Gideon threshed wheat … And the Lᴏʀᴅ said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” Then he said to Him … “Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.” And He said, “I will wait until you come back.” So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. Judges 6:11, 16–19 ɴᴋᴊᴠ As we consider the story of Gideon we marvel again and again at the patience of God! The Angel of the Lord comes and sits under a tree on the property of Joash the Abiezrite of the tribe of Manasseh. He watches Gideon threshing wheat in the winepress—a difficult task, for this task was ordinarily and most easily done openly on a hilltop. He proceeds to greet Gideon, saying, “The Lᴏʀᴅ is with you, you mighty man of valor!” He takes time to talk with Gideon, answering his objections and questions. Gideon wants a sign—we see this repeatedly in his history—that this is the Angel of the Lord. He asks his Visitor to wait until he will come back with an offering to set before Him. Amazing! His Visitor agrees to wait. How long? Until Gideon has butchered and stewed a young goat and has made unleavened bread of more than half a bushel (22 liters) of flour! How long does this take? Several hours at least! The Angel of the Lord patiently waits. When Gideon finally brings out his offering, he brings the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. This was absolutely contrary to God’s commands. Offerings were not to be boiled. The broth was clear evidence that the meat had been boiled. The Angel of the Lord tells Gideon to put the bread and the meat on a rock and pour out the broth. He then touches the meat and bread with His staff and fire rises out of the rock and consumes them! How patient our God is! He often waits for us for many years! Eugene P. Vedder, Jr. https://gbv-online.org/calendar/773/date/2026-08-27