And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
And Gideon said to him, 'Oh my Lord, if the LORD is really with us, then why has all this trouble happened to us? Where are all the miracles our fathers told us about, when they said, 'Didn't the LORD bring us out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.'
Gideon is honestly questioning God about why His people are suffering and where His power has gone, feeling abandoned in their time of need.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs during a dark period when the Midianites had been oppressing Israel for seven years, destroying their crops and forcing them to hide in caves. Gideon is speaking to an angel of the LORD who has just appeared to him, though Gideon doesn't yet realize the messenger's true identity. The Israelites had fallen into a cycle of disobedience, oppression, and crying out to God that characterizes the book of Judges.
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