Under the Oak in Ophrah (I draw hope)

When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." (Judges 6:12)
--------------- A mighty man under the oak in Ophrah ///---The thoughts of Gideon (around a campfire with his men) before he attacked the Midianites


Dew on fleece
Dew on the grass
for years my people have wrung their hands
watched their backs (chased by paranoia)
hid
in shadows, fled terror by day and held each other by night
tightly
the men sleep in entry ways of shelters
disgracefully prepared for themselves in mountain clefts
wondering: if Egypt was just a faint memory a dream
of epic proportions
our women have the look of resignation in their eyes...a look
that tears a man’s soul to pieces

Everyone is afraid of the Midianites
Everyone is terrified of the Amalekites
not our crops only, but they pillage our hearts
Twenty two thousand men in the unflinching face of adversity emerge as
Ten thousand who drink in haste, dwelling on Hades instead
become three hundred ill-equipped to wield a sword against
such a savage, nefarious foe
with yellow eyes like wolves
and gangling teeth like lions...
Israel is a herd of sheep in the night haunted by phantoms
we cry for the children of the covenant and our rebellious fathers
who erected altars to Baal, and have left behind a remnant forsaken of God
forever hunted

How can I save my people with only three hundred, well mannered men?
it is enough for me to gather wheat in a winepress
and kiss my wife without wiping a tear from my eye
I love her so much but lack the strength
to bring even a slight smile to her face.
but lately there are whispers of
"A round loaf of barley bread...tumbling into the Midianite camp"
there are whispers among the men that the darkness may yet come to an end
our once flaccid arrows have become thirsty for blood
we all sing songs around fire as the day of battle draws near
tonight I close my eyes and dream:
A young goat, an ephah of flour without yeast
A mighty man under the oak in Ophrah, and the words
"Mighty warrior, the Lord is with you"



-------------
Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised- look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew." That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew. (Judges 6:36-40)

They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan. (Judges 7:25)