Ver. 17.-Asking for a si,gn. The stranger said, Have not I sent thee? I will be ~-ith thee. Gideon wanted a proof that he was one who had authority &c. to use such words. That he was a supernatural visitor he suspected; he w'anted to be sure. But it was rather to ascertain the reality of his own heavenly calling, which at first he could hardly believe. There was no other evidence open to him ; and he asked the evidence peculiar to his epoch. He was altogether different therefore from the Jews of Christ's time, who required a sign, but no sign would be given them, save the sign of the prophet Jonas. They had signs enough already, but had no spiritual perception. l. THIS REQUEST AROSE NOT FROM WANT OF FAITH, BUT FROM SELF-DISTRUST. Might not this all be a dream? .And who was he himself ? It is the doubt of a mind suspicious of its own sanity, &c. .All this argues a deep humility than which nothing could fit him better for the work he has to do. God forgives a desire like this, and answers it ; but doubtt1 as to himself and his character, &c., are of another sort. IL Gon ENCOURAGES ALL TRITE SERVANTS BY SOME TOKEN OF HIS PRESENCE AND HELP. Moses at Horeb ; Paul in the temple in his trance-" Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles" (Acts xxii. 21). Many holy men have had such inward urgings and impulses. .And all earnest service is accompanied by tokens of the Divine blessing. We are encouraged, therefore, to look for these signs. Their absence ought to cauae no concern. Their nature will depend upon the kind of work we are doing.-M.
Vere. 18-21.-The sign-the present turned inte a sacrifice. The narrative speaks for itself; it is a picture of Eastern hospitality. Gideon's sense of the extraordinary nature of the visit expresses itself in his taking upon himself the duties of servant as well as host, to keep it secret. As the angel said to Manoah, " I will not eat of thy bread 11 ( eh. xiii. 16 ), so the visitor betrays his true character as an angel of Jehovah in abstaining from the food. Of the phrase "and they did eat" in Gen. xviii. 8, the Targum gives the gloss,." they seemed to him to eat. 11 .Angel~, !1ot having a corporeal nature, do not require mortal sustenance. But the most stnkmg incident in the narrative is the touching of the flesh and cakes with the angel's staff, and their being consumed by fire from the rock. This circumstance betokened not rejection of the gift, but its acceptance in a higher sense ; the present becomes a sacrifice. I. ALL BEST GIFTR ARE SACRIFICIAL. That which is given in order to a return; from gratification of self-love, ostentation, vanity; from custom, o~ without any real sense of lose, sacrifice &c. is not accounted great by generous mmds, however intrinsically precious it m~y b~. .As the eentimen~ enhances the value_ of the gif_t, even trifling in our eyes, so that which has coet pain, effort, loss of lovrng henrts, UI OH, VI. 11-24.] THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 65
"nLove rubies." Personality often thwarts the purpose of a well-intended gift; therefore it has often to be effaced ere the true end is attained. II. How Goo 0FTENIDEALS THUS WITH THE GIFTS 011' HIS SERVANTS, It is not in a few isolated miracles that this has taken place. The mode of procedure is a principle of his kingdom, and is seen in every true life. 1. In carrying on a spiritual work to unforeseen developments, and so that demands are ma<le the agent did not at first contemplate. Some kinds of spiritual effort are like sinking a shaft for a mine, the ultimate expenditure of labour and means is not ascertainable. That which was almost a pastime becomes a serious task. Consequences are evolved that call for heroism and generous self-devotion. 2. Results which were aimed at in the first instance are withheld, and the labourer has to continue steadfast amidst apparent want of success. 3. The labour itself becomes dear, and enthusiasm makes the greatest efforts easy, and the heaviest burdens light. At first it is "our" work ; by-and-bye it is "God's" work. We lose ourselves in the presence of the "not ourselves that maketh for righteousness," who accepts our feeble labours and turns them towards infinite and inconceivable purposes. III. WHAT IS SUBSERVED BY THIS CONVERSION. 1. It is educative. The subject of it is being taught a nobler life. He is wooed gradually out of the narrow shell of self into the larger atmosphere and arena of Divine love. At first God provokes us to the disinterested passion for himself, then he surprises us into fitting expression of it. The bridges of retreat are cut. 2. Our vague intention is interpreted to our spirits, and is set free. The alchemy of Divine love turns our dross into gold, our water into wine. 3. The permanent utility of man's work is thereby secured. Like the devotion of Christ, it receives an absolute worth in perfected sacrifice.-M.