Up to this point, each time the Israelites cried out to God, He sent a deliverer; however, this time He first sent a prophet to proclaim the message from the Lord before sending a savior to deliver them from the hand of the Midianites. God reminds the Israelites of all He has done for them by delivering them out of slavery in Egypt and into the land of promise as conquerors—yet they choose to not obey Him. After this sermon, we are introduced to the man that God has chosen to defeat the Midianites—Gideon, a weak and indecisive man, to whom God promises He will be with to defeat Midian.