In chapter six and seven, we read of Gideon having completed the first phase of the campaign to rid the land of Midian and Amalekite invaders who always came at harvest time to plunder Israel's food supply. These nomadic locusts did not come because they necessarily hated Israel; they came because they wanted what Israel had. They came because nomads do not know how to produce what they want and need. They only know how to pilfer it.
Chapter eight opened with the tribal leaders of Ephraim, the most powerful of the 12 tribes, coming to Gideon complaining that they were not given deference in Gideon's place and actions. They feigned ignorance and insult because they were not included in the battle strategy. In reality, they simply wanted credit, and they wanted what they considered to be their right to some of the large amount of the spoils of war that had been collected. Ephraim knew what was going on. They just wanted to stand on the sidelines and wait for the dust to settle so they could best position themselves for whatever the outcome may be.
The warrior leader Gideon found himself forced into being a diplomat and kowtowing to the arrogant Ephraimite leaders in order to avoid the very real danger of inadvertently igniting inter-tribal warfare. This would further divide the Israelites instead of unifying them.
As we continue reading Judges chapter eight, keep in mind a very important geopolitical dynamic about Israel in the Promised Land at this time: it had already divided itself into a number of loyalties. Judah formed the basis for a coalition of tribes living in the southern part of Canaan. Ephraim formed the basis for a coalition of tribes living in the northern part of Canaan. This is in addition to the obvious split between the tribes occupying land of the east side of the Jordan River and the tribes occupying the west side of the river. And despite the north, south, east and west coalitions, each of the 12 tribes sought to improve their own standing and position within Israel.
4. (Judges 8:13-17) Gideon repays Succoth and Penuel
Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. And he captured a youth from Succoth and questioned him. Then the youth wrote down for him the princes of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. He came to the men of Succoth and said, "Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, 'Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?'" He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them. He tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
Then
Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle: Beginning in verse 13, we find out why Gideon
delayed executing Zebah and Zalmunna--he wanted to demonstrate to the people of
the villages of Succoth and Penuel that they never should have doubted him.
So, he took the two Midianite leaders with him on his way back home and stopped
at Succoth to carry out the vengeance that he promised when the townspeople
refused to offer customary and expected hospitality and rest for Gideon's 300
men. (Remember, the people of Succoth were fellow Israelites.) Just as Gideon
had promised some days earlier, he used thorns and thistles to tear the flesh
from the bodies of the leaders of Succoth to teach the people a lesson.
Penuel: Gideon then moved on to the village of Penuel and tore down their watchtower and put the city's leading men to death.
Why such a harsh reaction by Gideon? The decision of the people of Succoth and Penuel in refusing to aid their fellow Israelite, Gideon, was a great sin against God. They had refused to help a servant of the LORD who had been anointed as a Judge to carry out the Holy War the LORD had assigned him to fight. Rather than fulfill the letter and spirit of the promise made to Moses nearly 200 years earlier to always stand with their brethren who took up the challenge of entering the Promised Land (led by Joshua), these members of the two and a half tribes of the Trans-Jordan decided to look out only for themselves.
They ought to have been more than willing to see the great mutual benefit of eradicating or at least diminishing Midian and Amalek. Instead, they were fearful of reprisals by these nomads if Gideon failed. They were simply not willing to believe that the same God who gave Gideon and his 300 men victory over 135,000 enemy fighters would give Gideon victory over the remaining 15,000. Their unbelief cost them great pain, a loss of an important piece of their infrastructure (the watchtower) and for many of them their mortal lives.
The people of Succoth and Penuel had been given a choice by Gideon: stand with Israel and God or stand with the enemy. It is an amazing thing that with all the admonitions in the Bible that to NOT stand with God and his people is the same as rebelling against Him, to many large Christian denominations as well as some in our USA government have chosen to behave as the citizens of Succoth. Neutrality is not a legitimate option in spiritual matters. Even-handedness is not an option when it comes to God's people. You cannot be an aid to BOTH God's people and the enemies of God's people. Only politicians and wrong-minded religious leaders can plead for tolerance of the oppressors of God's chosen as a godly thing to do.
A Brief Interlude
Gideon was God's earthly hand of wrath against those
who chose to rebel against the LORD'S will. Before we move on to the execution
of the two Midianite leaders, I want to pause to briefly discuss a couple of
rather vital God-principles at play here. It is the Torah which develops the
divine principles by which men are to live and abide if they want to be in
harmony with God. We are going to see these principles played out in either a
negative or positive fashion in the remainder of the Bible. The punishment of
the men of Succoth and Penuel was one such demonstration of what happens when a
violation of Torah principles occurs.
Persistence
Persistence is something we are all faced with on a
daily basis. Gideon is one of the finest examples in the Old Testament of
persistence in service to the LORD. Gideon had achieved a resounding and major
victory over Midian and Amalek in the Valley of Jezreel. Most reasonable men
would have stopped there. In fact, stopping the fighting upon the majority of
military objectives being attained was the hallmark of Joshua and those
Israelite leaders who followed him.
As great as Joshua was, and as venerated as he remains in Holy Scripture, Joshua did not finish the job to fully eradicate the enemy. Israel is under the enormous pressure from all sides today because Joshua and those who followed him lacked persistence. The people who hate Israel and vow to wipe it off the map are the descendants of the people who ought not even to exist. They are the descendants of people God ordered Israel to annihilate but did not.
Gideon did what all the earlier and later leaders of Israel were supposed to do: not stop until the Holy War was complete. Therefore, Gideon followed the mere 8% of the Midianite enemy that remained for a distance of 150 miles in order to confront them and wipe them out. The problem of finding food for his men was ever present, even when the two Israelite cities in the Trans-Jordan which could have and should have helped but refused. How discouraging that must have been, but Gideon pressed on and refused to cave in. Thus, the Midianites from that time on ceased to be a problem for Israel.
We find Gideon's biggest source of discouragement was NOT the enemy; it was those who ought to have been his friends and allies. His own brethren were so interested in maintaining a comfortable lifestyle, in not rocking the boat, and in assuming that they suffered no inconvenience, they preferred co-existence with the enemy rather than a tight bond with their own people and with God.
The people of Succoth and Penuel were not asked to go and fight with Gideon; they were only asked to provide provision and to not stand in the way.
First, it was the Ephraimites who approached Gideon (immediately following his battle) with their complaining. They effectively hindered him from doing his job in order to suffer their self-centered and egotistical demands. Then, it was the townspeople of those two Israelite cities in the Trans-Jordan who denied cooperation and support while he was on his way to finish off the enemy.
What might you or I have done in Gideon's place? Would we have the courage, unshakable faith and iron will to continue to fight the good fight even though the very people we are fighting for try to block our way at every turn? Gideon could have easily seen this opposition from his own people as a sign to turn back and quit. Why should he put himself and his loyal men at such risk for the sake of people who would not even give him so much as a loaf of bread?
This is such a sharp warning for us. It is Israel who stands on the front lines. Six million Jews surrounded by 200 million Arabs who want to take what is rightfully Israel's. A billion Muslims stand with the Arab brothers and threaten all who wish to stand with Israel. Give us Israel, they say, and the reason for their Jihad will end. Stand with Israel and you might suffer.
You and I are at such a relatively small risk compared to those brave and dedicated Jews who risk it all to live in the Holy Land. We are as the people of Succoth and Penuel. We are Israel's brothers who ought to willingly stand with them and help them in every way. But instead, we tend to complain, often refuse to help them beyond pittance and then we carefully position ourselves so that no matter what happens to Israel, we are safe.
We are not being asked to strap on battle gear and fight for them. We are
merely being asked to aid them with our money, support and unconditional love.
We are being asked to NOT give the enemy more armaments, food, land and
political allegiance. But for the vast majority of the world, and for too many
Christians, our behavior and response is as that of the leaders and citizens of
Succoth and Penuel. We do not want to be involved.
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