Judges, Chapter 6:
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Verses from Judges, Chapter 6 of the book of Judges in the Bible.
God calls Gideon
- 1. Again, the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord, and for seven years he delivered them into the hands of the Midianites.
- 2. The Midianites dominated Israel, and the Israelites hid in mountains, caves, and fortresses.
- 3. Whenever the Israelites planted, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people from the east came and destroyed their crops.
- 4. They invaded the land and destroyed everything from Gaza to the other side, leaving nothing behind, not even sheep, cattle or donkeys.
- 5. Like a swarm of locusts, they arrived with their flocks and tents. They were countless, and they invaded the earth to destroy it.
- 6. Due to Midian's oppression, the Israelites became impoverished and cried out to the Lord for help.
- 7. When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian,
- 8. He sent a prophet to tell them: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
- 9. I freed them from the power of Egypt and its oppressors. I drove them out and gave you their land.
- 10. And I also said to you: I am the Lord your God. Do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live. But you didn’t listen to me.”
- 11. Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon son of Joash, while he was grinding wheat in a grape-pressing tank, to hide it from the Midianites.
- 12. The Angel of the Lord said to Gideon, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
- 13. Gideon replied, “Ah, Lord, if You are with us, why has all this happened? Where are the wonders that our fathers tell us about, when they say, 'The Lord brought us out of Egypt'? But now the Lord has abandoned us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
- 14. Then the Lord looked at Gideon and said, “Go with your strength and rescue Israel from the Midianites. Am I not the one who sends it?”
- 15. Gideon replied, “Ah, Lord, how can I free Israel? My clan is the smallest in Manasseh, and I am the most insignificant in my family.”
- 16. The Lord said to him, “I will be with you, and you will defeat the Midianites as if they were one man.”
- 17. Gideon asked the Lord for a sign: “If it is indeed the Lord who is speaking to me, I ask that you stay here until I return and bring my offering to place before you.”
- 18. The Lord replied, “I will stay here until you return.”
- 19. Then Gideon went home, prepared a young goat, and made unleavened bread with a measure of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and took everything under the oak of Ofra.
- 20. The Angel of God said to Gideon, “Place the meat and unleavened bread on the rock and pour out the broth.” Gideon did so.
- 21. Then the Angel of the Lord stretched out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the bread. Immediately fire rose from the rock and consumed the meat and bread. Then the Angel of the Lord disappeared.
- 22. When Gideon realized that it was the Angel of the Lord, he exclaimed: “Ah, Sovereign Lord! I saw the Angel of the Lord face to face!”
- 23. But the Lord said to him, “Be at peace! Do not be afraid. You will not die.”
- 24. Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it “The Lord is Peace.” To this day the altar is in Ofra, belonging to the clan of Abiezer.
- 25. That same night the Lord said to Gideon, “Take the second seven-year-old bull that belongs to your father, tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the sacred pole that is next to it.
- 26. Then build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of this mountain. Use the stones from the altar of Baal that you threw down and offer the second bull as a burnt offering.”
- 27. Gideon, afraid of his family and the men of the city, did everything at night instead of during the day.
- 28. In the morning, when the men of the city arose, they found the altar of Baal torn down, the sacred pole beside it had been cut down, and the second bull had been sacrificed on the newly built altar!
- 29. They asked one another, “Who did this?” After investigating, they discovered that it was Gideon, son of Joash.
- 30. The men of the city said to Joash, “Bring your son out. He must die, for he tore down the altar of Baal and cut down the sacred pole that stood beside it.”
- 31. But Joash said to everyone around him, “Are you going to fight for Baal? Will they try to save him? Whoever fights for Baal will be killed before dawn! If Baal is a true god, he will be able to fight for himself, since his altar has been torn down.”
- 32. From that day on Gideon was called Jerubbaal, for they said, “Let Baal contend with him, since he has torn down his altar.”
- 33. In the meantime, all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people from the east gathered together, crossed the Jordan, and camped in the Jezreel Valley.
- 34. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew the trumpet and called upon the Abiezrites to follow him.
- 35. He also sent messengers throughout the territory of Manasseh, calling them to fight. And he sent messengers to the territories of Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, who also came to meet him.
- 36. Gideon said to God, “If you will indeed deliver Israel through me as you promised,
- 37. make a sign for me. I'm going to put a fleece fur on the floor. If the dew only wets the woolen skin and the ground around it is dry, I will know that you will deliver Israel through me, as you promised.”
- 38. And so it happened. Gideon got up the next morning and tightened his woolen skin. He squeezed the dew out of it, which filled a bowl.
- 39. Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me to do one more test with the fleece. This time, let her skin become dry and the ground around her become wet with dew.”
- 40. And God did so that night. The woolen skin became dry, but the ground around it was covered with dew.
