Judges 6

Gideon’s personal struggle to believe God’s promise 6:33-7:18

"The primary matter in the Gideon narrative is not the deliverance itself, but rather something more personal, namely, Gideon’s struggle to believe God’s promise. . . .

"Judges 6:33 to Judges 7:18 is arranged in the following concentric pattern:

"A The Spirit-endowed Gideon mobilized four tribes against the Midianites, though lacking confidence in God’s promise (Judges 6:33-35).

B Gideon sought a sign from God with the fleece to confirm the promise that the Lord would give Midian into his hand (Judges 6:36-40).

C. With the fearful Israelites having departed, God directed Gideon to go down to the water for the further reduction of his force (Judges 7:1-8).

C’ With fear still in Gideon himself, God directed Gideon to go down to the enemy camp to overhear the enemy (Judges 7:9-11).

B’ God provided a sign to Gideon with the dream of the Midianite to confirm the promise that the Lord would give Midian into his hand (Judges 7:12-14).

A’ The worshiping Gideon mobilized his force of 300 for a surprise attack against the Midianites, fully confident in God’s promise (Judges 7:15-18).

"The reduction of Gideon’s army is a familiar story often told from the perspective of emphasizing God’s ability to deliver whether by many or by few. While this is true, such an explanation falls short of doing justice in this context. The context is dealing with a struggle within Gideon himself." [Note: Tanner, p. 157.]