3. The Sword of the Lord (Judges 7:15-8:21)
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
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"Gideon and His 300" (1907), Bible card, "Coprighted 1907 by
Providence Lithograph Co." Unknown artist.
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Now we look carefully at the battle. The strategy God guides Gideon to is
audacious -- and successful. The result is the rout and slaughter of an immense
army. But as we study this, let's concentrate on the man Gideon -- his faith,
his leadership, his decisiveness, and his faults. Look for lessons you may apply
to your own life.
300 Men, Trumpets, Jars and Torches (7:15-20)
God has prepared and encouraged Gideon. Now he awakens his remaining 300 men
with similar words to what God used to awaken him: "Get up! The LORD
has given the Midianite camp into your hands" (see 7:9).
"When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped
God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, 'Get up! The LORD
has given the Midianite camp into your hands.' Dividing the three hundred
men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of
all of them, with torches inside.
'Watch me,' he told them. 'Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of
the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our
trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, "For the LORD
and for Gideon." '
Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at
the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard.
They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The
three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches
in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were
to blow, they shouted, 'A sword for the LORD and for
Gideon!' " (7:15-20)
Privately, Gideon has needed reassurance, but publicly, in front of his men,
he exudes a positive, confident leadership -- "Watch me. Follow my lead. Do
exactly as I do." Oh, that Christian leaders today could so live that they could
say this, as the Apostle Paul wrote, "Follow my example, as I follow the example
of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). Instead we are so apologetic about our
weaknesses that we don't project confident leadership. Somehow we need to learn
how to balance vulnerability with effective leadership.
Gideon's strategy involves several elements:
- Surround the Midianite camp with a line of men a few hundred feet
apart. This way the enemy will feel like they are being attacked from all sides.
- Attack late at night to surprise and confuse the enemy. The beginning
of the middle watch would be about 10 pm.1
- Sound trumpets (shofars) from 300 different directions. Trumpets were
used in battle to sound the charge or retreat, much as bugles were used in the
American Civil War. Usually one trumpet would be sounded to direct each company
of soldiers. When the enemy hears 300 trumpets they imagine that a huge army is
attacking them.
- Break pottery jars. The jars serve two purposes: (1) to hide the
light of the torches until the right time and (2) to create a great deal of
noise upon shattering in order to confuse the enemy.2
- Raise torches. Torchlights suddenly appearing all around the
Midianite camp underscore the impression of being surrounded and induce panic.
- Shout a battle cry, "A sword for the LORD and
for Gideon." 300 men shouting a battle cry from diverse directions adds to the
fear and panic of the enemy.
Can you imagine the faith, the sheer nerve -- Yiddish chutzpah -- it
requires of Gideon and his 300 courageous men to plan to rout an army of 135,000
in this fashion? Gideon is either very crazy or else very sure that it is God's
voice he is hearing, being careful to obey God in every respect.
A Rout of the Midianite Army (7:21-23)
Here's how the strategy unfolded:
"While each man held his position around the camp, all the
Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. When the three hundred trumpets
sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp
to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah
toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. Israelites
from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the
Midianites." (7:21-23)
The Midianite army panics and, unable to see in the dark and running into
each other, begin to strike each other down with their swords. Many are killed
by their comrades right in the camp. Those fortunate enough to escape this
slaughter flee as fast as they can go. Now Gideon calls upon fighters from the
tribes of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh to help him capture and destroy the
remaining Midianites.
A
map shows the route that Gideon follows in pursuit of the remnants of the
fleeing Midianite army. The Midianites run towards the Jordan River, desperately
trying to find a place to cross and escape. Finally, some are able to ford the
river near Succoth, and flee along the Jabbock River, then south across the
desert to Jogbehah, Rabbah and on to Karkor.
Calling upon Ephraim for Assistance (7:24-25)
Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh cut off the Midianites' escape to the north and
west. Now Gideon needs assistance from the large and powerful tribe of Ephraim
to the south. Prior to this he has not called upon the Ephraimites when raising
his army.
"Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim,
saying, 'Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan
ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.' So all the men of Ephraim were called
out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. They also
captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at
the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the
Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the
Jordan." (7:24-25)
Dispute with the Ephraimites (8:1-3)
The Ephraimites are able to capture some of the chief leaders. Now they
complain loudly to Gideon -- who was still in hot pursuit of remnants of the
Midianite army. Why did Gideon not call them earlier? they grumble. They are
jealous of the spoils of victory.
"Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, 'Why have you treated us like
this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?' And they
criticized him sharply. But he answered them, 'What have I accomplished
compared to you? Aren't the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the
full grape harvest of Abiezer? God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite
leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?' At this,
their resentment against him subsided." (8:1-3)
Why doesn't Gideon call upon the tribe of Ephraim before this? Perhaps he is
afraid that because of their size and prominence they will try to take over. We
don't know. We do know, however, that when the Spirit of the Lord came upon
Gideon (6:35-35), he called on his own tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of
Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, not Ephraim. God was in it.
But notice how gracious Gideon is. Instead of pointing defensively to his
considerable achievements in the battle, he refuses to be drawn into an argument
that will delay him from pursuing the remnants of the fleeing Midianite army.
Instead, he humbly compliments them on their achievement -- capturing the
leaders, Oreb and Zeeb -- and minimizes his own.
He says, "Aren't the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the full grape
harvest of Abiezer?" By this he means that his own clan, Abiezer, in the midst
of the battle (full grape harvest) didn't accomplish as much as Ephraim's small
mop-up operation (gleanings). Gleanings, as he puts it, are the remaining grapes
in the vineyard after the harvest has already taken place. Gideon shows great
wisdom and restraint here.
Allies Refuse Aid (8:4-9)
Gideon asks bread of the men of Succoth, unknown illustrator.
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The other tribes continue the clean-up operation west of Jordan, but Gideon
forges on, accompanied by his original band of 300 men.
"Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the
pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. He said to the men of Succoth,
'Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah
and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.''
But the officials of Succoth said, 'Do you already have the hands of Zebah
and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?'
Then Gideon replied, 'Just for that, when the LORD
has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with
desert thorns and briers.'
From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them, but they
answered as the men of Succoth had. So he said to the men of Peniel, 'When I
return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.' " (8:4-9)
Succoth and Peniel are Israelite cities, the eastern portion of land assigned
to the tribes of Gad and Manasseh. Rather than helping their brothers fight the
common enemy as is their covenant responsibility as fellow Israelites, they are
withholding aid until they make sure that the Midianites are thoroughly
trounced. They are taking no chances with the Midianites. But in doing so they
are committing a terrible breach of hospitality to their own kinsmen and a grave
sin against the God of the Covenant.
Gideon promises to punish them, and, by the standards of the time, they
certainly deserve it. But now we begin to see a darker and vindictive side to
Gideon, a characteristic that becomes full blown terror in his son Abimelech
(Judges 9). "Tear" in 8:7 is the Hebrew word dish, "tread, thresh."3
He will punish them like the oxen that trample the grain on the threshing floor.
Capturing Zebah and Zalmunna, Kings of Midian (8:10-12)
However, he lets nothing deter him from his single focus -- destroy the
remnants of the Midianite army. That he must do in order to protect his people
from future incursions.
"Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen
thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a
hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen. Gideon went up by the
route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and fell upon the
unsuspecting army. Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he
pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army." (8:10-12)
We don't know exactly where Karkor is4, but it was apparently on a
caravan route, "the route of the nomads" in Trans-Jordan -- a long way from
Gideon's home.
The word "unsuspecting" (NIV), "secure" (KJV), or "off its guard" (NRSV) is
the Hebrew noun bēṭah, "safety, security, carelessness," in this
case, a sense of false security.5 They don't imagine that they were
in any danger from Gideon's army in this remote location and probably fail to
post a guard at night. We are not told the details of this attack, only that
Gideon's small band of 300 men "fell upon" (NIV) or "smote" (KJV) the remaining
Midianite army of 15,000 men. The Hebrew verb is
nākâ, "strike, strke dead, attack, destroy." It includes both
those who are wounded as well as killed.6 Gideon, in the language of
the KJV, "discomfited the host," translating the verb ḥārad,
"make afraid, startle" or "threw the army into terror,"7 "routed"
(NIV). His men may not have killed many Midianites in this battle, but they ran
off in terror. Gideon's men pursued them until they had captured Zebah and
Zalmunna, two leading Midianite kings.
Punishing the Uncooperative Allies (8:13-17)
At this juncture the darker, punitive side of Gideon reappears. Now that he
has won the key victory he can afford to deal with the two Israelite towns that
had spurned his requests for food during the pursuit.
"Gideon son of Joash then returned from the battle by the Pass of
Heres. He caught a young man of Succoth and questioned him, and the young
man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Succoth,
the elders of the town. Then Gideon came and said to the men of Succoth,
'Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, "Do you
already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should
we give bread to your exhausted men?"' He took the elders of the town and
taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and
briers. He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the
town." (8:13-17)
Gideon's punishment for the town of Peniel is to destroy the tower that
protects the citizens of Peniel during siege and to kill the men. Pretty harsh!
At Succoth he obtains the names of the elders of the town who are responsible
for the decision to deny his army food. Though we aren't told exactly how he
punished them, apparently he whips them with thorns and briars until they are
bloody. The author says he "taught" them, in the way that a spanking might teach
a child. Cundall sees it as "a form of torture which almost certainly ended in
their death."8
Q4. (Judges 8:4-17) Why do the cities of Succoth
and Peniel refuse aid to Gideon's army?Why does Gideon punish these cities
later? What is their sin? Is Gideon just? Can you think of a circumstance
when a Christian might be guilty of the sin of Succoth and Peniel?
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Slaying Zebah and Zalmunna (8:18-21)
Next, Gideon deals with the captured kings of the Midianites.
"Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, 'What kind of men did you kill at
Tabor?'
'Men like you,' they answered, 'each one with the bearing of a prince.'
Gideon replied, 'Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As
surely as the LORD lives, if you had spared their
lives, I would not kill you.' Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said,
'Kill them!' But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy
and was afraid.
Zebah and Zalmunna said, 'Come, do it yourself. "As is the man, so is his
strength."' So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the
ornaments off their camels' necks." (18:18-21)
Zebah and Zalmunna try to answer Gideon's questions wisely, describing the
men they killed as having "the bearing of a prince." Apparently these kings had
executed Gideon's own brothers at Mt. Tabor in an incident we aren't told about.
According to the standards of the time, Gideon has a family obligation to exact
vengeance for his brothers' unjust deaths. (See Numbers 35:9-34, especially
verse 19; 1 Samuel 15:33; Romans 12:19). We cannot fault him for this, though we
can tremble at the anger that motivates this primitive justice.
He directs his son Jether to kill the men. For Jether it would be considered
an honor to slay such important men and for the Midianite kings a disgrace to be
slain by a boy. But Jether can't do it, so Gideon kills them himself. Then he
takes from their camels the spoils of war. We view conquering Gideon full of
vindictive anger, not nearly so attractive as the humble, obedient man we saw a
few days before.
Lessons for Disciples
What in the world are disciples of Jesus to learn from this bloodbath? We
certainly aren't to emulate Gideon's angry retribution to his enemies, though we
must judge Gideon by his own light and cultural standards, not by the light of
Jesus' teaching which comes twelve hundred years later. What are the lessons
here? I see several:
- Great courage and faith to carry out God's battle plan with a skeleton force
of only 300 men.
- Follow-through and persistence to pursue the enemy until he is completely
defeated.
- Single-minded focus to concentrate on the most important task and not be
distracted.
- Wisdom and restraint to choose his battles carefully and not challenge the
Ephraimites' arrogant complaints.
- A concern for justice for his brothers' unjust execution by the Midianites.
- Terrible anger that results in a harsh punishment which may have exceeded
the provocation.
Gideon is a common man who, over the period of just a few weeks, has risen to
greatness. We have much to learn from him. Yet some of the lessons that
Christians must draw are the need for restraint and mercy in the face of our own
anger. Why is it that great men and women of God come with flaws? Are we to give
in to disillusionment? No, but we must accept the reality that all of us are
vulnerable to temptation and sin. And we must be willing to show mercy with
regard to others' weaknesses if we desire mercy ourselves -- a difficult, but
important lesson.
Prayer
Father, thank you for Gideon's boldness and strength. Help me to have his
single-minded focus to do what you have shown me I must do. Help me not to be
deterred by problems to the left and right, but to accomplish your will. Most of
all I pray for humility -- humility that will temper my own struggle with anger
and humble mercy when others around me sin. Have mercy on us, heavenly Father.
Thank you for your costly mercy toward me in Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray.
Amen.
Key Verse
"'Watch me,' he told them. 'Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the
camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then
from all around the camp blow yours and shout, "For the LORD
and for Gideon."'" (Judges 7:17-18)
References
Common Abbreviations of
References
- Cundall, Judges, p. 113. The 10 pm figure is based on the assumption
that the hours of darkness were divided into three rather than four watches.
- "Jar" (NIV, NRSV) or "pitcher" (KJV) is the Hebrew noun kad, a jar
used for domestic purposes. TWOT #953a. Such jars carried water or other
provisions such as meal (1 Kings 17:12, 14, 16). BDB 461.
- Harold G. Stigers, TWOT #419. Brown, Judges, p. 200.
- Barry Hovey, "Karkor," ISBE, 2:3, says it cannot be identified with Qarqar,
which is 250 miles from Jogbehah. Cundall, p. 117 places it in the Wadi Sirhan,
well to the east of the Dead Sea. Harry O. Thompson, "Karkor," ABD 4:6,
discusses the various possibilities and sees the best possibility as Nowakis and
Jebeiha, in the neighborhood called Karkagheich, on the left side of the road
from Salt to Amman, 1.5 hours NW of Amman.
- John N. Oswalt, bāṭaḥ, TWOT #233a.
- Marvin R. Wilson, nākâ, TWOT #1364.
- Andrew Bowling, ḥārad,
TWOT #735.
- Cundall, Judges, p. 118.
Part of the Gideon
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