The History of the Old Testament Methodized, Chapter 4 · Section 138
SECT. CXXXVIII.
Fourth Oppreſſion under the Midianites ſeven years.THe Children of Iſrael falling again to Idolatry, and doing evil in the ſight of the Lord, He delivered them into the hands of the Midianites, who oppreſſed them ſeven years. We read not indeed that they brought them into ſuch Bondage as other Oppreſſors had done, but only made every year Inroads into their Land, and ſo robbed and pillaged their Country. The Midianites (though the Poſterity of Abraham) were always deadly Enemies to the Iſraelites, and in the latter days of Moſes the Iſraelites had deſtroyed multitudes of them, as we may ſee Numb. 31.17. Poſſibly the Midianites reſolved now to take Revenge on them for it. However when the Lord intends to puniſh a people for their ſins, he can raiſe up againſt them what Nation he pleaſes. And in this time that the Midianites thus vexed Iſrael, many of thoſe Dens, and Caves, and ſtrong Holds in Rocks, which were in the Land of Canaan, were made by the Iſraelites to hide themſelves, and their Goods from the Midianites. Theſe Midianites having got (as it ſeems) ſome of thoſe Eaſtern Nations that bordered upon them, as the Iſhamelites, Arabians, &c. to join with them (who dwelt not in Cities or Towns, but in Tents only, which they uſed to remove from one place to another,) every Spring when the Iſraelites had ſown their Corn, theſe Midianites and their Confederates came with their Tents, and Camels, and Cattel, that they might eat up the increaſe of the Land, and therefore are compared to Graſhoppers or Locuſts, verſ. 5.
And they entred on the Eaſt paſſing over Jordan, and went quite through the Land, even as far as Gaza, that lay on the Weſtern-Sea, deſtroying all as they went, leaving in a manner no ſuſtenance for Iſrael, or very little, and driving away their Cattel. So that the Iſraelites were hereby greatly impoveriſhed. In this their Diſtreſs they cried unto the Lord, and he ſent a Prophet unto them (his Name is not recorded) who ſaid to them, Thus ſaith the Lord, I brought you out of Egypt, and delivered you from all thoſe that oppreſſed you, and drave out the Canaanites before you, and gave you their Land, and ſaid to you, I am the Lord your God; See that you Worſhip not the gods of the Amorites in whoſe Land you dwell; Becauſe Religious Worſhip is always accompanied with fear and reverence of that God whom we worſhip; therefore fear is often put for the whole Worſhip that we give to God.but you have not obeyed my Voice, and therefore you need not wonder at what is come upon you. Sometime after this the Angel of the Covenant (the Son of God, called Jehovah, verſ. 24. appeared unto Gideon, the Son of Joaſh, of the Family of Abiezer, of the Tribe of Manaſſeh at Ophrath, where he dwelt, and not deſiring to ſeem to Gideon any other than ſome Prophet ſent to him by God, He ſate down under an Oak, as a man wearied with travel, and that deſired to reſt himſelf, having as a Traveller a Staff in his hand. Thus the Son of God did often in the Old Teſtament take on him an humane ſhape, to prefigure his Incarnation. And accordingly now he appeared unto Gideon, who was threſhing Wheat by the Wine-preſs, to hide it from the Midianites. By which it appears that Gideon, though a man of Note, and having many Servants under him, verſ. 27. yet was a man alſo of an humble ſpirit, and diſdained not to employ himſelf in any honeſt labour. The Angel ſalutes him thus, The Lord is with thee thou mighty man of Valour; Gideon the Fourth Judge.this He ſpake as pre-ſignifying that great Courage and Valour the Lord intended to endow him with. Gideon reply'd, Oh, my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? where are all the Miracles our Fathers told us of? but the Lord hath now forſaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. The Angel replies, Thus ſaith the Lord, go in this thy might which I have given thee, and rely on my Promiſe to aſſiſt thee in this great Work which I call thee to, and thou ſhalt ſave Iſrael from the hands of the Midianites. Have not I ſent thee? and therefore having both Authority from Me, and a Promiſe of Succeſs, thou maiſt, without all ſcruple, undertake this Service. And he ſaid unto him, O Lord, wherewith ſhall I ſave Iſrael? Theſe words of Gideon ſeem to proceed from weakneſs of Faith, but do not argue a total want of it, (for his Faith is commended, Heb. 11.32.) but as a man apprehenſive of his own weakneſs, he deſires Direction how to carry on ſo great a Work, and what means he ſhould uſe for the atchieving ſo great a Deſign. Alas! ſays he, the thouſand that I belong to is poor in Manaſſeh; I am not only weak in my ſelf, but alſo in Friends and Allies. The Lord ſaid unto him, I will be with thee, and I am All-ſufficient, and able to give thee ſuch Wiſdom and Power as is requiſite for thee to effect it. I will ſurely be with thee, and thou ſhalt ſmite the Midianites as eaſily as if thou hadſt to do but with one man. Gideon ſaid, If I have found Grace in thy ſight, I pray thee ſhew me a ſign that thou talkeſt with me from God, and art ſent of Him thus to ſpeak unto me; and tarry I pray thee a little that I may entertain thee with ſuch Proviſions as I can on a ſuddain make. So Gideon went in, and made ready a Kid and unleavened Cakes, of which he provided a large quantity,*V. 19. Of an Ephah of flour. intending poſſibly to oblige this Stranger to take ſome of them with him to ſuſtain him in his Journey, ſee Gen. Ch. 18. & 19. and Judg. 13.15. The Fleſh and Cakes he put in a Basket, and the Broth in a Pot, and brought it out to Him (ſitting under the Oak) and preſented it to him. For apprehending Him at preſent to be only a Prophet ſent of God to him; He deſireth to give Him ſuch Entertainment as was fit for him to give to a Stranger and a Traveller, as Abraham, Lot, and Manoah in like Caſes did. The Angel bids him take the Fleſh and unleavened Cakes and to lay them upon the Rock that was hard by, and then to pour out the Broth upon them. Which being done, the Angel with the end of his Staff that was in his hand, touched the Fleſh and the unleavened Cakes, and there aroſe up fire, (y)Here fire comes out of a Rock as water formerly did, Exod. 17.6.out of the Rock, and immediately conſumed them, and then He preſently vaniſhed out of his ſight. Thus what Gideon intended for a Feaſt, was miraculouſly turned by the Angel into a kind of Burnt-Offering or Sacrifice, that thereby his Faith might be ſtrengthened, and that he might be aſſured that the Service God called him to ſhould be accepted, and that he ſhould have good Succeſs in it. Gideon perceiving now that it was an Angel that had talked with him, (both by his miraculous conſuming the Proviſions he had brought, as alſo by his ſudden vaniſhing out of his ſight,) he was ſorely afraid. Oh (ſays he) becauſe I have ſeen an Angel of the Lord face to face, in that viſible form which he aſſumed, I ſhall ſurely die. In thoſe days (it ſeems) it was a receiv'd Opinion among the Jews, that if they had ſeen an Angel*Vetuſtiſſimus hic hominum metus, ne morte aut male aliquo gravi afficerentur, conſpecto coelitus aliquo, quod indignos ſe tali ſpectaculo crederent, ut docet Callimachus. Grot. it was very perillous to their lives, ſee Judg. 13.22. and Deut. 5.24, 26. The Lord ſeeing Gideon in ſo great a perplexity about this Viſion, the next Night comforts him, and bids him not be afraid, for he ſhould not die. Then he Commands him theſe three things: Firſt, To take his Fathers young Bullock, the ſecond in order of thoſe that were prepared and ſet apart to be ſacrificed to Baal [ſee verſ. 28.] and of ſeven years old, and to offer her in Sacrifice unto the Lord, intimating poſſibly that the Midianites Tyranny, that had laſted now ſeven years, ſhould have an end, and together with it there ſhould be a ſuppreſſion of Baal's Worſhip in the Land. 2ly, He Commands him to throw down Baal's Altar, which his Father had made for his Family, and the Inhabitants of Ophrath, and to cut down the Grove by it. For before Gideon might go to fight againſt the Midianites (the Enemies of God, and his people) he muſt firſt ſet on foot the Reformation of Religion, and the Extirpation of Superſtition and Idolatry, which had provoked the Lord to Diſpleaſure againſt them. And he muſt begin at Home, viz. with his own Family and Friends. 3ly, When he had done this, He muſt build an Altar to the Lord in that very place upon the top of the Rock where the Lord had before ordered him to place the Proviſions he had brought, and given him a ſign, by cauſing fire to come out of the Rock and conſume them. And on this Altar he muſt offer the Bullock before-mentioned for a Burnt-Offering, with the wood of the Grove which he ſhould cut down. Gideon having received theſe Commands, took ten of his Servants (who it ſeems were ready to joyn with him in this Enterprize) and fearing leſt thoſe of his Fathers houſe, or the Inhabitants of the City ſhould hinder, or interrupt him in what he had to do, he took the advantage of the Night to do it in, and ſetting ſo many hands at work, the buſineſs was done before any of the City knew it to make Oppoſition or Reſiſtance. And having built an Altar to the Lord, and ſacrificed(z)Here Gods ſpecial Command was a ſufficient warrant for what Gideon did, though otherwiſe it was not lawful for any but a Prieſt to offer Sacrifice, or to do it any where but in the Tabernacle. the Bullock thereon as he was commanded, he called it Jehovah-Shalom; as if he ſhould have ſaid, The Lord ſend peace, which Name continued when this Hiſtory was written. The people of the City underſtanding next morning that Baal's Altar was thrown down, and his Grove alſo cut down, and the ſecond Bullock offered upon a new Altar built on the Rock, they inquired who had done theſe ſtrange things? It was told them, That Gideon had done them. They hereupon run violently to Joaſh, requiring him to bring forth his Son, that he may be put to death for caſting down the Altar and Grove of Baal. And this they require, before they heard what he could ſay for himſelf; ſo unreaſonable are men, when tranſported with an Idolatrous Rage.
Joaſh though it ſeems before he had been himſelf a Worſhipper of Baal, yet now (his mind being extraordinarily changed, poſſibly upon Gideon's acquainting him with the Viſion he had ſeen,) He reſolutely oppoſes them. What (ſays he) will ye dare to plead for Baal? will ye go about to ſave him? For my part, he that will plead for Baal let him be put to death, and that preſently, without any further delay. I wonder what aileth you? If Baal be a god, let him plead for himſelf, and revenge the wrong that is done to him in throwing down his Altar; but if he be not, he is not worthy to be defended by you, who is unable either to defend you or himſelf. Having ſaid theſe things in memory of that Heroick Fact done by Gideon; and in honour of Him, Joaſh that day call'd Him Jerubbaal, ſaying, Let Baal plead againſt him if he can.
Then the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and their Confederates came over Jordan into Canaan, and pitched in the Valley of Jezreel, in the Tribe of Manaſſeh, not far from Ophrah, where Gideon dwelt. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and acting him above himſelf, he blew a Trumpet and Abiezer; that is, thoſe of his own Family gathered themſelves unto Him, and he ſent Meſſengers throughout the Tribe of Manaſſeh, Aſher, Zebulun and Naphtali, viz. to all the Neighbouring-Tribes excepting Ephraim, (which occaſioned afterwards a great Quarrel between them, as we ſhall ſee Chap. 8.) and many of thoſe Tribes came and joyned themſelves with the Forces he had got together. Gideon being now ſhortly to engage in battel againſt the Midianites, He deſires to be further aſſur'd of God's Mind as to the event of the Fight, for the confirmation of his own Faith, and for the Encouragement of his Followers. For though the Apoſtle, Heb. 11.32. commendeth him for his Faith, yet he did not attain to the ſtrength of it all at once, but by degrees, as he was more and more confirm'd by God; In the mean time he needed all theſe helps to ſupport him againſt his Doubts and Faintings: Gideon therefore prays unto the Lord, and beſeeches him that if he intended to ſave Iſrael by his hand, He would pleaſe to give him this ſign thereof. He would put a Fleece of Wool in the Floor, and if in the morning there were dew on the Fleece only, and the ground about it were dry, then he would look upon it as a ſign that God would ſave Iſrael by his hand. The Lord grants his Requeſt, without any reprehenſion of him at all; and accordingly in the morning Gideon found the Fleece ſo wet, that he wrung a Bowl full of water out of it, the ground about it being all dry. Gideon ſeeing this, earneſtly beſought the Lord that his anger might not wax hot againſt him if he humbly deſired one ſign *Herein Gods great Condeſcention to Gideon was manifeſted, working a Miracle forward and backward (as it were) yea many Miracles for the ſtrengthening of his Faith in his Vocation, and in Gods Promiſes.more, which was juſt contrary; namely, that the next morning the Fleece only might be dry, and upon the ground about it there might be dew, which came to paſs accordingly, to the great Encouragement of Gideon.
Ch. 6. whole Chapter.