pained, perplexed look would come over Gideon as if he had just heard a theological ignoramus. And so he did. This sort of talk (v. 22) is strange to us, because we have no real sense of the terror and awesomeness of God, for we think intimacy with God is an inalienable right rather than an indescribable gift. There is nothing amazing about grace as long as there is nothing fearful about holiness. But, thankfully, Gideon knew better. Nothing is more assuring than God’s ‘I will be with you’; nothing