Judges 7-8 A Trumpet, A Torch, and a Test

Intro:

Two weeks ago we started looking at Gideon

He was threshing wheat in a winepress when the Angel of the Lord appeared to him

The Angel called him a mighty man of valor

I’ve always seen Gideon as the Zacheus of the OT

Zacheus was a wee little man in a tree

Gideon was from the smallest clan of the smallest tribe

God called him to lead Israel in battle against the Midianites

Gideon wasn’t sure and tested god twice with the fleece

A faith that can’t be tested can’t be trusted.

Too often, what people think is faith is really only a “warm fuzzy feeling” about faith or perhaps just “faith in faith.”

J.G. Stipe said that faith is like a toothbrush: Everybody should have one and use it regularly, but it isn’t safe to use somebody else’s.

We can sing loudly about the “Faith of Our Fathers,” but we can’t exercise the faith of our fathers.

We can follow men and women of faith and share in their exploits, but we can’t succeed in our own personal lives by depending on somebody else’s faith.

God tests our faith for at least two reasons: first, to show us whether our faith is real or counterfeit, and second, to strengthen our faith for the tasks He’s set before us.

After God was patient with Gideon’s lack of faith, he tells gather the armies to go to battle

Tonight we are going to look at that battle

Read Judges 7:1-4

I. Thinning the Troops vs. 1-8

Gideon takes his troops and camps by the spring of Harod

The Valley of Jezreel is the big valley that has the Sea of Galilee and all the surrounding cities

This valley is the future scene of the battle of Armageddon

Gideon lived near the north east corner near Lebanon and Jordan

The Midianites were camped on the other side of a pass

Gideon had gathered 32,000 soldiers and impressive number

It still compared in number who were numbered to Locust and camels without number (vs. 12)

Around 135,000 troops

Judges 8:10 ESV

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.

So you can imagine what Gideon is thinking when God says there are too many

God has a reason for doing this

He doesn’t want the people to say “My own hand has saved me.”

This is one of the biggest challenges to our faith

My own hand verses the hand of God

So God tells Gideon to send anyone home that is afraid

22,000 soldiers leave

Two-thirds of his army desserts him

He is left with 10,000 troops

Gideon’s faith is being tested

It is then Gideon should’ve expected a pep talk from God, but God says, “Nope, still too many”

Vs. 4 Take them to the water and I will test them

Those who lap the water like a dog set apart

7:5–6. styles of drinking water. Those who drink water in a kneeling position with their heads in the water to lap it up are (1) an easy target, (2) unaware of any enemy movement while they drink, and (3) susceptible to leeches. The alternative is to lie down flat (where one presents less of a target) and to keep alert, bringing water to the mouth while continuing to look around.

Those who kneel down were targets for the enemy

But those who laid down and lapped it up with their hand were to stay

9,700 soldiers were sent home

vs. 7 God tells Gideon that with the 300 men I will give you the Midianites into your hand

Talk about testing your faith

He takes those 300 men and sends the rest to their tent

This is all about God getting the glory in saving Israel

They hadn’t admitted their wrongdoing in worshipping other idols

They cried out for help, so it would be God who would help them

II. Gideon Promise vs. 9-18

That night God tells Gideon to go down and defeat the Midianites for He has given it into his hand

But God gives him an option

He tells Gideon to go down into the camp if he is afraid

He will be strengthened by what he hears

Lets be honest

If your troops were reduced from 32,000 to 300 in one day fear is going to play a huge factor

We don’t know what God would’ve done if Gideon had gone right then, but he didn’t

So Gideon and Purah, his assistant go to spy on the camp

First, Gideon sees troops and camels that are like the locust and numbered as many as the sands on the shore

As they sneak up to a tent a man is telling another about a dream

A huge cake rolled into camp and struck his tent and the tent lay flat

The comrade immediately says that God has give Gideon into Midian into his hand

Never underestimate how god is working behind the scenes

He can use dreams to invoke fear into the

As soon as Gideon hears the interpretation he worshipped the Lord

Motivated, he returns to the camp and tells everyone to get ready for battle

The Lord has given Midian into your hand

He then divides the camp into three groups

He gives each soldier a trumpet, empty jars with torches inside

Not the weapons you would expect, but it is about God rescuing his people

Faith always demands you be open to the impossible and improbable

Need 300 soldiers to defeat a massive army?

Give them a trumpet and a lamp

Faith demands that you be trust God

Gideon tells them when I blow the trumpet you do the same and shout “For the Lord and Gideon.”

A surprise attack coupled with fear over Gideon produces panic

III. Defeat of Midian vs. 19-25

Lets set the stage

There were four watches at night, each 3 hours long

The first started at dusk or 6 PM

The middle watch was at 12 AM

They had just changed the guard and the rest of the soldiers were fast asleep

God planned an ambush when they least expected it

The soldiers were just getting into a deep sleep so they would be disoriented

The sound of trumpets and being surrounded by lights would give the impression of a massive army

The fear of Gideon spreading through the camp made the Midianites panic

As soon as they hear the trumpets the Midianites ran and fled as far as Beth-shittah about six miles away

As soon as the armies are on the run Gideon calls to Ephraim to come down and help capture the waters

Capture the waters meant to control the crossings of the Jordan rive

When people flee you can contain them by controlling the bridges

Ephraim was able to capture and execute the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb

I don’t know why but every time I read Oreb I start craving Oreo’s

Ephraim ended up being a great assist to Gideon, but they weren’t part of God’s initial plans

This is going to end up being a problem

IV. Rejected at Succoth vs. 1-17

Ephraim was a little torked that Gideon didn’t call them

He could’ve told them cell coverage wasn’t that good in the valley of Moreb

They accused him fiercely

We don’t know why they were so angry

We can assume but we don’t know

The important issue is how Gideon responds

That is what God wants us to know

Gideon gives a soft answer

Proverbs 15:1 ESV

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Gideon never got too big for his britches

He understands that Ephraim is the mighty tribe

He uses a grape harvest as an example

Gleanings were for poor people

The gleanings were greater than the harvest of Abiezer

He then says that God gave the princes into their hands

This appeases their anger

One thing you need to understand is that there will often be distractions and trip wires in the middle of doing God’s work

Proceed softly

vs. 4 shows Gideon getting to the Jordan with his 300 men exhausted and hungry

They asked them men of Succoth for some bread

They were pursuing after the kings of Midian

Succoth wasn’t going to risk angering the Kings of Midian if they escaped Gideon

Those kings would destroy Succoth

They hedged their bets and denied Gideon

They uses the phrase are the hands of the kings in your hands

Victorious generals would cut off the hands of proof of victory

This didn’t make Gideon happy and he told them when he defeated the kings he would come back and flail them with thorns

Next, Gideon went to Penuel and met the same response

Gideon told them he would tear down their tower

Iron Age sites did often feature such towers as part of their fortifications.

For example, excavations have shown that the town of Succoth had such a tower at the end of the judges period that was almost twenty-five feet in diameter.

Such towers could be part of the gate structure, lookout posts along the walls, or, more frequently in this period, inner citadels in the area of the local shrine.

This was probably a tower of protection that Penuel took great pride

Gideon then pursues Zebah and Zalamunna

They are holed up in Karkor with 15,000 men after 120,000 died

300 men are striking fear into 15,000

vs. 11 Gideon goes up by the way of Nobah, a nomads trail

It wasn’t used for regular traffic

This catches the troops off guard and the kings flee

He captures the kings and heads back towards home

vs. 13 ascent of Heres

Heres means sun and we can assume this was a nomad’s trail again

He did this to catch the elders of Succoth off guard

He catches a young man and he writes down the 77 elders names

Gideon goes to Succoth and the hands of the kings are in Gideons hands, except the whole body is accompany them

He takes the elders and the thorns of the wilderness

We can assume that he killed them along with the men of Penuel

V. Rise Yourself vs. 18-21

Now Gideon has to deal with the kings of Midian

He accuses them of killing the men of Tabor

There is no reference by the writer of Judges what this is referring to

The kings say they looked like the son of a king

Gideon says they were his brothers

If they had spared them they would be spared but now they have to die

He tells his young son to arise and kills the kings

This was a great honor

Execution with a sword can be very drawn-out and painful if the executioner does not know where to strike or lacks the strength or confidence to drive the sword home.

Although it was an honor that Gideon offered to his son, it is easy to understand why the kings would prefer a skilled and practiced hand to do the job.

Gideon kills them and takes the camel ornament off of their necks

VI. Gideon’s Ephod vs. 22-35