Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 7:9
And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.
9 15. Gideon visits the Midianite camp
9 . the same night ] Probably the night of the day which began in Jdg 7:1.
get thee down ] Here and in Jdg 7:11 a against the camp, to attack it; in Jdg 7:10 unto the camp, to visit it.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Jdg 7:9-14
A cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian.
Encouragement for Gideon
Gideon felt that he was but the thin, weak, limp cake; that there was a ludicrous disproportion between the means at his command and the work he was to accomplish. But then, behind him was the unseen but mighty wind of Gods Spirit, that swept him on irresistibly and made him invincible. This was Gideons encouragement, and this must be the encouragement of each of us in all duty. That man must have low aims indeed who never finds himself confronted by duty that he feels to be impossible; who does not feel again and again that the conquest of sin in himself is impossible; who is not again and again perplexed by the difficult circumstances he is silently swept into; who does not feel helpless before the profound, rooted misery, the masses of distress and crime in the world. What can one do? We can do nothing of ourselves; God does not expect that we should. But there is nothing we may not do, if the almighty inspiration of God takes us and carries us forward as its instrument. But how, you will say, are we to secure that inspiration? how are we to get into the current of Gods Spirit, so as to be carried along by it? How, we may ask in reply, do sailors get to their destination? They cannot themselves drag their ship along–they are helpless in this respect; neither can they raise winds for themselves. They cannot supply their own motive power, and yet they can do all that is necessary. They know where and when certain winds blow, and getting into the current of these, they guide their vessel to its port. You also know the directions in which Gods Spirit blows; you know the objects towards which God is willing to help you; you know what God Himself aims at and wishes done; and though you cannot reach those objects by your own strength, yet if you set your face towards them, if you keep your soul in their direction, if you make them your real aim, Gods Spirit cannot miss you–you will be caught and carried along in His powerful inspiration. (Marcus Dods, D. D.)
The Midianite soldier: the power of the little
1. A great end reached by most insignificant instrumentality.
2. The influence it had upon the mind of Gideon.
I. An argument for special providence. The little and the great are not only inseparable parts of a whole, but what is called the little sometimes creates and sometimes destroys the great.
II. A lesson for our everyday life.
1. Despise not things of humble aspect. To do so is–
(1) Unmanly;
(2) unrighteous;
(3) unwise.
Give the acorn time, and it shall become a forest, and cover oceans with the fleets of nations; give the little rill, starting from the solitude of the hills, time, and it shall become a river bearing on its bosom the wealth of kingdoms.
2. Cultivate an appreciation of the little. The observation of little events has done wonders before now. The fall of an apple unfolded the true theory of the material universe. The rushing of a little steam from a kettle led to the introduction of that steam power which has already almost changed the face of the world. A feather shows how the wind blows, and an insignificant event may indicate the direction of an eternal law. Mark little tendencies of character; small wishes and preferences may often throw a flood of light upon your spiritual history. Respect little virtues. Shun little sins.
3. Recognise Gods presence in the minute as well as the vast. (Homilist.)
The dream of the barley cake
I. The striking providence which must have greatly refreshed Gideon. It may appear to be a little thing; but an occurrence is none the less wonderful because it appears to be insignificant. God is as Divine in the small as in the stupendous, as glorious in the dream of a soldier as in the flight of a seraph.
1. Now observe, first, the providence of God that this man should have dreamed just then, and that he should have dreamed that particular dream. Dreamland is chaos, but the hand of the God of order is here. God is not asleep when we are asleep; God is not dreaming when we are.
2. Further, I cannot but admire that this man should be moved to tell his dream to his fellow. It is not everybody that tells his dream at night; he usually waits till the morning. God ruleth mens idle tongues as well as their dreaming brains, and He can make a talkative soldier in the camp say just as much and just as little as will subserve the purposes of wisdom.
3. It is remarkable that the man should tell his dream just when Gideon and Phurah had come near. God has so arranged the whole history of men, and angels, and the regions of the dead, that each event occurs at the right moment so as to effect another event, and that other event brings forth a third, and all things work together for good. O child of God, when you are troubled it is because you fancy that you are alone; but you are not alone; the Eternal Worker is with you. Oh, for a little heavenly eyesalve to touch our eyes that we may perceive the presence of the Lord in all things. The stars in their courses are fighting for the cause of God. Our allies are everywhere. God will summon them at the right moment.
II. The comfortable trifle which Gideon had thus met with. It was a dream, and therefore a trifle, and yet he took comfort from it. We are all the creatures of sentiment as well as of reason, and hence we are often strongly affected by little things. Gideon is cheered by a dream of a barley cake. When Robert Bruce had been frequently beaten in battle, he despaired of winning the crown of Scotland; but when he lay hidden in the loft among the hay and straw, he saw a spider trying to complete her web after he had broken the thread many times. As he saw the insect begin again, and yet again, until she had completed her net for the taking of her prey, he said to himself, If this spider perseveres and conquers, so will I persevere and succeed. There might not be any real connection between a spider and an aspirant to a throne, but the brave heart made a connection, and thereby the man was cheered. If you and I will but look about us, although the adversaries of God are as many as grasshoppers, yet we shall find consolation. I hear the birds sing, Be of good cheer, and the leafless trees bid us trust in God and live on, though all visible signs of life be withered. But what a pity it is that we should need such little bits of things to cheer us up, when we have matters of far surer import to make us glad! Gideon had already received, by Gods own angel, the word, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. Was not this enough for him?
III. The cheering discovery. Gideon had noticed a striking providence, he had received a comfortable trifle, but he also made a very cheering discovery; which discovery was, that the enemy dreamed of disaster. You and I sometimes think about the hosts of evil, and we fear we shall never overcome them, because they are so strong and so secure. Hearken: we over-estimate them. The powers of darkness are not so strong as they seem to be. The subtlest infidels and heretics are only men. What is more, they are bad men; and bad men at bottom are weak men. It is natural to men to fear, and doubly natural to bad men.
IV. The dream itself and its interpretation. The Midianite in his dream saw a barley cake. Barley cakes were not much valued as food in those days, any more than now. People ate barley when they could not get wheat, but they would need to be driven to such food by poverty or famine. Barley-meal was rather food for dogs or cattle than for men; and therefore the barley cake would be the emblem of a thing despised. A barley cake was generally made upon the hearth. A hole was made in the ground, and paved with stones; in this a fire was made, and when the stones were hot a thin layer of barley-meal was laid upon them, covered over with the ashes, and thus quickly and roughly baked. The cake itself was a mere biscuit. It may have been a long piece of thin crust, and it was seen in the dream moving onward and waving in the air something like a sword. It came rolling and waving down the hill till it came crash against the pavilion of the prince of Midian, and turned the tent completely over, so that it lay in ruins.
1. Now, what we have to learn from it is just this, God can work by any means. He can never be short of instruments. Gideon, who threshes corn to-day, will thresh the Lords enemies to-morrow. Preachers of the Word are being trained everywhere.
2. God can work by the feeblest means. He can use a cake which a child can crumble to smite Midian, and subdue its terrible power. I have heard that a tallow candle fired from a rifle will go through a door: the penetrating power is not in the candle, but in the force impelling it. So in this case it was not the barley biscuit, but the almighty impulse which urged it forward, and made it upset the pavilion. We are nothing; but God with us is everything. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.
3. Note, next, God uses unexpected means. If I wanted to upset a tent I certainly should not try to overturn it by a barley cake. If I had to cannonade an encampment I should not bombard it with biscuits. Yet how wonderfully God hath wrought by the very persons whom we should have passed over without a thought! O Paganism, thy gigantic force and energy, with Caesar at their head, shall be vanquished by fishermen from the sea of Galilee! God willed it so, and so it was done.
4. But the dream hath more in it than this. God useth despised means. This man Gideon is likened unto a cake, and then only to a barley cake; but the Lord styles him a mighty man of valour. God loves to take men whom others despise, and use them for His glorious ends.
5. But, then, God ever uses effectual means. Even if He works by barley-cakes, He makes a clean overthrow of His enemy. A cannon-ball could not have done its work better than did this barley cake. Wherefore, be not afraid, ye servants of God, but commit yourselves into the hands of Him who, out of weakness, can bring forth strength. Do you not think that this smiting of the tent of Midian by the barley cake, and afterwards the actual overthrow of the Midianite hordes by the breaking of the pitchers, the blazing of the torches, and the blowing of the trumpets, all tends to comfort us as to those powers of evil which now cover the world? When we are thinned out, and made to see how few we are, we shall be hurled upon the foe with a power not our own. Were things worse than they are, we should still cry, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon! and stand each man in his place till the Lord appeared in strength. Another lesson would I draw from the text as to our inward conflicts. You are feeling in your heart the great power of sin. The Midianites are encamped in your soil; in the little valley of Esdrelon which lies within your bosom there are countless evils, and these, like the locusts, eat up every growing thing, and cause comfort, strength, and joy to cease from your experience. You sigh because of these invaders. I counsel you to try what faith can do. This seems a very poor means of getting the victory, as poor as the barley cake baked on the coals; but God has chosen it, and He will bless it, and it will overthrow the throne of Satan within your heart, and work in you holiness and peace. Once again, still in the same vein, let us try continually the power of prayer for the success of the gospel, and the winning of mens souls. Prayer will do anything–will do everything. It fills the valleys and levels the mountains. By its power men are raised from the door of hell to the gate of heaven. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The soldiers dream
There is a little incident in connection with Christs resurrection which merits careful notice. We allude to the following words: Then went in that other disciple. Unconsciously men influence each other mightily for good or evil, The incident before us illustrates this. A soldier wakes and tells his fellow of a curious dream which he has had; the latter volunteers an interpretation of it. How little they thought that the commander-in-chief of the enemy was eagerly listening outside! Still less did they imagine that their conversation was the means of nerving him to new courage. More than that: the brief talk of these heathen soldiers was a link in the chain of events by which the destiny, not only of Israel, but of mankind, was effected. Truly, no man liveth unto himself.
I. God condescends to human infirmities. Gideon had a direct, distinct assurance that in the coming battle he should be triumphant. I have delivered it into thine hand. What more could he want? But see how graciously the Most High came down to the tent of His servant. If a sign or token will do what a promise cannot, then, although it ought not to be necessary, it shall be granted. In His dealings with us God knoweth our frame. Brightly does this fact shine out in the life of the Incarnate One. After His resurrection Thomas was sceptical. He must see and feel or he will not believe. In this he was quite wrong. All the world over, testimony is accepted as a sufficient ground for faith. The evidence sought was granted.
II. God adapts His revelations to our special needs. Think of Gideons position. It is the night before the battle: the forces of the foe are like grasshoppers for multitude, the Hebrew army is stringently limited to three hundred men. Under such circumstances, the temptation of the Jewish generalissimo would be to think that an attack by such an unequal, fearfully disproportionate host would result in defeat. What, then, does he require? A conviction to the following effect: that in the impending conflict numbers will count for nothing. And that is exactly what, in singular and indeed grotesque style, the dream teaches him. The barley-cake flung against the tent upsets it, stakes, pole, canvas, and all. Well may we pause to admire this exquisite adaptation of Divine revelation to human requirements. The ascended Redeemer has gifts for men, not one gift but many, and none shall seek a suitable gift in vain. In a certain Austrian city there is a bridge in the parapets of which stand twelve statues of the Saviour. He is represented in various relationships–Prophet, King, Priest, Pilot, Physician, Shepherd, Sower, Carpenter, and so forth. The country people coming into the city in the early morning with produce from the market, pause before the Sower, or Shepherd Christ, and offer their worship to Him. Two hours later, the artisan, coming to his workshop, bends before the Carpenter. Later still, the sailor prays to the heavenly Pilot. And in the warm sunlight of the forenoon, the invalids, creeping out to enjoy the fresh air, rest and adore under the image of the Great Physician. Christ has a manifestation of Himself to fit all human needs. Indeed, what is true of Him holds good also of the whole Bible: it is adapted to all: whatever our peculiar circumstances, we may find in it something to meet them.
III. God teaches us to get help from the enemy. Who were the instruments of Gideons encouragement? Not allies but adversaries: the reassuring voices came not from an Israelitish home but from a Midianite tent. Unwittingly, the heathen arrayed against him proved his timely stimulus. Here is another valuable lesson for us: make your very foes your aid. Satan is an enemy. Learn from him and his artifices where much of your moral strength is to be found, namely, in the Bible. The devil can quote Scripture for his purpose. A careful, painstaking, sympathetic knowledge of Scripture is the grand panacea for heresy and the true palladium of our faith. Temptation is a foe, otherwise we should never have been taught to pray, Lead us not into temptation. Albeit, it is often one of our best friends. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation. Vanquish it and you are mightier than you were before. The ancient Scandinavians believed that the power and the prowess of each foe they felled to the dust entered into them, and, unquestionably, new courage and fresh zeal are the portion of him who overcomes sin. Again: St. Paul speaks of those as enemies of the Cross of Christ who mind earthly things. The worldly are foes of the gospel; whether they mean it or not, they retard its glorious progress. Yes: but what a lesson those enemies of the Cross read us who are believers in it! Their intelligence and earnestness about business, education, pleasure, may well put to shame the slow advances that we make, with heaven itself in view. (T. R. Stevenson.)
The insecurity of the godless
In every combination of godless men there is a like feeling of insecurity, a like presage of disaster. Those who are in revolt against justice, truth, and the religion of God have nothing on which to rest, no enduring bond of union. What do they conceive as the issue of their attempts and schemes? Have they anything in view that can give heart and courage, an end worth toil and hazard? It is impossible, for their efforts are all in the region of the false where the seeming realities are but shadows that perpetually change. Let it be allowed that to a certain extent common interests draw together men of no principle so that they can co-operate for a time. Yet each individual is secretly bent on his own pleasure or profit, and there is nothing that can unite them constantly. One selfish and unjust person may be depended upon to conceive a lively antipathy to every other selfish and unjust person. Midian and Amalek have their differences with one another, and each has its own rival chiefs, rival families, full of the bitterest jealousy which at any moment may burst into flame. The whole combination is weak from the beginning, a mere horde of clashing desires incapable of harmony, incapable of a sustaining hope . . . Look at those ignorant and unhappy persons who combine against the laws of society. Their suspicions of each other are proverbial, and even with them is the feeling that sooner or later they will be overtaken by the law. They dream of that and tell each other their dreams. The game of crime is played against well-known odds. Those who carry it on are aware that their haunts will be discovered, their gang broken up. A bribe will tempt one of their number and the rest will have to go their way to the cell or the gallows. Yet with the presage of defeat wrought into the very constitution of the mind, and with innumerable proofs that it is no delusion, there are always those amongst us who attempt what even in this world is so hazardous, and in the larger sweep of moral economy is impossible. In selfishness, in oppression and injustice, in every kind of sensuality men adventure as if they could ensure their safety and defy the day of reckoning. (R. A. Watson, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. I have delivered it into thine hand.] I have determined to do it, and it is as sure as if it were done.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The same night; after he had dismissed all but the three hundred.
That the Lord said unto him, in a dream or vision of the night.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9, 10. Arise, get thee down unto thehost . . . But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thyservantIn ancient times it was reckoned no degradation forpersons of the highest rank and character to act as spies on anenemy’s camp; and so Gideon did on this occasion. But the secreterrand was directed by God, who intended that he should hearsomething which might animate his own valor and that of his troops.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him,…. The night after there had been so great a reduction of his army, from 32,000 to three hundred:
arise, get thee down unto the host, for I have delivered it into thine hands; that is, go down from the hill where he and his little army were, to the valley of Jezreel, where lay the numerous host of Midian; assuring him, that though the disproportion was so very great, the army of Midian should be delivered into his hands; and it was enough that the Lord had said it, for him to believe it; but in such circumstances that he was, it is no wonder that he had his fears and misgivings of heart, wherefore it follows;
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Gideon’s Battle and Victory. – Jdg 7:9-11. The following night the Lord commanded Gideon to go down to the camp of the enemy, as He had given it into his hand (the perfect is used to denote the purpose of God which had already been formed, as in Jdg 4:14). But in order to fill him with confidence for such an enterprise, which to all human appearance was a very rash one, God added, “ If thou art afraid to go down, go thou with thine attendant Purah down to the camp, and thou wilt hear what they say, and thy hands will thereby become strong. ” The meaning of the protasis is not, If thou art afraid to go down into the camp of the enemy alone, or to visit the enemy unarmed, take Purah thine armour-bearer with thee, to make sure that thou hast weapons to use ( Bertheau); for, apart from the fact that the addition “unarmed” is perfectly arbitrary, the apodosis “thou wilt see,” etc., by no means agrees with this explanation. The meaning is rather this: Go with thy 300 men into ( ) the hostile camp to smite it, for I have given it into thy hand; but if thou art afraid to do this, go down with thine attendant to ( ) the camp, to ascertain the state and feeling of the foe, and thou wilt hear what they say, i.e., as we gather from what follows, how they are discouraged, have lost all hope of defeating you, and from that thou wilt gather courage and strength for the battle. On the expression “ thine hands shall be strengthened, ” see 2Sa 2:7. The expression which follows, , is not a mere repetition of the command to go down with his attendant to the hostile camp, but describes the result of the stimulus given to his courage: And then thou wilt go fearlessly into the hostile camp to attack the foe. (Jdg 7:9, Jdg 7:11) is to be distinguished from in Jdg 7:10. The former signifies to go down into the camp to smite the foe; the latter, to go down to the camp to reconnoitre it, and is equivalent to the following clause: “he went to the outside of the camp.”
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
9 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. 10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: 11 And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. 13 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. 14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. 15 And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
Gideon’s army being diminished as we have found it was, he must either fight by faith or not at all; God therefore here provides recruits for his faith, instead of recruits for his forces.
I. He furnishes him with a good foundation to build his faith upon. Nothing but a word from God will be a footing for faith. He has this as full and express as he can desire, v. 9. 1. A word of command to warrant the action, which otherwise seemed rash and indiscreet, and unbecoming a wise general: Arise, get thee down with this handful of men unto the host. 2. A word of promise to assure him of the success, which otherwise seemed very improbable: I have delivered it into thy hand; it is all thy own. This word of the Lord came to him the same night, when he was (we may suppose) greatly agitated and full of care how he should come off; in the multitude of his thoughts within him these comforts did delight his soul. Divine consolations are given in to believers not only strongly but seasonably.
II. He furnishes him with a good prop to support his faith with. 1. He orders him to be his own spy, and now in the dead of the night to go down privately into the host of Midian, and see what intelligence he could gain: “If thou fear to go down to fight, go first only with thy own servant (v. 10) and hear what they say” (v. 11); and it is intimated to him that he should hear that which would greatly strengthen his faith. God knows the infirmities of his people, and what great encouragement they may sometimes take from a small matter; and therefore, knowing beforehand what would occur to Gideon, in that very part of the camp to which he would go down, he orders him to go down and hearken to what they said, that he might the more firmly believe what God said. He must take with him Phurah his servant, one that he could confide in, probably one of the ten that had helped him to break down the altar of Baal. He must take him and no one else with him, must take him with him to be a witness of what he should hear the Midianites say, that out of the mouth of these two witnesses, when the matter came to be reported to Israel, the word might be established. He must take his servant with him, because two are better than one and a little help is better than none. 2. Being so, he orders him the sight of something that was discouraging. It was enough to frighten him to discern, perhaps by moon-light, the vast numbers of the enemy (v. 12), the men like grasshoppers for multitude, and they proved no better than grasshoppers for strength and courage; the camels one could not count, any more than the sand. But, 3. He causes him to hear that which was to him a very good omen; and when he had heard it he went back again immediately, supposing he now had what he was sent thither for. He overheard two soldiers of the enemy, that were comrades, talking; probably they were in bed together, waking in the night. (1.) One of them tells his dream, and as our dreams generally are, and therefore not worth telling again, it is a very foolish one. He dreamed that he saw a barley-cake come rolling down the hill into the camp of the Midianites, and “methought,” says he (for so we speak in telling our dreams), “this rolling cake struck one of our tents” (perhaps one of the chief of their tents) “and with such violence that” (would you think it?) “it overturned the tent, forced down the stakes, and broke the cords at one blow, so that the tent lay along and buried its inhabitants,” v. 13. In multitudes of dreams there are divers vanities, says Solomon, Eccl. v. 7. One would wonder what odd incoherent things are often put together by a ludicrous fancy in our dreams. (2.) The other, it may be between sleeping and waking, undertakes to interpret this dream, and the interpretation is very far-fetched: This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon, v. 14. Our expositors now can tell us how apt the resemblance was, that Gideon, who had threshed corn for his family, and made cakes for his friend (ch. vi. 11-19), was fitly represented by a cake,–that he and his army were as inconsiderable as a cake made of a little flour, as contemptible as a barley-cake, hastily got together as a cake suddenly baked upon the coals, and as unlikely to conquer this great army as a cake to overthrow a tent. But, after all, do not interpretations belong to God? He put it into the head of the one to dream and into the mouth of the other to give the sense of it; if Gideon had heard the dream only, and he and his servant had been left to interpret it themselves, it had so little significancy in it that it would have done him little service; but, having the interpretation from the mouth of an enemy, it not only appeared to come from God, who has all men’s hearts and tongues in his hand, but it was likewise an evidence that the enemy was quite dispirited, and that the name of Gideon had become so formidable to them that it disturbed their sleep. The victory would easily be won which was already so tamely yielded: Into his hand hath God delivered Midian. Those were not likely to fight who saw God fighting against them.
Lastly, Gideon, observing the finger of God pointing him to this very place, at this very time, to hear this dream and the interpretation of it, was exceedingly encouraged by it against the melancholy apprehensions he had upon the reducing of his army. He was very well pleased to hear himself compared to a barley-cake, when it proved to effect such great things. Being hereby animated, we are told (v. 15), 1. How he gave God the glory of it; he worshipped immediately, bowed his head, or, it may be, lifted up his eyes and hands, and in a short ejaculation thanked God for the victory he was now sure of, and for this encouragement to expect it. Wherever we are, we may speak to God, and worship him, and find a way open heavenward. God must have the praise of that which is encouraging to our faith, and his providence must be acknowledged in those events which, though minute and seemingly accidental, prove serviceable to us. 2. How he gave his friends a share in the encouragements he had received: Arise, prepare to march presently; the Lord has delivered Midian into your hand.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Encouraged by a Dream, vs. 9-14
Was Gideon still doubtful? It would appear that he may have been. And who would not have felt some misgiving if sent out with three hundred men to meet a horde innumerable? Now, however, the Lord again assured Gideon that the Midianites would be delivered into his hand and proposes to bolster his confidence by sending him secretly to the Midianite camp. For companionship he was to take his servant, Phurah, about whom nothing more is known. With Phurah Gideon was to eavesdrop on the edge of the enemy camp and hear what they were saying.
As Gideon and Phurah neared the host of Midianites, Amalekites, and men of the east they could see what a mighty physical power they represented. They were covering the valley like a grasshopper plague, and their camels, beasts unfamiliar to the Israelites generally, seemed innumerable, like sand by the sea side.
While the pair listened they heard one of the Midianite soldiers telling of a dream he had dreamed to his friend. In the dream he had seen a barley biscuit come tumbling into the camp of Midian. It struck a tent and flattened it. His companion interpreted the dream for him, showing the fear that the Lord had put into the hearts of the soldiers. They had heard of the courage and boldness of Gideon, who had come out with his men to put them to flight. Without doubt they had also heard the old accounts of how the Lord had, through the centuries, blessed Israel with unusual victories, and they were afraid. That barley biscuit was surely Gideon, a man insignificant and common, like the barley bread which the poor people of all countries ate, (1Co 1:28).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(9) I have delivered it into thine hand.Comp. Jdg. 4:14.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE PRESAGEFUL DREAM, Jdg 7:9-14.
9. The same night It was probably night, or late in the afternoon, when the rest of the people were sent away.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gideon Learns That Yahweh Has Made the Enemy Afraid of Him ( Jdg 7:9-14 ).
Jdg 7:9
‘ And so it was that the same night Yahweh said to him, “rise, get yourself down into the camp, for I have delivered it into your hands.” ’
Now that everything was ready the command came to advance. The waiting was over and it was time for the attack to begin. But Yahweh saw the dread in Gideon’s heart as he looked out over the numerous camp fires scattered throughout the valley, and then around at his pitifully small band of men. And He had compassion on him. God is ever ready to consider our needs. He never demands more than we can give.
“And so it was that the same night Yahweh said to him.” These are the same exact words as the opening of Jdg 6:25. The writer wishes us to connect the actions. The throwing down of the altar of Baal was the reason why he could now go forward to deliver Israel. Had he not done the one he would not have been able to do the other. Like faith, obedience and success grow step by step.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Defeat of the Midianites
v. 9. And it came to pass the same night that the Lord said unto him, v. 10. But if thou fear to go down, v. 11. and thou shalt hear what they say, v. 12. And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the East lay along in the valley, v. 13. And when Gideon was come, v. 14. And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel; for into his hand hath God delivered Midian and all the host. v. 15. And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and the interpretation thereof, v. 16. And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, v. 17. And he said unto them, Look on me and do likewise; and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
v. 18. When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and say, The sword of the Lord and of Gideon, v. 19. So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, v. 20. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal; and they cried, The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.
v. 21. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp, v. 22. And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord set every man’s sword v. 23. And the men of Israel, v. 24. And Gideon, v. 25. And they,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Jdg 7:9
Get thee down, etc; i.e. attack the camp at once with thy 300 men. But if thou art afraid to do so, go down first alone with Phurah thy servant, and hear what they are saying in the camp.
Jdg 7:11
The armed men. The exact meaning of the word here rendered armed men (chamushim), and which occurs Exo 13:18; Jos 1:14; Jos 4:12, is a little uncertain, but it is generally thought to be synonymous with another word (calutsim), also rendered armed (Num 32:32; Deu 3:18), and to mean literally girded, i.e. prepared to fight. These fighting men, as distinguished from the numbers of the nomads who were with their camels and cattle scattered all along the plain, were all collected in the camp, to the edge of which Gideon and Phurah crept stealthily in the dark.
Jdg 7:13
A cake. The Hebrew word occurs nowhere else. Of barley bread. The commonest kind of bread, the food of only the poorer classes, indicating, therefore, the humble origin and station of Gideon. A tent. Rather, the tent; what in a Roman camp would be the pretorium, the general’s tent. The words at the end of the verse are heaped up to indicate the total and entire upsetting and overthrow of the tent, symbolic of the rout and destruction of the Midianite host.
Jdg 7:14
This is nothing else, etc. The dream and the interpretation are striking evidences of the terror which Gideon’s name had already inspired among the Midianites. Because, although both the dream and the interpretation were of God, for the encouragement of Gideon in his great undertaking, yet they followed the course of nature and the laws of psychology. The presentiment that God had delivered Midian into Gideon’s hand is exactly like the terror in the minds of the Canaanites which preceded the arrival of Joshua (Exo 23:27; Deu 2:25; Deu 11:25; Jos 2:9-11).
Jdg 7:15
It was so, etc. The effect upon Gideon was like magic. He not only learnt the state of panic in which the Midianites were, but he had a further certainty that God was with him. His simple piety and adoring gratitude threw him at once upon his knees to thank God, and to cast himself anew upon his strength with un-doubting trust. His hands were indeed strengthened, and he lost not a moment in returning to his 300, relating in a few words the incident of the dream, and bidding them follow him. The Lord hath delivered, etc. Cf. 1Sa 14:20.
Jdg 7:16
Trumpets, which had been collected from the whole army (Jdg 7:8, note). Lamps. Rather, as in the margin, torches, within the pitchers, so as not to be seen till the pitchers were broken, when the torches would flare with a sudden blaze. The pitchers were vessels for drawing water, as appears from Gen 24:14, Gen 24:16, Gen 24:18, Gen 24:20. They were doubtless of earthenware, as they were so easily broken.
Jdg 7:18
The sword of the Lord, etc. The word sword is not in the original here, though it is in Jdg 7:20. It has either dropped out of the text accidentally, or what we have here is the shorter form of the war-cry. It is observable how careful Gideon is to put the name of Jehovah first. It was his cause against Baal, and the battle was to be fought in his strength, and the glory of the victory was to be his. The cry, “The sword of Gideon,” would be peculiarly terrible to the many who had heard of the dream, of which the fulfilment was come so quickly.
Jdg 7:19
The middle watch. The ancient Israelites divided the night into three watches of four hours each, from sunset to sunrise, i.e. from six p.m. to six a.m. The first watch, from six to ten, is not mentioned in the Old Testament; but we have the middle watch mentioned here (from ten to two), and the morning watch (from two till six): Exo 14:24 and 1Sa 11:11. According to this, Gideon’s attack would have taken place soon after ten p.m; or towards eleven, the time when the sleep would be the deepest, the watchmen of the first watch having lately fallen into their first sleep. The later Israelites adopted the Roman division of the night into four watches.
Jdg 7:21
They stood, etc. Gideon’s men did not advance, but stood, each company in the place assigned to them, at different sides of the-camp. This had the effect of awakening the whole camp simultaneously, and they started to their feet and ran hither and thither in confusion, shouting as they went. Undisciplined troops, especially excitable Orientals, are very liable to be thus thrown into a panic. Fled. The Cethib has, caused to fly, i.e. either “put to flight,” or “carried away,” as in Jdg 6:9; Exo 9:20. In the former case the nominative must be the Israelites; in the latter, their tents, herds, stuff, etc; must be understood. Both are very awkward. The Keri, fled, is probably right, unless caused to fly has the sense of “bid them fly,” in which case the preceding word, cried, might be taken in its common sense of they sounded an alarm. The whole clause would then run thus: And all the camp ran; and they sounded a retreat, and bid them flee.
Jdg 7:22
Blew the trumpets, etc. Hearing the confusion, the three companies blew their trumpets, probably more loudly than before, to give the impression of a hot pursuit being at hand. The Midianites, thinking the enemy were upon them, and not being able in the dark to distinguish friend from foe, mistook their flying comrades for pursuing Israelites, and fell upon and slew one another. In like manner the Philistines had done when attacked by Jonathan and his armour-bearer (1Sa 14:20), and the Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites when attacked by Jehoshaphat (2Ch 20:23). Beth-shittah. House of acacias. The exact situation of it, and of Zererath and Tabbath, is unknown. They must have been villages lying on the route from the plain of Esdraelon to the banks of Jordan, probably between Little Hermon on the north and Mount Gilboa on the south, where there was a very ancient high road from Jezreel to the Jordan by Beth-sham Indeed it is highly probable that Shuta, a village mentioned by Robinson, marks the site, as it retains the name of Beth-shittah. For Zererath some read, with some of the old versions and manuscripts, Zeredath (r and d being scarcely distinguishable in Hebrew), and identify it with Zarthan near Succoth, mentioned Jos 3:16 and 1Ki 4:12; 1Ki 7:46. Abel-meholah (the meadow of the dance) was the birthplace of Elisha (1Ki 19:16), and is mentioned in conjunction with Beth-shan, Jezreel, and Zartana in 1Ki 4:12. Eusebius tells us that in his time Abel-meholah was called Beth-maiela, and situated ten miles below Beth-shan, or Scy-thopolis. There was also, he says, close by an Abel-maiela.
Jdg 7:23
The men of Israel, etc. Gideon’s disbanded army got together again very quickly when they heard of the flight of the Midianites. Zebulun is not mentioned.
Jdg 7:24
Mount Ephraim. Rather, the hill country, of Ephraim. For some reason Gideon had not invited the Ephraimites to join in the war before (Jdg 8:1); but now, seeing the extreme importance of seizing the fords of Jordan, so as to stop the escape of the Midianites, he sent messengers in all haste to the men of Ephraim, who accordingly “took the waters unto Beth-barah and Jordan.” The waters seem to mean a number of streams running from the hill country of Ephraim into the Jordan, and which had to be crossed by the Midianites before they could reach the Jordan fords. The site of Beth-barah is unknown. It is not thought to be the same as Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptising (Joh 1:28). Beth-barah must have been on the west of Jordan.
Jdg 7:25
Oreb, a raven, and Zeeb, a wolf. The rock known afterwards as the rock of Oreb (Isa 10:26), and the wine-press (see Jdg 6:11) known as the wine-press of Zeeb, were so called from being the places where these two princes were taken and slain by the Eph-raimites. In like manner the well of Harod is called by the name it afterwards received (Jdg 7:1), and the palm tree of Deborah in like manner (Jdg 2:5), and Lehi (Jdg 15:9). These are valuable indications (to which many more might be added) of a living tradition older than the written history. The capture of Oreb and Zeeb is celebrated in Psa 83:11 and Isa 10:26. On the other side Jordan, i.e. the east side of the river, which Gideon had now crossed, as is related in Jdg 8:4. The narrative runs on here to complete the history of the doings of the men of Ephraim, and goes back at Jdg 8:4 to take up the thread of the history of Gideon (see Jdg 2:1-6, note).
HOMILETICS
Jdg 7:9-25
Faith.
The whole Book of Judges is so full of lessons of faith, as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews teaches us when he refers to “Gideon, and Barak, and Samson, and Jephthah” (Heb 11:32), that we cannot help recurring to the subject of faith if we would honestly draw the instruction which each portion of Scripture is intended to convey. But though the same general lessons of faithits nature, its triumphs, its sure rewardsrecur in the successive histories, yet each has some proper lesson peculiar to itself. Referring then to the remarks on Jdg 1:8-21 for such general lessons, we will notice some peculiar trials to which the faith of Gideon was subjected.
I. THE SACRIFICES OF FAITH. Let us put ourselves in Gideon’s place. Suddenly called out of insignificance and obscurity, he had played the part of a statesman, a leader, and a general. As the result of his well-concerted measures, he found himself at the head of 32,000 men. As he reviewed this great force, so unexpectedly got together, how must his heart have swelled with pride and hope! No doubt that great army was the instrument by which he was to deliver Israel, and he could but feel some self-gratulation at the success of his plans. To a man of an eager spirit as he must have been, no greater disappointment could have occurred than to be told to dismiss that army without striking a blow. Just when he was about to acquire immortal fame to himself, and to save his country, and establish the great religious reformation which he had begun, by their means, to see them, and all his own prospects with them, melt away like a heap of snow before the sun, and that by his own act, must have been a trial indeed. But Gideon’s faith stood the trial. Before God’s clear command all his natural feelings and wishes gave way at once. He might have said with St. Paul, “What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ;” for he acted in that self-same spirit. His faith prompted him to obey, at whatever sacrifice of inclination and natural desire. That places him on a very high pedestal among believers. But let us look again at the extraordinary singleness of eye with which Gideon’s faith led him to act. The loss of the first 22,000 men was indeed a heavy one, but still they went away of their own free will. But the 10,000 who remained had given proof of a brave and constant spirit, and how could he put upon them the affront of sending them away, after a test of an arbitrary kind, as men unfit to face the enemy? It was now not Gideon’s ambition only, not his amour-propre, which would rise in rebellion against a hard command, but his feelings as a soldier, as a comrade, as one who desired to retain the good opinion of his countrymen, and who wished to be popular amongst them. Dismiss the 9700 men who had left home, and were come to share the danger with him, and who had refused to leave him when they might have done so! Expose himself to the charge of fickleness and follyto be thought like a man who builds a house and then plucks it down with his own hands; to be liable all his life to the hatred and resentment of those whom he had so affronted! (See 2Ch 25:10.) How could he obey such a hard command? But if Gideon’s natural man spake thus, the voice of his faith spake in contradiction to such thoughts, and spake with authority. His faith still prompted him to obey, and he did obey, because he looked with a single eye to the will of God, and took no count of consequences to himself or others. Here again then his faith was of a very high quality.
II. THE RISKS OF FAITH. But we may look at Gideon’s faith in a little different light, and mark the immense risks that he ran, having all human probabilities against him, and only the promise of God for him. Here was a vast host of 135,000 men within less than an hour’s march of him. His position was anyhow one of the utmost danger. To weaken his force even by 1000 men must seem an act of great imprudence. To denude himself of his whole force except a handful of 300 men was like courting destruction, like putting his head in the lion’s mouth. Humanly speaking, Gideon and his 300 would be crushed like insects under the feet of the Midianite host. And yet he dehberately reduced his force to 300 men, and then marched down from his stronghold into the enemy’s camp. He set the word and promise of God on one side, and all the fearful risks and dangers on the other, and these last were in his eyes as nothing in comparison with the former. He went down with his 300 in full confidence of the victory which he won. In this too his faith was worthy of all praise and imitation.
III. VERIFICATION OF THE WORD OF GOD. But here perhaps a caution is necessary, Lest we mistake what faith is. Faith is such an entire trust in the word of God that it produces obedience to that word, whatever it requires of us. But we must not mistake our own fancy, or our own wishes, or our own opinion, for the word of God. Had Gideon rushed down upon the Midianite host upon the impulse of his own courage, or in reliance on his own stratagem, or under an unfounded belief that God had sent him, instead of admiring his faith, we should have had perhaps to blame him for foolhardiness, or to accuse him of foolish vanity, or to pity him for his fanaticism. It was because his course was founded upon the clear and distinct word of God that it is held up to us as an object of admiration and imitation. And it is worth observing in this connection what abundant assurance was given to Gideon that the very word of God was his warrant for what he did, and how cautious Gideon was to obtain such assurance. The distinct appearance and words of the angel at first, his tarrying by the terebinth tree at Gideon’s request, the fire which consumed the sacrifice at the touch of the angel’s staff, the vanishing of the angel out of his sight, his reappearance that same night, the sign, twice repeated, of the fleece of wool, the reiterated communications by the word of the Lord, and the dream that he heard in the Midianite camp are so many proofs upon proofs, like our Lord’s appearances after his resurrection, given by God to make his revelation certain, and so many evidences of Gideon’s wise caution in ascertaining beyond a doubt that it was the word of God which was directing him in this terrible enterprise. In trying to take Gideon’s faith as a model of our own, we must first imitate his care in ascertaining what the word of God really does require of us. The sad mistakes that have been made by misguided men in all ages, confounding the passions of their own hearts, or the hallucinations of their own brains, with the requirements of the ‘written word of God, and even in their heated fanaticism imagining that special revelations were made to them by the Holy Ghost, confirms the lesson, given us by Gideon, of not accepting anything as the word of God upon light or insufficient evidence. To accept as the word of God without sufficient evidence any impression, or impulse, or vision, or dream, or interpretation of Scripture, is not a proof of a strong faith, but an evidence of a weak, and rash, and credulous mind. We may place, therefore, as first in order of importance, as well as the first that rises to the surface from the history of Gideon, the lesson of taking all due care and caution in verifying the word of God. This implies: circumstanced as we are, diligent and prayerful study of Holy Scripture, so as to be imbued with its true spirit, and to know thoroughly what it requires of us under the various circumstances of life. But when once the requirements and meaning of the word of God are plain, then a true faith will obey it, in spite of any sacrifice of worldly interest or self-pleasing which such obedience may incur, and in spite of any risks of worldly evil which may ensue. And the reason is obvious. Faith rests upon the perfect goodness and infinite power of God. If once, therefore, we know that God commands us to do such or such a thing, or to leave such a thing undone, we are certain that it is really for our good to do it, however much appearances may be the other way. We are certain too that the power of God is sufficient to bear us harmless through all dangers, however insuperable they may seem to us. It is of the very essence of faith, therefore, to give more weight to the unseen power and love of God than to the visible losses and dangers which threaten to be the result of obedience to God’s word, and to make light of sacrifice of worldly advantages, or of selfish interests, in view of that closer communion with God which comes of obedience to his commandments. So Gideon acted, so Abraham acted, and so Moses acted, and thus must we act if we would be reckoned with them. The sacrifices we are called to make and the risks we are called to run by a conscientious obedience to the word of God in all its breadth will probably be much smaller than theirs were; perhaps only the sacrifice of some gratification to our vanity, or some addition to our self-esteem, the risk of some loss to our gains, or some check to our haste to get rich; but every such sacrifice made in the spirit of a true faith, and every such risk run in simple trust to the promises of the word of God, will be accepted of God in his Fatherly love, and will help to make us rich in faith, and to secure our place among the heirs of that kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR
Jdg 7:9-15
The crowning sign.
All through this drama the spirit of Gideon was being trained for a decisive service. His faith had been tried to the utmost. Alone of all that host had he borne the responsibility of reducing it to 300 men. God’s influence upon Gideon was from beginning to end moral and spiritual.
I. GOD JUSTIFIES HIS WAYS TO THOSE WHO PUT THEIR TRUST IN HIM. It was a grace that this additional sign should be given. The patience and faith of the servant of God are recognised by a spiritual reward. The deep harmony, hitherto unsuspected, of the steps he had taken at the Divine instance with the process going on and assisted by God s influence in the minds of his enemies must have, when combined with the circumstances,the still night, the darkness, the vast host in whose dangerous neighbourhood he lay,produced a profound impression upon his mind. In such a revelation there is communion and spiritual rapture. It was a reward for all he had passed through. The wisdom of everything was plain. There are times like this in every true life. They come unexpectedly, as a grace from our heavenly Father. He leads us into his counsels, and confirms us. Obedience leads on to knowledge,
II. SUGGESTION IS GIVEN HOW TO PERFECT OUR SERVICE. In every saint’s life there is something wantingan indefinite incompleteness and crudity. Such revelations and providences remove this. Their practical utility is evident. Here were several matters made known to Gideon he had not probably dreamt of.
1. The carelessness of the watch, arising probably from the notion that Israel had disagreed and dispersed.
2. The liability of an army so composed, etc; to panic.
3. The influence of his own name (the use he made of this we know by the cry).
4. The secret fear in the hearts of his adversaries.
III. IT IS BY THE MORAL INFLUENCE OF GOD‘S PEOPLE THE WORLD IS OVERCOME. Christians are too much afraid of the world. Fear not, says the Master, for I have overcome the world. Vivid realisations of this are sometimes afforded us. The whole stress of attention ought therefore to be laid upon character, obedience to God’s will, and submission to his leadership. Though few and weak, the “little flock” will receive the kingdom. It is Christ in us of whom the wicked and the demons are afraid. Of what consequence all their multitude and array? Secretly the world respects and fears the self-denial and faith of Christians.
IV. A GRACIOUS REVELATION LIKE THIS HAS TO BE RECOGNISED ADORINGLY AND BY IMMEDIATE PRACTICAL OBEDIENCE. Gideon “worshipped” Jehovah. It was a time when every obstacle had been removed, and his way was clearly revealed. He could now sympathise with God and admire his consummate wisdom. For himself too he must have felt grateful. God was better to him than he had hoped. Victory was potentially his. No wonder that his heart poured itself forth in such unrestrained and adoring emotion. But the lesson of the sign was not lost. Practical advantage was at once taken of it. He “returned unto the host of Israel, and said, Arise,” etc. Do not allow God’s gracious revelations in our lives to be a dead letter. Act upon them, that our lives may be brought into subjection and harmony with his will.M.
Jdg 7:15-22
Inspired tactics.
The strategy of Gideon is one of the military marvels of antiquity. It seems simple and well adapted to its end; but that did not appear at first. In truth he was taught of God, inspiring his mind and illuminating his common sense, his experience, and his spiritual faculties. From the “lamps, pitchers, and trumpets” we learn
I. How THE ENEMIES OF GOD ARE TO BE DEALT WITH.
1. The means to be employed are of Divine appointment. Not what human wisdom would devise, nor as appealing to material aid. “Gideon overcame Midian with unarmed soldiers, bearing only trumpets, torches, and pitchers. So Christ overcame the world by unarmed apostles, bearing the trumpet of preaching and the torch of miracles (Theodoret).
2. Prompt and intelligent advantage is to be taken of the opportunities presented. What served at this juncture would have been entirely useless at another time. Knowledge of men is of immense advantage to the Christian worker; tact, and perception of the capabilities of the several means of grace. The power of Christian truth can never be overrated, but it may be misapplied.
3. Unity and co-operation should be shown by God‘s servants Nothing could be finer than the device, save the manner in which it was carried out. Greater works than these shall be done when all Christ’s servants are of one heart and one mind.
II. IN WHAT LIGHT THEIR POWER IS TO BE REGARDED. Gideon began his enterprise with the conviction, which he communicated to his followers, “The Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.” The victory is already potentially ours if we use the right means in the right spirit. All the pomp and influence of sin ought not to daunt us. It is a house divided against itself, and subject to a thousand alarms. The least saint, in God’s strength, may put an “army of aliens” to flight.
III. UPON WHOM THE SOLDIER OF THE TRUTH OUGHT TO DEPEND. Gideon is filled throughout with a profound trust in Jehovah. It is that which gives the moral character to his plans. Although he saw-how potent his own name was amongst the Midianites, he did not content himself with the war-cry, “The sword of Gideon,” but preferred “The sword of the Lord (Jehovah) and of Gideon.” Christians can rely implicitly upon spiritual means and methods, because they believe in God, who informs and directs all earnest effort. The Israelites stood still and the Lord fought for them.M.
Verse 22-ch. 8:4, Jdg 8:10-13
Following up advantage.
A model of diplomatic skill, judicial sternness, and soldier-like hardihood and resolution. Far from home, amid hardship in strange regions, he tracks the enemy even into the inaccessible Hauran. There is a Syrian proverb, He fled into the War of the Safa, i.e. into an unassailable refuge.
I. THE CO–OPERATION IS SOUGHT OF ALL ISRAELITES WHO CAN BE OF HELP. He had reasons for keeping the glory to his own trusty band. But there is no selfishness in his disposition. The advantage of his nation and the glory of Jehovah is uppermost in his mind. He finds work, therefore, for all All are engaged, that it may be a national victory. Some have to lay the foundations, begin the work, sow the seed; others can then carry out. The least Christian has something he can do. It is a duty of leaders to make and indicate fitting work for all. “The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few.” Ephraim can do one part of the work best; he another. And having hitherto abstained, they were quite fresh now.
II. A SAGACIOUS AND KINDLY FORBEARANCE IS SHOWN TO THE JEALOUSIES OF BRETHREN. No word of rebuke is spoken to the tribes that held back. Persuasion is used, opportunity for usefulness is presented, the patriotism of the tribes is relied upon. It was no time for questions and wranglings. Well would it be for the different branches of Christ’s Church did they follow a similar policy. Would that we were all so busy that we had no time for doctrinal disputes and questions of precedence and apostolic authority!
III. NO PAUSE OR REST IS OBSERVED UNTIL THE TASK IS COMPLETED, The deserted Midianite camp with all its riches does not tempt. Hunger and thirst and weariness are endured rather than lose the advantage. Only a determination to follow up the surprise with thorough and exemplary vengeance could have sustained him. So the conflict with sin and the world is to be conducted. Better to wear out than to rust out. Evil habits, unholy practices, false principles have to be tracked out to their last refuges and finally disposed of. It is harder work to live out Christianity than to be converted to it; harder work to follow out in detail, and into the practice and life of every day, the great doctrines of righteousness than to understand and explain them intellectually. There is a loud call for vigour, thoroughness, patient continuance in well-doing. The day is Christ’s; let us make it wholly his.M.
HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY
Jdg 7:16-18
Gideon’s ruse.
I. THE ASSURANCE OF SUCCESS IS A HELP TOWARDS ATTAINING IT. Gideon had feared to attack the hosts of Midianites and Amalekites till he had discovered that they feared him; then he took courage and energy to devise the plan of victory. Too much diffidence is dangerous. Hope inspires with ingenuity as well as with courage; it is a brightness, an influence that enlivens thought. Therefore hope has its place in the first rank of Christian graces (1Co 13:13). The promises of the Bible are not only comforting, they are inspiring. Our great encouragement should be that the powers of evil fear Christ and his army.
II. THOUGHT IS SOMETIMES MORE NEEDFUL THAN FORCE. Gideon’s victory was a triumph of thought, of contrivance. The right disposition of our energies is more important than the mere sum of them. It would be well if Christians practised on behalf of the cause of Christ the same wisdom which men of the world display in business, in politics, etc; so far as this is not inconsistent with perfect honour (Luk 16:8). Christ requires us to be wise and harmless (Mat 10:16). Dulness is not holiness. Intellectual gifts should be consecrated to God, not despised as unfit for his service. The diplomatist and the tactitian may find work in the service of Christ. In mission work organisation, economy of strength, ingenious adaptation of means to ends should be carefully studied, and the gift of wisdom sought in addition to that of zeal.
III. MORAL INFLUENCE IS BETTER THAN PHYSICAL FORCE. Gideon had conquered before he had struck a blow. The dismay he created and the confusion this produced in the hostile camp secured him victory. Though we cannot be justified in descending to deception, we may aim at influencing others by thought and feeling rather than by direct physical means. Christianity is a triumph of ideas. It is a sign of intellectual and spiritual failure when the Church desires to effect by the aid of the law what she should have done by the influence of moral suasion, as in restraining immorality, etc.
IV. IGNORANCE IS WEAKNESS. The Midianites and Amalekites were ignorant of the number of Gideon’s army, or they would not have been deceived. They were too self-confident to inquire, as Gideon had done, concerning their condition. Ignorance and superstition create imaginary foes. An evil conscience is quick to imagine danger (Pro 28:1). The terrors which surround us are worse in imagination than in reality. Darkness and ignorance make men their own worst enemies (Jdg 7:22).A.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Gideon is directed to advance against the enemy; but to increase his confidence he is authorized to make a previous visit to the hostile encampment
Jdg 7:9-11
9And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord [Jehovah] said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto [descend against] the host [camp]; for I have delivered it into thine hand. 10But if thou [yet] fear to go down, go thou [first] with Phurah thy servant down to the host [camp]: 11And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto [against] the host [camp]. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host [camp].
EXEGETICAL AND DOCTRINAL
Jdg 7:9. Arise, descend! The three hundred who are with Gideon are enough. The hero may venture the assault with them. The hosts of Midian, despite their numbers, will not withstand their enthusiasm of faith. Not fortune, but God, will help the brave. There is no more time for delay. The harvest waits for the reaper; of that Gideon may convince himself. Let him hear what they say, and he will learn that they are more in dread than to be dreaded. The command addressed to Gideon in this verse, bids him make a general assault with all his men (which Bertheau has failed to perceive). It is only when the undertaking still appears too venturesome to him, that he is bidden first to convince himself of the spirit which rules in the camp of Midian. Again and again does the narrative inculcate the lesson that victory results only from full, undivided, unbroken, and enthusiastic confidence. Every shadow of hesitation is removed by God, before the hero advances to his great exploit.
Jdg 7:10. Go thou with Phurah thy servant. The case of Diomed, who according to Homer (Il. x. 220), ventures into the camp of the Trojans, is not altogether analogous.16 Diomed is to find out what the Trojans are doing, and design to do; Gideon is only to learn the spirit of his enemy, as they freely converse together. Diomed also desires a companion, for two going together better observe what is profitable. Gideons servant goes with him, not for this purpose, but that he also may hear what Gideon hears, and may testify to his fellow soldiers of what Gideon tells them, so that they may follow with the same assured courage with which he leads. The two commands are very clearly distinguished. Gideon with his troop were to advance against (, as in Jdg 5:13) the encampment; but Gideon and his servant are to go unto () it.The name Phurah (), does not occur elsewhere. Pere ( or ) is a wild ass, onager, an animal much talked of and greatly dreaded among the Orientals. Here, however, the Masorites have pointed the same radicals ; according to which the name of the servant, as signifying Branch (), was not unaptly chosen. means both boy and servant or attendant.
Jdg 7:11. As far as the line (limit.) of the vanguard to the camp, . The meaning of is obscure, although the rendering of the LXX. at Jos 1:14 affords a hint toward a probable explanation. is the small of the back, above the hips (lumbus, lumbi quinque inferiores spin vertebr), about which the girdle, zona, was worn. The chamushim were not, however, simply those who were girdled and equipped, but as the LXX. indicate in the passage referred to, the , the well-girdled; which term the Greeks also used to designate the light-armed troops, who were everywhere in use as van and rear guards. Among many passages in Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, and others, it will be sufficient to quote the following from the Cyropaedia (v. 3, 56), as illustrating this use of the Greek word: … . The same position as vanguard is, according to Jos 1:14, occupied in the Israelitish host by the two and a half trans-Jordanic tribes: Ye shall march before your brethren as chamushim. These tribes had left their families beyond the Jordan, and were therefore freer and lighter, expeditiores. To the same class of soldiery belonged the chamushim, to whom Gideon approached. They formed the outer rim of the encampment, and beyond them Gideon did not venture to proceed, if for no other reason, for want of time. What Bertheau says about 135,000 men who constituted this body,17 is like his whole explanation of the passage, a misapprehension.
Footnotes:
[16]In the inn Zur Hohen Schul in Ulm, there is still shown a portrait of Gustavus Adolphus, as during the war he appeared, disguised, in that city, as a spy, which is only a legend. In Like manner, it is told of Alfred the Great of England, that in order to inspect for himself the situation of the Danes, he entered their camp as a harper. Hume, Hist. of Eng. i. 63.
[17][Bertheau says, indeed, that the chamushim numbered 135,000 men, cf Jdg 8:10; but by the chamushim, he, like most scholars, understands not the vanguard of the hostile army, but the whole body of fighting men in the army. The eastern tribes, he says, had invaded the land with their herds and tents, i. e. families, Jdg 6:5. Among such nomadic tribes, the warriors, called , or Jos 4:12-13, are distinguished from the body of the people. The former, in view of the impending battle, were not scattered among the mass of the people, but were collected together in the camp to the number of 135, 000.Tr.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Observe, the gracious condescension of God, thus to furnish out means for the strengthening of Gideon’s faith. Though the Lord Jesus is both the author and finisher of our faith, and all the faith his people have is of his own gracious giving; yet doth he mercifully arrange and order things for the strengthening and confirming that faith, which he himself hath planted in their hearts. Observe, how every event of this visit to the camp corresponded, as if to convince Gideon that all was of the Lord. The dream of one of the soldiers of Midian, and the interpretation of it by another, to say nothing of the safety of Gideon and his servants in going down unnoticed amidst this great host of foes; everything served to bring conviction to the mind of Gideon of the Almightiness of the Lord, and how sure he was of victory. Hence the impulse of worship which burst from his mind. Oh! how precious is it to trace the Lord’s hand in all the Lord’s ways, and to know ourselves; and all that concerns us, to be under his government and direction. Reader! the issue of this battle with the foes of thy salvation, though numerous as grasshoppers, is not doubtful, if so be thou fightest in Jesus’s name, and in Jesus’s strength. Remember his own sweet words, and in all skirmishes wear them on thine heart. Joh 16:33 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 7:9 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.
Ver. 9. Get thee down unto the host. ] This was a hard task, but he trusted in God, and devoured the difficulty, despised the danger. E Y , was the old rule among the wiser heathens, Be ruled by God.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the Sword of Jehovah and of Gideon
Jdg 7:9-23
Gideon asked for the sign of the fleece, but God, without his asking, gave him that of the barley-cake. It was only barley-bread, the cheapest and commonest kind of food, but it overthrew a tent. Gideon was quick to recognize the symbol of his weakness and helplessness, but he recognized also the presage of victory. Lying there in the moonless night, with his head toward that tent, he worshiped and hastened back to his camp. We remember what Jesus made of barley-loaves. See Joh 6:9; Joh 6:13.
The blare of the trumpets, the breaking of the pitchers, the flashing of the lights, and the shouting from three sides of the camp startled the sleeping host into panic. Surely this scene was in Pauls thought when he said that Gods light had shone forth on the midnight darkness of that age; and then confessed that the light was contained in the earthen vessel of mortality, that the excellency of the power might be of God. Let us not be too greatly disturbed when the sorrows and persecutions of earth break up our peace and strength-this is the breaking of the earthen vessel. Our business must be to see that the torch burns within, 2Co 4:6, etc.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
the same: Gen 46:2, Gen 46:3, Job 4:13, Job 33:15, Job 33:16, Mat 1:20, Mat 2:13, Act 18:9, Act 18:10, Act 27:23
Arise: Jos 1:5-9, Isa 41:10-16, Isa 43:1, Isa 43:2
I have delivered: Jdg 3:10, Jdg 3:28, Jdg 4:14, Jdg 4:15, 2Ch 16:8, 2Ch 16:9, 2Ch 20:17
Reciprocal: Jdg 20:28 – Go up 1Sa 14:8 – we will pass 2Ki 13:17 – The arrow 1Ch 14:15 – then thou
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 7:9-11. The same night After he had dismissed all but the three hundred; the Lord said In a dream or vision of the night; But if thou fear to go down Namely, with thy three hundred men, to attack the Midianites. Afterward shall thy hand be strengthened Thou wilt be encouraged to proceed, notwithstanding the smallness of thy number.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 7:9-15. Gideons Visit to the Midfanite Camp.The heroic leader was next encouraged, not by a dream of his own, but by one which he heard told at night in the camp of the enemy. The significant features of the dream are the tent, the symbol of the Midianite nomads, and the cake of barley bread, the symbol of the Israelite peasants. As the little barley cake overturns the huge tent, so Israel is to defeat the host of Midian.
Jdg 7:14. Read This is nothing but the men of Israel, the words Gideon the son of Joash being probably a later insertion. It is not Gideon, but Gideons little band of gallant yeomen (Jdg 7:15 b), that corresponds to the dreamers cake.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
7:9 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, {e} get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.
(e) Thus the Lord by various means strengthens him, that he faint not in so great an enterprise.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God’s command to visit the Midianites’ camp 7:9-11
God then commanded Gideon to prepare for battle that very night (Jdg 7:9). He offered the judge a further sign that He would be victorious, and Gideon immediately seized it. God did not rebuke Gideon’s normal fear of going into battle against such overwhelming odds. Instead He strengthened his faith.
"Gideon is no fearless all-pro linebacker, no General Patton and John Wayne rolled into one huge ball of true grit.
"We sometimes dupe ourselves into thinking that a real servant of Christ is only someone who is dynamic, assured, confident, brash, fearless, witty, adventuresome, or glamorous-with one or two appearances on a Christian television network. Don’t think you are unusable because you don’t have that air about you. Christ takes uncertain and fearful folk, strengthens their hands in the oddest ways, and makes them able to stand for him in school or home or work." [Note: Davis, pp. 106-7.]
"Gideon’s request with the fleece reflected war in his heart: he was fearful and lacked faith. Interestingly the reduction of Gideon’s army in the structure of the text falls precisely between his unfounded request for a fleece and God’s exposure of his fear. Therefore the reduction of the army was not so much intended to glorify God (by demonstrating His ability to deliver with only 300) as it was to put Gideon in a position where his fear would be exposed. The very thing Gideon had hoped to achieve by the fleece demonstration-some kind of self-assurance that things would turn out well-was the very ’carpet’ that God pulled out from beneath him. Gideon sought to gain some security by his self-conceived sign with the fleece, and though God acquiesced to that request, He immediately countered by putting Gideon in an even more vulnerable position. If Gideon struggled to trust God with 32,000 Israelites against a Midianite force of 135,000 (see Jdg 8:10), how would he react when he had only a force of 300? In this light the words of God in Jdg 7:10 take on great significance." [Note: Tanner, p. 159.]