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Judges
Chapter
6
{Gideon's
Grenadiers - Circa 1155 BC }
{Verses
1-10: Disaster Reversionism }
1~~And
the sons of Israel {bene Yisra'el}
manufactured
evil {`asah ra` - made evil out of reversionism}
in
the sight of Jehovah/God;
therefore,
Jehovah/God gave them
{Principal - Jesus Christ controls history}
into
the hand of Midian . . .
seven
years.
{Note: From the last verse of chapter 5, we see that the land was at rest for 40 years. But during this time, the Jews neglected God and His Word. Therefore, the discipline of God came down upon them now.}
{Note:
Midian was an Arab group descended from Abraham (Genesis 25:1-2).}
2~~And
the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel.
And
because of the Midianites
the
sons of Israel {bene Yisra'el}
made
them the dens
which
are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
3~~Now
it came to pass,
when
Israel had planted
{great agricultural prosperity in Israel - but Israel had forgotten
the SOURCE of their prosperity - God and His Word},
that
the Midianites came up {`alah},
and
the Amalekites,
and
the sons/children {ben} of the east
{the wandering Bedouins from all the Arab tribes},
even
they came up against them.
{Note: This is the moving in of three great nomadic Arab nations. First the army comes in and secures the area and then the people and their goods will be moved in.}
{Prosperity
of Israel Destroyed by the Plunder of the Invading Arabs}
4~~
And they kept on
concentrating/'establishing
a systematic way'/encamped {chanah}
against
them,
and
caused the destruction {shachath - Hiphil causative tense}
of
the production of the land,
until
you come unto Gaza,
and
left no sustenance in Israel,
nor
sheep, nor cattle/oxen, nor asses.
{People
and Goods Follow Invading Nomadic Arabs}
5~~They
invaded with their livestock and their tents.
Consequently,
like locusts in their number
they
came {bow'}.
Both they and their camels were innumerable.
And
they entered into the land to devastate/
'systematically
plunder' it.
{Note: This does not mean to destroy the land, but it means to take the production of the harvest to themselves. These 3 Arab tribes would leave the Jews alive virtually as slaves to work the land for the next 7 years, and then they would take the production (leaving just enough behind so the surviving Jews would live).}
6~~And
Israel was received weakness/'greatly impoverished
because
of the Midianites.
And
the sons of Israel {bene Yisra'el}
cried
unto Jehovah/God.
{Prayer
for Help - And, Phase I of Response from God - Message from an
Un-named Prophet}
7-9~~And
it came to pass
{the tide was turning back to God and His Word},
when
the sons of Israel {bene Yisra'el}
cried
out unto Jehovah/God
because
of the Midianites, 8~~
that
Jehovah/God sent
{shalach - here we have God sending a 'prepared man'}
a
prophet
{an un-named prophet - emphasizing the principal it is the
MESSAGE not the MAN that is important - a prophet receives his
communication from the spoken Word of God},
unto
the sons of Israel {bene Yisra'el}
who
kept on saying unto them
{he had a lot to say - only the gist is recorded},
"Thus
says Jehovah/God . . . 'Elohiym/Godhead of Israel,
'I
{God} caused you to be brought up {`alah - Hiphil causative stem}
from
Egypt,
and
caused you to be brought out {yatsa' - Hiphil causative stem}
of
the house of bondage; 9~~
And
I {God} delivered/'caused you to be rescued
out
of the hand of the Egyptians,
and
out of the hand of all that oppressed you,
that
I drove out {garish - Piel intensive stem}
them
from before you,
and
gave you their land.' "
10~~"
'Consequently, I {God} said unto you,
I
. . . {am} Jehovah/God your 'Elohiym/Godhead.
''Fear
not/'Respect not' {yare' - a mental attitude}
{yare'
- has two related meanings - to have respect for and to fear.
Both are applicable here. It means to be Occupied with God/'Jesus
Christ' and fear no one or nothing else}
the
gods/ 'elohiym of the Amorites
{referring to the Canaanite Parthian - Baal, etc.}
in
whose land you dwell {yashab}.
But
you {this specific generation of Jews}
have
not obeyed My voice."
{Note: After becoming faithful to God and His Word, great prosperity follows. However, often in the next generation or generations, people tend to be so concentrated on the details of their prosperity (money, sex, social life, business, etc.) that they forget the SOURCE of their prosperity - God. And, then they fall under divine discipline. That is what has been going on here - and now for 7 years the Jews have lived in virtual slavery.}
{Verses
11-24: Call of Gideon}
11~~Therefore
the angel of Jehovah/God came
{From verse 14 we see this is a Theophany - the angel of Jehovah
is the Manifest Member of the Godhead Himself - Jesus Christ},
and
sat {yashab} under the Oak/Terebinth tree {'elah}
{a large tree that provided good shade}
which
was in Ophrah
{in Gilead on the West side of the Jordan River},
that
belonged unto Joash the Abiezrite
{see Joshua 17:2 - Abiezer was a clan of the tribe of Manasseh:
see also I Chronicles 7:18 Joash was apparently the overseer/
ruler of the area for the Abiezer clan}
where
Gideon, his son,
beat/threshed
wheat by the winepress/wine-vat {gath}
{separating the wheat grain from the chaff so the family could have
a breakfast of Oatmeal},
to
secure it from the Midianites.
{Note: The tribe of Manasseh was divided by the river into the West tribe (doves) and the East tribe (hawks). The West side tended to be cowards and fairly worthless. So, here we have the man Gideon who we will find out is a great student of the Word, but because of his influences has not been able to apply doctrine to experience. So, here he is working as his father instructed, but basically he is trying to hide from the Arab invaders.
{Sarcasm
of God to Gideon the Coward - Hiding from the Midianites}
12~~Now
the angel of Jehovah/God {Jesus Christ}
appeared
to him {Gideon},
and
said unto him,
"Jehovah/God
is with you,
oh
brave hero {sanctified sarcasm}."
{Note: This is sanctified sarcasm - Gideon is NOT a hero here! He is a man of doctrine but mixed up and unable to apply it to experience. So, he is hiding out from the Arabs. But he is doing the job his father told him to do - so he understands authority and has respect for authority. And, this verse is also prophetic. Gideon - the striker of wheat - will become Gideon the striker of the Arab invaders}."
{Gideon's
Roadblock - No Ability to Apply Doctrine to Experience}
13~~And
Gideon replied/said unto him,
"Pardon
me sir/lord/'Adown,
{Politeness is a sign of intake of Doctrine - Gideon is polite though
he does not realize to Whom he is talking (and will soon slander)}
if
Jehovah/God be with us,
why
then is all this happening to us?
{No ability to apply doctrine to experience - does not realize the
discipline is to SAVE Israel! To get them to turn back to Him}
And
where are all His miracles {pala'}
which
our fathers {Old Testament writers}
wrote/'communicated
in writing' {caphar},
to
us saying, 'Did not Jehovah/God
cause
us to be brought out of Egypt?
But
now Jehovah/God has abandoned us {natash}
{Slander to God's face - this statement indicates Gideon took in
doctrine but is mixed up as to why God does things -
God NEVER abandons His People and since God was right there
apparently He turned his head so Gideon would not see Him
laugh},
and
given {nathan} us into the hands of the Midianites."
14~~And
Jehovah/God turned toward him {panah},
{the Lord must have been turned away to chuckle at what Gideon
just said and once again we learn the angel of Jehovah IS Jehovah
- Jesus Christ before His 1st Advent}
and
said, "March {halak}
in
this power of yours {koach}
{What power did Gideon have? Doctrine in Gideon's soul - that he
does not even realize yet},
and
you will deliver Israel from the hand of the Midianites.
Have I not 'sent you'/'thrust you forth'?" {shalach}
{Note: This is the Salt of the Land principal. The land must have SuperGrace believers prepared and ready to drive the invaders from the land. Now is the right time.}
15~~And
he {Gideon} said unto Him,
"Pardon
me sir/lord/'Adonay,
"With
what shall I deliver {yasha`} Israel?
Behold,
my family is weak/low {dal} in Manasseh
{Manasseh was a sorry tribe and his family was the sorriest of the
sorry},
and
I am the least {tsa`iyr} in my father's house
{and Gideon was the least of the very least - just the one for God
to use to demonstrate GRACE - it is God that matters not who or
what YOU are!}."
{Note: We will see two of Gideon's brothers were at least trying to FIGHT. They die trying to save Jews from being raped and robbed but at least they were resisting - Gideon was hiding.}
16~~But
Jehovah/God said unto him,
"Most
assuredly, I {God} will be with you,
and
you shall annihilated/kill/wipe-out {nakah}
the
Midianites like {they were} one man."
17-18~~And
he said unto him,
If
now I have found grace in Your sight,
then
show me a sign that you talked with me. 18~~
Depart
not from here, please/'I pray you',
until
I come to You,
and
bring forth My present,
and
set it before You.
And He said, "I will wait until you return."
19~~And
Gideon went in, and prepared a kid
{so now we see this will not only be a food offering, but will with
the kid (baby goat), it will be the makings of a burnt offering
also}
and,
unleavened cakes of 'an ephah'/'a bushel' {'eyphah} of flour
{remember the times are tough and food is so scarce, Gideon was
taking the job of an animal and thrashing the wheat for grain.
Now he is taking a kid from the flock and a whole bushel of flour
for this offering. This means that Gideon is a believer and is
faithful. He believes the messenger is from the Lord and wants
to please Him}.
and
put the meat {the slaughtered meat of the kid},
{Gideon}
in a basket {along with the bread}
{so the meat and flour are in one basket},
and
he put the broth in a pot
{in his other hand he carries a pot of broth},
Therefore,
he brought it out to Him {the angel of the Lord}
under
the oak, and 'presented them'/'was caused to present them'.
{Note: This was Gideon's doctrinal answer to the Arab crisis - put God first.}
20~~Consequently,
the angel of 'Elohiym/Godhead
{Jesus Christ is the manifest member of the Godhead and
represents the others - He is the only One every heard or seen}
'said
unto him'/'commanded him',
"Take
the meat and the unleavened cakes,
and
lay them upon this 'high rock'
{cela` - word often used for Christ in His Resurrection Body},
and
pour out the broth
{over the whole works - over the meat and unleavened bread}."
Therefore,
he {Gideon}
'did
so'/'manufactured {`asah - made from doctrine in his soul}
{students of the Word recognize the True Authority of God and
give correct and immediate obedience to the Will of God}.
21~~Then
the angel of the Jehovah/God {actually God Himself}
'vigorously
shoved out in from of Him'/'put forth' {shalach}
the
end of the staff ' that was in His hand,
and
touched the meat and the unleavened cakes;
and
there came/rose up fire out of the rock,
and
devoured the meat and the unleavened cakes
{signifies the acceptance of Gideon's offering by God
and signifies the manner by which God will deal with the invading
Arabs}.
But,
the angel of the Jehovah/God
had
departed/marched {halak} out of his sight
{as Gideon was watching the fire come out of the rock, he looks
up and in that split second, the angel had vanished}.
22~~When
Gideon perceived/saw
that
He was an angel/messenger of Lord/'Adonay,
Gideon
said, " Oh/'Ahahh, O Jehovah/God . . . Jehovih/God!
For
now I have seen an angel of the Jehovah/God
face
to face {thinking that he would now die}.
{Note: Gideon was over-thinking doctrine. Exodus 33:20 says if you see the face of God, you will die. So he is afraid for his life now.}
23~~And
Jehovah/God said unto him,
"Prosperity
{shalowm} belongs to you
{shalowm only means 'peace' when it is in a greeting - like
when saying 'hello' - otherwise it means wealth/success/
prosperity }.
Do not fear. You are not going to die."
24~~Then
Gideon built an altar there unto Jehovah/God,
and
called it Jehovah-shalom . . .
{Y@havah shalowm - means the wealth/success/prosperity of
God}
unto
this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
{Note: The prophet Samuel wrote Judges 100 years after this event occurred and the altar was still there.}
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