He said to him, Oh, Lord, with which shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
Gideon could not understand why the Israelites were suffering as they were, if Yahweh was indeed with His people (Judges 6:13; cf. Deuteronomy 31:17). He failed to realize that their condition was the result of their abandoning God, not His abandoning them.