Judges chapter 6

After reading chapter 6:

* The last sentence of chapter five was " then the land had rest for forty years," forty being one of the bible's magical numbers. Now we again see Israel backsliding. So, Yahweh gave them to the Midianites for seven years (another magical number). They were reduced to hiding in caves and other secluded places. Whenever they planted crops, their crops were destroyed by invading Midianites and Amalekites from the east. The odd thing about this is that back in Numbers chapter 31, all the Midianite males were killed, their towns and  camps burned,  and their virgin women taken as plunder. The apparently resurrected Midianites harassed and plundered the Israelites, causing poverty and distress. Again they cried to Yahweh for help.

*Yahweh sent the Israelites a prophet who gave them a review lesson in history then said their troubles were their own fault for not listening to Yahweh and for following other gods. Then, one day an angel of Yahweh, appearing as a man, visited Gideon and said Yahweh was with Gideon. He was naturally sceptical. The angel said he was sending Gideon to save Israel. Gideon was naturally sceptical, again. He asked for a sign but first made some food as an offering and gave it to the Angel under the oak in Ophrah. Remember that great trees, often oaks, were ancient places of cultic worship and where people communed with gods. We have seen this motif in the bible before.

*The angel had Gideon put the food on a rock, then he incinerated it with his staff. This surprised Gideon who apparently hadn't realized he was a REAL angel. The angel said "Peace, do not be afraid." Then Gideon built an altar to Yahweh on the spot and called it Yahweh is Peace (shalom). This passage is one of the reasons Peace is considered one of the names of God. That night, according to Yahweh's instruction, Gideon destroyed his father's altar to Baal, cut down the Asherah pole, and used the wood in the fire for the sacrifice of one of his father's bulls on the altar to Yahweh. This was done at night, in secret, because of course none of that was his property.

*In the morning all was discovered. Gideon was denounced as the culprit by a hostile crowd and his execution was demanded. Gideon's father, Joash, seems to have been a rational man. He argued that if Baal needed defending, couldn't he defend himself? This seemed to placate the mob and they settled for calling Gideon names.

*Now all those marauding easterners joined forces and came across the Jordan. Gideon was the beneficiary of the spirit of the lord and blew a trumpet summoning help. Then Gideon tested Yahweh's promise of help by placing a wool fleece on the threshing floor and seeing if it would be wet in the morning, but the ground dry.  It was. The next day he requested another test. This time asking for the fleece to be dry and the ground wet. It was. In spite of having the spirit of Yahweh, and personally meeting the angel of the lord, Gideon wasn't taking any chances.

Edited: The Midianites were exterminated in Numbers 31, not 13.