VI.
Judges 6:1-6. A new apostasy, punished by the oppression of Midian. Judges 6:7-10. The rebuke delivered by a prophet, Judges 6:11-14. An angel appears to Gideon and bids him deliver Israel, and (Judges 6:15-18) removes his doubts. Judges 6:19-23. The offering to the angel, and his disappearance. Judges 6:24. Gideon builds the altar Jehovah-shalom, and (Judges 6:25-27) hews down his father’s Baal and Asherah in the night. Judges 6:28-32. Joash pacifies the Abi-ezrites by appealing to them to let Baal plead his own cause. Judges 6:33-35. Gideon rouses Manasseh and northern tribes against a new Midianite invasion. Judges 6:36-40. The double sign of the fleece.