Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
Judges 8:1-21
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Judges, Chapter 7 details Gideon’s victory over the Midian army as God handed the Midianites over to him and the 300 men that God appointed to fight with him. You’ll recall that God sent Gideon with such a small force so that Gideon would realize that it was God who had given them victory, not their own actions.
Up to this point, we have seen a Gideon who was obedient to God and carried out His will. As we open Chapter 8, we will see a different Gideon, one who becomes obsessed with his power and darkly vengeful in his actions.
In the first few verses, we see Gideon confronted by the Ephraimites who criticized him sharply while asking him, "Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?" It’s obvious that the men of Ephraim did not take kindly to just finishing up what Gideon and his 300 men had started, having wanted to be a part of the initial attacking force…the force who would be entitled to all the spoils of victory.
Take notice here how Ephraim didn’t consult God about their concerns. If they had, God would have surely explained that the 300 men were ordained by Him to go and fight. He would have told the Ephraimites that Gideon had not personally made the selections but had instead followed the directions He had given. No…Ephraim didn’t consult God because they were so caught up in their own pride and greed. It was all about them.
How often do we find ourselves like Ephraim? We see others succeed or have good things happen to them and sit around and covet their successes, wishing we were in their place or a part of their winning team. Satan definitely uses our pride and selfishness against us at any opportunity he can find. We need to recognize these sinful attitudes when they begin to take root within us and turn to the Lord for strength and guidance. For if we do this, the Lord will always lead us to an attitude of joy for what others have accomplished…to a spirit of congratulations instead of resentment.
Going back to our passage for today, we see Gideon responding to Ephraim’s criticism saying:
"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?"
In other words, Gideon was letting Ephraim know they were just as successful as he was. The Lord hadn’t just handed the Midianites over to Gideon but to all of Israel. He also praised the fruits of Ephraim’s harvest to get Ephraim to look at how they had been truly blessed by God in other ways. And we see where Gideon’s words took root in the hearts of the Ephraimites for scripture tells us that “their resentment against him subsided”.
Having resolved the conflict with Ephraim, “Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it” coming to the town of Succoth. There, he appealed to the “men of Succoth” saying, "Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian." Gideon asked expecting hospitality but didn’t get what he expected.
For 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?" Once again, we see Gideon facing conflict but his reaction to the officials of Succoth was far different than with Ephraim. For his tone is one of anger and retribution as he told them, “Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers." The word “tear” in this verse can also be translated as “thresh” which connects better to the Gideon we were introduced to…the Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress under an oak tree. (Judges 6:11) Gideon’s words paint a pretty gruesome scene…one of suffering and revenge.
How often do we do this as well? Someone disrespects us or violates us in some way and we immediately react in a vindictive, retaliatory fashion. We might not vow to tear someone else’s flesh but any feelings of malice toward another that rises up within us is not of God but of Satan. Keep in mind that Jesus taught us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44) not hate them. For in Him, we see the model of forgiveness, grace, mercy and love, even when those He loved so much shouted for Him to be crucified. Jesus didn’t condemn them but rather asked His Father to forgive them for they didn’t know what they were doing. (Luke 23:34) He did so to validate His words…love your enemies. He expects us to follow His example.
Gideon might have been led to this level of forgiveness and grace had he consulted God. But not once did he do so in Succoth. Neither did he do so in Peniel where he went next, again asking for bread for his 300 men and again being denied. Gideon responded with another retributional threat, telling the “men of Peniel, ‘When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.’ "
Gideon then leaves Peniel and attacked the “unsuspecting army of “Zebah and Zalmunna…”a force of about fifteen thousand men” encamped at Karkor. The army was routed and when the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, tried to flee, Gideon pursued and captured them. He then took them with him as he returned to exact judgment on Succoth and Peniel as he had promised.
On his way to Succoth, Gideon questioned a young man who “wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Succoth, the elders of the town”. Gideon then called the officials together and showed them the two captured Midianite kings saying, “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?' " Gideon then continued to show his dark side…a side that was torturous and unmerciful…a side that “took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers”…a side that not only “pulled down the tower of Peniel” but then “killed the men of the town”, far more damage than what had been promised at first. .
Indeed, we see a very troubling, evil side to Gideon as this passage continues. For after Succoth and Peniel, he turns his attention to the two kings and asks them, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?" "Men like you," they answered, "each one with the bearing of a prince." Little did the kings know that they had murdered Gideon’s brother at Mount Tabor, an action that would now cost them their lives. For Gideon angrily proclaims, “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." But their lives were not spared and Gideon was set on making the kings pay the price.
Notice once more that Gideon doesn’t turn to the Lord for direction. No…he is driven solely by blind rage…a rage that can easily come upon anyone who allows hatred to overcome love and forgiveness. God could have helped Gideon through this difficult time but Gideon wasn’t interested in God. It was all about what He saw as being just that counted, even if it meant killing.
What happened next must have come as a bit of a surprise, for instead of killing the kings himself, Gideon turned to “Jether, his oldest son” and commanded him to "Kill them!" But scripture tells us that “Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid”. And amazingly, the two kings almost mock Gideon telling him to kill them himself because “As is the man, so is his strength." And so Gideon did it…he “stepped forward and killed” the Midianite kings, taking their “ornaments off their camels' necks” afterwards.
As we have seen with so many other Old Testament figures, they have flaws just like you and I. Although they were often hand-selected by God to do His will, nonetheless, they were still sinners and just a prone to falling and failing as anyone else. And we see this happen the most when these Old Testament figures decide to turn away from God in what they do. They get so caught up in their own needs and desires that God becomes secondary. And this is when they get into trouble.
Friends, the same applies to all of us. We can be as good or as bad as we choose to be. We can be as sinful or as holy as we choose to be. It’s all about choice in the end. Choose to follow God and always seek His guidance and you have made the choice to do what is good and holy and righteous and just. But decide to turn from God and you can become like Gideon…resenting, revengeful, hateful, evil. Ultimately, the difference maker between these two choices of good and evil is love. Love for the Lord will always lead us to relate and commune with Him. And that will ultimately lead us to a love attitude toward others, even those who do us wrong. Choose the not love the Lord and watch Satan enter into your heart and mind and soul…leading you to wrong others just as they have wronged you. Satan would want to take us as far away from love as possible. We can’t afford to allow that to happen.
So what do we gain from our lesson today? My hope is that we see our way clear to love everyone at all times…just as our Lord does. We can only reach this goal if we strive to be like the Lord in every way ourselves and we can’t possibly attain that goal if we aren’t full committed to live for him 24/7, 365 days of the year. Let us all strive toward this goal, knowing we serve a Lord who is ever ready to guide us right…now and forever. Thanks be to God.
In Christ,
Mark
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