The Israelites sinned again against the Lord, and he let them rule over the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were more powerful than the Israelites. So the Israelites hid in caves and elsewhere in the hills. When the Israelites planted, the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the desert tribes attacked them.
These enemies of Israel will camp in the land of Israel and destroy the crops as far as Gaza. They left no livelihood for the Israelites, not even sheep, cattle or donkeys. They will come with their cattle and their tents like locusts. They and their camels are innumerable. They did a great deal of damage and Israel did nothing against them. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help.
When the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help against the Midianites, the Lord, the God of Israel, sent a prophet to say to them, "I brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
I delivered you from the Egyptians and from your enemies here. I drove them out when you came and gave you their land.
I have told you that I am the Lord your God, and that you must not worship the idols of the Amorites, in whose land you now live. But you did not listen to me. "
Then the angel of the LORD came to the city of Ophrah, and took his seat in the grove of Joash, of the house of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat in a winepress so that the Midianites would not see him. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.
Gideon said to him,
"Are you with us? Why does this happen to us when the Lord is still with us? Where are the miracles that our forefathers said the Lord had done especially those when he brought them out of Egypt? The Lord has forsaken us and handed us over to the Midianites. "
Then the Lord said to him,
"Go and save Israel from the Midianites with all your might. I am the one who commanded you. "
And he said, But, Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? My family is the weakest of the tribe of Manasseh and I am the lowest member of my family. "
And the Lord said unto him, Thou shalt do this thing, and I will help thee. You can defeat the Midianites as easily as one man. "
And Gideon said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou speakest.Please don't go until I get something to eat. "
He said, "I'll stay until you come back."
Then Gideon went into his house, prepared a young goat, and baked a loaf of unleavened bread. He put the meat and the broth in a basket and brought it to the angel who was there because of the wooden task and threw it at him.
Then the angel said to him,
"Put the meat and the bread on this stone and pour broth on it."
And Gideon did so. The angel cut the meat and the bread through the end of the stick that he was holding. Fire came out of the rock and burned the meat and the bread. Then the angel disappeared.
Then Gideon believed the angel of the Lord and was afraid, and said,
"Sovereign Lord, I have seen your angel."
But the Lord said to him,
"Do not be afraid. You will not die. "
And Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called the name of it Jehovah, The LORD of Peace. (To this day the altar is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.)