Judges 6:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice."

NIV: I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me."

NASB: and I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live.' But you have not obeyed Me.’?'

CSB: I said to you: I am the Lord your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites whose land you live in. But you did not obey me.’"

NLT: I told you, ‘I am the Lord your God. You must not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now live.’ But you have not listened to me.'

KJV: And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.

NKJV: Also I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My voice.’ ”

The Lord is speaking to His people Israel through a prophet (Judges 6:7–9). Instead of immediately sending a deliverer (Judges 2:16) to save them from the Midianites (Judges 6:1), He has sent a prophet to deliver a message to them. He wants them to hear and understand why they are suffering in this way. This comes in the form of a reminder of all God had done for the people, and how they turned from right faith to ignore their own Rescuer.

The prophet's message notes how God has used His power to save the people, first from slavery to the Egyptians (Exodus 12:51) and then from every oppressor after that (Judges 2:18). He has driven out the nations of the Promised Land before them and given His people Israel their long-awaited territory. In other words, God has done great good for Israel, generation after generation.

Here, God's prophet also points out what Israel was told when God first met with Moses (Exodus 3:6). This identification was also used to introduce the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–2). The God who saved them demanded they worship Him alone, not other, false gods. God explicitly told them not to fear the gods of the Amorites (Joshua 24:15) who were living in the land.

The word "fear" here comes in a particular context. This helps explain why the Israelites worshipped and served false gods of the people around them. They "feared" those gods in the sense of wanting the good those idols could supposedly give. They also wanted to avoid the bad their neighbors said those deities would bring if ignored. This is not panic or terror, but a sense of awe, respect, and obedience. They respected the power and whims of gods that were not gods at all, while ignoring the power of the one, true God, Yahweh.

God ominously accuses the people of disobedience. The Lord does not want Israel to miss the connection between their disobedience and the suffering they now experience (Judges 6:1–2). God has told them over and over, throughout multiple generations, that suffering will follow their disobedience (Judges 2:19–23).

Those who heard this unnamed divine messenger must have wondered whether God would rescue the nation once again.

Judges 6:1–10 begins, once again, with Israel's descent into evil (Judges 2:11–14). God turns them over to the Midianites, who invade every year with their allies from the east. These raids take Israelite crops and livestock. God's people cry out for help after seven years. Before sending a deliverer, the Lord first appoints an unnamed prophet to deliver a message. He reminds them that He is the one who freed them from their enemies and gave them their land. They suffer now because they have not obeyed His voice.

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.

The book of Judges contains a series of stories with a common theme: Israel falls into sin, suffers, and is rescued by God, only to fall once again (Judges 1—2). The next phase in Israel's downward spiral comes after 40 years of peace, won by Deborah and Barak (Judges 4—5). Israel is punished for sin through the Midianites. After seven years, the Israelites cry out for help. The Lord appears to Gideon, challenging the timid man to lead the battle against Israel's oppressors. Empowered by the Spirit, Gideon calls for his people to follow him, but still asks the Lord for signs. Gideon's successful campaigns are depicted in chapters 7 and 8.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).