Judges 6:1-40

Once again the Israelites did evil in the sight of YAHWEH, so YAHWEH handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. The crushing power of the Midianites overwhelmed Israel, forcing the Israelites to make hiding places for themselves in caves and mountain strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted any crops, and before they could reap the harvest, the Midianites would come with the Amalekites and other desert tribes and invade the land. They would camp in their fields and destroy their crops as far as Gaza. They would seize all their sheep, cattle, and donkeys. They left nothing for the Israelites to live on. When they invaded the land with their livestock and camels and tents, they were as numerous as locusts, leaving the land desolate. Israel was impoverished and helpless against them. Then the Israelites, with shattered hearts, cried out to YAHWEH for mercy. When the Israelites, with shattered hearts, cried out to YAHWEH because of the Midianite oppression, he sent them a prophet with this message: “Listen to the words of YAHWEH, the God of Israel: ‘I delivered you from Egypt and from a life of slavery. I snatched you from the brutality of the Egyptians. I rescued you from the people who invaded this land and fought against you. I drove them out as you advanced, and I gave their land to you. I told you that I am YAHWEH your God, and that you must not worship the false gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But you did not listen to my voice.’ ” The Angel of YAHWEH came to the village of Ophrah and sat down under the oak tree that belonged to Joash, a man of the clan of Abiezer. His son Gideon was secretly threshing some wheat in a winepress so that the Midianites would not see him. YAHWEH’s Angel suddenly appeared to Gideon and said, “YAHWEH’s presence goes with you, man of fearless courage!” “Me?” Gideon replied. “But sir, if YAHWEH is truly with us, why have all these troubles come to us? Where are all his miracle-wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not YAHWEH deliver us out of Egypt?’ But now YAHWEH has abandoned us and put us under the power of the Midianites.” Then YAHWEH himself faced Gideon directly and said, “Am I not sending you? With my presence you have all you need. Go in the strength that you now have and rescue Israel from Midian’s power!” Gideon said to him, “But Lord, how could I ever rescue Israel? Of all the thousands in Manasseh, my clan is the weakest, and I’m the least qualified in my family.” YAHWEH replied, “My presence and my power will be with you. Believe me, Gideon, you will crush the Midianites as easily as if they were only one man!” Then Gideon said, “If it’s really true that you will go with me and that I have found grace before your eyes, then show me a miracle-sign to prove that you are really YAHWEH speaking with me. Don’t leave until I return with my offering to you.” And he answered, “I’ll wait until you return.” So Gideon went and cooked a young goat and many loaves of unleavened bread. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot and took his offering and presented it to him under the oak tree. God’s Angel said to Gideon, “Place the meat and the bread on that rock and pour the broth over them.” And Gideon did so. Then YAHWEH’s Angel reached out the staff he was holding and touched the meat and the bread. All at once, supernatural fire sprang up from the rock and burned up the meat and the bread. Then the Angel of YAHWEH vanished from his sight. Immediately, Gideon realized that he had seen the Angel of YAHWEH! Terror stricken, he said, “Oh, Lord YAHWEH! I have seen the Angel of YAHWEH face-to-face!” But YAHWEH spoke to him and said, “Be at peace. Don’t be afraid. You will not die.” So Gideon built an altar to YAHWEH there and named it “In YAHWEH there is Peace.” (The altar is still standing at Ophrah, which belongs to the clan of Abiezer.) That night, YAHWEH spoke to Gideon and said, “Take your father’s bull and the second bull that is seven years old, and go and demolish your father’s altar to Baal. And cut down the tree of the goddess Asherah, which is beside it. And in their place, on top of the stronghold, build a well-constructed altar to YAHWEH your God. Use the Asherah tree you have cut down for firewood. Then take the second bull and burn it whole as an offering.” So Gideon took ten of his servants and did what YAHWEH had told him. Because he feared both his family and the men of the town he did it at night rather than in the daytime. When the people of the town got up early the next morning, they found the altar to Baal and the symbol of Asherah cut down, and the second bull burned on the new altar that Gideon had built there. They asked each other, “Who did this?” After investigating thoroughly, they concluded that it was the work of Gideon son of Joash. Enraged, they demanded of Joash, “Bring your son out here and we will kill him! He tore down the altar to Baal and chopped down the Asherah tree beside it.” But Joash said to all those who confronted him, “Does Baal need you to fight his battles? Are you really going to rescue him? I will kill anyone who stands up for Baal before morning. If Baal is a god, let him fight his own battles and defend his own altar!” From then on, Gideon’s nickname was “Jerubbaal,” that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar. Now all the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the people of the East formed an army. They crossed the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel to fight against Israel. Then the Spirit of YAHWEH clothed himself in Gideon and enveloped him! Gideon sounded a blast of the shofar to call the men of the clan of Abiezer to follow him. He sent messengers throughout the territory of both parts of Manasseh, and throughout the territory of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali—to call them to follow Gideon into battle. And they all came to join him. Gideon said to God, “If you have really chosen me to rescue Israel, as you said, then give me proof. Here—I am placing a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If in the morning the dew is only on the wool but not on the ground around it, then I will know for sure that I’m the one you have chosen to rescue Israel, as you said.” And that is exactly what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out enough dew to fill a bowl. Then Gideon said to God, “Don’t be angry with me; let me speak just once more. Please let me ask you for one more sign. This time let the fleece be dry, and the ground wet.” That night God did what Gideon had asked. The next morning the fleece was dry, but dew covered the ground around it.