Judges Chapter 8 Part One (Verses 1-12)

PURSUING AFTER MIDIAN
A. Gideon battles Midianite kings and contentious Israelites

1. (Judges 8:1-3) Ephraim's complaint and Gideon's answer
Then the men of Ephraim said to him, "What is this that 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 subsided when he said that.

The men of Ephraim: The tribe of Ephraim enjoyed a status of supremacy over all the other tribes of Israel, at least of the northern tribes as again we do not see mentioned the southern tribes Judah and Simeon. This stemmed from the fact that Ephraim was given the special birthright priveleges not only over his older brother Manessah, but even over his uncle Reuben. Jacob's deathbed blessing back in Egypt was more than a hope. Ephraim was indeed fulfilling the Genesis chapter 49 prophecy that Joseph (Ephraim's father) would become very fruitful.

"Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a spring;
Its branches run over a wall.
The archers bitterly attacked him,
And shot at him and harassed him;
But his bow remained firm,
And his arms were agile,
From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
From the God of your father who helps you,
And by the Almighty who blesses you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
The blessings of your father
have surpassed the blessing of my ancestors
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills;
May they be be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers."
(Genesis 49:22-26)                                                                                                             

Ephraim controlled fertile fields, lush hulls and had grown into a large and powerful tribe. Other tribes deferred to them. Gideon (being of the tribe of Manasseh) did the same. 

What is this that you have done to us: In verse one, we have the leaders of Ephraim coming to Gideon with a complaint--they want to know why they were not called to fight Midian. Right. I am sure Ephraim had an idea that a major war was happening just a stone's throw from their territory. Ephraim's feelings are hurt. Gideon had just risk everything to rid the land of these invaders, and the leaders of Ephraim are mad because Gideon broke protocol. 

It is easy to forget that we are reading Scripture and that the people are real human beings in real situations. The Ephraimites responded in a completely customary way for their particular culture during this time in history. Ephraim was the big dog in Israel. The leaders of Ephraim expected to not only be personally consulted before any grand undertakings near their territory, but they also wanted to have their place at the head of the line when it came time for the victory.

(Shiloh and Bethel were undoubtedly two of the most revered and hallowed places for all of Israel, and they were both in Ephraim's territory. So, even the religious centers bore Ephraim's mark.)

There was also another reason for Ephraim's sharp rebuke of Gideon: 135,000 soldiers plus their families leave a lot of spoils of war behind when they flee. And more is acquired when they are captured. Understand that robbery, kidnapping, victory in battle and projection of power were usually the methods used in tribal societies to gain wealth and authority. It was always a zero-sum game. One tribe gained because they took it from another tribe. Back and forth it went over the centuries. As some tribes became more settled and became stable nations (as Israel was in the process of doing), they became less predatory among each other and more interested in producing than pilfering. Other societies of the Middle and Far East remained nomads; thus, they behaved like locust, consuming anything and everything they could find.

What have I done now in comparison with you: Gideon proves to be a wise man and responds to the Epraimite leaders' accusations with a soft and diplomatic response. He uses typical farm language to curry favor. He says that the leftover grapes on the vines of Ephraim are better than the best crops of Abiezer. (Abiezer is Gideon's clan.) He is saying that even though it might seem that the full harvet of Gideon's victory over Midian WITHOUT the help of Ephraim is greater, in fact the mop-up operations (the seeming gleanings of leftovers of the harvest) of Ephraim were the most important thing. Full and complete victory would have been impossible without Ephraim. The part played by Ephraim, although it was not spectacular and widely known, was the real reason for ultimate success. Gideon was essentially helping Ephraim save-face and thus avert a serious insult that almost assuredly would have led to inter-tribal warfare.

God has given the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb into your hands: Gideon reminds Ephraim that is was they who had the glory of capturing and executing those two leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. It worked. Ephraim was given their glory and undoubtedly MANY pounds of silver and gold. Gideon publicly submitted to them, so Ephraim did not have their status challenged, and they calmed down. 


2. (Judges 8:4-9) The sins of Succoth and Penuel  
Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing. He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me, for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian." The leaders of Succoth said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?" Gideon said, "All right, when the LORD has give Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thrash your bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers." He went up from there to Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. So he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, "When I return safely, I will tear down this tower."

Then Gideon and the 300 men: Beginning in verse four, we find Gideon and his band of 300 men giving chase to the fleeing nomads. Gideon was doing exactly as he should. He was doing what Joshua and Joshua's successors failed to do--to take the battle all the way to the enemy's front door if necessary. They did not quit until the enemy was eradicated.

Brief interlude about evil
It is an odd thing among Christians: we talk and speak glowingly of when Messiah will return and evil will end. It is as though this will be some relatively painless, humane and sanitary event. The discussion about evil is often summed up into people talking about "he who is without sin throw the first stone", or some other platitude which essentially relegates evil from reality to a wispy theory, and not what it actually is.

One of the reasons the Old Testament is often detested is that some see it as all about a blood thirsty God who orders His followers to carry out a process of bringing evil to justice in a final and harsh way. We cannot seem to grasp that evil is only present and active in two forms: spiritual beings and human beings. Evil is not a thing that stands by itself nor is it something that can be bottled and placed in a museum for study. Evil only exists within beings that have wills. Rocks are not evil. Oceans are not evil. Meteors which strike the earth are not evil. Trees and plants are not evil. Hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires and volcanoes are not evil. On the earthly side ONLY humans are evil. On the spiritual side only satan and his demons are evil.

What I am getting at is that the eradication of evil by definition MEANS the eradication of evil people and eventually of the spiritual Evil One. But understand, if Satan died today, humans would still carry an evil inclination and still do evil things. Even though with no Satan to tempt or accuse, over the 1000-year reign of Messiah, some men will give in to evil because they still have vestiges of the evil inclination remaining in their corrupt bodies. It will only be when receive new bodies to go along with out new spirits will the evil which dwells in humanity be eradicated.

Throughout the Torah, God has defined for us what it is which makes people "evil". It is all wrapped up in what they are, whom they worship and how they behave.

The next time you ponder why a Messiah was needed, remember what evil is and where it exists. When you think about the horror of a lawful execution or police shooting and killing a dangerous person, remember that what is being dealt with is evil in its physical form. Thus, it is our sad duty before God to deal harshly with evil, which means dealing severely with people who are evil. Gideon was doing exactly what the LORD'S agreement was. It is something that should still be happening today, especially as it concerns His reborn State of Israel and those who would take it from His people.

Please give loaves of bread to the people: Since the 300 elite troops of Gideon did not have the usual retinue of some women and children bringing up the rear with supplies and food, they would have to forage as they tracked down the remnants of the Midianite invaders. They stopped at a town called Succoth and asked for food as they were tired and famished. Gideon explained what they were doing and the leaders of Succoth declined to help. The leaders would not give the customary (and required) hospitality of a meal and rest. The residents of Succoth were Israelites, which made this offense all the worse. Gideon would see to it that this offense was not forgotten.

Here is the picture we need to get from this so that we can understand the condition of Israel at this time in history. The three Israelite tribes residing on the east side of the Jordan River had taken yet another step away from their former unity with their brothers who lived on the west side of the Jordan River. Reuben, Gad and half the clan of Manasseh no longer had any sense of brotherhood with the other 9 and a half tribes, and they certainly felt no obligation to assist their brothers. They were closer in mindset and allegiance to those "children of the east" who Gideon was chasing than as family of the pursuers.

I will thrash your bodies with the thorns of the wilderness: Gideon says when he returns, there would be severe punishment. Exactly what that punishment was to be (as explained in verse seven) is not entirely clear. They may have intended to drag the offenders over thorn bushes like a sled over a threshing floor. Or perhaps they were going to use thorn branches like small whips to tear the flesh off their bodies. The Hebrew word translated here as "thrash" is more normally used to mean "thresh" like threshing wheat. In any case, an unpleasant fate awaited those unpatriotic Israelites when Gideon had finished off the enemy.

At Penuel, Gideon made the same request, and the leaders at Penuel gave the same answer. Penuel had built a watchtower that was well known and important to their survival. Gideon said he would punish Penuel's treason by destroying the tower.

Succoth and Penuel: Succoth was located in the tribal territory of Gad. The town of Penuel was located about five miles east of Succoth.

Penuel means "face of God" and is associated with Jacob's infamous wrestling with God after he flees Laban. It is at Penuel where God gives Jacob the name Israel. (See Genesis 32:24-32 for more details.) Succoth means booths or shelters. Immediately following Jacob's incident with God, he meets his bother Esau. Succoth is the place where Jacob rests after meeting his brother Esau. (See Genesis 33:1-17 for more details.) I am not exactly sure if these two places have any meaning to Gideon's story, but I see it as God sending the message, "The face of God (Penuel) give shelter (Succoth)." Gideon was called by God to deliver Israel. Penuel and Succoth should have recognized this and should have helped God's representative defeat the enemy. Both these towns in the Trans-Jordan were around 50 miles from the main battle sight in the Jezreel Valley. So, Gideon's men had reason to be hungry and tired.


3. (Judges 8:10-12) Two Midianite kings and their armies are routed 
Now Zebah and Zalminna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about 15,000 men, all who were left of the entire army of the sons of the east; for the fallen were 120,000 swordsmen. Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east side of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the camp when the camp was unsuspecting. When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.

Zebah and Zalmunna: Verse 10 explains the two Midianite leaders who were Gideon's main interest--Zebah and Zalmunna. In Hebrew, Zebah refers to a certain class of sacrifices which are voluntary and are usually associated with vow offerings. Zalmunna is also Hebrew and means "withheld its hospitality". Since these leaders were Midianites, they did not have Hebrew names, and they did not have names with those kinds of meanings. Thus, the names are what the Hebrews called them.

Karkor: These two enemy leaders were in a place called Karkor, a place where they must have felt safe. About 15,000 men remained of the 135,000 enemy fighters. Like Sisera who slept in Jael's tent under a false sense of security, so it was for these Midianite men and their leaders. Gideon attacked them, and they were totally unprepared for it. Who would think that Gideon would follow them all that distance? They probably still did not know that Gideon only had 300 men. So the recollection of the panic from a few days earlier was still fresh in their minds.

Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east side of Nobah and Jogbehah: Gideon and his men followed the remnant of 15,000 Midianite fighters using "the route of the nomads". This is not a colorful description of the route; it is the formal name of a known desert highway in that era. Huge masses of people could not travel like Lewis and Clark, blazing new trails everywhere they went. They needed established routes, usually beaten down and easily identified which went by the necessary water sources and re-supply points where traveling caravans would station themselves to meet up with travelers. 

Verses 11 and 12 explain that eventually Gideon and his men caught up to the army and defeated them, although without doubt, they did not annihilate them all. The two leaders did what leaders did in those days--they fled when they knew they were in trouble. But Gideon soon captured Zebah and Zalmunna. He then headed back towards home, stopping for some revenge along the way.