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. 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.
Ephraim resented not being given the opportunity for glory in the
beginning of Gideon’s campaign. They will also have a problem with another
child of Manasseh in Jephthah coming up in chapter 12.
Judges 12:1 And the men of
Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto
Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon,
and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with
fire.
But Gideon’s diplomacy abates their anger by giving them credit
for the greater victory in taking the heads of Oreb and Zeeb. Ephraim is a
contentious tribe.
Even though Joshua came out of Ephraim;
Numbers
13:8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the
son of Nun… 16 These are the names of the men which Moses
sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.
And we know that Ephraim was brother to Manasseh, Gideon’s tribe,
we see them pitted against each other.
Isaiah 9:19 Through the wrath
of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel
of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.20
And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat
on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the
flesh of his own arm:
Remember this from Proverbs;
Proverbs 18:19 ¶ A brother
offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like
the bars of a castle.
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. 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.
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. 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. 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. 17 And he beat down the tower
of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
The men of Succoth are still afraid of the power of the Midianite
armies and these two remaining kings. Here is told of a tremendous slaughter
Gideon’s forces make of the remaining Midianites, the destruction of what’s
left, and the capture of the two kings. This is a remarkable victory, not
unlike the American victory over the Japanese Navy at Midway in 1942. It was
unlikely and incredible.
And here we are, faint from our battles but pursuing our service
for God. It is an interesting analogy and worthy of a sermon, or a hundred
sermons. Also, the fate of the men of Succoth and of Penuel is a picture in
type of God’s judgment on mankind. They are warned and given the opportunity to
obey but choose not to and suffer the consequences for their disobedience. The
analogy is Christ’s first coming and His second advent.
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. 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.
As the evangelist Bob Jones, Sr. said, what a man or woman says as
they descend into Hell is, “AMEN!” because they have chosen their fate. Gideon
accuses these two heathen kings. Gideon refers back to the suffering caused by
these kings and their nation.
Judges 6:1 ¶ 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. 2
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. 3
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; 4 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. 5
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. 6
And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the
children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
Gideon places himself in the position of the avenger of blood
discussed in the Law given to Moses. Knowing their fate the two kings admirably
chastise the young man, in a warrior culture, who was inhibited by his age and
state that the strength of a man shows he is a man. But, Gideon slew them
himself.
Sermons are made that the chastisement of the men of Succoth and
Penuel are reflective of judgment first on the church and then these two kings
as reflective of the heathen world’s judgment but I think that is stretching it
considering what happened to the men of Penuel, a fate no less than that of
these heathen kings, death. Still, it would make a good, in type, comparison
understanding that types always break down at some point. Don’t ride that horse
‘til it drops, please.
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.
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.
Israel calls for Gideon to be a king over them although they don’t
use that word. They plead for a dynasty of generations of Gideon’s family to
rule. But Gideon understood God’s intent, that He Himself was to be king over
Israel. Later, they will demand a human king like other nations and God will
tell Samuel they have rejected God’s rule over them. Human rule would prove to
be, as history reveals, much more difficult to bear than God’s rule.
1Samuel 8:4 ¶ Then all the
elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art
old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all
the nations. 6 But the thing displeased
Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the
LORD. 7 And the LORD said unto Samuel,
Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they
have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over
them. 8 According to all the works which
they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto
this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods,
so do they also unto thee. 9 Now
therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and
shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. 10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD
unto the people that asked of him a king. 11
And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over
you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots,
and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint him captains over
thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and
to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his
chariots. 13 And he will take your
daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 14 And he will take your fields, and your
vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his
servants. 15 And he will take the tenth
of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his
servants. 16 And he will take your
menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your
asses, and put them to his work. 17 He
will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. 18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of
your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in
that day. 19 Nevertheless the people
refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a
king over us; 20 That we also may be
like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and
fight our battles.
We would do well to remember this and then what Jesus said;
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke
upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find
rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light.
Back to Judges. We’ve already talked about the significance of
facial ornaments in the study on Genesis.
Jewelry played a
part in ancient worship. Earrings were not merely ornamentation for both men
and women but were, scholars tell us, sometimes amulets and charms to protect
the openings of the face and head from entry by evil spirits. They were clearly
part of the idol worship of the ancient world, the spiritual system that
developed after the Flood. If you have
difficulty seeing that side of facial jewelry just look at the hundreds of
occult earrings on a website like Etsy.com. Some verses of note regarding men
and women wearing earrings and of a possible link to their occultic practices
are;
Exodus
32:1 ¶ And when the people saw that
Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves
together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before
us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
we wot not what is become of him. 2 And
Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of
your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3 And all the people brake off the golden
earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4 And he received them at their hand, and
fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they
said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of
Egypt.
Judges 8:29 ¶ And Jerubbaal
the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house. 30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his
body begotten: for he had many wives. 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.
Gideon is more more than buried before the Israelites fall into
heathen worship yet again. Not only did they commit idolatry but they lost all
loyalty to the house of Gideon. What happens next is a great crime committed
against Gideon’s memory. Here also is a clear example of the dangers contained
in ignoring God’s perfect will of one man and one woman combined in the
marriage covenant.
Strong notes that Baalberith is a god of the Philistines.
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