GIDEON - THE JUDGE WHO NEEDED SIGNS - Part 4 (Judges 7:8-8:3)
INTRODUCTION:
When we last left Gideon, he was in the midst of an internal battle. The LORD had just reduced Gideon’s army of 32,000 men down to a measly 300 men to go against a vast army on camels. The internal battle that Gideon is waging is the same battle he had waged at the onset of each task God had given him to do, this is a battle between faith and fear. The fear was that what he might have accomplished with 32,000 men was utterly hopeless with 300 men. How could a force this small defeat the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the sons of the east that were spread out in the valley below him? The other side of this battle was faith in what God had promised, He had promised to deliver Midian and their allies into Gideon’s hand. The LORD had promised to be with Gideon and if the LORD is on your side, it did not matter the size of your army, with a large or a small army the LORD would defeat the enemy. This is the battle that Gideon was waging as the night grew darker around him. I do not think that Gideon was sleeping as this battle took place within him, could he trust the LORD to do what He said He would do? This was the question that had to be answered. Let’s pray and get into our passage for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Judges 7:8-8:3, our passage for this morning. If you are able, please stand, in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Judges 7:8-8:3,
“So the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. Now the same night it came about that the Lord said to him, ‘Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands. But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp, and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp.’ So he went with Purah his servant down to the outposts of the army that was in the camp. Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, ‘Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.’ His friend replied, ‘This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.’ When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, ‘Arise, for the Lord has given the camp of Midian into your hands.’ He divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers. He said to them, ‘Look at me and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. When I and all who are with me blow the trumpet, then you also blow the trumpets all around the camp and say, “For the Lord and for Gideon.”’ So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. When the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and cried, ‘A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!’ Each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled. When they blew 300 trumpets, the Lord set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. The men of Israel were summoned from Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian. Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, ‘Come down against Midian and take the waters before them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.’ So all the men of Ephraim were summoned and they took the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. They captured the two leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb, while they pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from across the Jordan. Then the men of Ephraim said to him, ‘What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?’ And they contended with him vigorously. But 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? God has given the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb into your hands; and what was I able to do in comparison with you?’ Then their anger toward him subsided when he said that.” (Judges 7:8–8:3, NASB95)[1]
FAITH OVER FEAR (Judges 7:8-14)
Our passage opens on the night before battle, a night of little sleep for those facing battle the next day. It is one of those nights that seems to last forever and the tension of those involved in this wait seems to be continually building to the point of almost breaking or bursting. It seems the wait will never be over. This is where we find Gideon at the beginning of this passage, the enemy camp is spread out in the valley below him, but he cannot see it because it is dark. I want you to take note of what this first verse of this passage says, the very last phrase of this verse, “…and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.” (Judges 7:8b, NASB95)[2] It does not say that the enemy camp was below them, but below him, referring to Gideon. This speaks of great loneliness; Gideon feels all alone even though there are three hundred men around him trying to sleep. Gideon is alone in his thoughts wondering how this is all going to turn out, with that internal battle between faith and fear raging within him. Nights were not a good time for Gideon, and on this particular night he was alone and scared, very scared about his next move.
When Gideon has felt like this before, unsure, and afraid, he had asked God for a sign, but this night he is silent, alone with his thoughts and his fear is beginning to win out over his faith. The LORD is fully aware of Gideon’s inner turmoil and the fear that is beginning to take over and it is at this time that God intervenes again and does something to strength Gideon’s faith before Gideon even has a chance to ask for another sign. We read, “Now the same night it came about that the Lord said to him, ‘Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands. But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp, and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp.’ So he went with Purah his servant down to the outposts of the army that was in the camp.” (Judges 7:9–11, NASB95)[3] The LORD suddenly interrupts Gideon’s thoughts and tells him it is time to rouse his 300 men because God has given Midian into his hand. After giving this command God addresses both Gideon’s fear and loneliness, He tells him that if he is afraid then he is to take his faithful servant Purah and sneak down to the enemy camp for a little reconnaissance mission. The LORD promises that Gideon will hear the enemy saying something that will strengthen his hands to do what God has called him to do. Notice that Gideon did not tell the LORD that he was afraid or that he felt all alone, the LORD already knew and gives Gideon the opportunity to confront the very thing he is afraid of, the enemy camp in the valley below him and God tells him to take Purah with him so that he is not alone.
Gideon and Purah crept down into the valley and as they arrive at the outskirts of the enemy camp and Gideon looks around, he sees that the enemy is everywhere, they cover the valley floor like a locust plague and the camels are innumerable, like the sand on the seashore. Camels are a frightening thing to men on foot and this camp is filled with thousands of them. Just put yourself in Gideon’s sandals again and imagine what was running through his mind as he surveyed this enormous hoard with all their camels. It was all he had dreaded and more. But they crept on because the LORD had promised that they would hear something that would strengthen Gideon. Gideon and Purah snuck into the camp under the cover of darkness and suddenly they hear voices in the tent nearest to them, they quietly crawl a little closer to hear what is being said and they get close enough to hear this conversation taking place between two enemy soldiers. Verses 13-14 describe this scene for us, “When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, ‘Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.’ His friend replied, ‘This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.’” (Judges 7:13–14, NASB95)[4]
Gideon learns from this is that not all things are as they seem, because some of the Midianites are frightened too. They seem to believe the very thing that Gideon himself has been finding so hard to believe; God has given the whole Midianite camp into his hand. Why these men identify this barley cake with Gideon is not clearly known, barley was the cheapest of the grains most often used for animal fodder, but also used to make bread by those stricken by poverty which described Israel after the seven years of plundering. How they even knew who Gideon was is a mystery to us, they knew his name, his father’s name and that he was an Israelite. But it is because they know who he is that this dream is not just dismissed as absurd. It is ridiculous is it not? A loaf of barley bread tumbles into camp and hits a tent and bam it is destroyed! But it is the very absurdity of the dream that unnerves them. For some reason they were already in a state of heightened anxiety and this dream to them is an omen telling them they are doomed and cannot win because the rules have been changed. They are doomed because their sheer number of people and their strength has become irrelevant. The God of Israel is with Gideon and not with them. They cannot beat Him and, of course, they are right.
That little barley loaf is Gideon. Remember when we first met him, he was hiding in his father’s wine press trying to thresh some grain. By his own admission he was the youngest of his father’s sons and they belonged to the weakest clan. Isn’t he the one who has just tumbled down into the valley, in all his weakness to the Midianite camp, to the very tent where these two men were sleeping? As God had promised Gideon heard exactly what he needed to strengthen his hands. God had again extended His grace to Gideon and reassured him in his weakness, and this is another turning point in Gideon’s struggle to be the man God has called him to be. His faith has again won out over his fear.
FAITH IS THE VICTORY (Judges 7:15-23)
As we come at last to the climax of this event in the life of Gideon, we find Gideon on his knees. This is without a doubt Gideon’s greatest moment, it is the true turning point in his life thus far. It has taken us a long time to get here. Remember it all began with Gideon challenging God (“…if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13a, NASB95)[5]). Then he made excuses (“O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” (Judges 6:15, NASB95)[6]) He has doubted that God would keep His promises and he has tested God by repeatedly asking for signs. His fear has been in conflict with his faith from the beginning. All of that is behind him now and in verse 15 we find him on his knees worshipping the LORD. He worships before going out to do what God has had in mind from the beginning. This is Gideon’s ah-ha moment, and he is completely surrendered to the will of God. There is no more struggle, instead there is just sheer amazement at what God has done. Gideon worships in awe of God and is so grateful to Him.
When Gideon rises from worship it is like he is a different person and in truth he is and in the verses that follow there are several things about this new Gideon that are impressive. First, he gives all the glory to God. He returns to the Israelite camp and rouses the 300 men that God has given him for the battle. He goes to them with a message, “Arise, for the Lord has given the camp of Midian into your hands.” (Judges 7:15b, NASB95)[7] It is important to notice a couple of things in this message, first, notice “your hands” plural and second, “the LORD has given” past tense. This is Gideon’s message to his 300 men. God has done something that makes all the difference to our situation; God has gone before us, and He has won the battle even before we begin to fight. Gideon does not mention himself at all because he wants his men’s confidence to be grounded where his own is, in the LORD alone. This is the LORD’s battle and Gideon is determined even before it has begun to give the glory to God.
Second, Gideon acts like a leader. In verse 17 he tells his men, “Look at me and do likewise… when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do.” (Judges 7:17b, NASB95)[8] He gathers and leads his men, those for whom God has made him responsible and he does this by example. He goes with them and before them, just as God has gone with and before him. This is the mark of a true leader.
Third, he shows himself to be very resourceful. He has only 300 men, so he is vastly outnumbered, knowing this he must determine what is the best way to deploy these 300 men. Gideon’s plan is to make them look like a larger army than they truly are. Take advantage of the night, make the most of the uneasiness that is in the camp. Come upon them when they least expect it. Stampede them by waking them suddenly with blinding light and deafening sound. Attack while they are still in disarray, chase them and cut them down before they have the chance to regroup. No doubt torches covered with clay jars are strange pieces of equipment to carry into battle but the willingness of these 300 to do this, shows that they share their leaders radical trust in God, as their battle cry also shows, “For the LORD and for Gideon.” (Judges 7:18b, NASB95)[9] Nowhere are we told that this was a strategy that was revealed to Gideon by God, it seems that it is just Gideon’s natural leadership ability being put into God’s hands for His use and it is used to bring all the glory to God alone. This resourcefulness is great and produced a great battle plan, but even this would not have been enough to deliver Israel if God had not gone before them and intervened at the critical moment to make this victory possible. Verse 22 tells us of God’s intervention, “When they blew 300 trumpets, the Lord set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.” (Judges 7:22, NASB95)[10] So in the end it was not Gideon’s battle plan that saved Israel, but God’s commitment to His promise to be with Gideon and give him the victory. Gideon’s renewed faith in God proved that God is faithful to His promises.
FAITH IN THE VICTORY (Judges 7:24-8:3)
Gideon continues to show good leadership by using this victory to his advantage. The battle was won from the moment that God intervened, but Gideon knows that one battle does not make a war and that God’s intervention does not release him from his responsibility to make the most of what God has given him. There is nothing strange about Gideon’s strategy now. The place names that are given in verse 22 are not all places that are known today but enough to know that the Midianites and their allies were fleeing in a southeast direction toward the Jordon River. So, Gideon calls out the army that he had sent back to their tents to help pursue the enemy and sends messengers into Ephraim to call reinforcements to cut off the Midianites at the fording places along the Jordon. Remember Ehud had done this with great success when the Moabites tried to flee back to Moab. This time it is not quite as effective as some do escape. Even with those who escaped across the Jordon, the enemy forces had been decisively beaten and driven out of Israel’s heartland. This decisive victory is sealed with the capture and execution of two Midianite princes or commanders, Oreb and Zeeb. Their heads are presented to Gideon and the places where each was executed was named after them to commemorate their defeat, the rock of Oreb and the winepress of Zeeb. Gideon received his call to deliver Israel from the hand of Midian at one winepress and is given tokens of his victory near another winepress, the winepress of Zeeb.
There is one final leadership quality that is seen in Gideon’s life and that quality is to know when to fight and to know when to make peace. A great victory has been won but the men of Ephraim are not happy. They are angry with Gideon that he had not called them to arms when he had first called out for men to gather to him. If you remember that initial call to arms in chapter six Gideon only called out those tribes that bordered the Jezreel valley. Gideon did not call them until after the midnight attack on the enemy’s camp was over and the enemy was in a headlong flight toward the Jordan. It is not clear why they were not called out in the beginning, was it because they were farther south, was it just an oversight on Gideon’s part, was it a deliberate snub, or was it a decision made for strategic purposes, so they would be there when the enemy fled, they were in the ideal place just to the south of Manasseh to cut off the enemy by taking the river which is what Gideon called upon them to do. The men of Ephraim had definitely taken it as a snub and they were clearly angry as seen in the words of chapter 8, verse 1 that they contended with Gideon vigorously. Gideon understands that this argument is nothing more than who comes out of this looking better, he also knows that this is not worth fighting about. So, with great wisdom Gideon makes peace by reminding the men of Ephraim that they had the honor of capturing and executing the two enemy princes or commanders. He does this by stating that the gleanings of Ephraim’s grape harvest, which is the picking of what is left over after the initial harvest is better than the initial harvest of Abiezer. In other words, what has Gideon done in comparison to the men of Ephraim capturing and executing Oreb and Zeeb. Gideon’s words talk the men of Ephraim down and their anger subsides, and peace is restored. A situation like this, if handled well can enhance rather than detract from a leader’s stature, and Gideon has the wisdom to know this.
Gideon’s leadership qualities in this passage are very impressive. What we must understand as we look at this, is this did not come about because of great self-belief or determination to succeed on Gideon’s part, he is not a self-made man. Rather these qualities are a testimony to God’s perseverance with someone who knew himself to be inadequate, who doubted again and again that God would do what He promised to do through him, but when at last he recognized the greatness and goodness of God this released all his potential and allowed him to become the leader that the LORD always intended him to be.
CONCLUSION:
We have watched in these two chapters as God with great patience and abundant grace has shaped the leader that Gideon has become. When we read a Biblical narrative, it is much like listening to one instrument instead of a whole orchestra, as we listen to the whole orchestra the blend of the instruments produces a beautiful harmony of sounds. In this same way the whole canon of Scripture captures and blends together each part to produce the rich harmony of the whole, so that when we read it there is a richness of meaning greater than that of any part that we read alone, separate from all the rest.
One passage that clearly harmonizes with the event that we just looked at is Hebrews 11:32-34, where Gideon is mentioned among the members in the hall of faith. What we see in Gideon when he is at his best is the faith that Hebrews 11 is all about. The confidence in God that makes a man sure of what he hopes for and certain of what he cannot see, as this faith chapter defines faith for us in verse one. When Gideon rises from his knees after hearing the dream in the enemy camp, he hasn’t yet seen Midian defeated. But he has seen the awesome power of God, and he is no longer afraid. He is free to attempt the impossible by relying on the promises that God has made to him. Out of weakness he was made strong, became mighty in war, and putting foreign armies to flight as Hebrews 11:34 says. And Gideon did all this through faith, the author of Hebrews tells us. The history surrounding Gideon may have been about leadership, but the greater theme that was underlying everything else was faith and moving from a place of lack of faith to a faith that was fully surrendered to the will of God.
One other passage that I believe harmonizes beautifully with the history of Gideon was our Scripture reading today from 2 Corinthians 4:5-7 which reads, and I am reading from the ESV, “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (2 Corinthians 4:5–7, ESV)[11] I do not know if the apostle Paul had Judges 7 in mind when he penned these words, but I do know that his words resonate with it on many levels. Paul in 2 Corinthians is writing about a fight that we are all involved in, a fight we are sure to lose unless God helps us. The strategy in this battle, too, is strength in weakness, breakable clay jars with something special inside and light shining out of darkness. God works this way so that when victories happen it is apparent to all that “the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7b, ESV)[12] A godly leader is someone who is aware of his own weaknesses but knows that it is no hindrance or barrier to God’s working through him. And what is that treasure that is hidden in our jars of clay? “…the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6b, ESV)[13] All that is needed for it to shine forth is for us to be willing to be broken in His service, to become nothing that He may be everything.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.
[12]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.
[13]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.