Gideon Era

During Gideon’s lifetime, the land enjoyed peace for forty years.  Gideon son of Joash went back home to live.  He had seventy sons of his own.  Gideon died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Oprah of the Abiezrites.  No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals.  They set up Baal-Berith as their god and did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.  They also failed to shoe kindness to the family of Jerub-Baal for all the good things he had done for them. 

We Need A Ruler

The Israelites asked me to rule over them.  They wanted me to be there ruler and my son and my grandson because I had saved them form the hand of Midian.  But I told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you.  The Lord will rule over you.”  I may make one request though.  I might ask them about each of them giving me an earring from their share of the plunder.  That would amount to all the gold I will need for my life.  Maybe I can make a gold ephod or something like that. 

Execution

We later decided to address the two prisoners we had.  I could see the fear that they had in their eyes.  These men who were originally so haughty and so full of arrogance and had an air of invincibility about them, they thought nothing could touch them and nobody could defeat them.  Now these men were carefully choosing their words doing what they could to avoid death that surely awaited them from the men of the nation they were oppressing.  I asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?”  They responded, “Men like you, each one with the bearing on a prince.”  I replied to them, “Those men were my brothers, the sons of my own mother!  As surely as the Lord lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.” I looked to Jether, my oldest son and told him to kill them!  But Jether was only a boy and did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.  Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, do it yourself.  ‘As a man, so is his strength.’”  So I stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels’ necks.   

Return to Succoth

We followed Zebah and Zalmunna to Karkor where they had amassed an army of fifteen thousand men.  This is all that was left of the eastern people; all the rest had fallen by the sword.  We went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and we fell upon the unsuspecting army.  Zebah and Zalmunna fled the fight, but we pursued and captured them while we routed there army.  With these two kings as our prisoners we went back towards the Jordan.  We came again to Succoth and gathered the elders and men and said to them, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, ‘Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession?’  Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?”  I took the men of Succoth and taught them a lesson by punishing them with the desert thorns and briers.  I then pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.

The Pursuit of Zebah and Zalmunna

Even with the men exhausted from the past few days we were in pursuit of Zebah and Zalmunna.  We came to the Jordan River and crossed over.  We came to the city of Succoth and I said to them, “Give my troops some bread, they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna the kings of Midian.”  I thought there is no way they would turn away these half starved men who have showed heroism and perseverance in this time of war.  The officials, however, said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession?  Why should we give bread to your troops?”  I replied to them, “Just for that when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”   I couldn’t believe it.  This little city was sitting on the fence.  They weren’t completely loyal to the Midinaites and weren’t completely loyal to Israel.  I’m not going to let this unpredictability of men discourage me.  I choose to rely in the remarkable reliability of God to sustain and empower me.   Just to imply that we had already had them in our possession and we would come to them asking for food and lying to them is an absurd assumption.  From there we went on to the city of Peniel and we received the exact same response s the men of Succoth.  So I responded to them much like I said the men of Succoth, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”  I couldn’t believe the disrespect and that these two cities showed to the men that have defeated the Midianites.  The people that were keeping God’s chosen people under oppression and this army of hero’s was given no help by the people that were set free.  We were only met with contempt and disrespect.  God will repay them.   

A Sword For The Lord...

I got back to the camp as fast as I could and cried out to the men, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” I divided the camp up into three companies I gave each man a trumpet and an empty jar with a torch inside.  I told them all to watch me and follow my lead. “When we get to the edge of camp do exactly as I do.  When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, For the Lord and for Gideon.”  So we all reached the edge of camp just at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard.  We blew our trumpets and broke our jars.  We grabbed the torches in our left hands and holding our trumpets in our right hand we shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”  We all held our position around the camp and the Midianites were thrown into a panic.  They didn’t know what to do and they turned their swords on each other and began killing their own men.  The army survivors fled to Beth Shittah toward Zereraha as far as the border of Abel Mehoahla near Tabbath.  Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh were summoned and they pursued the Midianites.  We sent messengers down the Ephraim telling them to seize the waters of the Jordan.  They seized it ahead of them as far as Beth Barah and they captured two Midianite leaders Zeeb and Oreb.  They killed Oreb at the rock and Zeeb at the winepress and brought their heads to me at the Jordan River.         

I dreamed a dream

The camp of Midian was below us and in the middle of the night the Lord said to me, Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.  If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying.  Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.”  At this point with only 300 men I could use any encouragement I could get.  I took my servant Purah with me and we snuck into the enemies camp.  We quietly made our ways among the tents and camels without being seen.  It wasn’t very enoucraging at first.  I couldn’t even begin to count the camels or the people.  They were thick like locusts.  There were so many people in that one space.  I happened to come upon a ten just as a man was telling his dream he had a dream that a round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midinaite camp.  It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.  His friend responded this can be nothing more than the sword of Gideon son of Joash the Israelite.  God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.  When I heard the dream and the interpretation I knew what I had to do.  I couldn’t waste any time.  It was time for battle.