People - Judges - Gideon
The sons of Israel did evil and the Lord gave them into the hands of Midian for seven years. The midianites stole the produce of the land as well as the animals, devastating the land.
The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon while he was beating wheat in the wine press. The angel told Gideon he was a mighty warrior who would defeat the Midianites.
The angel told Gideon to pull down the altar to Baal and the Asherah next to it, then build an altar to the Lord and offer a bull to the Lord.
The Midianites and the Amakekites came in raiding party. The Spirit of the Lord came of Gideon and sent messages to the people calling them to follow him. He then asked the Lord for two signs to confirm that God had spoken.
Gideon started with an army of 22,000 and he separated the people according to the Lord's command. He retained 300 men to battle the Midianites and the Amalekites. Gideon attacked them in the night and the Lord set the sword of one against another throughout the whole army. The fallen of the sons of the east were 120,000 swordsmen.
The land was subdued for forty years in the days of Gideon.
Gideon was the fifth judge of Israel (Judges 6 - Judges 8 v32).
See also:
Judges who ruled over Israel
Christianity - People Index
Books of the Bible
Time line