Click on Add to cart button below shopping cart.

Judges 6:19-23 (NLT)
19 Gideon hurried home. He cooked a young goat, and with a basket [1] of flour he baked some bread without yeast. Then, carrying the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out and presented them to the angel, who was under the great tree.
20 The angel of God said to him, “Place the meat and the unleavened bread on this rock, and pour the broth over it.” And Gideon did as he was told. 21 Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and bread with the tip of the staff in his hand, and fire flamed up from the rock and consumed all he had brought. And the angel of the Lord disappeared.
22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he cried out, “Oh, Sovereign Lord, I’m doomed! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
23 “It is all right,” the Lord replied. “Do not be afraid. You will not die.”

[1]
Hebrew, an ephah (20 quarts or 22 litres).

DRAWING NOTES:

TIME OF DAY:
Mid morning.

LIGHTING NOTES:
The sun (unseen in the East (left) illuminates this scene, casting shadows below & to the right of figures and objects.

CHARACTERS PRESENT:
Gideon, a Marbled Polecat, a donkey.

RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:
I reasoned that it would have taken Gideon some time to organise the cooking of the young goat, bread & broth of his offering, hence the time of day being mid morning. I imagine Gideon got his servants (see Judges 6:27) to do the actual work! Nevertheless, Gideon is credited with bringing this food offering to the Angel of the Lord beneath the great tree at Ophrah (see verse 19). As verse 20-21 explains, the Angel of the Lord touched his staff to the offering & fire consumed it, then the Angel disappeared. I have illustrated that event with fire and a starry explosion of light over the offering on the rock. I have drawn Gideon falling backwards in awe and surprise, in reference to verse 22, which states “When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he cried out…” that calls for a dramatic reaction like falling to the ground to me!

Notice that the donkey & Marbled Polecat (seen in previous pictures) are hiding behind the great tree of Ophrah… wise animals indeed!

Here’s the scene without the figure of Gideon, the animals or offering & fire. Notice that the viewer is standing on the far side of the tree (compared to Scene 04a – Angel of the Lord), looking towards the buildings and wine press.

Background of Judges 06 – Gideon – Scene 06 – Gideon’s offering

Click on the colour bar below to view/buy this Background:
Background of Judges 06 – Gideon – Scene 06 – Gideon’s offering

A note about the Angel of the Lord.
In mainstream Christian theology, the Angel of the Lord is not the Holy Spirit. Instead, the Angel of the Lord (often capitalized) is widely understood to be a Christophany—a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, and is distinct from both the Father and the Son.

The Holy Spirit is the eternal, uncreated Spirit of God. The word “angel” comes from the Hebrew word malak, which simply means “messenger”.

When the “Angel of the Lord” appears in the Old Testament, He frequently accepts worship and speaks as God Himself (e.g. in the stories of Moses and Gideon), wheeras angels are created beings and do not accept worship, leading theologians to identify the Angel of the Lord” figure as the pre-incarnate Jesus, God the Son.

The Holy Spirit is the Counsellor and Comforter sent by the reincarnated Jesus to dwell within believers (as described in the New Testament), rather than a visible, heavenly messenger.

For more explanation about how this divine figure is interpreted throughout the Old and New Testaments, you can read the Bible Project’s Angel of the Lord article [1] or explore the GotQuestions Angel of the Lord summary [2] for a full theological breakdown.

[1]
https://bibleproject.com/articles/who-is-the-angel-of-the-lord/

[2]
https://www.gotquestions.org/angel-of-the-Lord.html