Judges 6

Midian Oppresses Israel

1The Israelites did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years. 2The hand of Midian prevailed over Israel, and because of Midian the Israelites made for themselves the hideouts in the mountains, the caves, and the strongholds. 3Whenever Israel sowed their crops, Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would come up against them. 4They would camp against them and destroy the produce of the land, all the way to Gaza, leaving nothing to sustain Israel — no sheep, no ox, no donkey. 5For they came up with their livestock and their tents, coming in like a swarm of locusts; neither they nor their camels could be counted. They came into the land to lay it waste. 6So Israel became very poor because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to Yahweh. 7When the Israelites cried out to Yahweh on account of Midian, 8Yahweh sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up from Egypt, I brought you out of the house of slavery. 9I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10I said to you, ‘I am Yahweh your God; you must not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to my voice.”

The Call of Gideon

11The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, to hide it from Midian. 12The angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said, “Yahweh is with you, mighty warrior.” 13Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if Yahweh is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt’? But now Yahweh has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14Yahweh turned to him and said, “Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” 15He said to him, “Please, my lord, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16Yahweh said to him, “I will be with you, and you will strike down Midian as if it were one man.” 17Gideon said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, give me a sign that it is really you speaking with me. 18Please do not leave this place until I come back to you and bring out my offering and set it before you.” He said, “I will stay until you return.” 19Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it. 20The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” Gideon did so. 21Then the angel of Yahweh reached out the tip of the staff in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; fire rose from the rock and consumed the meat and the bread. And the angel of Yahweh vanished from his sight. 22When Gideon realized it had been the angel of Yahweh, he cried out, “Alas, the Lord Yahweh! I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face!” 23Yahweh said to him, “Peace to you. Do not be afraid; you will not die.” 24So Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh and called it Yahweh Shalom. It still stands today in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon Tears Down the Altar of Baal

25That same night Yahweh said to him, “Take your father’s bull, the second bull, seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. 26Then build a proper altar to Yahweh your God on top of this stronghold. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering, using the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.” 27So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as Yahweh had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the city to do it in daylight, he did it at night. 28When the men of the city rose early the next morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down, and the Asherah pole beside it, cut down, and the second bull offered on the newly built altar. 29They said to one another, “Who did this?” When they investigated and asked around, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did this.” 30The men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he tore down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.” 31But Joash said to all who confronted him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s case? Are you going to save him? Whoever pleads for him will be put to death by morning. If Baal is a god, let him plead for himself — someone has torn down his altar.” 32So that day they called Gideon “Jerubbaal,” saying, “Let Baal plead against him,” because he had torn down his altar.

The Sign of the Fleece

33All the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the people of the east gathered together, crossed over, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34Then the Spirit of Yahweh clothed Gideon; he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. 35He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. He sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet him. 36Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37look — I am putting a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If dew is on the fleece alone, while all the ground stays dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38And it happened. He got up early the next day, wrung out the fleece, and squeezed enough dew from it to fill a bowl with water. 39Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me speak just once more. Let me test just once more with the fleece: this time let the fleece alone be dry, while dew covers all the ground.” 40And that night God did so: the fleece alone was dry, and dew covered all the ground.