1 ① The Israelites treated Yahweh badly, and Yahweh gave them into the hands of the Midianites for seven years, 2and the hand of the Midianites lay heavily on them.
Because of Midian, the Israelites made for themselves passages in the mountains, caves and shelters. 3When the Israelites had sown, Midian would come with Amalek and with the people of the East. They would come up against the Israelites, 4encamp in the lands of the Israelites and destroy all the fields as far as the entrance to Gaza. They would leave no provisions or sheep or ox or ass, 5for they would come up like locusts in number, bringing with them their livestock and their tents. They and their camels were many and they invaded and plundered the land. 6In this way, Midian subdued Israel and brought upon it so great a misery that the Israelites cried to Yahweh.
7When the Israelites cried to Yahweh because of Midian, 8Yahweh sent them a prophet who said to them, “This is the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9I freed you from the hands of the Egyptians and from all your oppressors. I drove out before you the inhabitants of these lands, and gave their lands to you, 10and I said to you, ‘I am Yahweh, your God. Disregard the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.’ But you did not listen to me.”
Call of Gideon
11The Angel of Yahweh came and sat under the sacred tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, of the family of Abiezer. Gideon, the son of Joash, was threshing the wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
12The Angel of Yahweh said to him, “Yahweh be with you, valiant warrior.” 13Gideon answered, “Please, my lord, if Yahweh is with us, why is all this happening to us? Where are the wonders which our fathers recounted to us? Did they not say that Yahweh led them up from Egypt? Why has he abandoned us now and given us into the hands of the Midianites?”
14Yahweh then turned to him and said, “Go, and with your courage, save Israel from the Midianites. It is I who send you.” 15Gideon answered: “Pardon me, Lord, but how can I save Israel? My family is the lowliest in my tribe and I am the least in the family of my father.”
16Yahweh said to him, “I will be with you and you shall defeat the people of Midian with one single stroke.” 17Gideon said to him, “Please give me a sign that it is indeed you who speak. 18Do not leave until I return with an offering and present it to you.” Yahweh responded, “I am going to wait for you here.”
19Gideon went and prepared a young goat, took a measure of flour and baked unleavened bread. He put the broth in a pot and the meat in a basket, and went to present them to the Angel under the tree. 20Then the Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the bread; put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” Gideon did so. 21At that moment, the Angel of Yahweh extended the staff he was holding and touched the meat and the bread. Suddenly, fire blazed from the rock. The fire consumed the meat and the bread, and the Angel of Yahweh disappeared.
22Gideon realized that he was the Angel of Yahweh and said, “Alas, O Lord Yahweh! I have seen the Angel of Yahweh face to face.” 23But Yahweh said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not fear for you shall not die.” 24Gideon built an altar to Yahweh in that place and called it Yahweh-Peace. To this day, it is still in Ophrah of Abiezer.
25That same night Yahweh said to Gideon, “Take with you ten of your father’s servants and a seven-year-old bull. Destroy your father’s altar to Baal and cut the sacred pillar beside it. 26Then build an altar to Yahweh on this knoll and sacrifice the bull to me, burning it with the wood from the sacred pillar.”
27So, Gideon, with the help of his ten servants, did what Yahweh had commanded. But because he feared his family and the people of the town, he did it by night.
28On the following day, the towns-people saw the altar of Baal broken into pieces and the sacred pillar cut down. They also saw that a bull had been sacrificed on the new altar. 29So they asked one another and, as they investigated, found out that it was Gideon who had done it, 30and they went to Joash and said, “Hand your son over to us for he must die; he destroyed the altar of Baal and cut down the sacred pillar.” 31But Joash said to the angry crowd, “Are you going to defend Baal and save him? If he is god, let him defend himself when someone destroys his altar.”
32On that day they gave Gideon the name Jerubaal which means: “Let Baal defend himself against Gideon, for Gideon destroyed his altar.”
33All Midian, Amalek and the people of the East joined forces, crossed the Jordan and invaded the plains of Jezreel. 34Then the spirit of Yahweh clothed Gideon with strength; he blew the trumpet and summoned the men of Abiezer. 35He sent messengers throughout the whole territory of Manasseh and they joined him. The people of Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali also went out to meet them.
36Gideon said to God, “If indeed you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, grant me this favor. 37I am going to spread this woolen fleece on the threshing ground. If the dew falls only on the fleece while all the ground remains dry, then I shall know that you are to save Israel by my hand, as you have promised.”
38So it was: Gideon rose at day-break, squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew, filling a cup with water. 39Gideon again spoke to God and said to him, “Don’t be angry with me if I dare to speak to you again. Allow me to make another test with the fleece: let it be dry only on the fleece and let dew come on all the ground.” 40That night, Yahweh did so. The fleece re mained dry and dew covered all the ground.
- Jdg 6,1 Chapters 6-9 relate the story of Gideon and his son, Abimelech. The former is called by Yahweh and acts as Judge. In two successful campaigns he ensures the freedom of his people. After Gideon, Abimelech rides on his father's fame in a bid to become king. The Angel of Yahweh shows himself to Gideon in human form. Luke's Gospel will remind us of this paragraph: Luke 1:26-38. Yahweh raises up a savior even where there is no hope. Gideon believes in Yahweh but lacks confidence: God may have done everything in the past, but Gideon does not see him acting in the present. 6:15. We find this attitude of Gideon in other texts of the Bible. The mission which God entrusts to us always goes beyond our human strength (Ex 3:11; Jer 1:6). God gives hope when he gives a task to be done; he does not promise to do things for us but he invites us to take action: by your valor, you will save Israel from the Midianites. Thus Yahweh looks to the man he chooses. Then the young farmer Gideon discovers himself in this call and already knows that he will carry it through. Verses 25-31 closely tie up the liberating mission entrusted to Gideon with the public confession of his faith in Yahweh, thereby making him worthy of God's commitment to him. Gideon agrees to commit himself but wants to have the assurance that it is indeed Yahweh who speaks. He, therefore, asks for a sign which Yahweh grants him. Gideon is not like others who ask for signs in order to gain time because they doubt or do not want to be convinced (see Mk 8:11 and Lk 1:18).
