And when they saw that Baal could not harm the man who had broken down his altar and his image, the people turned from Baal, back to their own Lord God.

Gideon sent messengers through all Manasseh on the west of Jordan, and the tribes near on the north; and the men of the tribes gathered around him, with a few swords and spears, but very few, for the Israelites were not ready for war.  They met beside a great spring on Mount Gilboa, called “the fountain of Harod.”  Mount Gilboa is one of the three mountains on the east of the plain of Esdraelon, or the plain of Jezreel, where once there had been a great battle.  On the plain, stretching up the side of another of these mountains, called “the Hill of Moreh,” was the camp of a vast Midianite army.  For as soon as the Midianites heard that Gideon had undertaken to set his people free, they came against him with a mighty host.

Gideon was a man of faith.  He wished to be sure that God was leading him, and he prayed to God and said: 

“O Lord God, give me some sign that thou wilt save Israel through me.  Here is a fleece of wool on this threshing floor.  If to-morrow morning the fleece is wet with dew, while the grass around it is dry, then I shall know that thou art with me; and that thou wilt give me victory over the Midianites.”

Very early the next morning, Gideon came to look at the fleece.  He found it wringing wet with dew, while all around the grass was dry.  But Gideon was not yet satisfied.  He said to the Lord: 

“O Lord, be not angry with me; but give me just one more sign.  To-morrow morning let the fleece be dry, and let the dew fall all around it, and then I will doubt no more.”

The next morning, Gideon found the grass, and the bushes wet with dew, while the fleece of wool was dry.  And Gideon was now sure that God had called him, and that God would give him victory over the enemies of Israel.

The Lord said to Gideon:  “Your army is too large.  If Israel should win the victory, they would say, ‘we won it by our own might.’  Send home all those who are afraid to fight.”

For many of the people were frightened, as they looked at the host of their enemies, and the Lord knew that these men would only hinder the rest in the battle.  So Gideon sent word through the camp: 

“Whoever is afraid of the enemy may go home.”  And twenty-two thousand people went away, leaving only ten thousand in Gideon’s army.  But the army was stronger though it was smaller, for the cowards had gone, and only the brave men were left.

But the Lord said to Gideon:  “The people are yet too many.  You need only a few of the bravest and best men to fight in this battle.  Bring the men down the mountain, past the water, and I will show you there how to find the men whom you need.”

In the morning Gideon, by God’s command called his ten thousand men out, and made them march down the hill, just as though they were going to attack the enemy.  And as they were beside the water, he noticed how they drank, and set them apart in two companies, according to their way of drinking.