15 - Judges 6 - You Shall Strike the Midianites as One Man

After Deborah and Barak, assisted by Yael, destroyed Jabin, the Canaanite king, they sang a song extolling God for the victory that He gave them. This is the second such song recorded in the Bible. The song represented a heightened awareness of God’s presence and holiness, and thus, a new beginning. When the children of Israel turned away from God after Deborah’s death, it represented a greater fall from God’s presence, and a harsher response from God. The ArtScroll commentary on Judges contrasts the time immediately following their song of victory with Israel’s turning away from God after Deborah’s death.
The oppression described in this chapter is worse than any that had happened previously, which indicates that the sinfulness was more serious than that of previous generations, since God punishes measure for measure.
When Israel called out to God for deliverance, God sent a prophet and then, a deliverer. He chose Gideon, the least son of the smallest clan of Manasseh to deliver Israel. What does God’s choice of Gideon reveal about the situation in Israel and His power to save?