When God Sends an Angel

The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.

Judges 6:11

Ladies, the rebuke of the unnamed “prophet” (Judges 6:8-10) sets the stage. The people cry out; God reminds them of the reason for the oppression, before coming to the rescue—perhaps a little like making sure my children understood why they were being punished before showing them mercy.

This time, Gideon was the man. So the angel of the LORD came and sat down where Gideon was threshing wheat. And presumably he sat there for awhile according to the translation of the Hebrew word yashab, waiting to reveal himself to Gideon. 

Isn’t that fascinating! How many times has the LORD sent a messenger to sit down by me, waiting to get my attention? How many times have I missed the moment, be it a person, a Scripture, a nudge from His Spirit, an angel? I wonder.

Well, God certainly did get Gideon’s attention: “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior” (6:12). You can hear the wheels turning in Gideon’s head: God is with us—how could that possibly be? “Why has all this happened to us? Where are all the wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’” (6:13). Problem was, God had not abandoned them; they had abandoned Him.

 And mighty warrior indeed! That’s downright ridiculous God! After all, there Gideon was—cowering in the winepress, afraid of the Midianites. Threshing wheat was normally done on the top of a hill so the wind could blow off the chaff. 

What does God see in Gideon that Gideon doesn’t see? Apparently enough to give him the task at hand: “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” (Judges 6:14).

Our identity is not as we perceive nor as the world dictates. It is bestowed on us by God. What does God see in you, O daughter of the King (Zechariah 9:9)? Wherein lies your beauty, O woman “of great worth” (1 Peter 3:4)? When God gives you an assignment girls, you can count on Him to give you the strength to see it through.  

Nancy P

All Scripture quotations are from the NIV 1973,1978,1984, unless otherwise noted.