THEOSISVissarion (Nechaev)
What was it that concerned Gideon? The fear of impending death, as illustrated in the subsequent verse where the angel of the Lord reassures him, ‘Fear not, thou shalt not die.’ This dread of mortality, triggered by the vision of the angel of the Lord, or God's presence manifested as an angelic messenger, was prevalent during Old Testament times. (Gen. 32:30 Judg. 13:22 Ex. 20:19 Is. 6:5). At that time, it was widely accepted that such encounters posed a grave risk. The Lord had communicated to Moses, ‘Thou shalt not be able to see My face: for if a man shall see My face, he shall live’ (Ex. 33:20). Thus, the prevailing belief among the people of that era concerning the peril of seeing the Lord's face, which symbolizes His divine presence in a visible form, was well-founded.
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If these encounters did not lead to death, it was solely due to the Lord's graciousness in veiling the brilliance of His divine majesty within the humbled appearance of an ordinary human. Gideon had even less cause to be alarmed by the sight of the Angel of the Lord since this angel brought him only benevolent messages. Furthermore, Gideon sought a sign of divine magnificence from Him. Nevertheless, his fear might have stemmed from the striking nature of the sign he witnessed, which is understandably bewildering and could have disrupted his earlier steadiness in his dialogue with the angel, as he was not yet fully convinced of God’s presence in that moment. It’s also plausible that, at the climax of the vision, the radiant glory of God’s presence left an overwhelming impression, leading Gideon to experience a reaction akin to that of the guards at Christ's tomb, who were struck with terror upon seeing the angel who rolled away the stone. Their fear was so intense that they fell as if dead (Matthew 28:2-4).