) Gideon was being watched by someone who was going turn defeat into victory and despair into hope: ‘The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak’ (v. 11). This was a theophany (a visible manifestation of God). But not realizing the true identity of his visitor, Gideon was taken aback by the way he greeted him: ‘The LORD is with you, mighty warrior’ (v. 12). This led Gideon to unleash a stream of agonizing questions that he had been wrestling with. ‘ “But sir,”