Hebrew Bible: Judges 6-8 (Gideon)

6) Midian conquers Israel. The Israelites flee to the mountains and live in caves. Midianites and Amorites constantly steal Israel's food. 'And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.'

An angel of God visits Gideon, and tells him that God is with him. Gideon asks why so many bad things are happening to Israel if God is on their side.

'And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”'

The Fifth Judge: Gideon.

The angel says that God will prove his divinity; he tells Gideon what to do. Gideon gathers some goat meat, some broth and some cakes. He places it on a rock, as directed by the angel. The angel touches the meat and the cakes with his staff: they burst into flames, and the angel vanishes.

'Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, 'The Lord Is Peace'.'

That night, under God's orders, Gideon tore down the altars to the false gods Baal and Asherah. Then he sacrifices a bull.

In the morning, the people are angry that their altars have been vandalised. They discover that it was the work of Gideon. They want him dead; they go to his house. Joash, Gideon's father, points out that if Baal is a god then he doesn't need humans to do his dirty work for him: let Baal deal with Gideon himself. Faced by that onslaught of reason, the mob backs down.

The Midianites and the Amalekites team up against Israel. Gideon sounds the trumpet of war and gathers an army.

Gideon then asks for a very specific sign from God:

“If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” And it was so.

Gideon is astounded; he asks God for another very specific sign:

'“Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.'

7) God tells Gideon that his army is too big: the people won't believe they won through divine intervention if they're part of a large army. Gideon reduces his army from 32,000 to 300.

That night, Gideon and his servant Purah spy out the Midianite army camp. 'And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance.'

A Midianite soldier is overheard saying: "God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”

Gideon returns to his soldiers and tells them to surround the camp. When he gives the signal, they are all to blow trumpets, smash jars and shout 'For the Lord and Gideon!'

This freaks the Midianites out. They flee. A lot of them are killed. Some of the Midianites killed each other in the confusion.

Gideon summons the rest of his troops, the land is reclaimed, the princes of Midian executed.

8) With his favourite 300, Gideon chases the Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian, across the Jordan river.

They stop in Succoth and ask for food; they are refused.

“Well then," says Gideon, "when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”

They pass on to Penuel, and are refused again.

Gideon: “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.”

Then they find, capture and execute the Midian kings. On the way home Gideon destroys the Tower of Penuel, kills the men of Penuel, and flails the flesh of the elders of Succoth with thorns from the wilderness.

'Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”
Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”'

Gideon lived to good old age, and left behind seventy sons from his many wives and another, Abimelech, from his concubine.

After all that, Israel again turned from worshipping God and following his rules.