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Trouble in Thessalonica

17 After Paul and his friends had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they went on to Thessalonica. A synagogue was in that city. So as usual, Paul went there to worship, and on three Sabbaths he spoke to the people. He used the Scriptures to show them that the Messiah had to suffer, but that he would rise from death. Paul also told them that Jesus is the Messiah he was preaching about. Some of them believed what Paul had said, and they became followers with Paul and Silas. Some Gentiles[a] and many important women also believed the message.

The Jewish leaders were jealous and got some troublemakers who hung around the marketplace to start a riot in the city. They wanted to drag Paul and Silas out to the mob, and so they went straight to Jason's home. But when they did not find them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the Lord's followers. They took them to the city authorities and shouted, “Paul and Silas have been upsetting things everywhere. Now they have come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his home. All of them break the laws of the Roman Emperor by claiming that someone named Jesus is king.”

The officials and the people were upset when they heard this. So they made Jason and the other followers pay bail before letting them go.

People in Berea Welcome the Message

10 That same night the Lord's followers sent Paul and Silas on to Berea, and after they arrived, they went to the synagogue. 11 The people in Berea were much nicer than those in Thessalonica, and they gladly accepted the message. Day after day they studied the Scriptures to see if these things were true. 12 Many of them put their faith in the Lord, including some important Greek women and several men.

13 When the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica heard that Paul had been preaching God's message in Berea, they went there and caused trouble by turning the crowds against Paul.

14 At once the followers sent Paul down to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. 15 Some men went with Paul as far as Athens, and then returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

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Footnotes

  1. 17.4 Gentiles: See the note at 14.1.

Then once again the Israelites started disobeying the Lord, so he let the nation of Midian control Israel for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel that many Israelites ran to the mountains and hid in caves.

Every time the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites invaded Israel together with the Amalekites and other eastern nations. 4-5 They rode in on their camels, set up their tents, and then let their livestock eat the crops as far as the town of Gaza. The Midianites stole food, sheep, cattle, and donkeys. Like a swarm of locusts,[a] they could not be counted, and they ruined the land wherever they went.

6-7 The Midianites took almost everything that belonged to the Israelites, and the Israelites begged the Lord for help. 8-9 Then the Lord sent a prophet to them with this message:

I am the Lord God of Israel, so listen to what I say. You were slaves in Egypt, but I set you free and led you out of Egypt into this land. And when nations here made life miserable for you, I rescued you and helped you get rid of them and take their land. 10 I am your God, and I told you not to worship Amorite gods, even though you are living in the land of the Amorites. But you refused to listen.

The Lord Chooses Gideon

11 One day an angel from the Lord went to the town of Ophrah and sat down under the big tree that belonged to Joash, a member of the Abiezer clan. Joash's son Gideon was nearby, threshing grain in a shallow pit, where he could not be seen by the Midianites.

12 The angel appeared and spoke to Gideon, “The Lord is helping you, and you are a strong warrior.”

13 Gideon answered, “Please don't take this wrong, but if the Lord is helping us, then why have all of these awful things happened? We've heard how the Lord performed miracles and rescued our ancestors from Egypt. But those things happened long ago. Now the Lord has abandoned us to the Midianites.”

14 Then the Lord himself said, “Gideon, you will be strong, because I am giving you the power to rescue Israel from the Midianites.”

15 Gideon replied, “But how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest one in Manasseh, and everyone else in my family is more important than I am.”

16 “Gideon,” the Lord answered, “you can rescue Israel because I am going to help you! Defeating the Midianites will be as easy as beating up one man.”

17 Gideon said, “It's hard to believe that I'm actually talking to the Lord. Please do something so I'll know that you really are the Lord. 18 And wait here until I bring you an offering.”

“All right, I'll wait,” the Lord answered.

19 Gideon went home and killed a young goat, then started boiling the meat. Next, he opened a big sack of flour and made it into thin bread.[b] When the meat was done, he put it in a basket and poured the broth into a clay cooking pot. He took the meat, the broth, and the bread and placed them under the big tree.

20 God's angel said, “Gideon, put the meat and the bread on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” Gideon did as he was told. 21 The angel was holding a walking stick, and he touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick. Flames jumped from the rock and burned up the meat and the bread.

When Gideon looked, the angel was gone. 22 Gideon realized that he had seen one of the Lord's angels. “Oh!” he moaned. “Now I'm going to die.”[c]

23 “Calm down!” the Lord told Gideon. “There's nothing to be afraid of. You're not going to die.”

24 Gideon built an altar for worshiping the Lord and called it “The Lord Calms Our Fears.” It still stands there in Ophrah, a town in the territory of the Abiezer clan.

Gideon Tears Down Baal's Altar

25 That night the Lord spoke to Gideon again:

Get your father's second-best bull, the one that's seven years old. Use it to pull down the altar where your father worships Baal and cut down the sacred pole[d] next to the altar. 26 Then build an altar for worshiping me on the highest part of the hill where your town is built. Use layers of stones for my altar, not just a pile of rocks. Cut up the wood from the pole, make a fire, kill the bull, and burn it as a sacrifice to me.

27 Gideon chose ten of his servants to help him, and they did everything God had said. But since Gideon was afraid of his family and the other people in Ophrah, he did it all at night.

28 When the people of the town got up the next morning, they saw that Baal's altar had been knocked over, and the sacred pole next to it had been cut down. Then they noticed the new altar covered with the remains of the sacrificed bull.

29 “Who could have done such a thing?” they asked. And they kept on asking, until finally someone told them, “Gideon the son of Joash did it.”

30 The men of the town went to Joash and said, “Your son Gideon knocked over Baal's altar and cut down the sacred pole next to it. Hand him over, so we can kill him!”

31 The crowd pushed closer and closer, but Joash replied, “Are you trying to take revenge for Baal? Are you trying to rescue Baal? If you are, you will be the ones who are put to death, and it will happen before another day dawns. If Baal really is a god, let him take his own revenge on someone who tears down his altar.”

32 That same day, Joash changed Gideon's name to Jerubbaal, explaining, “He tore down Baal's altar, so let Baal take revenge himself.”[e]

Gideon Defeats the Midianites

33 All the Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern nations got together and crossed the Jordan River. Then they invaded the land of Israel and set up camp in Jezreel Valley.

34 The Lord's Spirit took control of Gideon, and Gideon blew a trumpet as a signal for the men in the Abiezer clan to follow him. 35 He also sent messengers to the tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, telling the men of these tribes to come and join his army. Then they set out toward the enemy camp.

36-37 Gideon prayed to God, “I know that you promised to help me rescue Israel, but I need proof. Tonight I'll spread a sheep skin on the stone floor of that threshing-place over there. If you really will help me rescue Israel, then tomorrow morning let there be dew on the skin, but let the stone floor be dry.”

38 And that's just what happened. Early the next morning, Gideon got up and checked the sheep skin. He squeezed out enough water to fill a bowl. 39 But Gideon prayed to God again. “Don't be angry with me,” Gideon said. “Let me try this just one more time, so I'll really be sure you'll help me. Only this time, let the skin be dry and the stone floor be wet.”

40 That night, God made the stone floor wet with dew, but he kept the sheep skin dry.

Footnotes

  1. 6.4,5 locusts: Insects like grasshoppers that travel in swarms and cause great damage to crops.
  2. 6.19 thin bread: Bread made without yeast, since there was no time for the dough to rise.
  3. 6.22 Now I'm going to die: The Hebrew text has “I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.” Some people believed that if they saw one of the Lord's angels, they would die (see 13.22).
  4. 6.25 sacred pole: Or “sacred tree,” used as a symbol of Asherah, the Canaanite goddess of fertility.
  5. 6.32 Jerubbaal … take revenge himself: In Hebrew, “Jerubbaal” means “Let Baal take revenge.”

Elihu Continues

Be Patient a While Longer

36 Elihu said:
Be patient a while longer;
I have something else to say
    in God's defense.
God always does right—
and this knowledge
    comes straight from God.[a]
You can rest assured
    that what I say is true.
Although God is mighty,
he cares about everyone
    and makes fair decisions.

The wicked are cut down,
and those who are wronged
    receive justice.
God watches over good people
and places them in positions
    of power and honor forever.
But when people are prisoners
    of suffering and pain,
* God points out their sin
    and their pride,
10 then he warns them
    to turn back to him.
11 And if they obey,
they will be successful
    and happy from then on.
12 But if they foolishly refuse,
they will be rewarded
    with a violent death.

Godless People Are Too Angry

13 Godless people are too angry
to ask God for help
    when he punishes them.
14 So they die young
    in shameful disgrace.
15 Hard times and trouble
are God's way
    of getting our attention!
16 And at this very moment,
God deeply desires
    to lead you from trouble
and to spread your table
    with your favorite food.

17 Now that the judgment
for your sins
    has fallen upon you,
18 don't let your anger
and the pain you endured
    make you sneer at God.
19 Your reputation and riches
cannot protect you
    from distress,
20 nor can you find safety
    in the dark world below.[b]
21 Be on guard! Don't turn to evil
    as a way of escape.
22 God's power is unlimited.
He needs no teachers
23     to guide or correct him.

Others Have Praised God

24 Others have praised God
for what he has done,
    so join with them.
25 From down here on earth,
everyone has looked up and seen
26     how great God is—
God is more than we imagine;
no one can count the years
    he has lived.
* 27 God gathers moisture
into the clouds
28     and supplies us with rain.
29 Who can understand
    how God scatters the clouds
and speaks from his home
    in the thunderstorm?
30 And when God sends lightning,
it can be seen
    at the bottom of the sea.[c]
31 By producing such rainstorms,
God rules the world
    and provides us with food.
32 Each flash of lightning
is one of his arrows
    striking its target,
33 and the thunder tells
    of his anger against sin.[d]

Footnotes

  1. 36.3 comes straight from God: The Hebrew text has “comes from a distant place,” which refers to the place where God lives; Elihu is claiming that he learned this from God.
  2. 36.20 below: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 18-20.
  3. 36.30 sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 30.
  4. 36.33 sin: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 33.

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