The Bible In Paintings, #69: GIDEON’S ADVENTURES, Part 1: ANGEL, ALTAR, FLEECE

[Hebrews 11:6]

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“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about GIDEON, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.” Hebrews 11:32-34

WELL, WE HAVE TIME!

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GOD CHALLENGES
GIDEON

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J U D G E S . . 6
New International Version, emphases added
Abrdgd – the complete text is in your Bible, OR:
TO READ JOSHUA 6-8 IN FULL, Click Here
TO HEAR MAX McLEAN READING IT, Click Here
TO HEAR A DRAMATIZATION OF IT, Click Here
TO WATCH AN OVERVIEW OF JUDGES, Click Here

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1 1 6 9. . B. C.

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1 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?”

14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?

16 “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

17 Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. 18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

19 Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and made bread without yeast. He brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. 22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace.

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by JULIUS SCHNORR VON KAROLSFELD
“Gideon's Call”

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by JAMES TISSOT
“The Angel Puts Fire on the Altar of Gideon”

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by FERDINAND BOL
“The Angel of the Lord Appears unto Gideon”

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by CONSTANTIJ VAN RENESSE
“Gideon and the Angel”

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by HENDRIK HEERSCHOP
“The Sacrifice of Gideon”

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by FRANCOIS BOUCHER
“The Sacrifice of Gideon”

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by GERBRAND VAN DEN EECKHOUT
“Angel Appears to Gideon”

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GIDEON DESTROYS
BAAL’S ALTAR

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25 That same night the Lord said to him, “Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

28 In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down!

29 They asked each other, “Who did this?”

When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”

30 The people of the town demanded of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

31 But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.”

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“Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal”

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by KEVIN ROLLY
“Altars by Night”

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Perhaps those folks who’ve recently been pulling down statues think they’re being
similarly righteous—that is, if they’ve ever even read Judges at all.

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by MAERTEN VAN HEEMSKERCK
“Gideon and His Men Destroying the Altar of Baal”

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“Gideon Destroying the Altar of Baal”
Here’s a thought: Howsabout we cover this gorgeous 15-foot, 500 year-old tapestry of Gideon destroying Baal’s altar with some meaningless portraits of dead people?

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GIDEON’S FLEECE

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33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he 35 sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.

36 Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— 37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

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Holy Rood, Watford, England, United Kingdom

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by MAARTEN VAN HEEMSKERCK
“Gideon Thanks God for the Miracle of the Dew”

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“Gideon Wrings the Fleece”

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“Gideon Squeezed the Fleece”

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by CASPAR LUIKEN
“Gideon's Fleece”

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THIN

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SNEAK PEEK: Next time,

GIDEON CHOOSES 300,
DEFEATS MIDIAN

If you're sensing the Holy Spirit is suggesting
that you read ahead, please see Judges 7.

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R E S O U R C E S

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If you'd like to see for yourself the Bing pages
which yielded most of the works above, here are the links:

"Gideon and the Angel of God"
"Gideon and His Men Destroying the Altar of Baal"
"Gideon’s Fleece"

Where no attribution appears below a work,
the artist's name is unknown

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Links to three masters who painted Biblical scenes prolifically:

REMBRANDT HARMENSZOON van RIJN

GUSTAV DORÉ
241 wood engravings for
La Grande Bible de Tours

JAMES TISSOT
180 watercolors depicting Bible scenes

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This series keeps moving from one Bible passage to another,
so here is a fascinating and enjoyable link to assist in following along:
BIBLE TIMELINE

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Finally, here are links to the
PREVIOUS 68 POSTS IN THIS SERIES
with descriptive titles, to assist you in finding those which interest you

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SPECIAL THANKS
to FReeper left that other site,
who allowed God to make her His conduit
for incomparable enthusiasm, encouragement,
education, advice and technical assistance!

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NOTES ON MY SELECTION CRITERIA

Quality
The Bible is my focus, not the art. This is The Bible in Paintings, not “Great Paintings” nor even “Good Paintings.” So, works need not be masterpieces to qualify for inclusion here—they don’t need to be housed at the Louvre nor auctioned by Sotheby’s. They only need to illustrate successfully some aspect of the Biblical text or, frankly, just tickle my fancy, which I'm asking the Holy Spirit to guide. So, with such forgiving filters, it means that you're seeing practically everything I'm finding.

Pacing
The pace may seem glacial to those eager to see their favorite events. My commission is to search for art on each Bible passage in sequence; if I find enough, then it becomes the next installment, even if undramatic. But where there is no art, that Bible passage goes untold here. The Bible is a thick book, as you know; but we'll get there eventually, Lord willing. Always remember:
love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control is a fruit of the Spirit!

I’m just having fun—and I hope you are, too!
Thank you for your understanding.

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[Hebrews 11:6]

At the Holy Spirit's prompting, I am surveying "Bible art" to give God glory, as many of these artists have done, and for my own amusement and learning; and I thought others might enjoy it and be blessed by it, too. My plan is to proceed methodically from left-to right, Genesis to Revelation, as the Lord wills. Back soon with another.

The Bible encourages us to meditate on it (Ps. 1:1-3, 119:11-16, etc.); these artists have done so, and their works can assist us and enrich our own thoughts about biblical characters, incidents and concepts, and increase our faith in He who is behind it all. As you encounter and consider these images and the related Scriptures and the Spirit enlightens your understanding, please share it with us!

But it is not only oil-on-canvas that can so help us; I refer to the astonishing video series The Chosen, which strolls through the four Gospels at the most leisurely pace. The eight episodes of Season 1 are finished, and the second of a planned seven seasons is coming soon. I say "leisurely" because after an entire year’s viewing Jesus still has only seven of the apostles (although He's preparing to call up Thomas from the minor leagues--but Thomas is skeptical, of course). Anticipating a canvas of fifty-plus hours instead of a movie's paltry two hours, The Chosen turns the characters (especially including Jesus!) into three-dimensional humans and brings the Gospels alive--you have never seen anything even remotely like it! Here is the Official Trailer.

Here is a link for free viewing of The Chosen: “Works with your phone, tablet, and you can cast to your Roku or Chromecast.” Last fall I paid $34.98 for DVDs and ongoing internet access—best 35 bucks I’ve ever spent (I don’t recall how much our marriage license cost, but then it was 42 years ago).

[Hebrews 11:6]

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F o r . . y o u r

CONSIDERATION

ENJOYMENT

& BLESSING

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[Hebrews 11:6]

Ping List for the series
"THE BIBLE IN PAINTINGS"

To receive an alert for each new posting
in this series, either reply here or FRmail me.

[Red Badger]

Nearly always show angels with wings..............😆

[Hebrews 11:6]

Artists like drama in their pictures, so they add wings to angels. After all, the four living creatures in Ezekiel and Revelation have four and six wings each, respectively. So, by that measure one could even argue the artists actually are showing restraint, by only depicting angels with two wings apiece. And I certainly wouldn't want to disappoint Frank Capra's Clarence:

[Red Badger]

Creatures are not angels, so can have many wings. Note the “Winged Creatures” that sit atop the Ark of the Covenant. Almost every artistic representation of it shows them as angels with wings, but they are not.........

[Hebrews 11:6]

Agreed: Cherubim ≠ Angels