After Joshua died, the Israelites forgot God and worshiped idols. So God punished them as Joshua said. The Midianites came into the land and the Israelites had to hide from them in dens and caves. Gideon, a mighty man, was threshing corn one day when an angel came to him and told him to go and save Israel. Gideon was willing to go, but asked God to show him some sign that he would beat the Midianites. So one night God made a fleece that Gideon put on the ground wet with dew while all the ground was dry, and the next night he kept the fleece dry while all the ground was wet. Then Gideon knew that God would be on his side.