Judges 6:12,14: “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him. ‘The Lord is with you, O mighty warrior.’ And the Lord looked at him and said ‘Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?”
Did you ever have an experience with Jesus, perhaps it was many years ago, maybe even when you were a child and Jesus met you in a garden, He let you crawl up into his lap and you put your head on His chest, he stroked your hair, hugged you, maybe even gave you a little kiss and He whisper to you, “Don’t worry.” Somehow, even after years of pain and heartbreak that special moment with Jesus comes back to you and your receive strength from it. Gideon had such an experience.
Let’s just follow Judges 6 a little closely. First we learn that the people of Israel fell into sin and as a result they were oppressed by the Midianites. The Midianites pretty well destroyed the economy of Israel. They were stealing all their crops and produce and anything else that had value to them. Israel cried out to God. In response God sent a prophet (v.8) who reminded them that He did deliver them in the past but that this trouble has come upon them because they were disobedient. Their disobedience came because the worshipped the gods of the Amorites. The Amorites worshipped the god Amurru aka Martu. Little is known of this god. It is often referred to as the god of the mountains or the son of the shepherd. Historians seem to think that the worship of this god has its roots in the worship of God Jehovah and was originally viewed as the mother or wife of Jehovah. Odd how Israel took their pure belief in Jehovah and tagged on little heresies here and there, I’m sure, of course, that would never happen to us today. This eventually evolved into a religion of it’s own right. Anyways, they believed that this mother or wife of Jehovah was the goddess that provided all their abundance and prosperity. So it would only be fitting that in order for God to show where Israel’s provision originated, He would have had to subject the people to poverty so they would realize they were looking to the wrong god for their source.
After the prophet spoke, an angel of the Lord came and sat under an oak tree near the place where Gideon was working. Then it said the angel appeared to Gideon. Odd, if he was sitting there was he not already appeared? Much has been said about who this angel was. Many believe it was a theophany, an appearance of God Himself in human form. Some say it was Jesus, some say it was just an angel and others feel it was just the prophet from verse 6. The word for angel here is la’ke. It basically means a messenger, but it is used for a priest, or a minister. Jesus really fits the bill for that and I like to think it was Jesus who appeared to Gideon, yeah, I like to think that, if I am wrong then I am wrong, but it is nice to think that this is who appeared to Gideon. The word appear is strange, because it is the word yara.’ This is the word for fear or reverence or respect. He did not just appear, he showed respect for Gideon. This is another reason I believe it was Jesus who appeared or showed respect for Gideon. I mean who else would show respect for a loser like Gideon. What was there to respect, I mean this old boy was anything but a mighty warrior. If he had an ounce of warrior blood in him, he would have been in the front lines fending off the Midianites as they ransacked their fields. Instead he was in the rear lines where he was safe and sound threshing wheat.
Why did this person or as I believe Jesus have respect for Gideon? He knew something Gideon did not. “The Lord is with you.” The word with is ‘amadi which is more than just being around someone, it has the idea of being in union with, connected to as a kindred, a part of the family, a blood relative. Gideon’s response, “If the Lord is with us.” Shows that he didn’t get it or that he refused to get it ie., Jehovah was a part or connected with him, personally. He was a king’s kid as they used to say in the 70’s. He had the privilege of being allowed to crawl up into the lap of the God of the Universe and let Him hug him and tell him not to worry. This is followed by verse 14 which says that Jehovah looked at him. The word for looked is panah which is the word we use for the presence of God. In other words Jehovah filled him with His presence. Jesus gave Him a mighty hug and whispered, “It’s ok, I’m here, don’t worry, go in this your strength.”
This would explain that strange statement that follows: Go in this your strength. It sounds very contradictory. I mean we are constantly being told that we go in the strength of the Lord but here Jesus is telling Gideon to go in his strength. Actually it is more correctly translated, in this your strength. What was his strength? It was the panah the presence of God, that little hug from God, that moment when He lets you, who feels worthless and of no value, He lets you crawl up into the lap of the king of the Universe and gives you that special attention.
How many of us are just working in the rear lines where it is safe, threshing wheat. We cry out to God, “where are your miracles, where is your revival.” Then God gives us panah or a mighty hug and fills us with His presence and simply tells us what he told Gideon. “You go, had I not called you?” So what is all this hand clapping and dancing around trying to feel His presence every Sunday all about – just so you can feel good? Nay, He is infusing us with strength. His presence isn’t there just to feel good, it is there to be our might our power. It is that which will cause us to defeat the Midianites that come into our lives.
Maybe once as a little child you had an experience of the presence of God. Perhaps you were just sitting in church one day and you suddenly felt the presence of God in a real way, maybe it was more profound, you were with Jesus and He let you sit in His lap and you put your head on His chest and He told you not to worry. Now many years later when the sheriff is at the door with an eviction notice or you stand in bankruptcy court, or you receive that doctor’s report and you have not been healed, thoughts go back to that day you received you panah, that mighty hug from Jesus, those moments in the presence of Jesus and like Gideon when you feel boxed in, you come out swinging in this your strength.
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