1 AND the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord.
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites,
8 That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;
10 And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.
11 And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
16 And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
21 Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.
22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.
23 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.
25 And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:
26 And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.
31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.
32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
34 But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him.
35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

1And the children of Israel did euill in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord deliuered them into the hande of Midian seuen yeeres.

2And the hand of Midian preuailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dennes which are in the mountaines, and caues, & strong holds.

3And so it was when Israel had sowen, that the Midianites came vp, & the Amalekites, & the children of the East, euen they came vp against them,

4And they encamped against them, and destroyed the encrease of the earth, till thou come vnto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheepe, nor oxe, nor asse.

5For they came vp with their cattell and their tents, and they came as Grashoppers for multitude, for both they and their camels were without number: and they entred into the land to destroy it.

6And Israel was greatly impouerished, because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cryed vnto the Lord.

7¶ And it came to passe when the children of Israel cryed vnto the Lord, because of the Midianites,

8That the Lord sent a Prophet vnto the children of Israel, which said vnto them; Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you vp from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage,

9And I deliuered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of al that oppressed you, and draue them out from before you, and gaue you their land:

10And I said vnto you, I am the Lord your God, feare not the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwel: But ye haue not obeyed my voice.

11¶ And there came an Angel of the Lord, and sate vnder an Oake which was in Ophrah, that pertained vnto Ioash the Abi-Ezrite: and his sonne Gideon threshed wheat by the winepresse, to hide it from the Midianites.

12And the Angel of the Lord appeared vnto him, and said vnto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mightie man of valour.

13And Gideon said vnto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord bee with vs, why then is all this befallen vs? and where be all his miracles which our fathers tolde vs of, saying, Did not the Lord bring vs vp from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken vs, and deliuered vs into the hands of the Midianites.

14And the Lord looked vpon him, and said, Goe in this thy might, and thou shalt saue Israel from the hand of the Midianites: haue not I sent thee?

15And hee said vnto him, Oh my lord, wherewith shall I saue Israel? behold, my family is poore in Manasseh, and I am the least in my fathers house.

16And the Lord said vnto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites, as one man.

17And he said vnto him, If now I haue found grace in thy sight, then shew me a signe, that thou talkest with me.

18Depart not hence, I pray thee, vntil I come vnto thee, and bring forth my Present, and set it before thee. And hee saide, I will tary vntill thou come againe.

19¶ And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and vnleauened cakes of an Ephah of floure: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out vnto him vnder the oake, and presented it.

20And the Angel of God sayd vnto him, Take the flesh, and the vnleauened cakes, and lay them vpon this rocke, and powre out the broth. And he did so.

21¶ Then the Angel of the Lord put foorth the end of the staffe that was in his hand, and touched the flesh, and the vnleauened cakes, and there rose vp fire out of the rocke, and consumed the flesh and the vnleauened cakes: then the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

22And when Gideon perceiued that hee was an Angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God: for because I haue seene an Angel of the Lord face to face.

23And the Lord said vnto him, Peace be vnto thee, feare not, thou shalt not die.

24Then Gideon built an Altar there vnto the Lord, and called it Iehouah shalom: vnto this day it is yet in Ophrah, of the Abi-Ezrites.

25¶ And it came to passe the same night, that the Lord said vnto him, Take thy fathers yong bullocke, euen the second bullocke of seuen yeeres old, and throw downe the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut downe the groue that is by it:

26And builde an Altar vnto the Lord thy God vpon the top of this rocke, in the ordered place, and take the second bullocke, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the groue, which thou shalt cut downe.

27Then Gideon tooke ten men of his seruants, and did as the Lord had said vnto him: And so it was because hee feared his fathers houshold, and the men of the city, that he could not doe it by day, that hee did it by night.

28¶ And when the men of the citie arose earely in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast downe, and the groue was cut downe that was by it, and the second bullocke was offered vpon the altar that was built.

29And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the sonne of Ioash hath done this thing.

30Then the men of the citie said vnto Ioash, Bring out thy sonne, that he may die: because he hath cast downe the altar of Baal, and because hee hath cut downe the groue that was by it.

31And Ioash said vnto all that stood against him, Will ye pleade for Baal? will ye saue him? He that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilest it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himselfe, because one hath cast down his altar.

32Therefore on that day hee called him Ierubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because hee hath throwen downe his altar.

33 Then all the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and the children of the East were gathered together, and went ouer, and pitched in the valley of Iezreel.

34But the Spirit of the Lord came vpon Gideon, and hee blewe a trumpet, and Abiezer was gathered after him.

35And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also was gathered after him, and hee sent messengers vnto Asher, and vnto Zebulun, and vnto Naphtali, and they came vp to meete them.

36¶ And Gideon said vnto God, If thou wilt saue Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,

37Beholde, I will put a fleece of wooll in the floore: and if the deaw be on the fleece onely, and it bee drie vpon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt saue Israel by my hande, as thou hast said.

38And it was so: for he rose vp early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the deaw out of the fleece, a bowle full of water.

39And Gideon said vnto God, Let not thine anger be hote against me, and I will speake but this once: Let mee prooue, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece. Let it now be drie onely vpon the fleece, and vpon all the ground let there be deaw.

40And God did so that night: for it was drie vpon the fleece onely, and there was deaw on all the ground.

I == Judg 2:19 ; Hab 3:7

II == 1st Sam 13:6

 

 

 

III == Gen 29:1 ; Job 1:3

 

 

IV == Deut 28:30 , 33 , 51

 

 

V == Judg 7:12

 

 

VI == Judg 3:15 ; Hos 5:15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IX == Ps 44:2-3

 

 

 

X == 2nd Kings 17:35 , 37 -38 ; Jer 10:2

XI == Josh 17:2 ; Heb 11:32

 

 

 

XII == Josh 1:5 ; Judg 13:3 : Luke 1:11 , 28

 

XIII == 2nd Chr 15:2 ; Ps 44:1 ; 89:49 ; Isa 59:1 ; 63:15

 

 

 

XXIV == Josh 1:9 ; Judg 4:6 ; 1st Sam 12:11 ; Heb 11:32 , 34

 

XV == Ex 18:21 , 25 ; 1st Sam 9:21 ; Mic 5:2

 

XVI == E#x 3:12 ; Josh 1:5

XVII == Ex 4:1-8 ; Judg 6:36-37 ; 2nd KIngs 20:8 ; Ps 86:17 ; Isa 7:11

XVIII == Gen 18:3, 5 ; Judg 13:15

 

XIX == Gen 18:6-8

 

 

XX == Judg 13:19 ; 1st KIngs 19:33-34

 

XXI == Lev 9:24 ; 1st Kings 18:38 ; 2nd Chr 7:1

 

 

 

XXII == Gen 16:13 ; 32:30 ; Ex 33:20 ; Judg 13:21-22

 

XXIII == Dan 10:19

XXIV == Gen 22:14 ; Ex 17:15 ; Judg 8:32 ; Jer 33:16 ; Ezek 48:35

XXV == Ex 34:13 ; Deut 7:5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXII == 1st Sam 12:11 ; 2nd Sam 11:21

XXXIII == Josh 17:16 ; Judg 6:3

 

 

XXXIV == Num 10:3 ; 3:27 ; Judg 3:10 ; 1st Chr 12:18 ; 2nd Chr 24:20

 

 

 

 

 

XXXVII == Ex 4:3-4 , 6-7

 

 

 

 

 

XXXIX == Gen 18:32

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 The Israelites offended the LORD, who therefore delivered them into the power of Midian for seven years,

2 so that Midian held Israel subject. For fear of Midian the Israelites established the fire signals on the mountains, the caves for refuge, and the strongholds.

3 And it used to be that when the Israelites had completed their sowing, Midian, Amalek and the Kedemites would come up,

4 encamp opposite them, and destroy the produce of the land as far as the outskirts of Gaza, leaving no sustenance in Israel, nor sheep, oxen or asses.

5 For they would come up with their livestock, and their tents would become as numerous as locusts; and neither they nor their camels could be numbered, when they came into the land to lay it waste.

6 Thus was Israel reduced to misery by Midian, and so the Israelites cried out to the LORD.

7 When Israel cried out to the LORD because of Midian,

8 he sent a prophet to the Israelites who said to them, "The LORD, the God of Israel, says: I led you up from Egypt; I brought you out of the place of slavery.

9 I rescued you from the power of Egypt and of all your other oppressors. I drove them out before you and gave you their land.

10 And I said to you: I, the LORD, am your God; you shall not venerate the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are dwelling. But you did not obey me."

11 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. While his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press to save it from the Midianites,

12 the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, "The LORD is with you, O champion!"

13 "My Lord," Gideon said to him, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are his wondrous deeds of which our fathers told us when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' For now the LORD has abandoned us and has delivered us into the power of Midian."

14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go with the strength you have and save Israel from the power of Midian. It is I who send you."

15 But he answered him, "Please, my lord, how can I save Israel? My family is the meanest in Manasseh, and I am the most insignificant in my father's house."

16 "I shall be with you," the LORD said to him, "and you will cut down Midian to the last man."

17 He answered him, "If I find favor with you, give me a sign that you are speaking with me.

18 Do not depart from here, I pray you, until I come back to you and bring out my offering and set it before you." He answered, "I will await your return."

19 So Gideon went off and prepared a kid and an ephah of flour in the form of unleavened cakes. Putting the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out to him under the terebinth and presented them.

20 The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and unleavened cakes and lay them on this rock; then pour out the broth." When he had done so,

21 the angel of the LORD stretched out the tip of the staff he held, and touched the meat and unleavened cakes. Thereupon a fire came up from the rock which consumed the meat and unleavened cakes, and the angel of the LORD disappeared from sight.

22 Gideon, now aware that it had been the angel of the LORD, said, "Alas, Lord GOD, that I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"

23 The LORD answered him, "Be calm, do not fear. You shall not die."

24 So Gideon built there an altar to the LORD and called it Yahweh-shalom. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

25 That same night the LORD said to him, "Take the seven-year-old spare bullock and destroy your father's altar to Baal and cut down the sacred pole that is by it.

26 You shall build, instead, the proper kind of altar to the LORD, your God, on top of this stronghold. Then take the spare bullock and offer it as a holocaust on the wood from the sacred pole you have cut down."

27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had commanded him. But through fear of his family and of the townspeople, he would not do it by day, but did it at night.

28 Early the next morning the townspeople found that the altar of Baal had been destroyed, the sacred pole near it cut down, and the spare bullock offered on the altar that was built.

29 They asked one another, "Who did this?" Their inquiry led them to the conclusion that Gideon, son of Joash, had done it.

30 So the townspeople said to Joash, "Bring out your son that he may die, for he has destroyed the altar of Baal and has cut down the sacred pole that was near it."

31 But Joash replied to all who were standing around him, "Do you intend to act in Baal's stead, or be his champion? If anyone acts for him, he shall be put to death by morning. If he whose altar has been destroyed is a god, let him act for himself!"

32 So on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, because of the words, "Let Baal take action against him, since he destroyed his altar."

33 Then all Midian and Amalek and the Kedemites mustered and crossed over into the valley of Jezreel, where they encamped.

34 The spirit of the LORD enveloped Gideon; he blew the horn that summoned Abiezer to follow him.

35 He sent messengers, too, throughout Manasseh, which also obeyed his summons; through Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, likewise, he sent messengers and these tribes advanced to meet the others.

36 Gideon said to God, "If indeed you are going to save Israel through me, as you promised,

37 I am putting this woolen fleece on the threshing floor. If dew comes on the fleece alone, while all the ground is dry, I shall know that you will save Israel through me, as you promised."

38 That is what took place. Early the next morning he wrung the dew from the fleece, squeezing out of it a bowlful of water.

39 Gideon then said to God, "Do not be angry with me if I speak once more. Let me make just one more test with the fleece. Let the fleece alone be dry, but let there be dew on all the ground."

40 That night God did so; the fleece alone was dry, but there was dew on all the ground.

v 1-6. Midian punished Israel severely for their sins for seven years. This was worse than war, because annual raiding parties came in at harvest time to take their very sustenance and livestock. Israelites hid themselves and what they could in caves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 7-10. It got so bad Israel cried unto the Lord, but not in repentance, so God sent an unnamed prophet to remind them of their disobedience.

 

 

 

 

 

v 11,12. The angel here is shown, v 23, to be pre incarnate Christ. God saw potential for valor under Gideon’s fear and weakness.

 

 

v 13. Lord here meant “Sir”, with a Why and Where question he should have known, so the Lord didn’t answer.

 

 

 

 

v 14. The Lord went directly to the call, and Gideon’s strength was in the Lord.

v 15. Gideon now goes to “How”? He was humble, but this was the Lord’s battle.

v 16. As in v 14, the Lord made plain, Gideon was to lead, and God would deliver. As one man means, in one single act. 

v 17,18. To be sure, Gideon asked for a sign. The Lord agreed and waited while he butchered a kid and prepared a meal. (Servants probably did the work.)

v 19,20. Gideon’s generous gift was an offering to someone whose identity he didn’t know yet, and we don’t know what sign he expected. As commanded, the broth was poured over the flesh as the water in 1 Ki. 18:33,34. Half a bushel of flour was used to make the bread, so he probably thought the stranger would take along the excess or he would take it home.

 

v 21-24. This miraculous fire proved to Gideon that this was the Lord Jehovah who had talked to him and called him to his task. God assured Gideon he wouldn’t die from seeing the Lord, so Gideon called it “Peace”. This altar was still standing as a memorial at the time of Saul.

v 25,26. God spoke audibly or in a dream the same night. The younger of the two bullocks, at seven years, was to be offered on the same altar he had built after seeing the Lord, and the wood of the Ashera by Baal’s altar was used for fuel. They were carved with the private parts of the female on Ashera, the male parts on the other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 27. This was no small task so ten servants helped in the secrecy of night.

 

v 28-32. Gideon’s father gave a good answer to the angry pagan’s to let Baal plead for himself. Then he changed Gideon’s name to Jerubbaal, “Let Baal plead”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 33-35. The war cry went out to all Midianites and Amalekites, and under control of the Spirit, Gideon’s summons was to his own household, v 11 and Josh. 17:20,  followed by a quick call to nearby Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali.

 

 

v 36-40. It is unscriptural to “put out a fleece” to determine God’s will. Gideon already knew, v 14, 16, that God had commanded and would deliver. He had asked for and received a sign as total proof, v 17-24. This was simply lack of faith and he was fearful, but God complied to give him assurance.