Judges 7-9 - Gideon’s 300 Men

Gideon’s 300 Men

Jdg 7:7 LSB - [7] And Yahweh said to Gideon, "I will save you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the [other] people go, each man to his place."

Jdg 7:10-11 LSB - [10] "But if you are afraid to go down, [then both] you and Purah your young man, go down to the camp, [11] and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened, that you may go down against the camp." So he went with Purah his young man down to the outskirts of the armed men that were in the camp.

Gideon Kills the Princes of Midian

Jdg 7:20 LSB - [20] Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, and they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing and called out, "A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!"

THE SWORD OF THE LORD AND OF GIDEON
Words: Cla­ra H. Thwaite

Twelve thou­sand stand on Gi­le­ad,

Yea, twice twelve thou­sand say!

They flocked at sil­ver trum­pet’s call,

All men of Is­ra­el they.

But faith­ful Gi­de­on cried aloud,

If crav­en heart there be,

Return, faint-heart­ed, to your tents,

Not yours the vic­to­ry!

Ten thou­sand stand at Gi­le­ad!

No crav­en hearts are these;

But will they speed at du­ty’s call,

Or love they sloth­ful ease?

In wea­ri­ness, in watch­ings oft,

The sol­dier’s lot must stand:

Can these ten thou­sand hard­ness bear,

And march at God’s com­mand?

See! Har­od’s spark­ling waters

Flow flash­ing thro’ the plain!

The Lord will try His war­ri­ors

Again and yet again.

Down to the mar­gin of the stream

The thirst­ing sol­diers press,

Their parch­èd lips ap­proach the stream,

The leap­ing tor­rent kiss.

Some yield to wea­ri­ness and thirst,

And, kneel­ing on the sod,

Forget awhile the trum­pet’s call,

Their coun­try and their God!

Some on­ly bend in man­ly grace

With hand dipped in the ford,

And mar­tial stand, the sword in hand,

To heark­en Gi­de­on’s word.

By these, by these, cried Gi­de­on,

The Lord shall Is­ra­el save;

By prov­en men and chos­en,

Three hun­dred war­ri­ors brave;

Lest Is­ra­el’s host should vaunt it­self,

And dream that its pow­er and might,

Or pru­dence of the wise and skilled,

Had con­quered in the fight.

Three hun­dred stand on Gi­le­ad,

Obedient men—but lo!

More than a hun­dred thou­sand

In Mi­di­an’s tents be­low!

What wea­pons for the war­fare?

A trum­pet and a light!

The shout of a king among them

Ringing thro’ Mi­di­an’s night!

O Lord, arise! Thy war­ri­ors choose,

As erst at Har­od’s well,

And prove them at the wa­ters—

Thy faith­ful Is­ra­el!

Swift as the ea­gle may they bear

Love’s em­bas­sy abroad!

Send out Thy sons of va­lor

To war, the wars of God!

They will not pause, those ea­ger souls,

Where plea­sure’s waves glide by,

Nor, heed­less of the Mas­ter’s call,

In ease­ful lang­uor lie.

They hear the call of na­tions,

The Mas­ter’s high com­mand,

And pure re­solve and zeal in­spire

The mis­sion­ary band.

O flash the torch of truth athwart

The gloom of hea­then night!

And cheer ye with a song of faith,

And trum­pet sound of might!

The bat­tle is not yours, but God’s;

Ring out the bat­tle cry!

The sword of God and Gi­de­on

Shall bring the vic­to­ry!

Gideon Makes an Ephod

Jdg 8:27 LSB - [27] Then Gideon made it into an ephod and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

“He did not set up an idol, but he made an ephod, an imitation of that wonderful vestment worn by the high priest. Perhaps he made it of solid gold, not to be worn, but to be looked at, simply to remind the people of the worship of God, and not to be itself worshipped. But ah, dear friends, you see here that, if we go half an inch beyond what God’s Word warrants we always get into mischief!” (Spurgeon)

 

The Death and Burial of Gideon

Jdg 8:34 LSB - [34] Thus the sons of Israel did not remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side;

Abimelech Kills His Brothers

Jdg 9:19-20 LSB - [19] if then you have dealt in truth and integrity with Jerubbaal and his house this day, be glad in Abimelech, and let him also be glad in you. [20] "But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem and from Beth-millo and consume Abimelech."

The Downfall of Abimelech

Jdg 9:23 LSB - [23] Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem; and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,

Jdg 9:53 LSB - [53] But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, and she smashed his skull.

Jdg 9:56-57 LSB - [56] Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers. [57] God also returned all the evil of the men of Shechem on their own heads, and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came upon them.