Judges 6:1-5

Judges 6:1

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

 

The land had rest for forty years and those who were born within that time probably did not know about the time of captivity and Deborah and Barak delivering them.  It almost seems obvious that the parents who had children had told them nothing about the Lord and His deliverance of them.  So the new generation had sinned against the Lord and this time the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Midianites for a period of seven years.  If there is one thing the book of Judges teaches us it is the fact that parents had been failing to teach their children correctly.  Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (KJV)   And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  {7} And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  The parents were to teach their children the way of the Lord with all methods but apparently those in Israel were not doing so which resulted in them going into captivity repeatedly.

 

Judges 6:2

And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.

 

The Midianites were too powerful for the Israelites and as a result the people had fled from their homes and made themselves living quarters in the mountains.  The dens were like caverns or fissures which is something with a small opening in hopes to hide from the marauding Midianites.  There was a situation in the time of King Saul when Israel was facing the Philistines and the people were in distress that they hid themselves in caves and in pits.  1 Samuel 13:6 (KJV)   When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. 

 

Judges 6:3

And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;

 

The Midianites were wise in that they waited for the crops that Israel had planted and when they were ripe, they would come and take all the food which Israel had grown.  The children of the east were the Arabians who would also share in the spoil of Israel by stealing their crops when ripe.  It was a joint effort to pillage the land of the crops which would leave the Israelites nothing or very little to eat and whatever they gleaned would not last very long so the Midianites were using hunger as a weapon against Israel.

 

Judges 6:4

And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

 

The Midianites and probably the Arabians also had set up a camp close to the place that they wanted to pillage, this way they could strike in a very short time not giving Israel an opportunity to prepare any defenses.  They not only took their planted crops but they also stole their animals too.  By taking the oxen, they could not plow the land and plant new crops.  Without the donkeys they could not carry seed or other things since donkeys were pack animals.  Sheep was both a food for them and also the wool was used to make clothing which when the cold season came, they would freeze to death.  So the Midianites knew exactly what to take which would literally cripple Israel and bring them to their knees.

 

Judges 6:5

For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.

 

As the Midianites were clearing the land of all the planted food for themselves, they were now taking the cleared land and bringing up their flocks and completely taking over the land and using it for grazing.  They had much cattle and with the cattle grazing they started to do some homesteading by building their tents throughout the land thus shutting out the Israelites from doing anything.  Their intent was not only to take care of their flocks but their intent was to destroy the land so the Israelites could never recover and this way they would destroy Israel before them.    The grasshoppers represented the fact that they completely decimated the land with their flocks and camels just like a locust invasion would destroy all the crops in the land where they would settle.

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