Judges 6

6 ¹ Israel did evil in our Father's sight, and our Father gave them into Midian's hand seven years. ² Midian's hand overpowered Israel, so the Israelites made themselves dens in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. ³ Whenever Israel planted crops, Midian, Amalek, and the eastern peoples came up against them. ⁴ They camped against them, destroyed the land's crops to Gaza, leaving Israel no food—no sheep, ox, or donkey. ⁵ They came up with livestock and tents, swarming like locusts; they and their camels were countless, and they invaded the land to destroy it. ⁶ So Israel was brought very low because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to our Father.

⁷ When the people of Israel cried out to our Father on account of Midian,

⁸ our Father sent a prophet to Israel, saying, "This is what our Father, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up from Egypt, out of the house of slavery." ⁹ I rescued you from Egypt and from all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. ¹⁰ I told you: I am your Father; don't fear the Amorite gods in whose land you live. But you haven't obeyed my voice.

¹¹ The messenger of our Father came and sat under the oak at Ophrah belonging to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress to hide it from Midian.

¹² The messenger of our Father appeared to him and said, "Our Father is with you, mighty warrior."

¹³ Gideon said to him, "Please, my lord, if our Father is with us, why has all this happened? Where are all his wonders our ancestors told of, saying, 'Didn't he bring us up from Egypt?' But now our Father has abandoned us, handing us to Midian."

¹⁴ our Father turned to him: "Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from Midian's hand. Have I not sent you?"

¹⁵ He said, "Please, my Sovereign Father, how can I save Israel? My clan is weakest in Manasseh, and I'm least in my father's house."

¹⁶ Our Father told him, "But I will be with you, and you will strike down Midian as one man."

¹⁷ Gideon said, "If I have found favor with you, give me a sign it is really you speaking with me."

¹⁸ "Please don't leave until I return and bring my offering to set before you." He said, "I'll stay till you return."

¹⁹ Gideon went in, prepared a young goat and bread without yeast from about twenty quarts of flour, put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, brought them to him under the oak, and offered them.

²⁰ The messenger of our Father told him, "Take the meat and bread without yeast, set them on this rock, and pour out the broth." He did.

²¹ The messenger of our Father reached out the staff tip in his hand and touched the meat and bread without yeast. Fire rose from the rock and consumed the meat and bread without yeast, and the messenger of our Father vanished from his sight.

²² Realizing it was our Father's messenger, Gideon said, "No, Sovereign Father! I've seen your messenger face to face!"

²³ But our Father said, "Peace to you. Don't be afraid; you won't die."

²⁴ Gideon built an altar there to our Father, naming it "Our Father Is Peace." It still stands at Ophrah of the Abiezrites today. ^a a v24 Gideon named this altar "Our Father Is Peace" — a memorial to the peace our Father spoke over him when he was terrified he would die for having seen him.

²⁵ That night our Father told him, "Take your father's bull, the second one seven years old, tear down your father's altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it." ²⁶ Then build a proper altar to me, your Father, on top of this stronghold. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering on the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down."

²⁷ Gideon took ten servants and did as our Father told him. Too afraid of his family and the townsmen to act by day, he did it at night.

²⁸ When the townsmen rose early, Baal's altar lay torn down, the Asherah pole beside it cut down, and the second bull offered on the newly built altar. ²⁹ They asked each other, "Who did this?" After searching and asking, they were told, "Gideon son of Joash did it."

³⁰ The townsmen told Joash, "Bring out your son to die; he tore down Baal's altar and cut the Asherah pole beside it." ³¹ Joash told the crowd against him, "Are you pleading Baal's case? Saving him? Whoever pleads for him dies by morning. If he's a god, let him defend himself, since someone tore down his altar." ³² That day Gideon was called Jerubbaal—"Let Baal contend against him"—because he tore down Baal's altar.

³³ All Midian, Amalek, and the eastern peoples joined forces, crossed over, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. ³⁴ Then the Spirit of our Father clothed Gideon, and he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called to follow him. ³⁵ He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, who also rallied behind him, and to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, who came up to meet them.

³⁶ Gideon said to our Father, "If you will save Israel by my hand, as you promised ³⁷ —I'm putting a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If dew is only on the fleece while all the ground stays dry, I'll know you'll save Israel by my hand, as you said.

³⁸ So it was. Early next morning he squeezed the fleece and wrung dew from it—a bowl full of water.

³⁹ Then Gideon said to our Father, "Don't be angry; let me speak once more. Let me test with the fleece again: keep the fleece dry, and dew on all the ground."

⁴⁰ That night our Father did so. Only the fleece was dry; dew covered all the ground.