There are circumstances of life when God’s voice is not heard and His presence not seen. There are 400 years between the end of the Old Testament book of Malachi and the history retold for us in the first 4 books of the New Testament. The opening of the New Testament with the story of Jesus’ birth was God breaking His silence with both Presence and revelation. That’s actually where we find Gideon and the people of Israel in Judges 6.1.