The Fig tree, the Olive tree, the Vine and the Bramble bush.

Chapter 4

Loud banging on the bedroom door awoke Gideon from his deep sleep. He felt stiff all over. Quickly he looked at the crumpled sheets beside him, but there was no one there. He shuffled to the door. When he opened the door, Purah stood there with his armour in his hands. Purah glanced into the room, expecting to find Andrica still asleep in the bed and the cause of Gideon's delay in opening the door but the bed was empty, even though it looked like Gideon had a restless night.

Gideon's group arrived at the site where he decided to set up camp. Quickly the servants raised the tents. Gideon had his own tent . Purah and the runners shared a tent and the servants were crammed in the third tent. The spot they chose was close to the Harod spring, at least there would be plenty of water. From their position they could see, not a hundred metres away, the men of the other tribes, that had answered Gideon's call, arriving and making camp.
Purah stood watching the so-called Israelite army. Some looked the part, they looked like warriors but others looked like, what they were, farmers and tradesmen. Many didn't have proper armour. Borrowed leather aprons or waistcoats was all they had to protect them. Gideon came and stood next to Purah. He sighed and said.
" Lucky we have a mighty God on our side. We don't have a chance with this motley crew."

From where they were camped, they couldn't see the Midianite and Amalektite armies, but the sound of camels bellowing and nuzzing and horses neighing drifted to their ears when the wind blew in their direction. Sitting around the campfire that evening, Gideon spoke to Purah.
"Tomorrow you and me are going to do some reconnaissance. Don't put on anything shiny that might reflect the sun. We will creep up and spy out the enemy forces for ourselves. Also instruct our runners to go with speed to all the leaders of the tribes that have come to support us and supply us with the exact number of men they have brought with them. Come! Let us retire early tonight. I want to leave early tomorrow so that we can get there and back by tomorrow night.

Early the next morning the two men from Orphrah left their camp and hugging the tree line made their way up the Jezreel valley. They carried only dry food as making a fire was out of the question. By mid-morning they could see the enemy camp in the distance but Gideon wanted to get closer to see exactly what he was up against. The Midianites were camped at the foot of the hill called Moreh. Luckily the hill was densely forested, affording good cover. Gideon decided to climb the hill from the opposite side and descend the hill using the trees as cover and try and find a vantage point from where they could see the expanse of the enemy camp.

About a third of the way down they came upon a mound of rocks and stones. It definitely wasn't natural. Somebody had built this tower as a lookout point, probably to do just what they wanted to do, have a good look at the valley, which spread out in both directions. Making sure nobody else was around, they scrambled up the rock tower and lay prone on a large flat stone which marked the top of the structure. What they saw left both men speechless!

Tents were crammed into the valley as far as the eye could see. Soldiers milled around, looking like ants from their high vantage point. Huge corrals filled with horses and camels were positioned approximately a hundred metres apart. Penns with sheep and goats were situated everywhere. This was to provide fresh meat for what Gideon estimated to be over a hundred thousand men.

Gideon crept back from the edge of the rock and lay on his back. Softly he said, "This is a huge mistake. We are doomed!"

Nobody spoke for a long time. Purah eventually broke the silence.
"We better get going if you want to reach camp by nightfall. Being this close to their camp, every minute we are in danger of being discovered."

"I don't care." Gideon replied.

~~~~~~~~~

That night Gideon couldn't sleep, and when he did dose off, he dreamt he was in the middle of the Midianite camp and couldn't find his way out. Soldiers shoved him out the way, and when he tripped and fell, others laughed at him. He tried to escape to the animal corral only to be kicked by the horses, sneezed on by the camels and even the goats butted him.
He woke up again with the soldiers laughter still ringing in his ears. Purah appeared at the tent door,
"Everything alright, master?"