Judges 6:1-10 – Midian Oppresses Israel

Jdg 6:1

1. The time is about 300 years after God has delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt.
   1. Israel has no king yet, but is led when necessary by various leaders called judges, hence the title “The Book of Judges”.
   2. Israel had been doing well and living in peace and wealth, but unfortunately they had also begun to live in sin.
2. The Midianites were descended from Midian, one of Abraham’s sons (Genesis 25:2).
   1. The Bible does not make it clear exactly where the land of the Midianites was.
   2. Joseph was sold to the Midianites (Genesis 37:28).
   3. Moses lived 40 years in Midian and married the daughter of Jethro, a Midianite priest (Exodus 2:11ff).
   4. God commanded Moses to fight against Midian (Numbers 31:1ff).
   5. Israel is oppressed by Midian during the time of Judges and Gideon is called by God to deliver Israel.
3. Israel forsook God and did what was evil in God’s sight. Because of Israel’s sin, God allowed the Midianites to ravage Israel. The purpose of this was for Israel to repent of their idolatry and return to God. God loved Israel and therefore did not leave them when Israel forsook God.
   1. Even today, God can put us through trials to draw us closer to Him.
   2. If you are in the midst of a trial, you may be angry with God and wonder why things have turned out the way they have. But then remember that there is something worse than going through a trial, and that is God leaving you.
   3. “Count it the greatest joy, my brethren, when you encounter all kinds of trials. For you know that when your faith is tested, the test makes you persevere.” (Jas 1:2-3)

Jdg 6:2

1. Israel was humiliated and on its knees.
   1. It is difficult to humble oneself and repent when one lives in sin. Often you need to go through a difficult period before you realize how wrong you have gone.
      1. It would have been much better for ourselves if we had been humble before God from the beginning.
      2. The life of a believer is characterized by occasional trials, which bring him even closer to God.

Jdg 6:3

1. The Midianites did not occupy Israel, but came when it was time to harvest and took their fill. So Israel did not even get to keep what they themselves had produced.
   1. In the same way, sin can make all the work we put in fruitless.

Jdg 6:5

1. This is the first time camels used in battle are mentioned in the Bible. Israel stood no chance against these, for the time, “sophisticated” weapons.

Jdg 6:6

1. Only when it has come to the point where Israel is living in caves, has no food and is totally outnumbered militarily, then they cry out to the Lord.
2. It is a common human trait that we often try to solve all our problems ourselves, and only when there is no other way out do we ask God for help. If Israel had stuck to God from the beginning, or cried out to God immediately when the problems started to arise, they would not have had to get into this difficult situation.

Jdg 6:8

1. Before God would send the savior, Israel needed to be prepared through a prophet.
2. The same thing happened just before the coming of Jesus; the Jewish people were prepared by the preaching of John the Baptist.
3. Sometimes it’s good to have time to reflect on your mistakes before you’re ready for a big change.
4. I myself have brought you up out of Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage.
5. When Israel thought that God had abandoned them, God reminded Israel of His love for Israel and that He had saved them from Egypt in the past.
6. When we feel that God is far away, we also need to think back to what God has done for us in the past. But we should not remember Egypt, we should remember the cross and what Jesus has done for us.

Jdg 6:10

1. But you did not listen to my voice.
2. Israel’s problem was not really the Midianites, Israel’s problem was that they did not listen to God.
3. In the same way, today we should also consider whether the problems we face are really our own fault?