Gideon

Judges 6-8 presents Gideon hiding wheat from Midianite raiders when the angel of the Lord addressed him as a mighty warrior. Gideon questioned why Israel was suffering if God was with them and asked for signs, including the well-known fleece tests. He destroyed his father's altar to Baal and received the name Jerubbaal. God reduced Gideon's army from thousands to three hundred so Israel could not boast that its own strength had saved it. Using trumpets, jars, and torches, Gideon's men threw the Midianite camp into panic and pursued the enemy. After victory, Israelites asked Gideon to establish a hereditary rule, but he said the Lord should rule them. Nevertheless, he later made an ephod that became a snare, and his household's later history was troubled.