Chapter 90. Judges 8. Zebah and Zalmunna.
WHEN Gideon and his three hundred men passed over Jordan pursuing the Midianites, they arrived at Succoth, a city of Israel belonging to the tribe of Gad.
They were very tired and hungry, and Gideon begged bread for his men, of the people of the city, that they might be strengthened, and keep up their pursuit of the kings of Midian Zebah, and Zalmunna. But the people of Succoth answered, Why should we give bread to your army? Are Zeba and Zalmunna already in your hands? Gideon answered “When the Lord has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hands, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”
From there they went to Penuel, and made the same request, and received the same answer. And Gideon said to them, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.”
The two Midianite kings were in Karker with all their army, fifteen thousand men, all that was left of that great multitude of the children of the east; one hundred and twenty thousand warriors had been killed. Gideon and his little handful of men overtook this great army and smote them. The two kings fled, but were soon captured, and before the sun was up, Gideon was on his way back with his men and his two prisoners. On their return they caught a young man of Succoth and forced him to write the names of the elders and the princes of Succoth, in all seventy-seven men. Gideon went to the city and
showed the kings to them saying: These are the men about which you insulted me, and said: Are their hands now in thy hands that we should give bread to your weary men? And Gideon had the elders of Succoth taken and chastised with thorns and briers, and the tower of Penuel was demolished and the men of that city killed.
After this, Gideon commanded his son to fall upon the kings and kill them, but the boy was young and afraid and would not do it. Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon: Why don’t you kill us yourself, for as a man is, so is his strength. So Gideon arose and slew them and took the ornaments from their camels’ necks.
After these victories, the Israelites came to Gideon saying: Come and rule over us, and your sons after you, for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian. But Gideon answered: “I will not rule over you, neither, shall my son; the Lord shall rule over you.”
But I have one request to make of you, that you would give me each the earrings of his prey. (The Ishmaelites always wore gold earrings, and the Midianites were their descendants.)
The people willingly consented and spread a cloak on the ground and threw into it all the earrings, and the weight of it was nearly three pounds, without counting other ornaments, necklaces, and chains and rich garments from the kings of Midian.
Gideon took all and made them into an ephod and took it into his own city Ophrah. This ephod he made in remembrance of his victory; he had begun to feel his importance and to forget that he owed all to God. An ephod was a sort of short robe worn by the priests when offering sacrifices to God. It was beautiful, made of blue and purple, scarlet and fine linen interwoven with gold threads, which spoke of divine righteousness, heavenliness and royal dignity, all found, in the Lord Jesus. But the garment, apart from the high priest, was useless, and yet all Israel looked upon it as a means of approach to God and when Gideon made this one, all Israel went and prostrated themselves before it. Even Gideon and his house were ensnared by it. This was idolatry. The Israelites now went to worship in their own way at Ophrah and not God’s way at Shiloh, the place where the ark was kept.
Was it not very sad to see this man who had been such a powerful instrument in God’s hand for the salvation of the people, become the cause of their falling into sin later on? Does it not show that unless we allow the Lord to guide us in everything, we will surely go astray? Oh! how we need to feel that we have no strength at all for good, but that God must do all for us, and in us. During forty years, until Gideon’s death the country had peace. Gideon had returned to his home, and had many wives and seventy sons. As soon as he was dead, the Israelites went back to their idols, and forgot the Lord their God who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies. They also forgot Gideon and showed no kindness to his children in return for his goodness to Israel.
Do we say: “How awful, we would certainly not do anything like that?” Ah 1 we can easily see the wrong in others, and forget we are no better, for, “As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man,” (Prov. 27: 19) says king Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived. If so, then let us cleave unto the Lord with purpose of heart that we may be enabled to be faithful.
ML 04/14/1912