Judges 6 - The Rise of Gideon

So we leave behind the era of Deborah and the peace that existed for forty years, and as soon as Judges 6 begins it is said, "the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord."  The cycle of sin continues, even till today.  The result of the Israelites' falling this time is their oppression by the Madianites.  Once oppressed they see the error of their ways and ask God for delivery.  And God answers promptly by calling on Gideon, a common, simple man, yet someone who has not been so caught up with the depraved idolatry going on all around him.  This was an interesting chapter, but I'll just highlight a couple of things that caught my attention.  The first involves something mentioned in my commentary.  Judges 6:10 says, "I am the Lord your God, fear not the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell."  The word "fear" is of significance here.  It may seem perplexing to us that the Israelites cannot seem to stop themselves from falling over and over again into idolatry.  But when we look for reasons, we can see that it stems from an inordinate fear that consumes all of us as humans.  We don't like being afraid.  That is true for all humans at all times.  We will gravitate towards whatever seems to alleviate us of this crippling fear.  Faith in the One True God requires that we overcome our fears and place all of our trust in Him, as scary as it may be.  But for the ancient Israelites, idols provided a quick, superficial escape from fear.  Idols were more immediate, seemingly more personal, and the claims were that these idols would calm the fears of the Israelites by providing safety, protection, security, etc.  The truth, of course, is that this was all based on diabolical lies and a rejection of the protection of the One God.  The Romans even had a god who specialized in taking fear away -- this was Paventia.  The Romans, like all of us, were afraid of fear, and so prayed to Paventia that they may not have to live with a constant fear plaguing them.  Today, we may not turn to idols or Paventia, but we do still seek elaborate ways of avoiding fear, mainly through political means, enacting more laws, placing more trust in a government we think will protect us.  All the while we ignore the true source of protection, which lies only with God above.  Just like the Israelites, our lack of faith causes us over and over to fall into a false trust in what is immediate, be it idols or politicians. 

Gideon, because his faith was strong, did not share the paralyzing fear of his countrymen.  Like the judges before him, his mission is to destroy the idolatrous mindset of the Israelites, lead an attack on the enemy, and restore true faith in God.  The chapter ends with the two miracles of the fleece.  And in these miracles, as many of the Church Fathers have discerned, is yet another example of God's divine plan.  The first miracle produces dew on the fleece only, yet the surrounding ground is dry.  This is as Gideon requested, to show that God truly was on his side.  This also represents God's covenant with the Israelites, that they were His chosen people, while the surrounding pagan nations were not in God's favor.  Yet the second miracle leaves the fleece dry while all the surrounding ground is now wet with dew!  This represents, or prefigures, the New Covenant that will be instituted by Jesus Christ, wherein the chosen people (the fleece) are no longer singled out in God's favor, but now all nations (the surrounding ground) will receive God's graces and be saved!