Judges 8:1-12 – Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What
is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against
Midian?” And they accused him fiercely. And 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 grape harvest of Abiezer? God has given into
your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in
comparison with you?” Then their anger against him subsided when he said this.
And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted
yet pursuing. So he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to
the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah
and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” And the officials of
Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?” So Gideon said, “Well
then, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of
the wilderness and with briers.” And from there he
went up to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of
Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. And he said to the
men of Penuel, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.”
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. And Gideon went up by
the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army,
for the army felt secure. And Zebah and
Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian,
Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic.
Application:
- · Gideon placates the wrath of the Ephraimites.
- · Abiezer means “My Father is helper” or “My Father is strong”
- · The officials of Succoth doubted Gideon’s ability to defeat the Midianite coalition and feared reprisal if they gave his army food.
All Scripture verses taken from ESV
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