In the book of Judges we learned how Jehovah God told Israel, “I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage. And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land. And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but you have not obeyed my voice”, and in chapter six and verse eleven of Judges, we learn how “there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak”, where we read,
And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah,
that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
The verse reads, “And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, …” The writer began with the words, “and there came an angel” or “and there entered and arrived a messenger or envoy” “of the LORD” which means “belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and is the proper name of the One True God”, “and sat under an oak” or “and was seated beneath an oak tree” “which was in Ophrah” which means “that was located in Ophrah whose name means ‘fawn’ and was a town of Benjamin approximately five miles (8 km) east of Bethel”. The writer shared how Jehovah God’s envoy was seated beneath an oak tree located in the town of “Ophrah”.
The verse goes on to say, “that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.” The writer continued with the words, “that pertained unto Joash” which means “that was connected to Joash whose name means “given by the Lord” “the Abierzite” whose name means ‘my father is help” and was one of the family of Abiezer and a descendants of Joseph’s son Manasseh”: “and his son Gideon” which means “and his, Joash’s male offspring and progeny, Gideon whose name means ‘hewer’ and was the youngest son of Joash of the Abiezites and the fifth judge of Israel who led the Israelites against the Midianites” “threshed wheat” or “beat out and down grain” “by the winepress” which means “beside the wine vat for holding grapes”, “to hide it from the Midianites” or “to escape, flee and conceal it, the threshing of the wheat, separate and apart from the Midianites whose name means ‘strife’ and was the son of Abraham by Keturah and progenitor of the tribe of Midianites or the Arabians”. The writer shared how Jehovah’s messenger was seated beneath the oak tree that was connected to “Joash” who was an “Abiezite”, and his male offspring, “Gideon”, beat down grain beside a wine vat so he could conceal his work from the “Midianites”.
When we think through the words in this verse, we discover how Jehovah God began another plan to rescue His people Israel. He dispatched an “angel” who was sitting beneath an oak tree in “Ophrah” where “Gideon” who was “Joash’s” male offspring was grinding out grain beside a wine vat. “Gideon” desired to conceal his work from the “Midianites” because they were stealing and destroying all the food and crops of the Israelites. We shall see how this story unfolds in our next verses, but for now let us consider that God was at work on behalf of Israel when they called out to Him even when they were unaware of it. God loves people, and His desire is to have an intimate personal relationship with everyone through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and assure us that He is working on our behalf even when He is unseen. (See John 3:16; 5:17; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:28)
Next time we learn how the angel called Gideon a, “mighty man of valor”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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