17 And he saith unto Him, 'If, I pray Thee, I have found grace in Thine eyes, then Thou hast done for me a sign that Thou art speaking with me. 18 Move not, I pray Thee, from this, till my coming in unto Thee, and I have brought out my present, and put it before Thee;' and he saith, 'I—I do abide till thy return.' 19 And Gideon hath gone in, and prepareth a kid of the goats, and of an ephah of flour unleavened things; the flesh he hath put in a basket, and the broth he hath put in a pot, and he bringeth out unto Him, unto the place of the oak, and bringeth 'it' nigh. 20 And the messenger of God saith unto him, 'Take the flesh and the unleavened things, and place on this rock—and the broth pour out;' and he doth so. 21 And the messenger of Jehovah putteth forth the end of the staff which 'is' in His hand, and cometh against the flesh, and against the unleavened things, and the fire goeth up out of the rock and consumeth the flesh and the unleavened things—and the messenger of Jehovah hath gone from his eyes. 22 And Gideon seeth that He 'is' a messenger of Jehovah, and Gideon saith, 'Alas, Lord Jehovah! because that I have seen a messenger of Jehovah face to face!' 23 And Jehovah saith to him, 'Peace to thee; fear not; thou dost not die.' 24 And Gideon buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and calleth it Jehovah-Shalom, unto this day it 'is' yet in Ophrah of the Abi-Ezrites.
25 And it cometh to pass, on that night, that Jehovah saith to him, 'Take the young ox which 'is' to thy father, and the second bullock of seven years, and thou hast thrown down the altar of Baal which 'is' to thy father, and the shrine which 'is' by it thou dost cut down, 26 and thou hast built an altar to Jehovah thy God on the top of this stronghold, by the arrangement, and hast taken the second bullock, and caused to ascend a burnt-offering with the wood of the shrine which thou cuttest down.' 27 And Gideon taketh ten men of his servants, and doth as Jehovah hath spoken unto him, and it cometh to pass, because he hath been afraid of the house of his father, and the men of the city, to do 'it' by day, that he doth 'it' by night. 28 And the men of the city rise early in the morning, and lo, broken down hath been the altar of Baal, and the shrine which is by it hath been cut down, and the second bullock hath been offered on the altar which is built. 29 And they say one to another, 'Who hath done this thing?' and they inquire and seek, and they say, 'Gideon son of Joash hath done this thing.' 30 And the men of the city say unto Joash, 'Bring out thy son, and he dieth, because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the shrine which 'is' by it.' 31 And Joash saith to all who have stood against him, 'Ye, do ye plead for Baal? ye—do ye save him? he who pleadeth for him is put to death during the morning; if he 'is' a god he himself doth plead against him, because he hath broken down his altar.' 32 And he calleth him, on that day, Jerubbaal, saying, 'The Baal doth plead against him, because he hath broken down his altar.'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Judges 6:17-32
Commentary on Judges 6:11-24
(Read Judges 6:11-24)
Gideon was a man of a brave, active spirit, yet in obscurity through the times: he is here stirred up to undertake something great. It was very sure that the Lord was with him, when his Angel was with him. Gideon was weak in faith, which made it hard to reconcile the assurances of the presence of God with the distress to which Israel was brought. The Angel answered his objections. He told him to appear and act as Israel's deliverer, there needed no more. Bishop Hall says, While God calls Gideon valiant, he makes him so. God delights to advance the humble. Gideon desires to have his faith confirmed. Now, under the influences of the Spirit, we are not to expect signs before our eyes such as Gideon here desired, but must earnestly pray to God, that if we have found grace in his sight, he would show us a sign in our heart, by the powerful working of his Spirit there, The Angel turned the meat into an offering made by fire; showing that he was not a man who needed meat, but the Son of God, who was to be served and honoured by sacrifice, and who in the fulness of time was to make himself a sacrifice. Hereby a sign was given to Gideon, that he had found grace in God's sight. Ever since man has by sin exposed himself to God's wrath and curse, a message from heaven has been a terror to him, as he scarcely dares to expect good tidings thence. In this world, it is very awful to have any converse with that world of spirits to which we are so much strangers. Gideon's courage failed him. But God spoke peace to him.
Commentary on Judges 6:25-32
(Read Judges 6:25-32)
See the power of God's grace, that he could raise up a reformer; and the kindness of his grace, that he would raise up a deliverer, out of the family of a leader in idolatry. Gideon must not think it enough not to worship at that altar; he must throw it down, and offer sacrifice on another. It was needful he should make peace with God, before he made war on Midian. Till sin be pardoned through the great Sacrifice, no good is to be expected. God, who has all hearts in his hands, influenced Joash to appear for his son against the advocates for Baal, though he had joined formerly in the worship of Baal. Let us do our duty, and trust God with our safety. Here is a challenge to Baal, to do either good or evil; the result convinced his worshippers of their folly, in praying to one to help them that could not avenge himself.