Judges 6:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he said to him, "Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father 's house."

NIV: "Pardon me, my lord," Gideon replied, "but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

NASB: But he said to Him, 'O Lord, how am I to save Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.'

CSB: He said to him, "Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family."

NLT: But Lord,' Gideon replied, 'how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!'

KJV: And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

NKJV: So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

Gideon asks a question many have asked—both within Scripture and outside of it—when given a seemingly impossible mission from God: "How?" The nation is brutalized by foreign raiders (Judges 6:1–6), and the man being called is currently hiding his food from enemy eyes (Judges 6:11). Yet the Lord called him a "man of valor" (Judges 6:12) and commanded him to make the situation right (Judges 6:14). The Lord's first statement, that Yahweh was with Gideon, did not match the way Gideon viewed his circumstances. The Lord's command to change those circumstances does not match Gideon's vision of himself in the world.

Another common reply to God's calling is doubt that the person called is capable of such a thing. Gideon lists all the reasons he shouldn't be thought of as a "mighty man." His clan is the least influential of his tribe, and he's not even the most important person in his own family. That lowly status is highlighted by the fact that he's doing a servant's job, despite not being a servant himself (Judges 6:27). Gideon can't imagine he has the power to make a difference. Nor does he believe anyone would listen to anything he had to say about saving Israel.

It should be noted that "bravery" is not rightly thought of as a lack of fear, but the strength to overcome fear to act. By that standard, this timid, self-doubting Israelite is legitimately one of Scriptures "bravest" heroes (Hebrews 11:32–35).

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.

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).