Judges 8:1-21 - As a Man is, So is His Strength

Judges 8:1-21

Gideon Subdues the Midianites

1 Now the men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the Midianites?” And they reprimanded him sharply.

2 So 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 vintage of Abiezer? 3 God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger toward him subsided when he said that.

4 When Gideon came to the Jordan, he and the three hundred men who were with him crossed over, exhausted but still in pursuit. 5 Then 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 Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.”

6 And the leaders of Succoth said, ”Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?”

7 So Gideon said, “For this cause, when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers!” 8 Then he went up from there 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 So he also spoke to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I come back in peace, I will tear down this tower!”

10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East; for one hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword had fallen. 11 Then Gideon went up by the road of those who dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah; and he attacked the army while the camp felt secure. 12 When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them; and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.

13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle, from the Ascent of Heres. 14 And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth and interrogated him; and he wrote down for him the leaders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. 15 Then he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you ridiculed me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your weary men?’” 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. 17 Then he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

18 And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?”

So they answered, “As you are, so were they; each one resembled the son of a king.”

19 Then he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 20 And he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them!” But the youth would not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth.

21 So Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

Gideon had to answer the reprimand of tribe of Ephraim for not inviting them along in the battle with the Midianites by reminding God delivered their hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb.  Hearing this compliment, their anger was satisfied somewhat because they knew he was right.  Then Gideon came to the Jordan with the exhausted three hundred men were with him and crossed over, still in pursuit of the king of Midian,  Zebah and Zalmunna.  He stopped to catch their breath and asked the men of Succoth there for food and was refused be they did not want to throw their bread away to such a small force with no hope of victory in their estimation.  Gideon promised to return in vengeance for their refusal, just as he did to the ones at Penuel who also refused.  To the men of Succoth he vowed to tear their flesh with thorns and briers as a pain reminder of their lack of faith in God’s mission, and to Penuel he vowed to level their tower of pride for their own faithless refusal.  He went on with the three hundred to victory over the Midianite kings with their remaining fifteen thousand troops remaining with one hundred and twenty thousand killed already.  Their little band of brothers routed the remaining army.  On the return trip, Gideon mad good his threat and gathered the seventy-seven rulers of Succoth together, showing them the two kings they mocked his ability to defeat, and so taught them a lesson by taking the elders of the city into the thorns of the and briers of the wilderness to teach them a painful lesson in faithfulness.  He went on to Penuel, razing their tower and killing the men of the city in retribution.  When he then asked the two kings what the men of Tabor looked like whom they had killed, the description was that they looked like royalty like Gideon.  He let them know that they were his actual brothers and ordered his firstborn Jether son to eliminate these two, but he refused because he was still young and the kings then told his father to kill them himself because “as a man is, so is his strength,” a challenge and an insult at the same time.  Gideon therefore killed them as promised.  We see that the character of a man is reflected in his actions, just as God wrote to us in 2 Corinthians 1:17 and in James 2:20-22 and 5:12 as a warning to follow through on our own vows (Numbers 30:2, Ecclesiastes 5:4) or hold back from making them, and not expect another to do the unpleasant work for us.  For as a man is in his word, so he is in his spiritual strength as well.