Even though they deserve the mess they are in and have done no repenting, God initiates the process whereby they will be delivered from their oppressors. The pattern thus repeats the pattern in Exodus. God appears to Gideon as God appeared to Moses, to conscript him in connection with this deliverance, and Gideon shows as little enthusiasm and insight as Moses did, but it doesn’t make any difference. The divine aide greets Gideon in the winepress, where he is looking over his shoulder every five