“And even then I could not believe that the Lord had chosen me. I hardly knew whether I was awake or dreaming. And I said, ‘Wait here,’ and I ran and fetched meat and bread in a basket and broth in a pot, and gave them to the man to eat, and he told me to put them on the rock. And so I did, and he put forth the end of the staff which he had in his hand and touched them, and, behold, the rock blazed with fire and the bread and the meat and the broth were consumed, and in the smoke the angel disappeared.
“Then I knew that I had seen a vision from the Lord. This is why I went last night and pulled down Baal’s altar, and built the Lord’s altar in the place of it.” And Gideon’s father said, “Let Baal look out for himself.”
So the people of the village, and of the country round about, knew that the Lord had called Gideon, and that he would save them from the Midianites. And they turned away from serving Baal and served God, and waited to see what would happen next.
XIX
THE BATTLE OF THE LAMPS AND PITCHERS
NE day the word was brought to Gideon that the Midianites were coming. King Zebah and King Zalmunna, and Oreb the Raven and Zeeb the Wolf, with thousands of fierce men on camels, were on the march. On they came across the Jordan, and like locusts they began to spread over the Great Plain.
And Gideon said to himself, “Did I dream about the angel, or was it true? Did he sit beneath the oak, and tell me that God wished me to fight the Midianites? did he strike fire out of the rock and go up in the smoke?” And Gideon said, “I will make sure. To-night I will spread out a fleece of wool and ask God for a sign. If in the morning the fleece is wet with dew while the earth around it is dry, then I will know that the Lord has sent me.” So he spread the fleece upon the ground, and when he rose up early the next morning, the ground was dry and the fleece was so wet that he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.
But still he was not satisfied. “Perhaps,” he said, “it only happened so.” And he asked for another sign. “To-night let the fleece be dry and all the ground be wet.” And in the morning so it was. The ground was wet with dew, but not a drop had fallen on the fleece.
Then Gideon blew a trumpet and called the people together, and sent messengers all about the country to call the fighting men, and there was a great army. But when Gideon came to see the army he did not like the soldiers’ looks: it seemed to him that they were frightened. He was afraid that when they saw the Midianites they would run away. And he made a speech. “To-morrow,” he said, “there will be a hard battle. The Midianites are many in number and very fierce. Perhaps you would like to go home. If you are afraid, if your knees are trembling, that is the best thing to do. Go straight home to-day.” And twenty-two thousand men, with trembling knees and pale faces, drew a long breath of relief and went home as fast as their legs could carry them. And there were left ten thousand.
But Gideon did not like the looks of the ten thousand. Now there was a spring in that place. The water came clear and cold out of Mount Gilboa and became a river. And across the river were the Midianites in their tents as far as the eye could see. And very early in the morning Gideon brought the ten thousand to the river and the spring and bade them drink; and as they drank he watched them. Most of them threw themselves upon the ground beside the water and put their lips to the stream and drank; and if there had been any Midianites hidden in the bushes they could have shot the drinkers with arrows, for they were off their guard. But three hundred took up water in their hands and drank, with their other hands holding their weapons and their eyes wide open. These three hundred Gideon chose, and sent the others home.