and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. The hand of MidianThe phrase "the hand of Midian" signifies the power and control that the Midianites exerted over Israel. In Hebrew, "hand" (יָד, yad) often symbolizes strength or power. Historically, the Midianites were a nomadic people who frequently raided Israel, as seen in the broader narrative of Judges. This oppression was a direct consequence of Israel's disobedience to God, serving as a divine instrument of discipline. Theologically, it reminds us of the sovereignty of God, who uses even adversaries to fulfill His purposes and bring His people back to repentance. prevailed against Israel
The term "prevailed" indicates dominance and victory. In the context of Judges, this reflects a period of severe oppression where the Israelites were subjugated and impoverished. The Hebrew root for "prevailed" (חָזַק, chazaq) conveys the idea of being strong or firm. This historical period was marked by Israel's spiritual decline, and the Midianite oppression was a consequence of their idolatry and abandonment of God's covenant. It serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of turning away from God and the need for national and personal repentance. because of Midian
This phrase highlights the direct cause of Israel's distress. The Midianites were relentless in their raids, which led to widespread fear and insecurity among the Israelites. Historically, the Midianites' tactics included destroying crops and livestock, which devastated Israel's economy and sustenance. This situation underscores the vulnerability of a nation that has strayed from God's protection and the importance of seeking His guidance and deliverance. the Israelites made for themselves the dens in the mountains
The Israelites' response to the Midianite threat was to seek refuge in "dens in the mountains." The Hebrew word for "dens" (מְעָרוֹת, me'arot) suggests hiding places or shelters. This reflects a time of desperation and survival, where the Israelites were forced to abandon their homes and live in seclusion. Archaeologically, evidence of such hideouts has been found, indicating the historical reality of these events. Spiritually, this act of hiding symbolizes the loss of freedom and peace that comes from disobedience to God. the caves
The use of "caves" further emphasizes the extent of Israel's plight. Caves (מְעָרוֹת, me'arot) were natural refuges, offering protection from enemies. In biblical symbolism, caves often represent places of refuge or encounter with God, as seen in the accounts of David and Elijah. However, in this context, they signify the dire circumstances and fear that gripped Israel. This imagery calls believers to reflect on the spiritual caves we might retreat to when faced with the consequences of sin, and the need to seek God's deliverance. and the strongholds
The term "strongholds" (מִצְדוֹת, mitzadot) refers to fortified places of defense. These were likely makeshift fortifications constructed to withstand Midianite attacks. Historically, such strongholds were essential for survival during times of conflict. Spiritually, this highlights the human tendency to rely on physical defenses rather than seeking God's protection. It serves as a reminder that true security and strength come from trusting in the Lord, who is our ultimate stronghold and refuge. Persons / Places / Events 1. MidianA nomadic people who oppressed Israel during the time of the Judges. They were descendants of Abraham through Keturah and often in conflict with Israel. 2. IsraelitesThe chosen people of God, who were suffering under the oppression of the Midianites due to their disobedience to God. 3. Dens, Caves, and StrongholdsThese were the hiding places the Israelites used to escape the oppression of the Midianites. They symbolize fear and retreat from the enemy. 4. MountainsThe geographical feature where the Israelites sought refuge. Mountains often symbolize places of encounter with God, but here they are places of hiding. 5. OppressionThe event of Midian's dominance over Israel, which led to the Israelites' desperate measures for survival. Teaching Points Consequences of DisobedienceThe Israelites' oppression by Midian was a direct result of their disobedience to God. This serves as a reminder of the importance of faithfulness to God's commands. Seeking Refuge in GodWhile the Israelites sought physical refuge in caves and strongholds, believers are encouraged to seek spiritual refuge in God, who is our ultimate protector. God's DeliveranceDespite their circumstances, God had a plan for deliverance through Gideon. This teaches us that God is always working for our good, even when we cannot see it. Faith Over FearThe Israelites' fear led them to hide, but God calls us to live by faith. Trusting in God's promises can help us overcome fear and oppression. Repentance and RestorationThe cycle of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance in Judges highlights the need for genuine repentance and the hope of restoration through God's mercy. Bible Study Questions 1. What does the oppression of the Israelites by the Midianites teach us about the consequences of turning away from God? 2. How can we apply the concept of seeking refuge in God to our own lives when facing trials and challenges? 3. In what ways does the account of Gideon, which follows this verse, demonstrate God's power to deliver His people? 4. How can we overcome fear and live by faith in situations where we feel oppressed or overwhelmed? 5. What steps can we take to ensure that we remain faithful to God and avoid the cycle of sin and oppression seen in the book of Judges? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 2The Midianites' connection to Moses, who fled to Midian and married into the Midianite family, showing a complex relationship between Israel and Midian. Hebrews 11The faith chapter, which includes references to the judges, highlighting the faith required to overcome oppression. Psalm 27A psalm of David that speaks of God as a refuge, contrasting the physical hiding places of the Israelites with the spiritual refuge found in God. People Abiezer, Abiezrites, Amalek, Amalekites, Amorites, Asher, Egyptians, Ephah, Gideon, Israelites, Jerubbaal, Jezreel, Joash, Manasseh, Midianites, Naphtali, Ophrah, ZebulunPlaces Egypt, Gaza, Jezreel Valley, Jordan River, Midian, OphrahTopics Caves, Clefts, Dens, Flowings, Holds, Holes, Hollows, Israelites, Midian, Mid'ian, Midianites, Mountain, Mountains, Oppressive, Places, Power, Prepared, Presence, Prevailed, Rocks, Shelters, Sons, Strong, Stronger, Strongholds, ThemselvesDictionary of Bible Themes Judges 6:2 4218 cave
5457 power, human
5944 self-defence
5956 strength, human Judges 6:1-3 5607 warfare, examples Judges 6:1-6 4823 famine, physical
8728 enemies, of Israel and Judah Library Gideon's Altar
'Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah- shalom [God is peace].'--JUDGES vi. 24. I need not tell over again, less vividly, the picturesque story in this chapter, of the simple husbandman up in the hills, engaged furtively in threshing out a little wheat in some hollow in the rock where he might hide it from the keen eyes of the oppressors; and of how the angel of the Lord, unrecognised at first, appeared to him; and gradually there dawned upon his mind the suspicion …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureGideon's Fleece
'Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that Thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as Thou hast said.'-- JUDGES vi. 37. The decisive moment had come when Gideon, with his hastily gathered raw levies, was about to plunge down to the plain to face immensely superior forces trained to warfare. No wonder that the equally untrained leader's heart heat faster. Many a soldier, who will be steadfastly …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Jehovam-Shalem, the Lord Send Peace. Judg 6:24
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John Newton—Olney Hymns Whether it is a Sin to Tempt God?
Objection 1: It would seem that it is not a sin to tempt God. For God has not commanded sin. Yet He has commanded men to try, which is the same as to tempt, Him: for it is written (Malach. 3:10): "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in My house; and try Me in this, saith the Lord, if I open not unto you the flood-gates of heaven." Therefore it seems not to be a sin to tempt God. Objection 2: Further, a man is tempted not only in order to test his knowledge and his power, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Man Now Deprived of Freedom of Will, and Miserably Enslaved.
1. Connection of the previous with the four following chapters. In order to lay a proper foundation for the discussion of free will, two obstacles in the way to be removed--viz. sloth and pride. The basis and sum of the whole discussion. The solid structure of this basis, and a clear demonstration of it by the argument a majori ad minus. Also from the inconveniences and absurdities arising from the obstacle of pride. 2. The second part of the chapter containing the opinions of others. 1. The opinions …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion The Unity of the Divine Essence in Three Persons Taught, in Scripture, from the Foundation of the World.
1. Scripture, in teaching that the essence of God is immense and spiritual, refutes not only idolaters and the foolish wisdom of the world, but also the Manichees and Anthropomorphites. These latter briefly refuted. 2. In this one essence are three persons, yet so that neither is there a triple God, nor is the simple essence of God divided. Meaning of the word Person in this discussion. Three hypostases in God, or the essence of God. 3. Objection of those who, in this discussion, reject the use of …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion Subterraneous Places. Mines. Caves.
Thus having taken some notice of the superficies of the land, let us a little search into its bowels. You may divide the subterraneous country into three parts: the metal mines, the caves, and the places of burial. This land was eminently noted for metal mines, so that "its stones," in very many places, "were iron, and out of its hills was digged brass," Deuteronomy 8:9. From these gain accrued to the Jews: but to the Christians, not seldom slavery and misery; being frequently condemned hither by …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Jesus Calls Four Fishermen to Follow Him.
(Sea of Galilee, Near Capernaum.) ^A Matt. IV. 18-22; ^B Mark I. 16-20; ^C Luke V. 1-11. ^a 18 And walking ^b 16 And passing along by the sea of Galilee [This lake is a pear-shaped body of water, about twelve and a half miles long and about seven miles across at its widest place. It is 682 feet below sea level; its waters are fresh, clear and abounding in fish, and it is surrounded by hills and mountains, which rise from 600 to 1,000 feet above it. Its greatest depth is about 165 feet], he [Jesus] …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Of the Sacraments.
1. Of the sacraments in general. A sacrament defined. 2. Meaning of the word sacrament. 3. Definition explained. Why God seals his promises to us by sacraments. 4. The word which ought to accompany the element, that the sacrament may be complete. 5. Error of those who attempt to separate the word, or promise of God, from the element. 6. Why sacraments are called Signs of the Covenant. 7. They are such signs, though the wicked should receive them, but are signs of grace only to believers. 8. Objections …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion The Doctrine of God
I. THE EXISTENCE OF GOD: (Vs. Atheism). 1. ASSUMED BY THE SCRIPTURES. 2. PROOFS OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. a) Universal belief in the Existence of God. b) Cosmological:--Argument from Cause. c) Teleological:--Argument from Design. d) Ontological:--Argument from Being. e) Anthropological:--Moral Argument. f) Argument from Congruity. g) Argument from Scripture. II. THE NATURE OF GOD: (Vs. Agnosticism) 1. THE SPIRITUALITY OF GOD: (Vs. Materialism). 2. THE PERSONALITY OF GOD: (Vs. Pantheism). 3. THE UNITY …
Rev. William Evans—The Great Doctrines of the Bible And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah
"And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall come forth unto Me (one) [Pg 480] to be Ruler in Israel; and His goings forth are the times of old, the days of eternity." The close connection of this verse with what immediately precedes (Caspari is wrong in considering iv. 9-14 as an episode) is evident, not only from the [Hebrew: v] copulative, and from the analogy of the near relation of the announcement of salvation to the prophecy of disaster …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Seasonable Counsel: Or, Advice to Sufferers.
BY JOHN BUNYAN. London: Printed for Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1684. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. THIS valuable treatise was first published in a pocket volume in 1684, and has only been reprinted in Whitfield's edition of Bunyan's works, 2 vols. folio, 1767. No man could have been better qualified to give advice to sufferers for righteousness' sake, than John Bunyan: and this work is exclusively devoted to that object. Shut up in a noisome jail, under the iron hand of …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Judges
For the understanding of the early history and religion of Israel, the book of Judges, which covers the period from the death of Joshua to the beginning of the struggle with the Philistines, is of inestimable importance; and it is very fortunate that the elements contributed by the later editors are so easily separated from the ancient stories whose moral they seek to point. That moral is most elaborately stated in ii. 6-iii. 6, which is a sort of programme or preface to iii. 7-xvi. 31, which constitutes …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Judges 6:2 NIVJudges 6:2 NLTJudges 6:2 ESVJudges 6:2 NASBJudges 6:2 KJV
Judges 6:2 Commentaries
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