
a. Why have these things befallen us?
b. Where are all God’s miracles?
NOTE: These questions show a strength of character in Gideon that God had seen. Gideon was disgusted that nothing was happening to show the power of God. He knew the old stories and longed for the God of his fathers.
C. God’s Commission to Gideon (v.14)
1. The “Lord looked upon him” – God pays attention to Gideon
2. He commissions Gideon to deliver Israel from the Midianites
3. He assures Gideon that he is sent by God Himself
D. God’s Comfort to Gideon (v.15-16)
1. Gideon excuses himself as unable (v.15)
a. My family is poor
b. I am the least in my father’s house
2. God assures Gideon of victory (v.16)
a. He will be with him
b. He will destroy the Midianites
IV. CONVERSION OF GIDEON (6:17-24)
A. Gideon Seeks a Sign of his Calling (v.17-18)
B. Gideon Presents a Meal to the Angel (v.18-19)
C. The Meal is Consumed by Fire out of the Rock (v.20-21)
D. Gideon is Convinced that the Call is from God (v.22-24)
1. He has seen an angel of the Lord (v.22)
2. The Lord assures him that he will not die (v.23)
3. Gideon builds an altar (v.24)
a. Called Jevohah-Shalom
b. The Lord of peace or the Lord sends peace
V. CONSECRATION OF GIDEON (6:25-32)
A. The Instructions of the Lord (v.25-26)
1. Take a bullock (v.25)
a. Thy father’s bullock
b. A young bullock
c. The second bullock
d. A bullock seven years old
NOTE: A bullock is a bull or steer. Most Bible versions and commentators try to alter the King James Bible so that there are two bollocks; one young and one seven years old. The problems come with the meaning of a “second bullock” and the assumption that a seven-year-old bullock is no longer young. The answer is simple if you begin by believing the Bible. Bullocks were used to pull carts or plows. In any team, there was always a lead (or first) animal. He was usually an older, or at least smarter, animal whose lead was followed by the rest of the team. The second bullock would be the one who worked alongside the lead animal. How can a seven-year-old be his father’s young bullock? It can be, if all the younger bullocks had been killed by the Midianites or eaten for much-needed meat.
2. Throw down the altar of Baal (v.25)
3. Cut down the grove beside it (v.25); NOTE: Modern bibles change the groves into graven idols called Asherah Poles. But this grove was cut down. It must have been a grove of trees just like the Bible says.
4. Build an altar to the Lord (v.26)
a. On top of the rock
b. In the ordered place
5. Offer the bullock as a burnt sacrifice (v.26)
6. Burn the wood of the grove for the fire (v.26)
B. The Obedience of Gideon (v.27)
1. He did as the Lord said
2. He did it at night because of fear
3. He did it with the help of ten servants
C. The Anger of the Men of the City (v.28-30)
1. Their discovery of the work (v.28)
2. Their discovery of Gideon’s responsibility (v.29)
3. Their demand for Gideon’s death (v.30)
D. Gideon’s Defense by his Father (v.31-32)
1. Joash mocks their defense of a god (v.31)
2. Joash calls his son Jerubbaal (let Baal plead for himself)
CONCLUSION: God is going to use Gideon, not because Gideon is such a great man, but to show the greatness of the God who called and used him. God is not limited by our weaknesses. Our limitations simply give God room to demonstrate His power. If God were to call you to a great work, would you trust in His power and presence and accept His call?
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Antioch Baptist Church Knoxville, Tennessee