Judges 6:14 - Prayer Tents

Gideon

6Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.H1121H3478H6213H7451H5869H3068H3068H5414H3027H4080H7651H81412Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds.H3027H4080H5810H3478H6440H4080H1121H3478H6213H4492H2022H4631H46793Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country.H3478H2232H4080H5927H6002H1121H6924H59274They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys.H2583H7843H2981H776H935H5804H7604H4241H3478H7716H7794H25435They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it.H5927H4735H168H935H935H1767H697H7230H1581H4557H935H776H78436Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.H3478H3966H1809H6440H4080H1121H3478H2199H30687When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian,H1121H3478H2199H3068H182H40808he sent them a prophet, who said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.H3068H7971H376H5030H1121H3478H559H559H3068H430H3478H5927H4714H3318H1004H56509I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land.H5337H3027H4714H3027H3905H1644H6440H5414H77610I said to you, 'I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me."H559H3068H430H3372H430H567H776H3427H8085H696311The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.H935H4397H3068H3427H424H6084H3101H33H1121H1439H2251H2406H1660H5127H6440H408012When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."H4397H3068H7200H559H3068H1368H242813"But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."H1439H559H994H113H3426H3068H4672H6381H1H5608H559H3068H5927H4714H3068H5203H5414H3709H408014The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"H3068H6437H559H3212H3581H3467H3478H3709H4080H797115"But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."H559H994H136H4100H3467H3478H504H505H1800H4519H6810H1H100416The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."H3068H559H5221H4080H259H37617Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.H559H4672H2580H5869H6213H226H169618Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you." And the LORD said, "I will wait until you return."H4185H935H3318H4503H3240H6440H559H3427H772519Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.H1439H935H6213H5795H1423H4682H374H7058H1320H7760H5536H7760H4839H6517H3318H424H506620The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so.H4397H430H559H3947H1320H4682H3240H1975H5553H8210H4839H621321With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared.H4397H3068H7971H7097H4938H3027H5060H1320H4682H5927H784H6697H398H1320H4682H4397H3068H1980H586922When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"H1439H7200H4397H3068H1439H559H162H136H3069H3651H7200H4397H3068H6440H644023But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die."H3068H559H7965H3372H419124So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.H1439H1129H4196H3068H7121H3073H3117H6084H3325That same night the LORD said to him, "Take the second bull from your father's herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.H3915H3068H559H3947H1H6499H7794H8145H6499H7651H8141H2040H4196H1168H1H3772H84226Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering."H1129H4196H3068H430H7218H4581H4634H3947H8145H6499H5927H5930H6086H842H377227So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.H1439H3947H6235H582H5650H6213H3068H1696H3372H1H1004H582H5892H6213H3119H6213H391528In the morning when the men of the town got up, there was Baal's altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!H582H5892H7925H1242H4196H1168H5422H842H3772H8145H6499H5927H4196H112929They asked each other, "Who did this?" When they carefully investigated, they were told, "Gideon son of Joash did it."H559H376H7453H6213H1697H1875H1245H559H1439H1121H3101H6213H169730The men of the town demanded of Joash, "Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it."H582H5892H559H3101H3318H1121H4191H5422H4196H1168H3772H84231But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, "Are you going to plead Baal's cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar."H3101H559H5975H7378H1168H3467H7378H4191H1242H430H7378H5422H419632So that day they called Gideon "Jerub-Baal," saying, "Let Baal contend with him," because he broke down Baal's altar.H3117H7121H3378H559H1168H7378H5422H419633Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.H4080H6002H1121H6924H622H3162H5674H2583H6010H315734Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.H7307H3068H3847H1439H8628H7782H44H2199H31035He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.H7971H4397H4519H2199H310H7971H4397H836H2074H5321H5927H712536Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—H1439H559H430H3426H3467H3478H3027H169637look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said."H3322H1492H6785H1637H2919H1492H2721H776H3045H3467H3478H3027H169638And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.H7925H4283H2115H1492H2115H4680H2919H1492H5602H4393H432539Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew."H1439H559H430H639H2734H1696H6471H5254H6471H1492H2721H1492H776H291940That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.H430H6213H3915H2721H1492H2919H776