This verse shows how severely the Midianites’ domination humbled Israel, driving them to plead for relief from the one true God.
“So Israel was brought very low because of Midian, and the sons of Israel cried to the LORD.” (v.6) This verse captures the desperation of God’s chosen people during a time of relentless oppression. The people of Israel had settled in the land promised to them generations before, yet they soon forgot the God who miraculously delivered them. The oppressors here are the Midianites, a people descended from Abraham through Keturah (Genesis 25:1-2), who lived in the region east of the Red Sea and the Sinai Peninsula. Their raids on Israel caused poverty and fear, leaving the Israelites in dire straits.
When the verse says “Israel was brought very low because of Midian” (v.6), it underscores the weight of repeated assaults that crippled the nation’s resources. In the broader narrative of the period of the Judges (1380-1050 BC), it was a cyclical time when Israel would sin, be oppressed by enemies, cry out to the Lord, and then be delivered by a chosen judge. Here, “the sons of Israel cried to the LORD” (v.6) highlights the faithful response that emerges from hardship—recognizing that deliverance and mercy come from God alone (Psalm 18:6). This pattern foreshadows the ultimate salvation brought about in Jesus Christ, who offers deliverance from spiritual oppression (John 8:36).
Israel’s cry reveals they had reached their breaking point, unable to endure life under Midian’s oppression. They realized their only hope was to seek God’s intervention and grace, setting the stage for the divine response that follows—a deliverance led by Gideon.
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Judges 6:6 meaning
“So Israel was brought very low because of Midian, and the sons of Israel cried to the LORD.” (v.6) This verse captures the desperation of God’s chosen people during a time of relentless oppression. The people of Israel had settled in the land promised to them generations before, yet they soon forgot the God who miraculously delivered them. The oppressors here are the Midianites, a people descended from Abraham through Keturah (Genesis 25:1-2), who lived in the region east of the Red Sea and the Sinai Peninsula. Their raids on Israel caused poverty and fear, leaving the Israelites in dire straits.
When the verse says “Israel was brought very low because of Midian” (v.6), it underscores the weight of repeated assaults that crippled the nation’s resources. In the broader narrative of the period of the Judges (1380-1050 BC), it was a cyclical time when Israel would sin, be oppressed by enemies, cry out to the Lord, and then be delivered by a chosen judge. Here, “the sons of Israel cried to the LORD” (v.6) highlights the faithful response that emerges from hardship—recognizing that deliverance and mercy come from God alone (Psalm 18:6). This pattern foreshadows the ultimate salvation brought about in Jesus Christ, who offers deliverance from spiritual oppression (John 8:36).
Israel’s cry reveals they had reached their breaking point, unable to endure life under Midian’s oppression. They realized their only hope was to seek God’s intervention and grace, setting the stage for the divine response that follows—a deliverance led by Gideon.