Judges 10:6-18 English Standard Version Further Disobedience and Oppression 6 The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the LORD and did not serve him. 7 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, 8 and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed. 10 And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” 11 And the LORD said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? 12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 13 Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15 And the people of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” 16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel. 17 Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead. And the people of Israel came together, and they encamped at Mizpah. 18 And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” As we would expect because we know the theme of this book, the people returned to their idols--the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines (notice these are all people they were to destroy and drive out of the Land and were forbidden by the LORD to worship these gods). They forsook the LORD and did not serve Him, so the LORD was angry with them and gave them over once again into the hands of the Philistines and the hands of the Ammonites so that they crushed and oppressed the Trans-Jordan Israelites (in the land they called Gilead) for 18 years. This would be the land where Reuben, Gad and the eastern Half-Tribe of Manasseh lived. The Ammonites then crossed over the Jordan River to make war with Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim and all Israel was severely distressed (notice though that Israel does not appear to be distressed until the oppressors cross over the Jordan River...the western tribes seem to have no care or concern about their brothers living in Gilead).
The the people cried out to the LORD saying that they had sinned and asking the LORD to save them. The LORD replies that He has been in the business of saving them ever since Egypt and lists the various people groups that He has saved them from, and yet the people continue to be like dogs that return to their vomit (this is the way that the Prophets will describe Israel returning to idolatries time after time after time). God tests the people and says that He will save them no more because they have shown they want the blessings without the obedience. The people cry out again and say, "We have sinned. Do to us whatever you want to, only deliver us this day." They put away (but did not destroy) their foreign gods and they only worshiped the LORD so that He could no longer bear the suffering that Israel was going through. Then the Ammonites encamped against Israel in Gilead and all of Israel gathered together at Mizpah to make their camp for war. The leaders of Gilead looked for the man that would lead the Israelites into battle and promised that such a man would be made head over all the inhabitants of Gilead (see how they are already wanting to have a king like the other nations?). This is where the story leaves us hanging until we get to chapter 11 where the LORD will raise up Jephthah of the land of Gilead as the next judge who would lead Israel into battle. Judges 10:1-5 English Standard Version Tola and Jair 10 After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried at Shamir. 3 After him arose Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon. After Abimelech, the author of the book of Judges (probably Samuel) mentions two others that arose to save the people of Israel (it is probably fair to call them judges for this reason). The first is Tola, son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar from Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim (notice that the people have already abandoned their ancestral lands as no son of Issachar should be dwelling in the land of Ephraim). He judges Israel for twenty-three years and died and was buried in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. He was not buried among his family in the land of Issachar. No other details are given about this man's life or the time for which he was judge over the people.
After Tola arose Jair the Gileadite (East Manasseh) who judged Israel twenty-two years. The text tells us that he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-jair even to the day that this text was written. These cities are in the land of Gilead (that is East Manasseh). The text then tells us that Jair died and was buried in Kamon. Nothing else is said about how either of these men apparently saved Israel or how the people responded to them (our next passage that we'll study tomorrow somewhat speaks to this point though as we'll see that the people will again do what is evil in the eyes of the LORD). Judges 9:22-57 English Standard Version The Downfall of Abimelech 22 Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. 23 And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24 that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. 25 And the leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it was told to Abimelech. 26 And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him. 27 And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival; and they went into the house of their god and ate and drank and reviled Abimelech. 28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? 29 Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’” 30 When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. 31 And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up the city against you. 32 Now therefore, go by night, you and the people who are with you, and set an ambush in the field. 33 Then in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, rise early and rush upon the city. And when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may do to them as your hand finds to do.” 34 So Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies. 35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from the ambush. 36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!” And Zebul said to him, “You mistake the shadow of the mountains for men.” 37 Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners' Oak.” 38 Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your mouth now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them.” 39 And Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. 40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. And many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate. 41 And Abimelech lived at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives, so that they could not dwell at Shechem. 42 On the following day, the people went out into the field, and Abimelech was told. 43 He took his people and divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. And he looked and saw the people coming out of the city. So he rose against them and killed them. 44 Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and killed them. 45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt. 46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-berith. 47 Abimelech was told that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together. 48 And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.” 49 So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women. 50 Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it. 51 But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower. 52 And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 53 And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull. 54 Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died. 55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home. 56 Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. 57 And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal. Abimelech's reign over Israel was short-lived--only three years to be exact. It was at this time that the LORD allowed an evil spirit to come between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem so that the elders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech so that he might reap what he had sown when he killed the 70 sons of Gideon. Men were put on the mountains to try to kill Abimelech as he passed by, but everyone else that passed by, they robbed, no matter if they were fellow Israelite or foreigner.
At the same time, another man named Gaal moved into the city with his family and found favor in the eyes of the people so that they desired for Gaal to be made king instead of Abimelech, and they even held a feast in the temple of their god to honor Gaal and they spoke against Abimelech saying, "Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? 29 Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’” (verses 28 and 29). Zebul, the ruler of the city (probably the mayor in today's terms), who also seemed to be an ally of Abimelech, came to Abimelech to report all these things--that Gaal and his family had thrown a feast and were in rebellion against Abimelech and sought to try to overthrow him. Zebul tells Abimelech that he should come to Gall by night and set an ambush in the field and then at first light, Abimelech and his army should attack the city of Shechem and call out Gaal and the people with him (make the city deliver them to Abimelech) and that he should do as he pleases with them. Abimelech did as Zebul had suggested and had four companies (probably one on each side of the city) set in ambush against the city. However, Gaal spotted the ambushers. Zebul was able to persuade him at first that he was just seeing the shadows of the mountains, but then he clearly saw one of the companies of men clearly and where they were coming from so that the fact that the city was surrounded and that an army was about to attack could not be hidden. So then Zebul reminded Gaal about the words he had carelessly spoken when he challenged Abimelech to a fight and Zebul said that he needed to go out and either surrender to Abimelech or fight him as he said, for these were Abimelech and his men. Abimelech was victorious in battle that day, and Zebul drove Gaal and his family out of Shechem because of the trouble they had caused. This wasn't the end of the story though for the people of Shechem who had dealt treacherously with Abimelech (remember that they had put robbers in the mountains who were also assassins who intended to kill Abimelech as he passed by). So the next day he split his men into three companies and attacked the city and razed it and sowed salt all over it so that nothing would grow there. The leaders of the city ran to the Tower of Shechem for defense. Abimelech cut down as much firewood as he could carry with him and told all his men to do the same and they started a great fire so that the tower of Shechem burned with all the leaders of Shechem and the residents that had escaped the initial attack died there--about 1,000 men and women in total. Abimelech then went to Thebez and similarly tried to raze the city and the tower there and burn them with fire, but one of the women of that city threw a millstone onto Abimelech's head so that his skull was crushed. He didn't want his story to be that a woman had killed him so he asked one of the young men with him that was his armor-bearer to kill him and they ran him through with his sword. Everyone then saw that Abimelech was dead and they knew that the LORD had returned to Abimelech the evil that he had done to the house of Gideon by killing Gideon's 70 sons, and that the curse of Jotham the remaining son of Gideon had come true that day that Abimelech was like the bramble of the forest that would catch on fire and burn the forest down along with it--they were caught up in the judgement that was coming upon him because they did nothing to stop him and were complicit in what he did to the family of Gideon. Judges 9:1-21 English Standard Version Abimelech's Conspiracy 9 Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother's family, 2 “Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.” 3 And his mother's relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.” 4 And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him. 5 And he went to his father's house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. 6 And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem. 7 When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8 The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ 12 And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ 14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’ 16 “Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved-- 17 for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, 18 and you have risen up against my father's house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative-- 19 if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20 But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” 21 And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother. Just how far have we slipped morally during the time of the judges? We've slipped so far that Abimelech, the son of Gideon and one of his concubines, convinces the people of Shechem (the place where his mother lived) that he should be the one son of Gideon that should be selected as king instead of having all the sons of Gideon and his wives, 70 sons in all, should equally be in charge. Abimelech made the argument to the people of Shechem that he was one of them and the town of Shechem said "He is our brother" and they assisted him in in his quest for power by helping him hunt and put to death 69 of the 70 sons of Gideon. One of them, named Jotham was able to escape from the hand of Abimelech. Jotham was the youngest of the 70 sons of Gideon, but it was God's plan to save him so that Gideon's line would not perish completely.
Before running to hide from his brother, Jotham goes to Mount Gerizim (a prominent mountain in the center of the Holy Land. There he tells the people of Manasseh a story to try to get them to understand that what Abimelech is claiming about himself and what his character says about him are two different things, and that he is like the bramble that will easily catch on fire (he is hot-headed) and he will burn down the whole forest with him (destroy the whole nation) because of the fire that will come out of him because they let him go unchecked. Jotham's message to the people of the Land is basically "Wait and see" and to put Abimelech to the test, but it isn't looking good for him right now based off of the fact that he started by trying to kill his 70 brothers and got the people to assist him in killing 69 of them so that there was no one from the house of Gideon left to challenge him for the throne (or to remind the people that Gideon did not want himself or any of his sons to be king over Israel, because the LORD was to be their King). This is the kind of brutality that we would expect from one of the pagan Canaanite kings that the people were commanded to destroy, and yet, here it is in the house of Gideon, one of the judges of Israel. The author of the book of Judges is trying to warn the people about the dangers of king whose heart is not in tune with God's heart for His people. David will be a good king because he will be "a man after God's own heart." That doesn't mean that David will never sin, but ultimately, David usually wanted the same thing for the people that the LORD God wanted for the people. The same can't be said for Abimelech who was really only interested in his own power and wanted to dominate others with a heavy hand. The people will soon be sorry that they made him king, just like Jotham tried to warn them. Judges 8:29-35 English Standard Version The Death of Gideon 29 Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 30 Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. 32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 33 As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. 34 And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, 35 and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel. This is the end of the story of Gideon, the "middle" judge in the book of Judges. He was the one that transitioned us from the "good" judges that came before him to the "bad" judges that will come after him. He was known for being one who contended against the Baals and kept the people from worshiping these idols while he was alive (that is why he was called Jerubbaal here), however, I would not say that Gideon was an example to follow as he we see that he had 70 sons (not including daughters he may have had) by many wives and concubines. This was never the LORD's will for marriage as it was always to be a lifetime covenant between one man and one woman that would reflect the nature of the LORD's covenant with His people (now the Church).
Gideon would have a son by one of his concubines named Abimelech (you may recognize that name for the book of Genesis as this is the name of the king of the Philistines there, but this Abimelech has no relation to the Philistines as far as the text tells us). Abimelech is mentioned here as he is the main character in the next passage of Scripture we will study together. So, Gideon, the son of Joash died at "a good old age," meaning that the LORD blessed him with many years of life according to the blessings of the Law for obedience (even though we see that he was not obedient in every part of the Law, the LORD still extended grace to him because he kept the LORD's people from idolatry). He was buried in the tomb of his father in his home town of Ophrah of the Abiezrites (The descendants of Abiezer, the son of Gilead, a small clan among the tribe of Manasseh). As we discussed last time, the people obeyed out of fear of punishment, but their hearts were not changed, so as soon as Gideon died, they went back to their idolatry (which had never stopped in their hearts, they were just afraid to build their idols and high places in front of Gideon). They did not remember the LORD God who brought them up out of the land of Egypt and delivered them to this Promised Land, nor did they show kindness to the family of Gideon by remembering all the good he had done for Israel. No, they instead started to immediately whore after the gods and goddesses of the Canaanites and other pagan peoples that lived among them and around them that they failed to drive out of the Land and that they had "coexisted" with so long that they had started to become just like them. In fact we will see the treachery of the people as we look at chapter 9 next time. Judges 8:22-28 English Standard Version Gideon's Ephod 22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.” 24 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. 27 And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. 28 So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon. Already we see the wickedness of the peoples' hearts that they want a king to rule over them (they won't say it quite like they are going to say it in the beginning of 1 Samuel where we think of Saul as the first king of Israel). The people want Gideon and his sons and grandsons to be their kings-a few problems with this though. First the people had not sought the LORD's approval on this. Second, the LORD should be the one to choose a king for the people (look how much better it goes for the people when the LORD chooses David than when the people choose Saul). Also, Gideon is of the wrong tribe to be a king--it is written in the Law that the scepter will not depart from between the feet of the house of Judah until the Messiah would come (it was the responsibility of the tribe of Judah to be in leadership and not only leadership but the "scepter" is a symbol of kingship).
Gideon gives the proper answer at first saying that neither he nor his descendants would be their king for the LORD was their king, but Gideon then turned around and did something that he should not have done that became a stumbling block to himself, his family and all of Israel. He asked that all the Ishmaelites that were just conquered give up their golden earrings and they willingly gave them up. This was added to the loot that was taken from the jewelry and clothing worn by the kings that were defeated and the ornaments and collars that were on the camels that were defeated. So then Gideon acquired great wealth that he should have given to the LORD and had put into the treasury of the Tabernacle, but, instead he made an ephod for himself. We don't use the word ephod very much today--it was a linen apron worn by priests. It would have been made out of these same kinds of materials--linen, purple cloth, and gold. However, Gideon was not a priest nor was he even of the tribe of Levi, so the right to wear or even make an ephod like this did not belong to him. It became a stumbling block to him as it became something the people worshiped as they remembered the victory and ascribed that victory to Gideon and not to the LORD. The physical occupation of the Midianites was subdued and the people had peace for 40 years, but this is a less satisfying victory because we see that the people and the leaders are more morally corrupt than before and that even when the LORD gives them victory, they are still actively breaking the Law. At least Gideon refused to be made king, but we'll see next time that the only thing that is keeping the people from going back to the Baals is that they don't want to do it for the sake of Gideon. As soon as he dies, they are right back to their old practices of paganism and idolatry. Judges 8:1-21 English Standard Version Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna 8 Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they accused him fiercely. 2 And he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? 3 God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger against him subsided when he said this. 4 And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. 5 So he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 And the officials of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?” 7 So Gideon said, “Well then, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” 8 And from there he went up to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 And he said to the men of Penuel, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.” 10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men who drew the sword. 11 And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt secure. 12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic. 13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. 14 And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men. 15 And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’” 16 And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson. 17 And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. 18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.” 19 And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” 20 So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels. I posted a map last time that includes the final skirmishes of the battle against Midian. Ephraim was upset that they were not invited to the original battle (because they wanted glory for themselves), but Gideon humbled himself and said that they were the ones that defeated two Midianite princes and that their "harvest" (their victory in battle) was superior to his own. However, very few people know of the contribution of the Ephraimites, but most children that have gone to Sunday school know of Gideon. However, the anger of the Ephraimites was subdued.
Now Gideon pursued the kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, whom all the residents of the Trans-Jordan area seemed to fear, for Gideon came to the people of Succoth and asked for provisions for his men as they were in pursuit of these pagan kings, and the people refused to help them for fear that they would not defeat Zebah and Zalmunna and that these kings would take their vengeance on anyone who helped Gideon and the 300 men with him. So, Gideon then promised that he would be back to take his vengeance out on the town of Succoth. Similarly, he went to the town of Penuel to ask for provision and they similarly refused and Gideon promised that he would return and tear down their tower that they had built there. Now we finally get some idea of the number of men that Gideon's 300 men went up against. Only 15,000 men remained of the 120,000 that the Midianite army started off with, but even the small part of that army that remained was 50 times the size of Gideon's army (it was originally 400 times their size). Gideon attacked them where they felt they were safe from attack and threw all the soldiers into a panic and their two kings rand for their lives. Then Gideon returned to Succoth and questioned a man from the city about the names of all the elders of the city, and once he had a list of all their names, he rounded all of them up and punished them as he had promised for failing to help him in his battle against the Midianite kings. He then returned to Penuel and broke down the tower and killed the men of the city. Gideon asked the Midianite kings for any prisoners of war they had taken, but they gave the command for all of the prisoners to be killed--yet their men did not obey out of fear. However, they did not tell Gideon of the location of the prisoners and demanded that their lives be taken instead, so Gideon happily complied and killed them and took the crescent symbols from the necks of their camels (most likely as a trophy, but maybe as proof of what he had done). Unfortunately, Gideon is not the perfect man of God that we want him to be and this story will have a less-than-perfect ending that we'll talk about in the next two articles. |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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