Filled with the spirit of the Lord, Gideon blows his trumpet calling all the men of Abiezer out in force.
At the same time the Midianites and their allies prepared for their annual invasion and pillaging and had gathered their allies in the valley of Jezreel (Hebrew for God will sow) which is about 235 square miles or 380 square kilometers in size. Jezreel is bounded by Nazareth in the north and Mt Tabor in the east and Mt Gilboa on the west.
This is a current shot of Jezreel
Yes Gideon still is questioning whether he should go forth and cowardly asks for more evidence before going into battle. by putting out the fleece…testing God and stalling for more time. Once with the fleece wet but the floor dry and the second time the reverse; the fleece dry but the floor wet.
The Lord of course fulfills those tests and it is obvious that the Lord is understanding with doubt but intolerant of disbelief and that he understands the difference. So Gideon gets full leeway here with his fleece tests.
Gideon for his part, is obviously fearful and unsettled, as he does not know if the Lord wants him to fight and die the sacrificial goat or fight and live to tell the tale, but once the tests are completed, he realizes that he must satisfy his end of the bargain and go forth and fight and pray for the best.
In my anguish... 