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Then the people of Israel began once again to worship other gods, and once again the Lord let their enemies harass them. This time it was by the people of Midian, for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelis took to the mountains, living in caves and dens. 3-4 When they planted their seed, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and other neighboring nations came and destroyed their crops and plundered the countryside as far away as Gaza, leaving nothing to eat and taking away all their sheep, oxen, and donkeys. These enemy hordes arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count and stayed until the land was completely stripped and devastated. 6-7 So Israel was reduced to abject poverty because of the Midianites. Then at last the people of Israel began to cry out to the Lord for help.

However, the Lord’s reply through the prophet he sent to them was this: “The Lord God of Israel brought you out of slavery in Egypt, and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all who were cruel to you, and drove out your enemies before you, and gave you their land. 10 He told you he is the Lord your God, and you must not worship the gods of the Amorites who live around you on every side. But you have not listened to him.”

11 But one day the Angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the oak tree at Ophrah, on the farm of Joash the Abiezrite. Joash’s son, Gideon, had been threshing wheat by hand in the bottom of a grape press—a pit where grapes were pressed to make wine—for he was hiding from the Midianites.

12 The Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty soldier, the Lord is with you!”

13 “Stranger,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors have told us about—such as when God brought them out of Egypt? Now the Lord has thrown us away and has let the Midianites completely ruin us.”

14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “I will make you strong! Go and save Israel from the Midianites! I am sending you!”

15 But Gideon replied, “Sir, how can I save Israel? My family is the poorest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least thought of in the entire family!”

16 Whereupon the Lord said to him, “But I, Jehovah,[a] will be with you! And you shall quickly destroy the Midianite hordes!”

17 Gideon replied, “If it is really true that you are going to help me like that, then do some miracle to prove it! Prove that it is really Jehovah who is talking to me! 18 But stay here until I go and get a present for you.”

“All right,” the Angel agreed. “I’ll stay here until you return.”

19 Gideon hurried home and roasted a young goat and baked some unleavened bread from a bushel of flour. Then, carrying the meat in a basket and broth in a pot, he took it out to the Angel, who was beneath the oak tree, and presented it to him.

20 The Angel said to him, “Place the meat and the bread upon that rock over there, and pour the broth over it.”

When Gideon had followed these instructions, 21 the Angel touched the meat and bread with his staff, and fire flamed up from the rock and consumed them! And suddenly the Angel was gone!

22 When Gideon realized that it had indeed been the Angel of the Lord, he cried out, “Alas, O Lord God, for I have seen the Angel of the Lord face-to-face!”

23 “It’s all right,” the Lord replied. “Don’t be afraid! You shall not die.”

24 And Gideon built an altar there and named it “The Altar of Peace with Jehovah.” (The altar is still there in Ophrah in the land of the Abiezrites.) 25 That night the Lord told Gideon to hitch his father’s best ox to the family altar of Baal and pull it down, and to cut down the wooden idol of the goddess Asherah that stood nearby.

26 “Replace it with an altar for the Lord your God, built here on this hill, laying the stones carefully. Then sacrifice the ox as a burnt offering to the Lord, using the wooden idol as wood for the fire on the altar.”

27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had commanded. But he did it at night for fear of the other members of his father’s household, and for fear of the men of the city; for he knew what would happen if they found out who did it! 28 Early the next morning, as the city began to stir, someone discovered that the altar of Baal was knocked apart, the idol beside it was gone, and a new altar had been built instead, with the remains of a sacrifice on it.

29 “Who did this?” everyone demanded. Finally they learned that it was Gideon, the son of Joash.

30 “Bring out your son,” they shouted to Joash. “He must die for insulting the altar of Baal and for cutting down the Asherah idol.”

31 But Joash retorted to the whole mob, “Does Baal need your help? What an insult to a god! You are the ones who should die for insulting Baal! If Baal is really a god, let him take care of himself and destroy the one who broke apart his altar!”

32 From then on Gideon was called “Jerubbaal,” a nickname meaning “Let Baal take care of himself!”[b]

33 Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and other neighboring nations united in one vast alliance against Israel. They crossed the Jordan and camped in the valley of Jezreel. 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet as a call to arms, and the men of Abiezer came to him. 35 He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their fighting forces, and all of them responded.

36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you are really going to use me to save Israel as you promised, 37 prove it to me in this way: I’ll put some wool on the threshing floor tonight, and if, in the morning, the fleece is wet and the ground is dry, I will know you are going to help me!”

38 And it happened just that way! When he got up the next morning, he pressed the fleece together and wrung out a whole bowlful of water!

39 Then Gideon said to the Lord, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more test: this time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet!”

40 So the Lord did as he asked; that night the fleece stayed dry, but the ground was covered with dew!

Footnotes

  1. Judges 6:16 But I, Jehovah, literally, “I Am will be with you.” The same name is used here as in Exodus 3:14. God is telling Gideon that the same one who appeared to Moses and rescued Israel from Egypt (much on Gideon’s mind: see v. 13) will now do it again, rescuing Israel from Midian.
  2. Judges 6:32 Let Baal take care of himself, literally, “Let Baal bring charges,” or used mockingly, “Let Baal be honored!”

Gideon

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,(A) and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.(B) Because the power of Midian was so oppressive,(C) the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves(D) and strongholds.(E) Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites(F) and other eastern peoples(G) invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops(H) all the way to Gaza(I) and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts.(J) It was impossible to count them or their camels;(K) they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out(L) to the Lord for help.

When the Israelites cried out(M) to the Lord because of Midian, he sent them a prophet,(N) who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt,(O) out of the land of slavery.(P) I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors;(Q) I drove them out before you and gave you their land.(R) 10 I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship(S) the gods of the Amorites,(T) in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

11 The angel of the Lord(U) came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah(V) that belonged to Joash(W) the Abiezrite,(X) where his son Gideon(Y) was threshing(Z) wheat in a winepress(AA) to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you,(AB) mighty warrior.(AC)

13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders(AD) that our ancestors told(AE) us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned(AF) us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

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

15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan(AI) is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.(AJ)

16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you(AK), 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(AL) 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,(AM) and from an ephah[a](AN) of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.(AO)

20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock,(AP) and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread(AQ) with the tip of the staff(AR) 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(AS) that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”(AT)

23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid.(AU) You are not going to die.”(AV)

24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called(AW) it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah(AX) of the Abiezrites.

25 That same night the Lord said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old.[b] Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole[c](AY) beside it. 26 Then build a proper kind of[d] altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second[e] bull as a burnt offering.(AZ)

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,(BA) demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!

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

When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash(BB) 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(BC) 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?(BD) Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.” 32 So because Gideon broke down Baal’s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal[f](BE) that day, saying, “Let Baal contend with him.”

33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites(BF) and other eastern peoples(BG) joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.(BH) 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on(BI) Gideon, and he blew a trumpet,(BJ) summoning the Abiezrites(BK) to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher,(BL) Zebulun and Naphtali,(BM) so that they too went up to meet them.(BN)

36 Gideon said to God, “If you will save(BO) Israel by my hand as you have promised— 37 look, I will place a wool fleece(BP) on the threshing floor.(BQ) If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know(BR) 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.(BS) 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.(BT)

Footnotes

  1. Judges 6:19 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
  2. Judges 6:25 Or Take a full-grown, mature bull from your father’s herd
  3. Judges 6:25 That is, a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah; also in verses 26, 28 and 30
  4. Judges 6:26 Or build with layers of stone an
  5. Judges 6:26 Or full-grown; also in verse 28
  6. Judges 6:32 Jerub-Baal probably means let Baal contend.