[[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[Judges Overview]] [[Judges 05]] [[Judges 07]] # Judges 06 📖 > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts]] [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Oppression and Confrontation [[#Verse 01.]] The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord turned them over to Midian for seven years.  [[#Verse 02.]] The Midianites overwhelmed Israel. Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters for themselves in the hills, caves, and strongholds. [[#Verse 03.]] Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east would attack them. [[#Verse 04.]] They invaded the land and devoured its crops all the way to Gaza. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat, and they took away the sheep, oxen, and donkeys.  [[#Verse 05.]] When they invaded with their cattle and tents, they were as thick as locusts. Neither they nor their camels could be counted. They came to devour the land.  [[#Verse 06.]] Israel was so severely weakened by Midian that the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help. [[#Verse 07.]] When the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help because of Midian,  [[#Verse 08.]] the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites. He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and took you out of that place of slavery. [[#Verse 09.]] I rescued you from Egypt’s power and from the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave their land to you.  [[#Verse 10.]] I said to you, “I am the Lord your God! Do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living.” But you have disobeyed me.’” ### Gideon Meets Some Visitors [[#Verse 11.]] The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress so he could hide it from the Midianites.  [[#Verse 12.]] The angel of the Lord appeared and said to him, “The Lord is with you, courageous warrior!” [[#Verse 13.]] Gideon said to him, “Pardon me, but if the Lord is with us, why has such disaster overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” [[#Verse 14.]] Then the Lord himself turned to him and said, “You have the strength. Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! Have I not sent you?”  [[#Verse 15.]] Gideon said to him, “But Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.”  [[#Verse 16.]] The Lord said to him, “Ah, but I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army.”  [[#Verse 17.]] Gideon said to him, “If you really are pleased with me, then give me a sign as proof that it is really you speaking with me.  [[#Verse 18.]] Do not leave this place until I come back with a gift and present it to you.” The Lord said, “I will stay here until you come back.” [[#Verse 19.]] Gideon went and prepared a young goat, along with unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought the food to him under the oak tree and presented it to him.  [[#Verse 20.]] God’s angel said to him, “Put the meat and unleavened bread on this rock, and pour out the broth.” Gideon did as instructed.  [[#Verse 21.]] The angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of his staff. Fire flared up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened bread. The angel of the Lord then disappeared. [[#Verse 22.]] When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he said, “Oh no! Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face-to-face!” [[#Verse 23.]] The Lord said to him, “You are safe! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die!”  [[#Verse 24]] Gideon built an altar for the Lord there, and named it “The Lord is on friendly terms with me.” To this day it is still there in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. ### Gideon Destroys the Altar [[#Verse 25.]] That night the Lord said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.  [[#Verse 26.]] Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.”  [[#Verse 27.]] So Gideon took ten of his servants and did just as the Lord had told him. He was too afraid of his father’s family and the men of the city to do it in broad daylight, so he waited until nighttime. [[#Verse 28.]] When the men of the city got up the next morning, they saw the Baal altar pulled down, the nearby Asherah pole cut down, and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar.  [[#Verse 29.]] They said to one another, “Who did this?” They investigated the matter thoroughly and concluded that Gideon son of Joash had done it. [[#Verse 30.]] The men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, so we can execute him! He pulled down the Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.”  [[#Verse 31.]] But Joash said to all those who confronted him, “Must you fight Baal’s battles? Must you rescue him? Whoever takes up his cause will die by morning! If he really is a god, let him fight his own battles! After all, it was his altar that was pulled down.”  [[#Verse 32.]] That very day Gideon’s father named him Jerub Baal, because he had said, “Let Baal fight with him, for it was his altar that was pulled down.” ### Gideon Summons an Army and Seeks Confirmation [[#Verse 33.]] All the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east assembled. They crossed the Jordan River and camped in the Jezreel Valley. [[#Verse 34.]] The Lord’s Spirit took control of Gideon. He blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.  [[#Verse 35.]] He sent messengers throughout Manasseh and summoned them to follow him as well. He also sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet him. [[#Verse 36.]] Gideon said to God, “If you really intend to use me to deliver Israel, as you promised, then give me a sign as proof.  [[#Verse 37.]] Look, I am putting a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece, and the ground around it is dry, then I will be sure that you will use me to deliver Israel, as you promised.”  [[#Verse 38.]] The Lord did as he asked. When he got up the next morning, he squeezed the fleece, and enough dew dripped from it to fill a bowl.  [[#Verse 39.]] Gideon said to God, “Please do not get angry at me, when I ask for just one more sign. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make only the fleece dry, while the ground around it is covered with dew.”  [[#Verse 40.]] That night God did as he asked. Only the fleece was dry and the ground around it was covered with dew. ## ==📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary== ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24 ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. ###### Verse 27. ###### Verse 28. ###### Verse 29. ###### Verse 30. ###### Verse 31. ###### Verse 32. ###### Verse 33. ###### Verse 34. ###### Verse 35. ###### Verse 36. ###### Verse 37. ###### Verse 38. ###### Verse 39. ###### Verse 40. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights - coming soon. %% PRIVATE NOTES (only I see this) Write down things that are not straight from commentary but interesting facts that ground the text in history. %% ## 🧠 Chapter Summary - coming soon. %% PRIVATE NOTES (only I see this) Write a short paragraph (3–5 sentences) summarizing what happens in this chapter. - What is the main event or teaching? - How does this chapter fit the book’s overall story? - What stands out immediately? Anything Apologetic to point out? %% ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application - coming soon. %% PRIVATE NOTES (only I see this) - 📌 Observation 1 - 📌 Observation 2 - 📌 Observation 3 - (Add more as needed.) %% %% #### Today, I can apply this chapter by: - ✅ Application 1 - ✅ Application 2 Make these very practical: - "Trust God's timing in an uncertain situation." - "Speak truth even when it’s unpopular." Think: - What do we learn about God here? - What do we learn about people? - Are there promises, commands, or warnings? %% ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - coming soon. %% PRIVATE NOTES (only I see this) - 📖 [Verse Reference] – "Quote of important verse." - 📖 [Verse Reference] – "Quote of another important verse." (You can link to deeper notes if you want later.) %% ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 coming soon. - 🔗 coming soon. %% Examples: - John 1:1 and Genesis 1 - Romans 5 and Genesis 3 %% ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection - coming soon. %% PRIVATE NOTES (only I see this) Write 3–6 sentences reflecting on: - How this chapter encourages your faith, - Convicts your heart, - Reveals God's character. Optional format: "In light of this chapter, I am challenged to..." or "I am comforted by..." %% ##### 📂 Internal Links/Personal Notes