And Gideon said to Him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us,
why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” Judges 6:13
And Gideon said to Him The conversation between the Angel of the Lord and Gideon continues. Usually when the Lord tells us something
we should drop what we are doing and obey. The disciples did this when they stopped what they were doing to follow Jesus.
When Gideon hears what the Lord says to him, it just does not
make sense so he speaks back to the Lord. By the way it appears
Gideon did not get the message that Israel was crying out to the
Lord and the Lord heard and was answering them. We see that God
brings the pieces together as He sees fit and the people involved may
not see the big picture of what He is doing. As we read these Gideon’s
questions we get the impression he is fed up with the situation that
Israel faces. Little does he know who God will call to deliver them.
Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? You never win when you start asking God why questions! But Gideon can’t help it, he cannot makes sense of what’s happening. He doesn’t seem to tie the correction God has brought to Israel to their willful rebellion. If God is really with Israel should this be happening? Gideon suggests if God really cared about Israel all these bad things would not be occurring. That sentiment has not changed – if God cares, why do bad things happen?
And where are all His wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, “Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?” Gideon continues his questioning. He heard of the great works of God that others spoke of. Perhaps he heard the words of the unnamed prophet who challenged Israel with their rebellion to God. But Gideon does not seem to buy what he heard from the Prophet. He draws a different conclusion. In fact it sounds like the complaint of the Israelites in the wilderness. They complained God brought them out of Egypt just to suffer in the wilderness. We have to stop here in amazement. This is the man God is calling to deliver Israel? Yet Gideon is honest with God. He has questions and doubts and he shares them openly. He is not a scoffer who mocks God and
is not willing to listen and learn. He cannot understand why God is allowing this bondage to evil people.
But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian Gideon provides his conclusion. He agrees God brought Israel out of Egypt but now they are placed into an equally bad situation. In essence Gideon turns the blame back on God. Gideon contends that God delivered Israel only to forsake them in the promised land. The result was they exchanged the enslavement of Egypt for captivity to the Midianites. Implied in this statement is that Israel is no better off than they were in Egypt.
What can we learn? Gideon appears to be frustrated. He responds with politeness to the Angel of the Lord (“please my lord”) but he clearly does not understand (or accept the reason) why this continued harassment happened to Israel. The unnamed prophet’s message to Israel had emphasized two things – God delivered Israel out of slavery and Israel has not obeyed God’s voice. Perhaps Gideon is blinded to the sin of Israel (we will learn there are idols in his own father’s house). Perhaps he is just frustrated with how hard life has
become. His stress level is high. Gideon’s conclusion is that the hard times that has come upon Israel means the God has forsaken (the word means left, neglected or abandoned) His people. Not only does he imply God does not care for Israel but he he contends God has delivered (given or put) them deliberately in harms way. We see in this scene the mistake that believers make when we view God through our circumstances rather than viewing our circumstances through God’s
word. In his frustration Gideon accuses God of breaking one of His promises to Israel. In our frustration we often demean the character of our great God – the sin of walking by sight not faith.