No King in Israel (18)

The one-sided battle between Israel and Midian and its allies was winding down, moving into what we might call the cleanup stage. The writer of this portion of Judges now presents us with a series of incidents that effectively illustrate the level of spiritual and moral degradation in the nation during the period. While not quite as awful as some of the later chapters of Judges, these vignettes still require some consideration and explanation.

The Holy Spirit also ties up the story of Gideon for us, and sets up the grisly and somewhat predictable events to come in chapter 9.

II. Twelve Judges in Chronological Order (continued)

5. Gideon (continued)

Judges 8:1-3 — A Soft Answer

“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. 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? 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.”

Solomon wrote, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” This first challenge to Gideon’s God-given authority serves as a good illustration of the principle in action. The new judge of Israel had called out the tribe of Ephraim to prevent large numbers of fleeing Midianites from escaping over the Jordan and perhaps becoming a thorn in Israel’s side again once they had time to regroup. Ephraim responded and accomplished the mission. As is often the case when men experience a big win unexpectedly, instead of celebrating their victory, the Ephraimites became annoyed that Gideon did not call on them earlier on, giving them even greater opportunity for reward and greater cause to be praised. They felt snubbed. Gideon responded wisely and humbly, pointing out that Ephraim’s victory at the Jordan dwarfed his own accomplishments. They had killed princes, the first among the tribes to do so.

It’s the classic soft answer, and the best and most biblical way to deal with unreasonable people. The men of Ephraim went away satisfied. But the incident also demonstrates how discontentment may arise at even the best of times, and draws attention to the simmering rivalry that existed between the various tribes in those days, as well as the ease with which they tended to take offense and the political complexity of keeping the nation unified. Gideon signed up to battle the enemies of God. He probably didn’t expect to have to play politics. Still, he handled a potentially explosive incident with tact.

Judges 8:4-9 — Exhausted Yet Pursuing

“And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. 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.’ 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?’ 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.’ 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. And he said to the men of Penuel, ‘When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.’ ”

Taking their leave of the Ephraimites, Gideon and his 300 men crossed the Jordan north of the Dead Sea in pursuit of the remains of the Midianite army and traveled east along the Jabbok River into what is now Jordan. As the writer puts it, they were “exhausted yet pursuing”. Along the way, they had to pass two large, fortified Israelite cities in the tribal territory of Gad. These were natural places to look for aid and supplies.

We should note that Gideon’s request for bread from Succoth was hardly unreasonable given the circumstances. Gideon’s army was relatively small. The elders and officials in the city of Succoth alone outnumbered a quarter of his troops. The city was certainly large enough and well-enough protected to spare bread for them, and had every reason to be charitable. Gideon’s mission to cut off the head of the Midianite snake stood to benefit all Israel, most especially the tribe of Gad, which was far more exposed to attack from the Midianites and their allies than the northern tribes who had originally volunteered to serve under Gideon.

That was not how the officials of Succoth saw it. They refused to help. Traveling further east, Gideon made the same request at Penuel, and received the same negative response. Accordingly, he promised the men of both cities that there would be consequences for their failure of charity and refusal to help the judge of Israel in his time of need.

Judges 8:10-12 — Outnumbered by a Factor of Fifty

“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. 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. 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.”

The exact location of Karkor is unknown, but it is thought to have been an open plain south and east of Penuel where the remaining 15,000 Midianites gathered under their two kings. Between the nighttime chaos in the valley of Jezreel, where the Midianites and their allies had killed each other in the confusion caused by Gideon’s trumpet blowing and torches, and the depletion of Midian’s remaining troops by various tribal forces as they fled east, Zebah and Zalmunna’s army was down to one ninth its original size. Mind you, it was still fifty times larger than Gideon’s. Perhaps the Midianites had received some intelligence about the condition of Gideon’s little band, because they felt secure, and with very good reason; they had no natural cause to fear 300 tired men on foot. Amazingly, Gideon’s unexpected attack threw the Midianite army into a panic, and he easily captured its two kings. One can only conclude God gave the victory. There’s no other plausible way to account for it.

Judges 8:13-17 — Returning in Triumph

“Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. 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. 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?’’ ’ 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. And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.”

Given the situation, it’s likely neither the men of Succoth nor the men of Penuel expected they would ever see Gideon again. When he returned in triumph with the two captured kings of Midian, his first task was to follow through on the promise he had made at Succoth to flay the elders of the city with thorns and briers. A city the size of Succoth that refused to obey the leader God had chosen could be the beginning of a rebellion that would divide the nation. So Gideon identified the elders and officials of Succoth by name, then made sure to punish the guilty. Penuel got worse treatment. They had put their trust in their tower rather than in Gideon and God, so Gideon destroyed the reason for their false sense of security and made an example of the men of the city.

If these actions seem a little extreme to us, bear in mind that the failure of charity at Succoth and Penuel might easily have cost Israel its victory, and their refusal to acknowledge the new judge of Israel was really a rejection of God, not just Gideon.

In all of this, the Spirit of God has nothing to say either pro or con. We are left to our own devices in assessing both Gideon’s actions and those of the other Israelites with whom he came into conflict.