God: "Go Get 'Em, Gideon"
- And then Israel disobeys God again. Shocking.
- This time, the Midianites invade. So who does Israel ask to save them? You got it: God.
- The Lord sends a prophet to have a little chat with Israel. The prophet says, "Look, Israel, the Lord told you not to worship other gods, but you didn't obey. And now you want him to bail you out again?"
- Well of course they do… and of course he does.
- And so God sends an angel to our next judge, Gideon.
- Gideon has a few questions, though. He wants to know why things are so hard for the Israelites if God is with them (God's like I'm working on it… you're the solution), and he also wants to make sure God knows that he isn't exactly some rich, strong warrior (God's like I know, I'm God—that's where I come in, dude).
- Gideon is convinced, and under God's instruction, he pulls off an Israelite senior prank:
- With the help of 10 of his buddies, he sneaks over to the altar of Baal at night.
- They knock it over, chop down the grove next to it, build a new altar to God in its place, and use the wood to offer a sacrifice to him. Oh, snap!
- The Midianites and the Amalekites aren't having it and gather for war against Israel. God lets Gideon know, though, and he blows his trumpet to gather Israel for battle.
- Gideon then asks for—and receives—a sign that God will save Israel by Gideon's hand.