What does Judges 6:16 mean?
The Lord doesn't answer any of Gideon's objections about saving Israel from the Midianites (Judges 6:11–15). Instead, God simply says, "I will be with you." The Lord always insists that's the only answer any person should need to hear. Man's power is always irrelevant next to the will of their Creator (Luke 18:27; Exodus 15:6).Moses objected to God's call in a way much like Gideon's excuses." God answered by saying, "But I will be with you" (Exodus 3:11–12). When a startled Jeremiah pointed to his poor speech and youth, the Lord answered, "I am with you to deliver you" (Jeremiah 1:6–8). Here, God gives the same answer to Gideon. It's the only and obvious cure to every inadequacy raised in response to God's call. Even when the task seems impossible, this is the truthful answer.
The Lord adds that because He is with Gideon, the victory will be clear and convincing. Commentators suggest two ways of reading this reference to "[striking] the Midianites as one man." Either option makes sense in this context, and its possible both are in mind. The first possibility is that God meant Israel would rally behind Gideon and they would fight with the unity and cooperation of a single person. Another possibility is that this is a prediction that Gideon would defeat every Midianite, to the last man, until none were left to oppress Israel.
Either way, Gideon is still dubious. God's initial reference to him as a "mighty man of valor" (Judges 6:12) becomes more ironic as the conversation continues (Judges 6:17).
Judges 6:11–27 begins in a town called Ophrah. There, the Angel of the Lord appears to a man named Gideon. The Lord calls Gideon mighty, despite his apparent lack of influence or power, and commands him to save Israel from Midian. After a display of power, God commands Gideon to tear down the town's altars to false idols, replacing them with an altar to Yahweh complete with a sacrifice of his father's bull. Gideon does so under the cover of darkness out of fear of his family and the townspeople.
Israel follows the sad pattern of the book of Judges, and once again turns to evil and idols. God turns them over to the Midianites. These foreign raiders spend the next seven years invading and consuming Israel's crops and livestock. Israel cries for help to the Lord. His first step is to send a prophet to remind them of God's goodness and their disobedience. The Lord then appears to Gideon, commanding him to save Israel because God will be with him. Gideon obeys God's command to tear down a Baal altar and build one to Yahweh in its place. He calls his countrymen to follow him and asks for signs from God.
