Judges 6:11-3211And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. 12And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. 13And 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. 14And 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? 15And 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. 16And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. 17And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me. 18Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. 19And 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. 20And 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. 21Then 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. 22And 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. 23And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. 24Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 25And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: 26And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. 27Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, 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. 28And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, 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 that was built. 29And 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. 30Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. 31And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar. 32Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar. (Judges 6:11‑32)
A man of Israel, named Gideon, was threshing out grain at his father’s place. There were no machines for separating grain as now, and small amounts were often done by beating the dry heads of the grain with a stick called a flail. But such work was usually done in an open place where the wind would carry off the chaff, but Gideon was working among trees and vines, to keep the grain hid from the enemies, who were camped not far away, and who watched to take any grain or food they could from the people of Israel.
While Gideon was working, all Angel of tile Lord came and sat under a tree, and spoke to him saying, “‘The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.” Which meant that Gideon was strong and brave.
Gideon asked why the Lord let the enemies trouble them so greatly, for he had heard the wonders God had done for them in years before, which shows Gideon believed in God’s power.
Then the Angel of God told him that he should go and save Israel. Gideon did not think himself a great enough person to lead Israel. But he was told that the Lord would help him. Gideon wanted to serve food to the Angel, and went for meat and bread, which the Angel told hire hi put on a rock. Then the Angel touched it with His staff and fire came out of the rock and it was burned as a sacrifice to God. Then the Angel of God disappeared. This made Gideon afraid, but God spoke to him to “Fear not.”
On this same farm, or land, of Gideon’s father there was an altar to an idol, called Baal, with a grove of trees around it, and his family and others of Israel came there to worship. “Although they knew the great care God had given them, they were bowing to idols, the same as their heathen neighbors which was foolish and dishonest, for they knew the idols could help no one.
That same night the Lord. told Gideon to throw down the idol-altar and cut down the trees (which they seem to have worshiped and which were also to hide their sin).
Gideon obeyed God: taking ten servants to help, he broke clown the altar and cut off the trees.
In the morning the men who had worshiped the idol, saw their altar broken and the trees cut. They were very angry, but Gideon’s father told them to let the idol “plead”, or save itself. So he was not sorry the altar was spoiled.
After the idols were destroyed, then the Lord told Gideon how to deliver Israel from the enemy. But God could not use Gideon to help as long as idols were worshiped at his own home (Read Psa. 115:3-103But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. 4Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 5They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. 9O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. 10O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. (Psalm 115:3‑10)).
ML 07/03/1938