1 The people of Israel did bad. So God let Midian be mean to them for 7 years. 7️⃣ 2 Midian was very mean. Israel hid in hills, caves, and safe places. ⛰️️ 3 When Israel put seeds in the dirt, Midian, Amalek, and people from the east came. ️ 4 They camped and took the food. They left no food, no sheep, no cow, no donkey. ❌ 5 They came like many bugs and had many camels. They ruined the land. 6 Israel became very weak. They cried to God for help. 7 When they cried to God, God sent a man who spoke for Him. 8 The man said, “God says: I brought you out of Egypt. I took you from bad hands.” ✋ 9 “I saved you from bad kings. I gave you this land.” ️ 10 “I said, ‘I am your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites.’ But you did not obey Me.” ⚠️ 11 God’s angel came and sat under a tree in Ophrah. Gideon was hiding in a wine pit, hitting wheat so Midian would not see. ️ 12 God’s angel said, “God is with you, strong man.” ✨ 13 Gideon said, “Sir, if God is with us, why is bad here? Where are His big works? God left us to Midian.” ♂️ 14 God said to Gideon, “Go now. Save Israel. I send you.” ♂️️ 15 Gideon said, “My family is small. I am the least one.” ➡️♂️ 16 God said, “I am with you. You will beat Midian like one man.” ✝️️ 17 Gideon said, “Please give me a sign, so I know it is You.” 18 “Please stay here. I will bring You a gift.” The angel said, “I will stay.” ⏳ 19 Gideon made a young goat and flat bread. He put the meat in a basket and soup in a pot, and brought it under the tree. 20 The angel said, “Put the meat and bread on the rock. Pour the soup.” He did it. 21 The angel touched the food with his stick. Fire came up from the rock and burned it. Then the angel was gone. ✨ 22 Gideon knew it was God’s angel. He said, “Oh no! I saw God’s angel!” 23 God said, “Peace. Do not be afraid. You will not die.” ️ 24 Gideon built a stone table for God and named it “God Is Peace.” ️ 25 That night God said, “Take your dad’s bull and the second bull. Break your dad’s Baal altar. Cut down the Asherah pole.” ❌ 26 “Build a new stone table for God on the high place. Use the wood from the pole. Offer the bull.” ️ 27 Gideon took ten men and did what God said. He was afraid of his family and the town, so he did it at night. 28 In the morning the men saw Baal’s altar broken, the pole cut, and the bull on the new stone table for God. ❌ 29 They asked, “Who did this?” They learned it was Gideon, Joash’s son. ❓️ 30 The men said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die for this.” ⚔️ 31 Joash said, “Will you fight for Baal? If Baal is a god, let him fight for himself.” ️ 32 So they called Gideon “Jerubbaal,” which means, “Let Baal fight him,” because he broke Baal’s altar. ️❌ 33 Midian, Amalek, and people from the east came and camped in a big valley named Jezreel. ️️ 34 God’s Holy Spirit came on Gideon. He blew a horn. His family came to him. ✨ 35 He sent for Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. They came to help. ♂️♀️ 36 Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by me, like You said…” 37 “I will put wool on the grain floor. If the wool is wet and the ground is dry, then I will know You will save Israel by me.” 38 It happened. In the morning Gideon squeezed the wool, and a bowl was full of water. 39 Gideon said, “Please do not be mad. Let me ask again. Make the wool dry and the ground wet.” 40 God did it that night. The wool was dry. The ground was wet. ✅