Now the
Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to
Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in
order to hide it from the Midianites. Judges 6:11 (NKJV)
Israel was again repeating her cycle of sin against the LORD. They would sin against God, He would bring their enemies to oppress them in order to discipline them, they would cry out and repent, God would deliver them, there would be years of good, then they would go back to rebelling against God. It was a sequence that played out for years. Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times, and that wheel squeaks on.
In the time before Israel had kings, they had
Judges. These men and women weren’t judges as we know who wear robes and sit in
courts of law. They were chosen and empowered by the LORD to lead and guide His
people.
It was at
this certain time in Israel’s history He allowed His discipline to come in the
attack and oppression of the Midianite and Amalekite people. They would invade
and plunder Israel, destroying the produce of the earth as far as Gaza. The
Israeli’s had to hide in dens, caves, and mountain strongholds, (Judges 6:2-4)
to escape their cruelty.
One day an
Israeli named Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from his
enemies. He had no intention, nor inclination, that he was anything or anyone
special when the Angel of the LORD appeared to him and called him a mighty
warrior (Ju 6:12).
Have you
ever thought God sees you as a mighty warrior when you’re hiding? He can and
does. He can make you as powerful as a smooth stone in a shepherd’s sling that slays
a Goliath, or use 300 warriors to strike terror into thousands, causing them to
flee for their lives (Ju 7:16-22).
We are made
in the Image of God, by and for the One, True, and Living God. He is unrestrained
by past, present, or future years. He’s always known He might find us hiding
while we thought we were living a normal, or even abnormal life. As a child of
Christ our past is in the rearview mirror, our present is where He is right now
to help us, and our future is secure. He sees us even if we’re working out of a
winepress.
The Angel of
the LORD was not your average angel but denotes a Being of full Deity. It could
well have been a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ which was witnessed many
times in the Old Testament experiences of the prophets and patriarchs-Emmanuel-God
With Us.
He is with
you and as His child knows where you are every second, and every circumstance. In
every place you can walk, sit, work, or hide He can operate in you, both to
will and to do His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).
Gideon was
hiding in a winepress, yet the LORD called him a warrior. He used him to purge
the land and be the judge of Israel for the next 40 years. Where we are matters
not. In our own strength, situations might cause us to want to hide, but He sees
us as mighty warriors, even then. It can be from the pew, the living room or even a
winepress. He is with us “unto the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Warriors
can be found everywhere, winepresses included.
Ken
