Humble pie

Gideon, with his 300 men and Zebah and Zalmunna (great baby names!), headed back to Succoth. It was time for the judge to deal out the punishment.

Somehow, Gideon had a list of the 77 elders from the town. He called them out one by one.

They knew what to expect, Gideon had already told them what fate was awaiting them.

Whips of desert thorns and briars were made infront of the 77 (a sign of bareness and wasteland [Isaiah 7:23 & Luke 6:44]).

Did the people of Succoth use this time as an opportunity to apologize or humble themselves before Gideon? No.

Next was the turn of Peniel.

As they saw Gideon's 300 approaching in the distance did they prepare to welcome them (as they should have originally) ?

Did they arrange to snd a peace offering to honour the local hebrew heroes? No.

A battle quickly began, in which Gideon's men won (of course) and then (as promised) the tower was demolished.

Interestingly to note is that this was a water tower.

Think about it.

The massive importance of having a water tower in your town in the middle of the desert.

To these people water was power.

That tower represented their pride.

What a way to humble the people of Peniel.

Love you X

Butlins

We don't know much about the final battle, Gideon would have passed Nobah (schoolboy sniggers) and the Gaddite town of Jogbehah and travelled along 'the road of those who dwelled in tents', a well used Midianite caravan route. Think 'Butlins' but with slightly more pagan sacrifices, rape and murder.

The Midianites were taken completely by suprise, they had no idea just how tanacious (good word!) Gideon was.

Zebah and Zalmunna were taken captive, as Gideon's 300 rose victorious over the Midianites.

Victory was indeed sweet.

Love you X

Don't give up

The truth is . . . we don't know what Gideon's motives were. All we can do is trust in the grace of God.

"Grace means that the Lord often blesses us even though there are glaring areas of lack in our lives" [J Lucas]

They get the same frosty reception in a place called Peniel (which means 'face of God'), this was where Jacob wrestled the angel [Gen.32:30] Only this time Gideon promised to tear down their tower and not spank them with branches!

After yet another set-back, it was a further 25 miles to Karkor.

Gideon hit a lot of 'brick walls' whilst following the will of God, lots of set-backs, knock-downs, and times when he probably just felt like giving up.

But he didn't.

Are you passing through Succoth, or being turned away by Peniel?

Don't give up!

Love you X

Quotes

Once again there is conflicting arguements about this issue amongst commentators . . . .

Was Gideon wrong to punish the people of Succoth? . . . .

* "Gideon had such great confidence in God that he began to take things into his own hands. Gideon threatened (Succoth) with vengeful words and punished them with exagerated cruelty. One is left to conclude that Yahweh's spirit had left Gideon at this point." [E J Hamlin]

* "It is a personal vendetta which Gideon has been prosecuting so ruthlessly in the Trans-Jordan . . . (earlier) his motivation was obedience to God, but here it is personal revenge . . . how he has changed . . ." [M Wilcock]

Or was Gideon right to punish the people of Succoth? . . . .

* "It is probably correct to see the beating of the elders of Succoth . . . as a judicial sentance carried out as a judge, rather than indicating a personal vendetta or fit of revenge." [D Jackman]

* "The punishment inflicted by Gideon . . . was well deserved in all respects, and was rightously executed . . . having been called by God to be the deliverer and judge of Isreal, it was Gideon's duty to punish the faithless cities." [Kell & Delitzsch]

What d'ya think ?

Love you X

Succoth

Succoth was a small settlement, east of the Jordan, on the dividing line between Gadite and Manassite territories. The sight of Succoth brought with it water, food and shelter. 'Succoth' means shelters or tabernacles, because Jacob built dwelling places there after he had seperated from Esau [Gen. 33:17]

The people of Succoth had too felt the wrath of the Midianites and would have heard the news of Gideon's 300 defeating the enemy.

What kind of a welcome party could they expect when entering this place?

None.

Gideon was probably expecting some kinds of 'ticker tape parade' like at the end of the Ghostbusters movie. However, Succoth refused to help them.

Why?

It's thaught that Succoth were worried about their own skin and anxious not to upset their Midianite neighbours. What if Gideon's 300 failed to finish off the enemy and word got out that the people of Succoth had helped out Gideon?
What would become of them?

Gideon was furious, understandably, he had put up with being taunted and bullied for 7 years by the Midianites, he had allowed his army to walked away and to be worked down to 300, he had suffered humiliation at the hands of Ephraim, and NOW he must put up with these cowards?

So was his promise of "thrashing them with twigs" a direct judgement from God, or just the ramblings of a bad temper?

Love you X

Succoth and see

Pursuing the fleeing Midianites to Karkor was no mean feet. 150 miles right through the middle of the desert. I would imagine after the last 24 hours that Gideon and his 300 had had, this would be more than a little daunting. Just as the band of Hebrews were beginning to loose hope, they see something on the horizon that stirs their souls.

Succoth.

Love you X

Scissors never beats scissors

As these 2 tribes square up to each other on the brink of civil war, Gideon does what any good leader / judge / politician would do. He difuses the hostile situation by grinning like the cheshire cat exlaiming the greatness that is Ephraim.

"What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't the gleamings of Ephraims grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?"

Gideon was humbling himself and playing down his own victory.

How far Gideon has come.

Back in the winepress Gideon would never have stepped down from that sort of arguement or insult. In Proverbs 15:1 it says . . . 'A gentle answer burns away wrath'.

Gideon shows us how a leader should be, he resists the temptation to bite back with arrogance or be on the defensive. Gideon quickly and calmly difused a situation that had the makings of an epic, but tragic, civil war.

Gideon refused to answer anger with anger, because (lets be honset) scissors NEVER beats scissors.

Love you X

At this point, I would imagine that Gideon is still psyched up about the miracoulous victory. Still high on adrenaline and excitement. So why now does some criticism rear its ugly head to rob him of his success?

How often have you known some element of your life going SO well and then someone says something or does something or something just happens just to ruin it?

We need to remember that sometimes criticism is for our own good. A prime example of this is Paul's 'thorn in the flesh' to keep him humble.

What we want isn't always the same as what we need.

Love you X

Ephraim's annoyed

In order to capture the retreating Midianites, Gideon would need to enlist some helpers.

Ephraim (another Hebrew tribe) would be perfect. The Midianites were headed in that direction, so they could be trapped from both sides. It was also going to take more than 300 men to sort out this mess of a battlefield, so Gideon called upon the original 32'000 men from Naphtali, Asher and Mannaseh.

The Ephramites were annoyed.

They had been waiting for the opportunity 'to get their own back' on the Midianites (always with the revenge!). When the herald came to announce the news that Gideon's 300 had done the impossible, the people of Ephraim would have been ambivalent (feeling overjoyed as well as furious).

Why didn't this Gideon from Ophrah call the mighty men of Ephraim to help him?

Ephraim was renouned for their impressive track record . . .

Joshua had been from the tribe and ALSO their city of Shiloh had been the home of the tabernacle (God's 9-man super tent!). Mannaseh had been ignored by Joseph, in favour of Ephraim, surely THEY had a right to be involved?!

2 of the most notorious Midianite generals are captured by Ephraimites. Oreb (raven) and Zeeb (wolf) are be-headed and the severed heads are taken to Gideon.

Why?

Was this a good will gesture to honour Gideon and attempt to make peace between the 2 tribes?

Or was this a message to Mannaseh from Ephraim . . . "look at what the mighty men of Ephraim have accomplished"?

From the criticism that follows, it seems that the latter is true.

Love you X

Smashing Jars

So Gideon roused his army of 300 and issued them with their 'weapons'.

Swords? . . . No.

Spears? . . . No.

Bow & Arrows? . . . No.

Halbred? . . . No.

Pike? . . . No.

Sharpened Vedgetables? . . . No!

They were armed with a jar, torch, and a trumpet.

Gideon's strategical battle plan wouldn't have won him a a game of RISK [the game of world domination!] _ On his command they had to blow their trumpet, shout a war cry, smash their jar, wave their torches, and give another shout.

That was it.

End of plan.

Picture the Isrealites removing the jars from their torches, this would surely reveal their exact whereabouts to the enemy. Not to mention shouting

"a sword for the Lord and for Gideon!".

AND thinks about how thinly spread out 300 Isrealites would have to be to surround the Midianite camp. Each man would have been tens, or even hundreds, of yards away from his nearest companion.

Within seconds the Midianites would have been awakened to the sound of 300 trumpets, smashing jars, and shouts.

Jeff Lucas comments . . .

"They shouted for theur lost children. They shouted for the famine years. They yelled and screamed for the loss of their dignity and hope that had been so ruthlessly crushed by Midian."

The Midianites would have been confused and disorientated.

'Surely there were hundreds of thousands of men behind these torches?'

In the blind panic that followed they ended up slashing and stabbing at one another. A few were focused enough to grab little possessions and retreat eastwards down the valley.

The ironic thing was that there had been no huge horde behind those torches and trumpets, no back-up troops, no one at all.

Except God.

Love you X

Can I get a witness?

Now, not only had Gideon recieved reassurance and confirmation that God was indeed with him, he also had the news of the fearful Midianites to report back to the Isrealite troops.

An interesting observation can be made about why God insisted on Purah going with Gideon. Firstly, he could offer protection and assistance if they were discovered, but secondly (and more beneficially) I think God wanted a witness with Gideon to confirm what had gone on.

Up until that point, Gideon had recieved word from God when he was alone, but this time there would be no denying what had happend.

Purah was there too, he saw, he heard, he would remember.

Love you X

Rolling Loaves

So Gideon and Purah (a trusted servant) went down into the valley to 'drop some eaves' on the Midianites. What they heard was even more bizarre than the 'sip' test. . . .

A Midianite sentiry had had a dream in which the cheiftain's tent had been flattened by a huge, rolling loaf of barley bread!

Now, dreams held a lot of weight in these times [Gen. 41] and straight away an interpretation came from a fellow Midianite soldier.

A LOAF OF BREAD_ was a common symbol for the Isrealite nation. Also, barley bread was only eaten by poorer classes, which after many years of invasion and oppression, Isreal was.

Now this loaf was rolling towards a Midianite tent. To a Midianite (nomadic), the tent represented life, EVERYTHING.

To these Midianite soldiers, the dream was all too easy to interpret. Their identity, the fibre of their very being, was about o be crushed by the uprising of the poor, humble Hebrews!_little did they know that these 'humble Hebrews' were only 300 strong.

By now God had planted fear, doubt and terror within the Midianite camp.

Love you X

Whisperings

Father Genardy has a saying _

"do not be afraid . . . . be VERY afraid!"

This would be the sort of mindset that Gideon would have been feeling in this section of the story. Inspite of Gideon's fear (or maybe because of it?), God chose now to speak once again to him.

Yahweh reveals that He is going to give the enemy into Gideon's hands. If Gideon still needed extra reassurance, God invited him to go down to the Midianite out-posts and listen to the whisperings from the sentries.

It's interesting to note that this wasn't a COMMAND from God, it was an oportunity to be used (or not) by Gideon.

What could the Midianites have to say that could possibly encourage Gideon ?

He HAD to find out.

Love you X

Ready and Willing

2/3 of the army were sent home because of their attitude, then 97% of the remainder were sent home because they failed the 'sip' test.

So, now we understand the 1st reduction, but the 2nd still seems a bit weak. Was this just an excuse to reduce the army further or is their something else behind this 'sip' test ?

Some argue that due to the possibility of leeches in the water, the 'scoopers' were seen to be more prudent.

Others say that Gideon only wanted a small commando SWAT - style team and the 'sip' test was just a way of reducing the numbers without offending anyone.

The main focus point is this . . .

God made the announcement that there were still too many.

God became a coach picking his own team.

It's possible that the test was designed to test the character of the soldiers. Those who knelt to drink would leave themselves vulnerable to attack, but those who 'scooped' could keep a watchful eye on their surroundings.

If the test meant anything, it seems God was looking for who would be alert and available, as opposed to those preoccupied with comfort.

Love you X