In the previous blog post, we saw that “a messenger of the LORD” came to Gideon and sat under the oak of his father Joash in Ophrah. The oak has everything to do with the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Ophrah is a place just a stone’s throw from Shechem, a city that plays a major role in the lives of the patriarchs. Shechem also reminds us of God’s promises, and there too, we often find oak trees (Gen. 12:6; 14:13; 35:4; Josh. 24:25-26).
In these verses, we are introduced to Gideon, who foreshadows Christ. Immediately upon his calling, we find many details that point us to the resurrected Christ. Judges 6
Judges 6
11 And the messenger of the LORD came, and he sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abi-Ezrite. And Gideon his son was beating wheat in the winepress to preserve it from the Midianites.
Meaning of the names
Joash means: “YAHWEH has given,” and Abiezer means: “My Father is help.” Both names direct our attention to the Lord Jesus Christ: He was given by God, and in everything He trusted in His Father. The name Gideon means hewer (woodcutter) or feller. It refers to his later action in Judges 6:25.
Wheat harvest
Gideon was beating wheat in the winepress. This means that this story takes place around the time of the wheat harvest. In Leviticus 23, we find seven feasts of the LORD. The first three feasts were fulfilled in the first coming of Christ, and the last three will be fulfilled at His second coming. In between lies Pentecost, also called the Feast of Weeks, when the firstfruits of the wheat harvest were gathered (Ex. 23:16). In imagery, this feast refers to the time between the first and second comings of Christ. As we saw earlier, this is the period typologically addressed in the entire book of Judges.
Winepress
The winepress is not the normal place to thresh wheat, and why Gideon did it there is explained afterwards. He wanted to protect the wheat from the Midianites. Threshing wheat, also called “threshing,” involves loosening the grains from the ears of wheat. This is done by beating the stalks or by trampling them. Normally, this was done on a threshing floor. We will return to the meaning of this later, because Gideon asks for a sign from God on the threshing floor (Judg. 6:36-40).
From suffering to glory
Wheat is made into bread, and that is a picture of the word of God (Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4) and, ultimately, of Christ (John 1:14; Rev. 19:13). The process of threshing speaks of the suffering He endured (Isa. 53:5), to become “the bread of life” (John 6:48) and to bring imperishable life to light for all people (1 Cor. 15:22; 2 Tim. 1:10).
Wine
Gideon hid in the winepress. Normally, wheat is not threshed in a winepress, but grapes are crushed and ground. The grape juice is collected and was traditionally stored in oak barrels. Then it was placed in the cellar, underground, where the fermentation process took place. When it emerged from the cellar some time later, the grape juice had become spirit: wine – a symbol of new life. In this process, we recognize the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. Gideon is a type of the resurrected Christ.
Melchizedek
In this story, in which Gideon is designated as the redeemer of Israel, bread and wine are mentioned. This reminds us of Melchizedek, “who brought forth bread and wine” (Gen. 14:18). The author of Hebrews explains that Melchizedek is a foreshadowing of the resurrected Christ, who is High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:6,10; 7:17). The bread and wine that Melchizedek brought point to the new life that Christ bestows.
This is also true in this story of Gideon. He is a type of the true Savior: Jesus Christ. All the details testify to Him: wheat and the winepress, bread and wine, but also the messenger of YAHWEH, as we will see.