10. Then I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God. Live in the land of the Amorites, but do not worship their gods.’ But you did not obey me.”
11. The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak tree at Ophrah that belonged to Joash, one of the Abiezrite people. Gideon, Joash’s son, was separating some wheat from the chaff in a winepress to keep the wheat from the Midianites.
12. The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!”
13. Then Gideon said, “Sir, if the Lord is with us, why are we having so much trouble? Where are the miracles our ancestors told us he did when the Lord brought them out of Egypt? But now he has left us and has handed us over to the Midianites.”
14. The Lord turned to Gideon and said, “Go with your strength and save Israel from the Midianites. I am the one who is sending you.”
15. But Gideon answered, “Lord, how can I save Israel? My family group is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least important member of my family.”
16. The Lord answered him, “I will be with you. It will seem as if the Midianites you are fighting are only one man.”
17. Then Gideon said to the Lord, “If you are pleased with me, give me proof that it is really you talking with me.