Judges 6. Gideon must have been the son of a local chief, because when he destroys the local places of worship (pagan) his father threatens anyone who speaks against it with death. Gideon calls his family the least in the tribe of Manasseh, this would be referring to the Abiezrite clan.
After this, Gideon is able to raise an army. His notoriety from destroying the pagan shrines was probably the reason he was able to attract soldiers. Soldiers from Asher, Zebulon and Naphtali come to help fight the Midianites, who were raiding in Jezreel, in the tribe of Issachar along with other local enemies of Israel. The Midianites had been raiding and laying waste from south to north, and now Gideon would meet them in battle.
Ever cautious, Gideon made sure that God was with him by laying out a fleece.
What I find most striking about this story is that Gideon challenges the angel with skepticism that God still works in his day. We typically think this way, but Gideon was thinking this way before David, Elijah and Daniel lived and did miraculous things. Our doubts about God's involvement mean nothing. God could be just about to do a miracle, as He did for Gideon, and we would not know it.
The account of Gideon begins with "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord" not "And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord"as in other places. This may be chronologically one of earliest incidents described in Judges.
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