Judges 7: 1 – 25
Hero
Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. 2 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained. 4 But the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. 7 Then the LORD said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.” 8 So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 It happened on the same night that the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, 11 and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude. 13 And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.” 14 Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.” 15 And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.” 16 Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do: 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!’” 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 Then 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 they cried, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!” 21 And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled. 22 When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites. 24 Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.” Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan. 25 And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.
What is a hero? The dictionary lists a hero as a man of distinguished courage or ability. This person is admired for his brave deeds or noble qualities. What I find interesting is that the greatest heroes did not know that these qualities existed until they were thrown into the situation in which they had to take action. An unknown author wrote something in this regarding how one turns out to be a hero while the other is a coward “The hero and the coward both feel the same thing, but the hero uses his fear, projects it onto his opponent, while the coward runs. It's the same thing, fear, but it's what you do with it that matters.”
Today, we are going to go over a ‘hero’ who is recording for his bravery by Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High. Why was he a hero? As you read about him all that he says and does for the most part in my opinion label him a hero. When God Is leading the way, great things can happen to anyone. In the book of Mark chapter 10, “26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?” 27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”
Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.
I want to point out something to you that I believe honors our Precious Holy Spirit for His Great Wisdom. In verse 1 we find out that Gideon has another name which is ‘Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon)’ So, you are probably now saying to yourselves, ‘What’s your point’. Well to help you understand my point you need to do your own homework. Write down on a note pad the word Jerubbaal and Gideon. Then open your bibles and write down the verse where Gideon appears and where Jerubbaal appears. You will see that every time the word Gideon appears it is relative to his name which means ‘Great Warrior’ while the name Jerubbaal means ‘the one whom Baal strives but cannot defeat.’ Can you see how the one is guided by God and the other is all tied up in ‘self’. For extra credit turn to Genesis and look up ‘Jacob’ [schemer] and ‘Israel’ [guided by God] for our Holy Ghosts hidden emphasis of when the man was being guided by God or depending upon his own wits.
You have to enjoy our Lord’s directions in this chapter. Right now Gideon had 32 units of fighting men against 135 enemy fighting units. There are 1000 men in each unit or 32,000 against 135,000. Now put yourself in Gideon’s position where he is at now 32 units against 135? ‘You want me to take on 135 units of this enemy and I only have 32 units to do it with? I love our Lord’s response.
2 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.
The Lord speaks to Gideon. I am sure Gideon is expecting something miraculous. The Lord says, ‘You know you are right Gideon. You have too many soldiers.’ ‘Say what Lord?’ Yes, in fact I want you to have less, so this is what you do, ask the soldiers that if anyone is somewhat fearful about the battle, then they are excused, they can go home.’
I can almost picture Gideon heading out with the 22,000 men going home. The Lord calls, ‘where you going?’ Gideon would respond, ‘I’m going with them home.’ The Lord would then say, ‘Oh now you don’t get back here.’ No, this doesn’t happen, Gideon stays.
Now if I was Gideon, I probably would not be anxious to hear again from the Lord. He probably Is going to throw in another wrench to the situation. Yep, He does. Look at what He informs Gideon again.
4 But the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.”
‘You know what Gideon. There are still too many guys on your team. We need to cut down this number some more.’
What?
Can you see somewhat the Great things our Precious Holy Commander Is doing here? Take some guesses? Let me give you some of my thoughts. Well, for one He Is definitely putting them in a position of total dependence upon the Lord. If that was all, that would be enough.
Secondly, our Lord was putting Gideon and the men who would be there with him to take orders.
Thirdly the battle will not even be theirs. We will read soon that the Lord Is going to provide the Great Victory.
Another thing is that the ones who are selected will go down in Israel’s history books as great heroes. If you have every been in the military or have participated in certain acts that God has placed you in and allow you to turn up a hero, you kids and grandkids will forever be honored because of your life. For example, suppose your last name is Eisenhower. You know the first thing out of someone’s mouth would be, ‘Are you somehow related to General Eisenhower.’ If you were, then they treat you with more respect and honor because of what your ancestor did. Do you see my point?
Anyway, this was the Lord’s direction to Gideon to find out which men now to keep and which to send home.
5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. 7 Then the LORD said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.”
What was significant about the men drinking the water differently? You see our Lord was interested in which men were fearful and which men were alert. The men who got down and drank like a dog were more interested in fulfilling their own needs than the interest of others. I find it very interesting that the stream’s name means ‘trembling’. Those who put their faces in the water showed a certain lack of self-restraint and of alertness. The men who scooped the water in their hand were ready for a possible attack. These 300 were the men the Lord wanted.
8 So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men.
It also appears here that the Lord likes musicians. For He kept all the trumpet players – [only kidding]
Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 It happened on the same night that the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, 11 and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.”
Many people over the years have tried what Gideon had asked the Lord and that was for a ‘sign’. Remember, the fleece of wool? Here, please notice now that Gideon does not ask the Lord for a sign. It Is our Gracious God Who demonstrates for His hand picked servant that the victory is already accomplished. He tells Gideon to take with him his servant and go down to the enemy’s camp. What we miss here again is the Lord Personal building up of his messenger to obey orders. Would you want to try to sneak down to an enemies camp? Gideon is obedient to the Lord’s command and is rewarded for obey orders.
Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude. 13 And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.” 14 Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.” 15 And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.”
Sometimes we read something that might not make sense but we skip it and go on with our reading. No, we should slow down and investigate because if we do so we are greatly blessed. Did you catch the significance of the ‘barley bread’? What is that all about?
Barley was half the price of wheat as you well know. In the same way Israel [barley] was inferior to the Midianites [wheat]. Yet, the inferior will roll over the superior. Isn’t that neat to find out?
16 Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do: 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!’” 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 Then 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 they cried, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!” 21 And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled. 22 When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites. 24 Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.” Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan. 25 And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.
Our God Is So Gracious. When I read this portion, will you notice how it gives Gideon the credit for the battle plan? I do not believe that Gideon came up with the plan? I believe it was the Lord Who told him what to do even though it is not specifically pointed out? I do not believe that Gideon knew how to divide up the 300 guys yet alone have each guy put a torch in a jar and do the unheard of attack.
What I believe was wrong here on Gideon’s part was to have the soldiers associate him with God’s. 16 Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do: 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!’” 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 Then 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 they cried, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!” 21 And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled. 22 When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia.”
The enemy having been routed by the Lord now flees. The ones who were on the way home possibly heard the news of the victory left their stuff and came forward to be part of this great success. Other tribes also heard of the news and joined in.
Please make note of Gideon’s pride in associating himself with God in the victory. We will see how awful this position will develop in our next study.
