Judges 7:1 ¶ Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
Jerubbaal = Gideon
When all the troops had answered Gideon’s call to battle, they got up early in the morning and established camp by the well of Harod. The NIV Commentary notes that this was at the foot of Mount Gilboa. The Midianites were north of them in the valley by the hill of Moreh.
Judges 7:2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
Judges 7:3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
Again, the LORD spoke to Gideon in some way and told him that he had far too many troops for His purposes. If He allowed this many troops to gain the victory over Midian, they would assume that they had done it in their own strength. This quote from Chuck Smith sums it up well: “God wants to work. But when God works he wants the glory for the work that He has done. He doesn’t want people praising the instrument; He wants people praising Him.”
So the LORD told Gideon to make an announcement calling for anyone that was afraid to go back home. After that call, 22,000 men left and 10,000 remained.
This was a practical way to cull the troops. The wisdom behind it is recorded in Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 20:8 “And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.”
Smith also pointed out that those afraid were focused on the enemy and not on the power and faithfulness of Almighty God.
Judges 7:4 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.
Judges 7:5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.
Judges 7:6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.
Once again the LORD told Gideon that he had too many fighting men. This time he was to take them down to the water to get a drink. Those that lapped the water with their tongues from their hands were to be set apart from those that bowed down on their knees to drink. There were 300 men that lapped; the rest got down on their knees to get a drink.
Judges 7:7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.
Judges 7:8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
The LORD then told Gideon that He would use the 300 men that lapped to deliver Israel from the Midianites; all others were to be sent home. They collected the necessary provisions and the trumpets from the soldiers before sending them home. The 300 stayed with Gideon to face the host of Midian.
Judges 7:9 ¶ And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.
Judges 7:10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host:
Judges 7:11 And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.
The very night they made camp the LORD told Gideon to attack because He would give them the victory. Because He knew that Gideon was afraid, He provided a way for his faith to be strengthened. He was go with his servant Phurah to the edge of the Midianite camp and listen. What he heard the soldiers saying would strengthen his faith.
Fear is always associated with weak faith.
Psalms 56:3 “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”
Psalms 112:7 “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.”
Proverbs 29:25 “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.”
Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid:”
Judges 7:12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.
Judges 7:13 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.
Judges 7:14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.
To be fair, Gideon’s fear was “only human.” The troops of Midian and Amalek appeared to cover the valley like a swarm of locusts and they seemed to have as many camels as the sand on the seashore. When Gideon got within hearing distance of the soldiers, he heard one man telling his friend about his dream. He had dreamed that a cake of barley bread tumbled into their camp and struck a tent, causing it to fall down. His friend told him that his dream pictured the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, an Israelite, destroying the host of Midian because God was with him.
Isn’t it interesting that the enemy soldier had such a dream? Isn’t it interesting that an enemy soldier knew Gideon by name? Isn’t it interesting that Gideon and his servant just happened upon the exact spot that allowed them to overhear the soldier’s dream and its interpretation? Coincidence? I think not. God’s miraculous intervention is clear!
Judges 7:15 And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
When Gideon heard all that the men said, he worshipped the LORD and returned to the camp of Israel. He told his men to get up because the LORD had given them the victory over Midian (implied—this very night).
Judges 7:16 ¶ And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
Judges 7:17 And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
Judges 7:18 When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
Gideon divided the men into three companies; I assume that each company had 100 men. He gave every man a trumpet and an empty pitcher that contained a torch. He told them to keep an eye on him; and when they reached the outside of the enemy camp, they were to do exactly as he did. When he and those with him blew their trumpets, they were to do likewise from their positions on the other sides of the camp. This would make it appear as though they had the enemy surrounded with much greater numbers than there actually were. They were also to yell, “The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.”
Judges 7:19 So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.
Judges 7:20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
Judges 7:21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
Judges 7:22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.
Gideon and his group reached the outside of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch. They blew their trumpets that they held with their right hands and broke the pitchers that they held in their left hands and yelled, “The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.” The enemy camp responded by crying out and fleeing in fear. In a panic, men turned their swords against each other throughout the enemy camp. They fled to Bethshittah in Zererath and to the border of Abelmeholah and to Tabbath.
Interesting sidenote: Clarke notes that Abelmeholah was the birthplace of the prophet Elisha.
Judges 7:23 ¶ And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.
Judges 7:24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.
Judges 7:25 And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.
Though not specified, it seems that the news quickly reached those in the tribes of Naphtali, Asher and Manasseh; and they pursued the host of Midian. Since things happened so quickly, it is possible that the men told to return home were still fairly close by. They probably heard the trumpets and hurried back to see what was happening.
Gideon sent messengers throughout mount Ephraim asking for reinforcements to overtake the enemy before they could reach the waters at Bethbarah and Jordan.
The men of Ephraim responded and captured two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb upon rock Oreb and killed Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. (I’m sure these places were named after the fact, and were well known at the time this book was written.) They brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan.
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.
This is another place where the chapter break is unfortunate. It continues in the flow of events from the previous chapter.
The men of Ephraim had taken the heads of Oreb and Zeeb, two princes of Midian, as evidence of their victory in response to Gideon’s call. They questioned Gideon as to why he had not asked for their help in the fight against Midan; they were not happy about it.
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?
Judges 8:3 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 appeased them by appealing to their pride. He noted that what they had accomplished was far greater than what he had done. God had delivered the two princes of Midian into their hands. Gideon had no such trophy giving evidence of comparable action. His answer satisfied them.
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.
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.
Judges 8:6 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?
Judges 8:7 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.
Gideon and his 300 men reached the Jordan and crossed it; though they were quite weary, they continued their pursuit. When they reached Succoth (an area belonging to the tribe of Gad), Gideon asked for food for his men. He pointed out that they were in pursuit of Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian, but they needed sustenance.
The leaders of Succoth refused to help them because there was still a chance that they could suffer the consequences of revenge if Gideon and his men were unsuccessful and the kings learned that they had helped them. Gideon declared that “when” the LORD gave them the victory, he would return and torture them with thorns and thistles from the desert.
JFB provides this insight regarding the torture Gideon promised: It was “a cruel torture, to which captives were often subjected in ancient times, by having thorns and briers placed on their naked bodies and pressed down by sledges, or heavy implements of husbandry being dragged over them.”
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.
Judges 8:9 And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
Leaving Succoth, they came next to Penuel (also belonging to Gad), and Gideon made the same request for food of the men there. They refused to help as well. Gideon promised that “when” he returned having succeeded in bringing peace to the land, he would tear 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.
Judges 8:11 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.
Judges 8:12 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.
The two kings Gideon was after were in Karkor (east of the Dead Sea) with the 15,000 men remaining in their army. This was all that remained after the loss of 120,000 men. Finally, we see the seemingly insurmountable odds Gideon’s army had faced—300 vs. 135,000.
Gideon followed a route that was used by the nomad caravans and was east of Nobah and Jogbehah. The retreating army thought they were in a safe place, so Gideon’s troops caught them off guard. The kings fled, but their attempt was futile. Gideon captured them as their troops fled in fear.
Judges 8:13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,
Judges 8:14 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.
Judges 8:15 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?
Judges 8:16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
Judges 8:17 And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
Before the sun rose the next day, Gideon returned to Succoth. He caught a young man from the town and asked him to identify the leaders of the city; he identified 77 men.
Gideon then went into Succoth and showed them that he had captured the kings of Midian. He then followed through on his threat and tortured the 77 men that had been identified as the leaders of the city.
Gideon then proceeded on to Penuel and took down their tower and killed the men of that city.
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.
Judges 8:19 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.
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.
Judges 8:21 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 next questioned the two kings regarding the people they had killed at Tabor; an event that happened some time previously. They answered that the men looked like Gideon, like king’s sons. Maybe they were hoping to flatter him.
Gideon told them that they had killed his brothers; if they had not, they would have been allowed to live. It is noted that Gideon’s firstborn son, Jether, had joined him. He told the boy to kill the kings, but he was too afraid to do it; he was still quite young. The kings asked that Gideon kill them—knowing that a strong man would be quick and lethal and they would suffer less. Gideon killed the kings and took possession of the valuable ornaments that were around the necks of their camels.
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.
Judges 8:23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.
In light of such success against Midian, the men of Israel came to Gideon and basically asked him to be their king since they implied that if he accepted the position, it would pass down to his son, his son’s son, etc. Gideon boldly and rightly declared that they should be looking to the LORD as their king.
Gideon wasn’t looking to increase his influence in light of what God had accomplished through him. This is a principle that every person whom the LORD blesses with a fruitful ministry should embrace. We have or accomplish nothing for the kingdom except through the LORD’s provision.
John 15:4–5 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
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.)
Judges 8:25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
Judges 8:26 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.
Judges 8:27 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.
Gideon requested a gift in acknowledgement of his role in leading Israel to victory. He asked for the gold earrings that had been collected as plunder from the battle. They willingly complied. The plunder they gave him weighed 1700 shekels (about 50-70 lbs.) in gold in addition to the ornaments, collars and purple raiment that he took from the kings of Midian and the chains that were around the necks of their camels.
Gideon messed up, though I don’t think he meant to. He made an ephod out of his plunder and placed it in his hometown, Ophrah. Only God knows why. Sadly, it became an idol to the people of Israel and a snare for Gideon and his family. It became the focal point of spiritual adultery.
I thought Spurgeon’s comment was interesting: “He did not set up an idol, but he made an ephod, an imitation of that wonderful vestment worn by the high priest. Perhaps he made it of solid gold, not to be worn, but to he looked at, simply to remind the people of the worship of God, and not to be itself worshipped. But ah, dear friends, you see here that, if we go half an inch beyond what Gods Word warrants we always get into mischief!”
Chuck Smith offered a different perspective: “Now I don’t think that Gideon had that in mind at all, that the people would make sort of an idol out of this golden ephod that he made from these earrings but nonetheless the people did. Now at that point, I think, was where Gideon did make a mistake. When he saw how the people were, you know, sort of revering this gold ephod he should have just tossed the thing in the fire, melted it down and made a gold brick or something. And so if he was guilty of any mistakes it was this: his allowing the ephod to remain after the people had made an idolatrous kind of a symbol of this ephod.”
Judges 8:28 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.
This ends the record of the defeat of Midian, and the country was at peace for 40 years during the life of Gideon.
Judges 8:29 ¶ And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.
Judges 8:30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.
Judges 8:31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
Gideon went back home to live and produced 70 sons through his many wives—another huge terrible decision. He also had a concubine that lived in Shechem through whom he sired another son that he named Abimelech.
Adam Clarke notes that a concubine was a “lawful but secondary wife, whose children could not inherit.”
Judges 8:32 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.
Judges 8:33 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.
Judges 8:34 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:
Judges 8:35 Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.
Gideon eventually died at a “good old age” and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father in his hometown of Ophrah.
“As soon as” he died, the children of Israel once again turned to worship false gods, choosing to worship Baal. The Hebrew for “Baalberith” states, “Baal of the covenant.” This implies that they had rejected their covenant with the LORD God of Israel and chosen Baal as His replacement.
They forgot how the LORD “their God” had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies. No matter how often or how long they rejected the LORD, He would remain “their God” in light of His covenant with Abraham.
They also forgot about all Gideon had done for them and showed no kindness to his family.
The devil wastes no time in taking advantage of a situation in which the spiritual influence of one who loves the LORD is removed. The influence of a godly leader is very powerful, and the absence of such influence is just as powerful a force for evil.