Judges:6

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* Again the people of Israel sinned against Jehovah . Therefore he let the people of Midian rule them for seven years . * The Midianites were very oppressive over Israel . So much so that the people of Israel hid from them in caves and other safe places in the mountains . * When the Israelites planted their crops , the Midianites and the Amalekites along with the desert tribes attacked them . * They camped on the land and destroyed the crops as far south as Gaza . They took all the sheep , cattle , and donkeys , and left nothing for the Israelites to live on . * They came with their livestock and tents , as thick as locusts . It was impossible to count the men and their camels . They entered the land and destroyed it . * Israel was helpless against them . * The people of Israel cried out to Jehovah for help against the Midianites . * Then Jehovah sent a man , a prophet , to the Israelites . He said to them : »Jehovah , the God of Israel says , ‘It was I who brought you out of slavery in Egypt . * »‘I rescued you from the Egyptians and from the people who fought you in this land . I drove them out as you advanced . I gave you their land . * »‘I said to you : ‘I am Jehovah your God . You should not worship the gods of the Amorites , whose land you are now living in . But you have not listened to me .’« * The angel of Jehovah came to the village of Ophrah . He sat under the oak tree that belonged to Joash , a man of the clan of Abiezer . His son Gideon was secretly threshing wheat in a wine press , so that the Midianites would not see him . * Jehovah ’s angel appeared to him there and said : »Jehovah is with you , mighty man of valor !« * Gideon said to him : »May I ask , sir , why has all this happened to us if Jehovah is with us ? What happened to all the wonderful things that our fathers told us Jehovah used to do , how he brought them out of Egypt ? Jehovah has abandoned us . He left us to the mercy of the Midianites .« * Jehovah answered him : »Go in the strength you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites . I am sending you .« * Gideon replied : »But Jehovah , how can I rescue Israel ? My clan is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh . I am the least important member of my family .« * Jehovah answered : »You can do it . I will help you . You will crush the Midianites as easily as if they were only one man .« * Gideon replied : »If you are pleased with me , give me proof that you are really Jehovah . * »Please do not leave until I return and bring you an offering .« Jehovah said : »I will stay until you come back .« * So Gideon went into his house and cooked a young goat and used a bushel of flour to make bread without any yeast . He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot , brought them to Jehovah ’s angel under the oak tree , and gave them to him . * The angel told him : »Put the meat and the bread on this rock , and pour the broth over them .« Gideon did so . * Jehovah ’s angel reached out and touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick he was holding . Fire came out of the rock and burned up the meat and the bread . Then the angel disappeared . * With that Gideon realized that it was Jehovah ’s angel he saw . He said in terror : »Sovereign Lord Jehovah ! I have seen your angel face-to-face !« * Jehovah told him : »Peace . Do not be afraid . You will not die .« * Gideon built an altar to Jehovah there and named it : »Jehovah is Peace .« It is still standing at Ophrah and belongs to the clan of Abiezer . * That night Jehovah told Gideon : »Take your father ’s bull and another seven year old bull , tear down your father ’s altar to Baal , and cut down the symbol of the goddess Asherah , that is beside it . * »Build a well-constructed altar to Jehovah your God on top of this mound . Take the second bull and burn it as a whole offering . Cut down the symbol of Asherah and use it for firewood .« * So Gideon took ten of his servants and did what Jehovah instructed him to do . He was afraid of his family and the people in town , so he did it at night . * The people in town got up early the next morning . They found that the altar to Baal and the symbol of Asherah had been cut down . The second bull had been burned on the altar that was built there . * They asked each other : »Who did this ?« They investigated and found out that Gideon , son of Joash , did it . * They said to Joash : »Bring your son here . We will kill him !« He tore down the altar to Baal and cut down the symbol of Asherah ! * Joash replied : »Are you arguing for Baal ? Are you defending him ? Anyone who argues for him will be killed before morning . If Baal really is a god he can defend himself . It is his altar that was torn down .« * From then on Gideon was known as Jerubbaal , because Joash said : »Let Baal defend himself for his altar was torn down .« * The Midianites , Amalekites , and the desert tribes assembled , crossed the Jordan River , and camped in Jezreel Valley . * The Spirit of Jehovah took control of Gideon . He blew a trumpet to call the men of the clan of Abiezer to follow him . * He sent messengers throughout the territory of both parts of Manasseh to call them to follow him . He sent messengers to the tribes of Asher , Zebulun , and Naphtali , and they also came to join him . * Gideon said to God : »You have said you will rescue Israel using me . * »Look I will place wool on the threshing floor where we thresh the wheat . If in the morning there is dew only on the wool but not on the ground , I will know that you are going to use me to rescue Israel .« * That is what happened . When Gideon got up early the next morning , he squeezed the wool and wrung enough dew out of it to fill a bowl with water . * Then Gideon said to God : »Do not be angry with me . Allow me to speak just once more . Please let me make one more test with the wool . This time let the wool be dry , and the ground wet .« * That night God did it . The next morning the wool was dry , but the ground was wet with dew .

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