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Gideon
6:1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight
of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
6:2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and
because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them
the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong
holds.
6:3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the
Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of
the east, even they came up against them;
6:4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the
increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no
sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
6:5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and
they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and
their camels were without number: and they entered into the
land to destroy it.
6:6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the
Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
6:7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried
unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
6:8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of
Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of
Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth
out of the house of bondage;
6:9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians,
and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave
them out from before you, and gave you their land;
6:10 And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not
the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye
have not obeyed my voice.
6:11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an
oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the
Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the
winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said
unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.
6:13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be
with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all
his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not
the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath
forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the
Midianites.
6:14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy
might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the
Midianites: have not I sent thee?
6:15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I
save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am
the least in my father's house.
6:16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with
thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
6:17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy
sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me.
6:18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee,
and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he
said, I will tarry until thou come again.
6:19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and
unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a
basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out
unto him under the oak, and presented it.
6:20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and
the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour
out the broth. And he did so.
6:21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the
staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the
unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock,
and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the
angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
6:22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the
LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O LORD God! for because I have seen
an angel of the LORD face to face.
6:23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear
not: thou shalt not die.
6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and
called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah
of the Abiezrites.
6:25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said
unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second
bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal
that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:
6:26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top
of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second
bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the
grove which thou shalt cut down.
6:27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as
the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared
his father's household, and the men of the city, that he
could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
6:28 And when the men of the city arose early in the
morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the
grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock
was offered upon the altar that was built.
6:29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this
thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon
the son of Joash hath done this thing.
6:30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out
thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the
altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that
was by it.
6:31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will
ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for
him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he
be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast
down his altar.
6:32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying,
Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his
altar.
6:33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the
children of the east were gathered together, and went over,
and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
6:34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he
blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.
6:35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who
also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto
Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up
to meet them.
6:36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by
mine hand, as thou hast said,
6:37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and
if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the
earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel
by mine hand, as thou hast said.
6:38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and
thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the
fleece, a bowl full of water.
6:39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot
against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I
pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry
only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be
dew.
6:40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the
fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. |
Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
