Judges 6:19-24

Judges 6:19-24

[19] And Gideon  went in,  and made ready  a kid,  and unleavened cakes  of an ephah  of flour:  the flesh  he put  in a basket,  and he put  the broth  in a pot,  and brought it out  unto him under the oak,  and presented  it. [20] And the angel  of God  said  unto him, Take  the flesh  and the unleavened cakes,  and lay  them upon this  rock,  and pour out  the broth.  And he did  [21] Then the angel  of the LORD  put forth  the end  of the staff  that was in his hand,  and touched  the flesh  and the unleavened cakes;  and there rose up  fire  out of the rock,  and consumed  the flesh  and the unleavened cakes.  Then the angel  of the LORD  departed  out of his sight.  [22] And when Gideon  perceived  that he was an angel  of the LORD,  Gideon  said,  Alas,  O Lord  GOD!  for because  I have seen  an angel  of the LORD  face  [23] And the LORD  said  unto him, Peace  be unto thee; fear  not: thou shalt not die.  [24] Then Gideon  built  an altar  there unto the LORD,  and called  unto this day  it is yet in Ophrah  of the Abiezrites. 

What does Judges 6:19-24 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The food Gideon offered his visitor was what a person would normally set before a guest one wished to honor in a special way in that culture. The Angel directed Gideon to place the food on the rock as a sacrifice on an altar. The Angel"s miracle convinced Gideon that He was God and that He would fulfill His promises to be with Gideon and to grant him victory. Perhaps Gideon remembered how God had consumed the sacrifice on the brazen altar similarly when the Israelites dedicated the tabernacle in the wilderness. If Song of Solomon , this memory might have encouraged him to believe that the same God who had delivered Israel then was still with His people and could deliver them again.
"The acceptance of the sacrifice was also a token of the acceptance of his person; it went to confirm the commission now given him, and to afford him every needed assurance of success." [1]
This miracle strengthened Gideon"s faith greatly. In building an altar to Yahweh, Gideon acknowledged Him as his God.
"God had taught Gideon that it was not his inadequacy but God"s adequacy that really counted." [2]
God presented Himself to Gideon as the same God who had appeared to the patriarchs and had fulfilled His promises to them (cf. Genesis 18).