After conquering the Promised Land and dividing it among the twelve tribes, Israel rested from their constant wars. The people of Israel, who had transitioned from being slaves to being conquering warriors, would now become farmers. About two hundred years after entering the land, Israel was no longer made up of those warriors who fought through the Promised Land. When the tribe of Ephraim and the half tribe of Manasseh were being terrorized by the neighboring Midianites, they saw no option but to endure the terror and cry out to God. In response to their cries, the angel of the Lord appeared and deputized an unlikely candidate, Gideon, to lead Israel against these bandits.