Gideon was forced to temporarily stop the great work he was in the heat of performing and appease these disgrunted men, who had reduced themselves to such a pretty, immature, and ugly condition. Very humbly and kindly he reminded them of how they had been honored by being the ones to capture and kill two of the great leaders of the invading enemies. Gideon's phrase "The gleanings of the grapes of Ephraim" being "better than the vintage of Abi-ezer" refers to the capture of Oreb and Zeeb by the Ephraimites being of greater honor than the great slaughter of common soldiers by Gideon and his men. Gideon said in Verse 3 "God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison to you" The true answer is "much"; yet Gideon did not exalt himself, though he surely could have done so. Gideon is doing exactly what Proverbs 27:2 advises "Let another man praise thee, arid not thine own mouth, a stranger, and not thine own lips.'' The result was that the anger of the men of Ephraim, "was abated toward him,' Judges 8:3 Brother, "God... giveth grace to the humble, "I Peter 5:5 Before you stiffen your spine and lambast someone whom you know is wrong by extolling your own merits, think of Proverbs 15:1 which declares, "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

2. Leaving Ephraim, Gideon crossed the fords of the Jordan and came to Succoth. (locate on map). Gideon and his men were weary arid hungry having spent the entire night in battle, yet they were pursuing, Verse 4. Yet the men of Succoth very indignantly and insultingly refused any help, including food. The political leaders of the town said to Gideon, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army " Verse 6. Obviously these men were scornful of Gideon and his army, thinking they would not succeed. Rather than help in a right cause. they preferred to wait and see who won, then line up with the winner. (They have many modern counterparts.)

In view of this rebellious attitude, Gideon made the promise of verse 7 "Therefore when the Lord hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the horns of the wilderness and with briers. 'He then went up to Penuel where he met an attitude identical to that in Succoth, Verse S. In response, Gideon spoke the words of Verse 9, "When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower."

3. The Midianites under the leadership of their Kings Zebah -j and Zalmunna had fled down the Wady Sirhan to a location called Karkor. Karkor is about 200 miles from the Jordan river crossing, yet the route was very familiar to these nomads, who, with camels, could make the trip very rapidly.

Karkor was located in a spacious basin surrounded on all sides by nearly impassable limestone hills. One, and only one, narrow outlet leads from the basin into the Sirhan Valley. There are wells in this basin and good pastures. It was a stronghold and regarded as a great place of safety by the Midianites, Verse 11. Zebah and Zaimunna had retreated to this location with their remaining 15,000 soldiers. Already 120,000 had been slain, which says the original army size was 135,000, outnumbering Gideon and his three hundred by 450 to one. Yet, Gideon and company had prevailed, doubtless having totally unnerved and destroyed the confidence of these remaining Midianites.

Many writers believe Gideon stationed some of his men at the narrow opening from Karkor basin to the Sirhan depression while sending others around the rim of the basin from which they attacked, flushing the Midianites out of the basin through the narrow pass where they were riddled by the soldiers of Gideon. It appears to have been a surprise attack and the Midianites fled down the Sirhan Valley to the "Ascent of Heres." Gideon took Zebah and Zalmunna captive as the Midianite host was "discomfited " (Terrified.)

4. From Karkor, Gideon and company returned up the road of the nomads to just outside Succoth, where he "caught young man of the men of Succoth, "Verse 14. From him, he gathered the names of the 77 ruling elders of the city. Armed with that information, Gideon came to the city, took those 77 men, and literally whipped them with thorns from the wilderness, Verse 16. Most scholars agree such action would result in the deaths of the 77 men. Moving to Penuel, Gideon beat down the tower as he had promised and slew the men of the city, Verse 17. Since the men of Penuel were slain and their sin was the same as that of the man of Succoth; there is good reason to believe the men of Succoth died also.

5. Having avenged the evil of the men of Succoth and Penuel, Gideon turned his attention to the two Midianite Kings whom he had captured. Gideon asked these kings about the men they had slain at Mount Tabor. (again the primary range and area of earlier Midianite activity against Israel is emphasized). The killing of Gideon's brothers was not a general act occurring in the heat of battle but an individual execution by Zebah and Zalmunna. They remembered it well, recognizing the favor between Gideon and the men they slew, Verse 18. Their words are "as thou art, so were they, each one resembled the children of a king." (this speaks well for the general statue and appearance of Gideon.)

These kings would have been spared had they not slain Gideon's brothers, but their murders of Gideon's brothers brought the law of revenge by the kinsman - redeemer against them. (see Deuteronomy 19:11-13 . In view of their acts, Gideon determined not only to avenge their sins, but to shame them in the process. Mideastern thought, especially in those days, took great stock in how a man died. To be slain by a great warrior was regarded as an honor within itself. Although, to be slain by a child, woman or slave was a great insult. Gideon ordered his son Jether to kill these two kings with the sword. But, he was just a boy and feared to do so, Verse 20. Zebah and Zalmunna, knowing they were marked for death, and to die in honor, requested Gideon himself to fall on them with the sword, which he did, Verse 2 . So Midian was broken.

F. Israel's request for a king. Judges 8:22-23:

1. The desire of God has long been to rule over his people. He is the true judge of The Judges.

2. By requesting Gideon to be their king, Israel begins a drift that ultimately results in the repudiation of God, her king and the establishing of a monarchy. Israel was a theocracy under the direct rule of God. Yet, she wanted to be like her neighbors round about her. A few generations later they expressed it in these words to Samuel I Samuel 8:5, 'Behold, thou art old and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." But, I Samuel 8:6 says, "The thing displeased Samuel, " and the context indicates it displeased the Lord too.

3. Gideon expressed the will of God in the matter with these words in Judges 8:23. "And Gideon said unto them. I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you the Lord shall rule over you."

G. Gideon's subtle, but awful sin.

1. Some people sin deliberately with full realization of what they're doing. Others sin without appearing to realize the gravity and true nature of their action. Whether intentional ,or not sins and mistakes are just that: sins and mistakes-, and the consequences are devastating in both cases. In fact, sometimes the long-range consequences of subtle sin committed in the name of good is more disastrous and far reaching than the consequence of deliberate, open sin. Such was the case with Gideon.

2. The ephod was closely associated with discerning the will of God, Exodus 28:6-30. The Bible doesn't say what Gideon's motive was in making a giant ephod to be kept at Ophra. Although, based on his demonstrated love for and stated allegiance to God, it appears Gideon was attempting to provide a mechanical means by which the people could ascertain the will of God. Gideon had personally been so uncertain that God was in what he did, and had repeatedly insisted on a direct sign for God to confirm the presence of God. Perhaps he thought he'd make it easier for the people to know.

3. Whatever Gideon's reasons, he asked the people to bring the golden earrings they'd taken in battle from the Midianites. (Judges 8:24 refers to them as "Ishmaelites". Midianites traced their lineage to Abraham through Keturah, Genesis 25:2 . The Ishmaelites came from Abraham through Hagar, Genesis 16:15. Although, by the time of the judges, the term Ishmaelites was loosely applied to all nomadic groups. Arid, one of their customs was to wear golden earrings.) The weight of the earrings came to 1700 shekels of gold or about 42 Pounds. From this, Gideon made an ephod and set it up at Ophrah, Verse 27.

4. The result was a spiritual prostitution after it by "all Israel." That's how God views the act of His people worshipping any other deity than Him. Israel literally made a god out of this golden ephod. It became a center of idolatrous worship. Gideon's sin was two-fold. First, he usurped the function of a priest, which was wrong for him since he was not a Levite. Second, he established a worship center in the wrong place: at Ophrah; not Shiloh. The long-range result of Gideon's action was to return the people to the very type of sinful lifestyle which would lead them to the very kind of bondage from which God had used him to deliver them in the first place.

5.. Furthermore, Gideon's own degenerate family lifestyle added to the moral decay of the nation. He lived a polygamous life. Judges 8:3 says he "hod threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he hod many wives " He also had a concubine in Shechern who bare him a son, Verse 31. This verse is so worded as to indicate he may have ha other concubines in other places.

So, the end of Gideon is not one of the more glorious closings of the Bible. He died being quite old, and was buried in Ophrah, Verse 3 .

 

 

QUESTIONS ON "THE END OF GIDEON"

1. Describe and explain the route of the Nomads.
2. Explain the jealousy of the Ephraimites
3. Why should the Ephraimites have been rejoicing?
4. What spirit of response did Gideon demonstrate to the men of Ephraim?
5. Explain the meaning of "the gleanings of the grapes of Ephraim" being "better than the vintage of Abi-ezer".
6. Locate Succoth and Penuel.
7. How did the men of Succoth and Penuel treat Gideon?
8. What promise did Gideon make the men of Succoth?
9. What promise did Gideon make the men of Penuel?
10. Who were Zebah and Zalmunna?
11. Locate Karkor?
12. Describe Karkor.
13. What does "discomfited" mean?
14. How did Gideon learn the names of the men of Succoth?
15. What did Gideon do to the men of Succoth? did Gideon do in Penuel? was Gideon obligated to kill Zebah and Zalmunna?
16. What did Gideon do in Penuel?
17. Why was Gideon obligated to kill Zebah and Zalmunna?
18. How did Gideon seek to shame Zebah and Zalmunna?
19. How did Gideon respond to Israel's request for a king?
20. What great sin by Gideon marred the general good appearance on his life?