Gideon’s Victory over Midian
Judges 7
Judges 7
Judges 7. This chapter records how God deliberately reduced Gideon’s force to three hundred so that the deliverance from Midian would be plainly His work and not man’s (vv.1-8). Before the battle, the Lord strengthened Gideon’s faith by sending him into the enemy camp to hear a dream that confirmed Midian’s defeat (vv.9-15). The victory itself was accomplished through obedience rather than human strength. The Lord threw the enemy into confusion, after which the rest of Israel joined in the pursuit and the overthrow was completed (vv.16-25).
Gideon’s Army Reduced to Three Hundred (7:1-8)
CHAPTER 7
1 And Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, arose early, and all the people that were with him, and they encamped beside the spring Harod; and he had the camp of Midian on the north by the hill of Moreh in the valley.
v.1 The Camp of Gideon. We now see Gideon publicly, with the people gathered around him rather than in private preparation. This gathering follows Gideon’s bold stand against Baal in the previous chapter; the people rally to this man who showed strength in putting down idolatry in his father’s house. Notice the location of Gideon’s camp: the camp is beside the well of Harod, meaning “trembling,” which fittingly describes the moral state of the army assembled there: thirty-two thousand outwardly present, but inwardly marked by fear, including hesitation in their leader. Nevertheless, this moment is the transition from the preparation of the servant individually (Judges 6) to the character of God’s corporate witnesses. We will find in this chapter that, though outward numbers exist, God shows His testimony does not depend on numbers.
2 And Jehovah said to Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give Midian into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. 3 And now proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever is timid and afraid, let him go back and turn from mount Gilead. And there went back of the people twenty-two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
vv.2-3 Initial Reduction: 32,000 to 10,000 by Courage. Jehovah Himself intervened to reduce the numbers, stating that the people are “too many”, and the reason being “lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.” The people were in such a state that, had the full army won the victory, Israel would have taken the credit. Compare with Joshua 8 where all the people were to go up. God insisted that the deliverance must be unmistakably of God and not of man. Gideon would realize that human pride must be excluded and all glory go to Jehovah alone. He will not share His glory with man. The first “filter” that Gideon was to use to reduce his army had to do with courage. This act directly follows the principle already laid down in the law (Deut. 20:1-8), showing God recalling His own word in a moment of crisis. There in Deuteronomy the “fear” that is contemplated is of those who have something to lose: a new house not dedicated, a vineyard not yet eaten of, a betrothed wife not taken. Although a believer does have earthly responsibilities we are to have an undivided heart: nothing to lose because we “count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8). This reduction exposes how many shrink from conflict, not from lack of interest in blessing, but from fear of cost, reproach, or danger. This leaves only those God can truly use; those who trust him. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7). It is interesting that Gideon himself struggled with fear (v.10), but the Lord helped him to overcome it.
4 And Jehovah said to Gideon, Still the people are many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for thee there, and it shall be, that of whom I shall say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I shall say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. 5 And he brought down the people to the water; and Jehovah said to Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down on his knees to drink. 6 And the number of them that lapped, with their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men; and all the rest of the people bowed down on their knees to drink water.
vv.4-5 Further Reduction: 10,000 to 300 by Devotedness. Though the fearful had departed, Jehovah declares the people still too many and applies a further test at the water. This test is not about courage but about devotedness; whether the men would put personal ease first or remain intent on the work God had given. God made a difference between the men that bowed to drink and the men that lapped. Those that lapped the water were focused on their duties, even willing to be “counted as a dog,” putting self-comfort and refreshment as a secondary object. Those that got down on their knees made self-comfort the object, and therefore were distracted from their duties. This reduction exposed attachment to earthly comforts, a subtle form of bondage that makes one unfit for service, especially in a day of decline. The three hundred merely tasted what was needed to continue, like the Lord Jesus; “He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head” (Psa. 110:7). Gideon was to set aside those who didn’t have a single eye for work of a soldier.
7 And Jehovah said to Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and give Midian into thy hand; and let all the people go every man to his place. 8 And they took the victuals of the people in their hand, and their trumpets; and all the men of Israel he sent away, every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
vv.7-8 The Majority Dismissed. Jehovah selected the three hundred who lapped the water and sent the rest back to their tents, making it unmistakable that deliverance would be by God alone and not by human strength or numbers. We have to get this though our heads: numbers are not everything! These three-hundred men retained both the trumpets and food. The trumpets represent the Word of God as God’s voice, as we see in Numbers 10:1-10, where trumpets were used for gathering (Judges 6:34), journeying, battle, and offerings. The trumpets were to Israel what the Word of God is to believers today. The provisions would speak to us of spiritual sustenance. It is remarkable that when we were introduced to Gideon he was threshing wheat by the winepress, and now those who follow him have provisions in their hand! We need both if we are to overcome the enemy: the Word of God as divine directive for our pathway, and as the food for our souls.
God Strengthens Gideon’s Faith Before the Battle (7:9-15)
9 And it came to pass in that night, that Jehovah said to him, Arise, go down to the camp; for I have given it into thy hand. 10 And if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the camp; 11 and thou shalt hear what they say; and afterwards shall thy hand be strengthened, and thou shalt go down unto the camp. And he went down with Phurah his servant to the outside of the armed men that were in the camp. 12 And Midian and Amalek and all the children of the east lay along in the valley as locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand upon the sea-shore for multitude.
vv.9-12 The Lord Instructs Gideon. Jehovah then instructed Gideon to go down to the camp of Midian, but graciously provides a concession “if” he feared. He could take Phurah his servant and hear what the enemy says, after which his hands would be strengthened (vv.9-11). Note that Gideon still had fear, and scripture is transparent in recording it. Gideon accepts this humbling word without protest, acknowledging that in himself he is no better than the fearful 22,000 who had returned. It is unexpected that God would strengthen His servant by first bringing him face to face with the enemy’s apparent greatness! This encouragement would come before the battle, as God would privately strengthen His servant prior to public action. The aim of this was that Gideon’s faith would rest on divine assurance rather than self-confidence or opportunism.
13 And Gideon came, and behold, a man was telling a dream to his fellow; and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley-bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it; and the tent lay along. 14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, the man of Israel: God hath given into his hand Midian and all the host.
vv.13-14 Gideon Overhears the Dream. Gideon overheard a Midianite recounting a dream of a cake of barley bread overturning a tent, which his fellow interpreted as “the sword of Gideon the son of Joash”, into whose hand God had delivered Midian (vv.13-14). God uses a despised instrument to show that deliverance is by His power, not human strength: it was barley bread, the food of the poor, insignificant in itself, but quite fitting to the faithful thresher of ch.6. In this dream, Gideon learned both his own weakness and also the assured collapse of the enemy. Midian was already defeated in God’s purpose! This knowledge gives the believer courage: Satan is a defeated foe! “That through death he might destroy [or, annul] him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14). It is remarkable that food, not a weapon, overthrows the enemy. If we recall, Midian represents strife that the enemy uses to rob the Lord’s people of spiritual food. Feeding upon Christ in weakness is God’s means of victory. The enemy fears a people cast wholly upon God rather than confident in themselves.
15 And it came to pass when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshipped. And he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, Arise; for Jehovah hath given into your hand the camp of Midian.
v.15 The Impact on Gideon. When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshipped God and returned to the camp of Israel with confidence that the Lord had delivered Midian into their hand (v.15). This moment marks Gideon’s faith resting wholly in God. The Lord way of strengthening our faith is not of pumping us up, but of making us smaller in our own eyes and God greater. This assurance produced worship before action: a proper order.
The Surprise and Victory Over Midian (7:16-25)
16 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, and empty pitchers, and torches within the pitchers. 17 And he said to them, Look on me, and do likewise; behold, when I come to the extremity of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. 18 And when I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, ye also shall blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shall say, For Jehovah and for Gideon! 19 And Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came to the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch; and they blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and broke in pieces the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hand, and the trumpets in their right hand for blowing, and cried, The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon!
vv.16-20 Detailed Instructions Given and Followed. Gideon further divided the three hundred men into three companies and equipped each man with a trumpet, an empty pitcher, and a lamp within the pitcher (vv.16-17). Dividing the 300 again by three is a further demonstration that the victory would be from God. Nevertheless the 300 would act unitedly when the moment came. The hand-held items define the character of the believer’s testimony: the trumpet represents the Word of God, the empty pitcher signifies the weakness of the human vessel, and the lamp speaks of the life of Christ displayed when the vessel is broken. We have all three of these in 2 Cor. 4. First, the trumpet, “not walking in deceit, nor falsifying the word of God, but by manifestation of the truth… if also our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in those that are lost” (vv.2-3). Second, the clay pitcher, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassingness of the power may be of God, and not from us”. Third, the lamp shining out of the vessel broken by self denial, “that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body” (v.10) and broken by trials, “that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (v.11). This was not a normal way to conduct a battle. Victory would not come through human weapons or skill, but through obedience to God’s instructions, so that the power might be clearly of the Lord and not of man. The men act in complete dependence, standing where they are placed and doing exactly what they are commanded, showing that God’s method requires submission and obedience.
21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried out, and fled. 22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and Jehovah set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout the camp. And the host fled to Beth-shittah towards Zererah, to the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.
vv.21-22 The Lord Brings the Victory. The three hundred stood every man in his place around the camp, blowing the trumpets, breaking the pitchers, and holding the lamps, while the host of Midian ran, cried, and fled (vv.21-22). The three hundred with bright lights against the black backdrop of the middle watch, with trumpet blasts in the quiet night, surrounding the enemy hosts, had a profound effect. Israel’s victory is accomplished without combat; the enemy turned every man’s sword against his fellow, showing that the deliverance was entirely Jehovah’s work. Often when strife comes in among the people of God, the way God eventually deals with it, is that the agents self-destruct. The simple cry, “The sword of Jehovah, and of Gideon”, united God’s power with a servant who had learned his own nothingness. Everything is in the preparation: the conflict itself is easy, because it was God acting directly, and the enemy collapsed without effort.
23 And the men of Israel were called together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after Midian. 24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters unto Beth-barah, and the Jordan. And all the men of Ephraim were called together, and took the waters unto Beth-barah, and the Jordan. 25 And they took two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb; and they pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.
vv.23-25 The Pursuit and Completion. After the Midianite host was put to flight, the men of Israel were gathered from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh to pursue the enemy (v.23). While faith does not depend on numbers to win the battle, God brings in others once the enemy is manifestly defeated, so that the victory may be made complete. The Lord had told Gideon in ch.6 that he would smite the Midianites as one man. Israel would be united in this victory. Gideon also sent messengers to Ephraim to seize the fords of Jordan, cutting off the retreat of Midian (v.24), showing his desire that the enemy be fully judged and not merely scattered to become a problem later. So, we see that those who had not shared in the initial actions are now drawn in to take part in the pursuit. The faithful action of a few awakens energy in others! The result was the capture and execution of the princes Oreb and Zeeb, and the thorough overthrow of Midian’s power (v.25).