Judges 6 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Judges 6 Summary - A Quick Overview

WHEN:

• Most scholars place the period of the Judges between 1450 B.C. and 1000 B.C.

• The precise dates are still debated.

• Gideon appears in Israel’s history approximately 40 years after Deborah and Barak (5:31).

CHARACTERS:

• The Midianites – They oppressed the Israelites for 7 years.

• The Angel of the Lord – God appeared to Gideon, seemingly in the form of a man. Judges 6:14 makes it clear the angel of the Lord was God.

• Gideon – The 5th Judge of Israel. God used him to free Israel from the oppression of the Midianites. He was given the name “Jerubbaal” which means “Let Baal contend against him” (6:32).

WHERE:

• Gideon lived near Ophrah (not on the map), which was in the territory of Manasseh.

• The Midianites gathered in the Valley of Jezreel (6:33).

OUTLINE:

• MIDIAN OPPRESSES ISRAEL (6:1-10):

  • The Israelites “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” and God allowed the Midianites to oppress them for 7 years.

  • The Midianites stole the Israelites livestock and crops every year.

  • “Israel was brought very low because of Midian” (6:6).

  • The people of Israel cried out to God for help and God sent a prophet to them to rebuke them for their disobedience.

• GIDEON, THE 5TH JUDGE OF ISRAEL (6:11-24):

  • The angel of the Lord went to Ophrah and found a man named Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it hidden from the Midianites.  

  • The angel of the Lord told Gideon the Lord was with him.

  • But Gideon wasn’t so sure. He asked the messenger why God allowed the Midianites to oppress Israel if He was on their side.

  • God didn’t give him a direct answer, instead He told him to save Israel from the Midianites.

  • Gideon had no idea how he, a man from an insignificant family in Israel, could possibly overthrow the Midianites.

  • God assured Gideon He would give him victory.  

  • But Gideon wasn’t convinced. He asked the Lord to show him a sign to assure him it was really God who was commissioning him to this job.

  • God instructed Gideon to put meat, bread, and broth on a nearby rock. When this was done, God touched the rock with His staff and fire came out of the rock and consumed the food.

  • After seeing the sign, Gideon looked back to the Lord, but He had vanished.

• GIDEON DESTROYS THE COMMUNITY IDOLS (6:25-32):

  • That night, God told Gideon to tear down his father’s idols, the Baal and Asherah.

  • In their place, Gideon was to erect an altar to the true God of Israel and offer a bull using the wood from the Asherah.

  • Gideon took 10 men and did as the Lord instructed.

  • The next morning, when the men of the city discovered what had been done, they wanted Gideon put to death.

  • Gideon’s father dismissed their demand, telling them, if Baal was a real god, he could fight for himself.

• MIDIAN AND GIDEON GATHER THEIR ARMIES (6:33-35):

  • The Midianites, Amalekites, and the people of the east gathered in the Valley of Jezreel.

  • Gideon gathered the Abiezrites and the fighting men from Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali.  

• THE SIGN OF THE FLEECE (6:36-40):

  • Gideon wanted to be sure God was on his side, so he asked the Lord for another sign.

  • He laid a wool fleece on the ground and ask God to cover the fleece with dew but leave the surrounding ground dry.

  • When Gideon woke up the next morning, the fleece was wet and the ground dry.

  • He asked God to repeat the sign, but to leave the fleece dry while covering the ground with dew.

  • The next morning, the fleece was dry and the ground surrounding it was wet.

APPLICATION:

• God doesn’t promise popularity to those who obey him.

• He does promise people will hate His followers (John 15:18-19).

• Losing popularity is one of the sacrifices followers of God must be willing to make.

• But when you think about it, it isn’t that big of a sacrifice.

• I’d rather enjoy the favor of the Creator of the Universe than the admiration of a few more people.

• It really shouldn’t be a hard decision.