Judges 6:1 says, And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.  The pattern continues to repeat itself.  God delivers Israel, they serve Him for a period of time, and then do evil in His sight once again.  God then removes His protection from them.  As followers of Christ, God has redeemed us forever, but too often we still do evil in His sight, and when we do, we cannot expect Him to protect us.  Verse two states, And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.  This time, it was the Midianites who would defeat the Israelites.  It was not always the same enemy that Israel faced, just as it is not always the same enemy that we face today.  Instead of being able to stand up to the Midianites through the power of God, the people of God fled to caves to hide.  Verse three declares, And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;  The Midianites were joined by the Amalekites in their war against Israel.  The enemies of God often unite in opposition to Him.  Verse four adds, And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.  The Midianites and Amalekites destroyed all of the food sources of Israel, as well as their animals that would be used to produce crops.  When people are without faith in God, and then all their food sources are cut off, it is much easier to defeat them.  Verse five says, For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude, for both they and their camels were without number, and they entered into the land to destroy it.  The Midianites and the others did not just come to raid Israel, but they came to stay.  They brought their cattle and camels with them and pitched their tents in the land.  If we allow evil into our lives today, it will come to stay as long as we are not following God's guidance in our lives.  Verse six says, And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.  Once the people of Israel were greatly impoverished, they again called out to God.  Nothing gets the attention of people like being in desperate need.  As long as the people of Israel were prosperous, they ignored God, but when God removed His protection from them and they were defeated, they called on Him again.  We need to serve God in the good times just as much as we do in the bad, but too often there is a tendency to forget Him, but we cannot afford to. or we will soon find ourselves in the bad times again, at least spiritually.  Verse seven declares, And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,  Then verse eight adds, That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;  When the people of Israel called out to God, He heard them, just as He will hear us today when we call out to Him.  God began by raising up a prophet to remind them what He had already done for them.  He had brought them out of Egypt and the house of bondage.  We need to never forget that God has brought us out of the bondage of sin if we are followers of Christ.  Verse nine continues, And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;  God reminded them that He gave them the land.  They did not defeat their enemies by their own power, but by the power of God.  Verse ten concludes, And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.  God said there was a covenant between the people of Israel and Him, and that they broke it.  If we find ourselves struggling because of sin in our lives today as followers of Christ, it will be because we have ceased to be faithful to God.