God

The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and matzot, lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth." Gid'on did so.

Then the angel of ADONAI reached out with the stick he was holding, touched the meat and matzot, and fire shot up out of the rock and burned up the meat and matzot. Then the angel of ADONAI disappeared before his eyes.

Gid'on realized that he was the angel of ADONAI and said, "Oh no! My Lord! ADONAI! Because I've seen the angel of ADONAI face-to-face!"

But ADONAI reassured him, "Shalom to you, don't be afraid, you won't die!"

Then Gid'on built an altar there to ADONAI and called it "ADONAI-Shalom"; to this day it remains in 'Ofrah of the Avi'ezri.

That very night ADONAI said to him, "Take your father's bull and the other bull, the seven-year-old. Destroy the altar to Ba'al that belongs to your father, cut down the sacred pole next to it,

and build a proper altar to ADONAI your God on top of this strong-point. Then take the second bull; and offer it as a burnt offering, using the wood of the sacred pole you cut down."

Gid'on took ten of his servants and did what ADONAI had told him to do. He didn't do it by day, because he was afraid of the men in his father's household and those from the city, so he did it at night.

But the Spirit of ADONAI covered Gid'on. He sounded the call on the shofar, and Avi'ezer rallied behind him.

Gid'on said to God, "If you are going to save Isra'el through me, as you said you would,

then, here: I will lay a wool fleece on the threshing-floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, while all the ground stays dry, I will be convinced that you will save Isra'el through me, as you said you would."

But Gid'on said to God, "Don't be angry with me because I am asking one more thing, let me make one more test, please: this time let it be dry only on the fleece, with dew all over the ground."

And that is what God did that night - it was dry only on the fleece, even though there was dew all over the ground.

ADONAI said to Gid'on, "There are too many people with you for me to hand Midyan over to them, because I don't want Isra'el to be able to boast against me, 'We saved ourselves by our own strength.'

ADONAI said to Gid'on, "There are still too many people. Have them come down to the water, and there I will screen them for you. If I say of anyone, 'This one is for you,' he will go with you; and if I say, 'This one is not for you,' he won't go with you."

So he brought the people down to the water, and ADONAI said to Gid'on, "Put to one side everyone who laps up water with his tongue the way a dog does, and put to the other side everyone who gets down on his knees to drink."

ADONAI said to Gid'on, "I will use the three hundred men who lapped the water to save you; I will hand Midyan over to you. Let all these others go back home."

That night ADONAI said to him, "Get up and attack the camp, because I have handed it over to you.

His comrade answered, "This can only be the sword of Gid'on son of Yo'ash, a man of Isra'el. God has given Midyan and all its army into his hands."

When Gid'on heard the dream and its interpretation, he fell on his knees in worship. Then he returned to the camp of Isra'el and said, "Get up! because ADONAI has handed Midyan's army over to you."

When I and everyone with me blow the shofar, then you blow your shofars all around the whole camp, and shout, "For ADONAI and for Gid'on!"

All three companies blew the shofars, broke the pitchers and held the torches in their left hands, keeping their right hands free for the shofars they were blowing; and they shouted, "The sword for ADONAI and for Gid'on!"

Gid'on's men blew their 300 shofars, and ADONAI caused everyone in the camp to attack his comrades; and the enemy fled beyond Beit-Sheetah near Tz'rerah, as far as the border of Avel-M'cholah, by Tabat.

God handed over to you Midyan's chiefs, 'Orev and Ze'ev. What could I do that matches what you did?" By saying that, he appeased their anger at him.

Gid'on said: "If that's your answer, then after ADONAI has put Zevach and Tzalmuna in my hands, I will tear your flesh apart with desert thorns and thistles!"