The next picture we see in this great hall of faith is that of Gideon. Gideon was from the tribe of Manasseh. Manasseh was the son of Joseph who was the son of Jacob is is the Father of the original tribes. If you will remember that Jacob blessed Joesph's sons & promised him that his sons would also be given a piece of the promised land (Gen. 48:1-22). This did happen when their people entered the land (Joshua 17:1-8). So now that we know how Gideon connects with those in whom we have been looking at let us take a look at the circumstances that took Gideon from being a man in hiding to a mighty man of valor.
Because the children of Israel had disobeyed God, again. God allowed the Midianites to rule over them for seven years.The Midianites made it so hard on the Israelites that they were hiding from them by living in dens & caves in the mountains. The Midianties also were stealing their food. Because of this, the Israelites cried out to God.
God heard their cries & the angel of the Lord came to Gideon and his Father, Josash. Now let us picture this in our minds. Josash & his son, Gideon were hiding behind a wine press to thresh the wheat In other words, Gideon was a coward. Then the angel of the Lord comes up and sits next to them & tells him that God is with him & then goes on and calls him a man of valor! Gideon couldn't believe his ears & argued the point. Much like Moses did (Ex. 3:1-11). But the Angel of the Lord encouraged Gideon. But Gideon wasn't sure so he did a couple of tests to make sure that he had heard God right. Both times the tests proved that God indeed want him to lead the Israelites into battle against the Midianites.
Once Gideon was sure that this is what God wanted him to do, he went to God for directions & obeyed everything that God asked of him. He indeed became a mighty man of valor! Later he became a judge for his country. You can read all about it in Judges 6-8:13.
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