Today is the 26th day of April. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is great to be here with you as we launch ourselves into another day together.

And the next step forward together, which will lead us back into the book of Judges. We talked about the Judge Deborah yesterday and JL, a couple of valiant women in the story of ancient Israel.

And we'll just keep moving forward because as we move through the book of Judges, we are not only seeing the back and forth see-saw thing that's happening in Israel where they return to God when they're in trouble and then God sets them free, raises up a judge, and sets them free and they have peace and then they wander away again. It's like this back and forth and back and forth.

But as we're watching that, we're also meeting all of these judges who led Israel between the time of Joshua and the time of Israel's first king.

Today we will meet another one of Israel's judges. We'll spend a little bit more time on this one. This story kind of unfolds. This is a judge named Gideon.

And today we will read Judges, chapter 6.

The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord handed them over to Midian seven years and they oppressed Israel.

Because of Midian, the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves and strongholds.

Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites amalachites and the people of the East came and attacked them. They encamped against them and destroyed the produce of the land even as far as Gaza.

They left nothing for Israel to eat, as well as no sheep, ox or donkey.

For the Midianites came with their cattle and their tents like a great swarm of locusts.

They and their camels were without number and they entered the land to lay waste to it.

So Israel became poverty-stricken because of Midian and the Israelites cried out to the Lord.

When the Israelites cried out to him because of Midian, the Lord sent a prophet to them. He said to them,

This is what the Lord, God of Israel says.

I brought you out of Egypt and out of the place of slavery.

I rescued you from the power of Egypt and the power of all who oppressed you.

I drove them out before you and gave you their land.

I said to you, I am the Lord your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites whose land you live in.

But you did not obey me.

The angel of the Lord came and he sat under the oak that was an oafra which belonged to Joe Ash, the Abbey Ezraite.

His son, Gideon, was stretching wheat in the winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites.

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