Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.” (judges 6:14 NRSV).
Gideon’s specific charge is to deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. The commissioning formula, do not I send you?, presents Gideon with all the authority he will need for the task. This fearful and cynical farmer is hereby informed that God has indeed heard the people’s cry of pain, and he has personally chosen him to solve the problem. THE LIFE IS THEREBY CONSECRATED AND DIRECTED. A man is not at liberty to follow his own private aims when the heavenly voice speaks thus within him. A higher plane of life and action is thereby created. An unseen influence isolates and consecrates him. This usually imparts greater definiteness to his conduct. He does not "beat the air."