John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 17. And he said unto him, if now I have found grace in thy sight , etc. Or seeing he had, as appeared by his salutation of him as a man of might, by the work he gave him a commission to do, and by the promise of assistance and success: then show me a sign that thou talkest with me ; in the name of God, as a messenger sent by him, whether an angel or a man; for who he was as yet Gideon was not clear in it, and that what he had said was truth, and would be certainly fulfilled; and which Gideon might desire, not so much, or at least not only for his own sake, and the confirmation of his faith, for which he is renowned, as that he might be able to satisfy others that he had a commission from God, by a messenger of his, to attempt the deliverance of Israel.
Ver. 18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee , etc.] Intending to go to his own, or his father’s house, to fetch some food to entertain him with, and therefore entreats he would not quit the place where he was until he returned: and bring forth my present, and set it before thee ; to treat him with, as a stranger and a messenger of God; and perhaps he thought, by this means, the better to discover who he was, whether an angel or a man: the word for the “present” is “minchah”, often used for a meat offering, therefore some have thought of a sacrifice; but it appears by what follows that it was not of the nature of a sacrifice; and, besides, Gideon was no priest, nor was this a place for sacrifice, nor was there here any altar; and, besides, as Gideon did not yet know that it was the Lord himself, he could never think of offering a sacrifice to him: and he said, I will tarry until thou come again ; which was a wonderful instance of divine condescension, it being some time he waited ere Gideon could prepare what he brought, as follows.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 11-24 - Gideon was a man of a brave, active spirit, yet in obscurity throug the times: he is here stirred up to undertake something great. It wa very sure that the Lord was with him, when his Angel was with him Gideon was weak in faith, which made it hard to reconcile the assurances of the presence of God with the distress to which Israel wa brought. The Angel answered his objections. He told him to appear an act as Israel's deliverer, there needed no more. Bishop Hall says While God calls Gideon valiant, he makes him so. God delights to advance the humble. Gideon desires to have his faith confirmed. Now under the influences of the Spirit, we are not to expect signs befor our eyes such as Gideon here desired, but must earnestly pray to God that if we have found grace in his sight, he would show us a sign in our heart, by the powerful working of his Spirit there, The Ange turned the meat into an offering made by fire; showing that he was no a man who needed meat, but the Son of God, who was to be served an honoured by sacrifice, and who in the fulness of time was to make himself a sacrifice. Hereby a sign was given to Gideon, that he ha found grace in God's sight. Ever since man has by sin exposed himsel to God's wrath and curse, a message from heaven has been a terror to him, as he scarcely dares to expect good tidings thence. In this world it is very awful to have any converse with that world of spirits to which we are so much strangers. Gideon's courage failed him. But God spoke peace to him.
Original Hebrew
ויאמר 559 אליו 413 אם 518 נא 4994 מצאתי 4672 חן 2580 בעיניך 5869 ועשׂית 6213 לי אות 226 שׁאתה 859 מדבר 1696 עמי׃ 5973
