Once again, the Israelites turned away from God, and for seven years the Lord allowed the Midianites to oppress them. The enemy's power was crushing — the Israelites hid in caves and mountains, building shelters to survive. Each time they planted crops, the Midianites and their allies — the Amalekites and eastern tribes — would swarm in like locusts, stealing everything: grain, sheep, cattle, and donkeys. The land was stripped bare, and Israel was left weak and starving.
At last, the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help. In response, God sent a prophet, reminding them: "I brought you out of Egypt, delivered you from your oppressors, and gave you this land. I told you not to worship the gods of the Amorites, but you did not listen."
Then one day, the angel of the Lord appeared under an oak tree in Ophrah, where a man named Gideon, son of Joash, was secretly threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. The angel said, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior."
Startled and doubtful, Gideon replied, "But sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? Where are the miracles our ancestors told us about? It seems the Lord has abandoned us."
Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel from Midian. I am sending you."
Still unsure, Gideon protested, "But Lord, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
The Lord reassured him, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man."
Gideon asked for a sign. He prepared a young goat and unleavened bread, placing them before the angel. The angel told him to set the food on a rock and pour out the broth. Then, with the tip of his staff, the angel touched the offering — and fire blazed from the rock, consuming it instantly. The angel disappeared.
Terrified, Gideon cried, "I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!" But the Lord spoke to him, saying, "Peace. Do not be afraid. You will not die."
There Gideon built an altar and named it "The Lord Is Peace" — Yahweh Shalom.
That same night, God gave him a mission: "Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper altar to the Lord your God and sacrifice a bull using the wood of the Asherah pole."
Though afraid of his family and townsmen, Gideon obeyed — but he did it at night. In the morning, when the townspeople discovered Baal's altar destroyed, they demanded Gideon's death. But Joash, his father, defended him: "If Baal is truly a god, let him fight for himself!" So from that day, Gideon was called Jerub-Baal, meaning "Let Baal contend with him."
Soon after, the Midianites and their allies gathered in the Valley of Jezreel for war. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, calling the tribes to battle.
Still, Gideon sought assurance from God. He said, "If You will truly save Israel by my hand as You promised, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If the fleece is wet with dew and the ground dry, I will know." In the morning, it was exactly so — the fleece was soaked, but the ground was dry.
Yet Gideon asked once more, humbly: "Do not be angry, Lord. Let the fleece this time be dry while the ground is covered with dew." And that night, God did just that — the fleece was dry, and all the ground was wet.
God's patience and power were clear — the time for deliverance had come.