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Judges Chapter 8
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Judges 8:1 And the men of
Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou
calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites?
And they did chide with him sharply.
They took offense because they were not
asked to come and help fight from the beginning, not knowing of
course that it was God who limited the number that were called to
fight. God limited the number to 300 so that they would realize it
was God who delivered them and not their own powerful army. At times
God needs to remind us that without Him we could not survive very
long. We need God.
- Judges 8:2 And he said unto them,
What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of
the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
- 3 God hath delivered into your hands
the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in
comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he
had said that.
Gideon didn't mention that God commanded
them to limit their own numbers for this battle but he began to
remind them how great their accomplishments were in past battles
with Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. Looks like Gideon was being clever here.
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Judges 8:4 And Gideon came to
Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were
with him, faint, yet pursuing them.
They were very tired, hungry and ready to
faint but notice also that all 300 were alive. They didn't lose even
one when the battle was the Lord's battle.
- Judges 8:5 And he said unto the men
of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that
follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and
Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
- 6 And the princes of Succoth said,
Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we
should give bread unto thine army?
- 7 And Gideon said, Therefore when
the LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I
will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with
briers.
These men refused to show any hospitality
to Gideon and his 300 men so Gideon vowed revenge. It is sad in a
way because those that would have helped would be blessed of the
Lord.
- Judges 8:8 And he went up thence to
Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered
him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
- 9 And he spake also unto the men of
Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this
tower.
Now we see that the men of Penuel refused
to help them also and again, Gideon vowed to break down their tower.
- Judges 8:10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna
were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand
men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the
east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew
sword.
- 11 And Gideon went up by the way of
them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and
smote the host: for the host was secure.
- 12 And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled,
he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and
Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.
Gideon and his small army of 300 went on
to pursue after the kings of Midian and what was left of their army.
They attacked during the night. The kings were defeated as well as
the other Midianites that survived the first battle with the
trumpets, broken jars and shouting. 300 against 15,000. Again we see
God had to be fighting the battle for them.
- Judges 8:13 And Gideon the son of
Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,
- 14 And caught a young man of the men
of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the
princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and
seventeen men.
- 15 And he came unto the men of
Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did
upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine
hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
- 16 And he took the elders of the
city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he
taught the men of Succoth.
Gideon used the wilderness thorns and
briers to whip the elders of the city that refused to help them when
they were weary from fatigue. In verse 7 of this chapter Gideon
warned them that he would do this thing after he defeated Zebah and
Zalmunna.
Penuel and the men of that city also
refused to help them so Gideon came back and beat down the tower and
slew the men of the ciy. Verses 8 and 9 is where he gives this
warning to Penuel.
- Judges 8:18 Then said he unto Zebah
and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor?
And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the
children of a king.
- 19 And he said, They were my
brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had
saved them alive, I would not slay you.
Gideon was not allowed by law to kill
these kings because they were not Canaanites but when he found out
they killed fellow Israelis that gave him justification to slay
them. It would seem that these were his own brothers but it may just
mean they were brothers because they also was of the tribes of
Israel.
- Judges 8:20 And he said unto Jether
his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword:
for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
- 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said,
Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength.
And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the
ornaments that were on their camels' necks.
Gideon had to slay the men himself since
the young man was fearful of doing it.
Gideon's Ephod
- Judges 8:22 Then the men of Israel
said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy
son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
- 23 And Gideon said unto them, I will
not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD
shall rule over you.
Gideon refused their request to rule over
them and denied that for his sons also. I don't know the reason for
this. Perhaps this was sort of a prophecy of what was to come
instead of his own decision. Perhaps Gideon was just tired and
battle worn and wanted to go back to the way he lived before being
called to deliver Israel. He did say that the Lord would rule over
them.
- Judges 8:24 And Gideon said unto them, I
would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the
earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they
were Ishmaelites.)
- 25 And they answered, We will
willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein
every man the earrings of his prey.
- 26 And the weight of the golden
earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels
of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was
on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their
camels' necks.
- 27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof,
and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither
a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to
his house.
- 28 Thus was Midian subdued before
the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more.
And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
Maybe Gideon didn't mean anything harmful
but it became an object of worship. It does show us that we must
guard ourselves also be faithful to watch and pray always so as not to
enter into temptation. It does remind us of the time the children of
Israel desired Aaron to make an idol out of their earrings of gold
they got from the Egyptians.
Like the brazen serpent used as an object
lesson in the days of Moses, later the people used it as an object
of worship.
In the days of Gideon though the land had
rest 40 years. Seems to be a pattern but as we see later, the flesh
is very weak. Oh how we need the Lord. Fasting and praying can help
us overcome these things.
The Death of Gideon
Jerubbaal was another name for Gideon
given to him when he cast down his father's altars of Baal recorded
in Judges 6:32.
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Judges 6:32 Therefore on that day he
called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he
hath thrown down his altar.
All through history people have given
nicknames to their children based on their character or the way they
lived. My grandmother had a twin brother. She was nicknamed Duck and
he was nicknamed Jab, so it would seem as if he did the jabbing and
she had to learn to duck.
This was a common practice in many nations
but when we read the New Testament, we see that God never once
sanctioned plural marriages, but also it is mentioned in the law of
God given through Moses recorded in Deuteronomy concerning God's
will concerning kings.
- Deuteronomy 17:14 When thou art
come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt
possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a
king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;
- 15 Thou shalt in any wise set
him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from
among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not
set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
- 16 But he shall not multiply horses
to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that
he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you,
Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
- 17 Neither shall he multiply wives
to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly
multiply to himself silver and gold.
- 18 And it shall be, when he sitteth
upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of
this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the
Levites:
- 19 And it shall be with him, and he
shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to
fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these
statutes, to do them:
- 20 That his heart be not lifted up
above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment,
to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong
his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of
Israel.
Plural marriages brought Solomon down by
them leading Solomon into idolatry, it became a grief to Abraham in
the case of Hagar, and also Jacob had trouble and rivalry between
Leah and Rachel. God made one man and one woman in the beginning and
that was for our own good.
- Judges 8:31 And his concubine that
was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called
Abimelech.
- 32 And Gideon the son of Joash died
in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his
father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
- 33 And it came to pass, as soon as
Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went
a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
- 34 And the children of Israel
remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the
hands of all their enemies on every side:
- 35 Neither shewed they kindness to
the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the
goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.
Again we see they soon forget. As soon as
their leader dies they turned again to idols and false religion. DC
Judges Chapter 9
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