And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, and empty pitchers, and torches within the pitchers.
Gideon sends three hundred men into battle with no sword, no spear and no shield. Each man carries a trumpet, a clay jar, and a torch hidden inside. Commentators read this strange kit as a picture of how God works with His people. Why arm them like this, and why does the light stay hidden at first?
By any military standard the kit makes no sense.
The weapons of their warfare were the most foolish things imaginable — trumpets, pitchers, and lamps in the pitchers! Faith's weapons must be mighty through God alone.
Even the small band is split again before the fight begins.
Gideon divided these three hundred men into three companies — as if even that number was too great to be trusted together. They were all armed alike, and in a strange way. They had no sword, no bow, no spear. In one hand they held only pitchers, earthen vessels with a light hidden inside. In the other hand they held a trumpet that was to sound out the note of victory.
Rossier reads the trumpet, the jar and the lamp as one picture of witness.
If the trumpets represent the word of God in testimony, and the pitchers represent ourselves, what are the lamps but the life of Jesus, the light of Christ? The first two only serve to show the third in the surrounding darkness. Gideon's men blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and the light shone out all about them.
Israel's trumpets had four uses, and battle was only one of them.
We find the use of the trumpets detailed in Numbers 10:1-10. They were the voice of God, telling the people His mind on four important occasions. They gave the signal for gathering the people together, for the journeying of the camps, for battle, and also for the solemn feasts or worship. What the sound of the trumpets once meant for Israel, we now find in the word of God, in another and very precious way. By it God speaks to us. It regulates and directs the gathering together, the walk, the warfare, and the worship of the children of God.
The verse calls the jars empty, but Gideon does not leave them that way.
Notice that the pitchers had been empty, but Gideon put the lights — the brands or torches — inside. This helps us understand the treasure in the earthen vessels that Paul speaks of. From the context, it is clearly the knowledge of the glory of God. God had caused that glory to shine in our hearts, displayed in the face of the glorified Christ. But once we receive it, by the working of sovereign power and grace, it does not come and go. It remains as a lasting possession.
Rossier looks at what the jars themselves were worth:
The empty pitchers were probably some of the containers that had held the people's food. Now empty and worthless, they were only fit to be broken. When God raises up a testimony, He only glorifies Himself in instruments which He has broken.
A lamp sealed inside pottery gives no light at all.
Here you have the pitcher whole, with the light down inside it — and so the pitcher hides the light. There is nothing to do but break the pitcher. Then the light shines out unhindered. And you can understand that the more valuable the pitcher is, the less likely it is to be broken.
God, not us, does the breaking — and that is a comfort, not a threat.
Now, I do not have to break the pitcher, blessed be God for that. That is God's part. He will break the pitcher — be sure of that. If you are walking with God, you are certain to be in His mind when He breaks it. And take care that you do not put something else in the way to stop the light from shining.
The Christian's Friend names the two weapons we fight with now.
Now, the weapons we have to fight with are testimony by word of mouth and our own insignificance. Our power is in giving testimony to Jesus. We must never leave the place of being only "earthen vessels." Remember: the vessel only contains the light. Let us not pretend that it is the light.
- Trumpet — the voice of God. In Numbers 10 it gathered, guided, and called to battle and worship. The word of God does all four for His people now.
- Vessel — the jars were empty and worthless in themselves. God still used them, and He glorifies Himself only in instruments He has broken.
- Lamp — the treasure inside is the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Christ. It stays there as a lasting possession.
- Breaking — a whole jar hides its own light. God Himself breaks it. The more we prize the vessel, the harder we resist.
- Victory — no sword, bow or spear. The weapons look foolish on purpose, so that the power is God's alone. Never confuse the vessel with the light.
And he said to them, Look on me, and do likewise; behold, when I come to the extremity of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
Gideon's three hundred men stand in the dark above a valley packed with the army of Midian. They carry no swords — only trumpets, clay jars and torches hidden inside — and their leader gives them one order: watch me, and copy me.
The order is simple. Gideon gives his men no plan to follow, only a person to copy.
Then Gideon told them to look at him and to do as he did. What a lovely picture of having Christ as our true leader! He does not only tell us what to do: He shows us by His own example, and we need only to follow Him.
Copying a leader in the dark only works if you never look away from him. One writer makes this the way a Christian knows what to do from moment to moment.
To know what to do at any given moment, we must have the "single eye." When Gideon was about to attack the Midianites, he said to his followers, "Look at me, and do likewise." So it must be now with the Christian. He must look on Christ so that he may do what he sees Him doing. His eye must be on Christ alone, seeing nothing but Christ, desiring nothing but His mind and His glory.
The command is empty until you know what the model does. Gideon sounded his trumpet and smashed the jar in his own hand.
Gideon blew his trumpet and broke his own pitcher at the same time. He commanded his companions to do the things they had "heard and seen" in their leader. As soon as they obeyed the word and followed his example, their enemies fled and they won a great victory. Breaking the pitchers mattered just as much as blowing the trumpet. Until they broke them, the pitchers hid the light inside; then the light shone out.
Three hundred men went out against an army with no sword in hand. Their equipment was itself the lesson.
The weapons of their warfare were the most foolish things imaginable — trumpets, pitchers, and lamps in the pitchers! Faith's weapons must be mighty through God alone.
A whole jar hides the flame it carries. One writer applies the breaking to self.
This self has now become the recipient of the grace of divine light. God has shined into the heart — now what are you to do? It is a question between the light that has shined in, and the vessel that contains the light and may hinder it from shining out. The vessel has received the light. That is what grace has done, and the same grace shows itself through a broken vessel.
The same writer weighs the jar's value against the treasure inside it.
The only way to let the light shine out is to break the pitcher. And you can understand that the more valuable the pitcher is, the less likely it is to be broken. And the more you realise that it is an earthen vessel in which you hold the treasure, the more ready you will be to break it, so that the treasure may be shown.
Each man carried a trumpet and a torch. God asks for both.
God does not want the trumpet testimony and darkness. He wants the testimony accompanied by light. He does not want words only. It makes no difference how powerful the words are, how true and clear they are, or what trumpet ring of victory they carry. He wants more than words. He wants the broken vessel, so that the light may come to the front.
They did what they had seen their leader do.
They came in the middle of the night, just after the changing of the watch. They blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, so the torches showed. So 300 lights suddenly appeared around the camp of Midian. The Midianites rushed from their tents, and the sound of the trumpets and the sight of the lights threw them into confusion.
- Look — the order is not a plan but a person; the leader goes first and the followers copy what they see.
- Look only — the eye must be fixed on Christ alone, seeing nothing else and wanting nothing else.
- Break — Gideon smashed his own jar; the light cannot shine while the vessel stays whole.
- Blow — trumpet and light go together; God wants testimony carried by a broken life, not words alone.
- Stand — foolish weapons in obedient hands put a whole army to flight, because faith's weapons are strong through God alone.
And when I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, ye also shall blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shall say, For Jehovah and for Gideon!
Gideon's three hundred men stand in the dark around a camp too big to count. Their orders are not to charge, but to watch, blow, and shout — so what is the real weapon here?
(Older translations read the shout as "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon," and use "Jehovah" for "the LORD." The writers below follow that older wording.)
Before he tells them what to shout, Gideon tells them to watch him. One writer hears the Lord Jesus in those words.
A little later he says, "Look on me, and do likewise" (verse 17). In this expression Gideon foreshadows the Lord Jesus. Our Lord says to us today: "Look on me, and do likewise."
The trumpet was not a noise-maker. Israel's law had already fixed its use, and battle was only one of the four things it called men to.
We find the use of the trumpets detailed in Numbers 10:1-10. They were the voice of God, telling the people His mind on four important occasions. They gave the signal to gather the people, to move the camps, to go to battle, and to keep the solemn feasts or worship. What the sound of the trumpets once meant for Israel, we find today in the word of God, in another and very precious way. By it God speaks to us. It regulates and directs how the children of God gather together, walk, fight, and worship.
Trumpets, clay jars, and torches are not an arsenal. By any military measure the equipment is absurd, and that is the point.
The weapons of their warfare were the most foolish things imaginable: trumpets, pitchers, and lamps in the pitchers! Faith's weapons must be mighty through God alone.
Notice what the men are not carrying. They do not swing a sword here. They speak one.
The thought throughout is the stripping away of one thing after another, taking from him one prop after another. In the end he and the little band with him face that mighty host that covers the whole face of the earth. He is left with the three hundred, and not even a sword in their hands, only a sword on their lips. They have the trumpets and the torches, and that cry, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon." The sword here is a spoken sword, not a sword in their hands.
The shout puts the Lord's name first and Gideon's second. One writer says God led Gideon a long road before he could say it.
God led His servant along a long road of testing to the final victory. The many details are full of interest and instruction, but we must pass over them today. It is enough to say this: all God taught him brought him at last to a conquering faith. He could link his name with God's and cry, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon." His whole thought and purpose was one with the Lord's. He was like that other good soldier who could say, "The testimony of the Lord, and of me His prisoner."
Gideon's company blows first, and every other man answers from his own place. One writer turns that into direct instruction for us.
The three hundred stood, every man in his place around the camp, and cried: "The sword of Jehovah, and of Gideon!" This simple cry puts the world to rout! Bear testimony to Christ. Live Christ, taking no account of self. Let the two-edged sword of the Lord be your weapon. Then all the power of Satan and of the world will be unable to resist you.
- Look — Gideon's first order is not "attack" but "watch me." One writer hears Christ saying the same words to us today.
- Sound — the trumpet was God's voice for gathering, marching, fighting, and worship. Today His word does all four.
- Weapons — jars, torches and horns are the most foolish equipment imaginable. Faith's weapons are mighty through God alone.
- Sword — there is no blade in a single hand; the sword is on their lips, spoken, not swung.
- Name — the cry joins the servant's name to the Lord's, because his whole purpose has become one with His. Three hundred voices call it out, and the camp breaks.
And Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came to the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch; and they blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.
In the dark, Gideon and a hundred men reach the edge of the Midianite camp, with three hundred ringing it in all. Not one carries a sword — only a trumpet and a clay jar with a torch inside, which raises two questions: why this hour, and why these weapons?
The verse fixes the moment. Israel counted the night in watches, and this one had a set span:
The middle watch, from 10 P.M. to 2 A.M.
The sentries had only just changed, so the freshest guards were the ones caught off guard. Then Midian's own swords did the fighting:
They came in the middle of the night, just after the changing of the watch. They blew the trumpets and broke the jars, and the torches shone out. So 300 lights suddenly appeared around the camp of Midian. The Midianites rushed from their tents. They heard the trumpets and saw the lights, and fell into confusion. They thought the enemy had got inside their camp, so they struck out with their swords at others who had swarmed out of their tents.
Nothing in Gideon's equipment could wound anybody:
The weapons they fought with were the most foolish things imaginable — trumpets, jars, and lamps inside the jars! Faith's weapons must be mighty through God alone.
The trumpet was not just noise. Israel's law had already fixed what its blasts meant:
They were the voice of God, telling the people His mind on four important occasions. They gave the signal to gather the people together, to move the camps, to go to battle, and also for the solemn feasts or worship. What the sound of the trumpets once meant for Israel, we now have in another and very precious way, in the word of God. By it God speaks to us. It regulates and directs the gathering together, the walk, the warfare, and the worship of the children of God.
Each man carried two things at once. One writer takes them as two kinds of witness:
Now, let us take the trumpet as a figure of the testimony of the lip, and the torch as a figure of the testimony of the life. And both of these forms of witness are necessary to fight the "good fight" of faith.
The jars were ordinary containers, worth nothing once emptied. Why smash them? Because of how God works:
Empty jars represented what Gideon and his warriors were in themselves. Like Paul's earthen vessel, these empty jars were only fit to be broken. When God raises up a testimony, He glorifies Himself only in instruments He has broken.
Only a broken jar lets the light out. One writer turns that on the Christian:
What a strange way to fight — and how full of instruction for us! We too have to bear testimony, not of ourselves, but of Christ, as they blew the trumpets. We too must have death working in us, if there is to be life in those we serve, and the earthen vessels must break. That is how the light can shine out brightly.
A plan like this falls apart if one man moves early or wanders off:
Every man could be trusted to stand where he was told, and to do what he was told, even in the darkness of midnight and at the edge of the enemy's camp. Unquestioning obedience like this was needed to carry out the unusual kind of attack the Lord planned for them to make on the invaders.
So what won the battle?
God used not their skill and not their strength, but their testimony — their loud testimony to the Lord's mission, the Lord's will, and the Lord's handing of the Midianites over into their hands.
The trumpet, the jar and the torch still shape a witness today:
Bear testimony to Christ. Live Christ, taking no account of self. Let the two-edged sword of the Lord be your weapon, and all the power of Satan and of the world will be unable to resist you. Despite the broken jars, they found their safety and strength in the trumpets of Israel, whose notes were so piercing, and in the lamps of God, whose light was so bright.
- Timing — The attack came in the middle watch, just after fresh guards took their posts. Surprise, not strength, opened the battle.
- Weapons — Trumpets, jars and torches were the most foolish weapons imaginable. That is why the victory belongs to God alone.
- Voice — The trumpet stands for the word of God. It directs how His people gather, walk, fight and worship.
- Breaking — The torch only showed when the jar broke. God glorifies Himself in instruments He has broken.
- Place — Three hundred men stood where they were told. They lifted lip and life together, and routed an army they never touched.
And the three companies blew the trumpets, and broke in pieces the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hand, and the trumpets in their right hand for blowing, and cried, The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon!
This verse carries out the plan of the verses before it: in the dark, three companies blow the trumpets, smash their jars and shout. Not one of the three hundred men holds a weapon — a torch fills one hand and a trumpet the other.
The whole chapter has taken things away from Gideon, until he has nothing left to fight with. One writer counts what the three hundred still had in their hands. (The commentators quote an older translation of the cry: "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon.")
The thought throughout is stripping off one thing after another, robbing him of one prop after another. At last he stands with the little band that is with him, facing that mighty host that covers the whole face of the earth. He is left with the three hundred, and not even a sword in their hands, only a sword on their lips. They have the trumpets and the torches, and that cry, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon." The sword is a spoken sword, not a sword in their hands.
The men blew, but the power was not in them. One writer turns that into a lesson for us.
Strange way of fighting this — and how full of instruction for us! We too have to bear testimony, not of ourselves, but of Christ, as they blew the trumpets. We too must have death working in us, if life is to work in those we serve, and the earthen vessels breaking. That is how the light can shine out brightly… God did not use their skill or their strength, but their testimony — their loud testimony of the LORD's mission, the LORD's will, and the LORD's giving of the Midianites into their hands.
The trumpets, the jars and the lamps make one testimony. One writer gives each part its meaning.
Of what use were these empty jars? To hold the lamps, the third and most important part of testimony for God… If, in testimony, the trumpets stand for the word of God, and the jars for ourselves, what are the lamps but the life of Jesus, the light of Christ? The first two only serve to make the third visible in the darkness around them.
Commentators differ on whose hand does the breaking. Some leave that work with God:
Now, I do not have to break the jar, blessed be God for that. That is God's part. But He will break it, be sure of that. And if you are walking with God, you are certain to be in His mind when He breaks it.
Others press it as a choice faith makes now, and warn against the half-measure of setting self carefully aside for later use:
The best and most effective way is not to take your light out, so to speak, and set the jar carefully to one side to use again. It is to break the jar, and that is the end of it. That is what faith will do.
Gideon had heard the enemy compare him to a loaf of barley bread. That picture makes the shout of this verse striking.
The enemy compared this mighty man of valour to a cake of barley bread, coarse and plain food — and this was "the sword of Gideon"! A fine sword indeed to strike this huge army with! But in reality the sword of Gideon was "the sword of the LORD," and that was where the power lay.
The joining of the two names is the end of a long training, not a boast at the start of one.
As a result of all that God taught him, he was able at last, in conquering faith, to link his name with God's, and to cry, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon." His whole thought and purpose was bound up and one with the Lord's, like that other good soldier who could say, "The testimony of the Lord, and of me His prisoner."
One writer names the two weapons we fight with now, and adds a warning.
Now the weapons we have to fight with are testimony by word of mouth and our own insignificance. Our power is in giving testimony to Jesus. It lies in never leaving the place of being only "earthen vessels." Remember that the vessel only holds the light. Let us not pretend that it is the light.
- Stripped: God took away every prop. Three hundred men faced a vast army with no sword in their hands — only a sword on their lips.
- Sounded: The trumpet was testimony, not talent. God used their loud witness to Him, not their skill.
- Broken: The jar held the light but also hid it, so it had to break. Commentators differ on whether God breaks it or faith breaks it now.
- Shining: Trumpets picture the word of God, jars picture us, lamps the life of Jesus. The first two exist to make the third visible in the dark.
- Shared: The cry joins two names, but the power was the Lord's. The man He used was only a barley loaf.
And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried out, and fled.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and Jehovah set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout the camp. And the host fled to Beth-shittah towards Zererah, to the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.
The three hundred never drew a sword. They blew their trumpets and stood still, while the huge Midianite army tore itself apart in the dark.
One writer retells the night attack that turned Midian's army on itself.
They came in the middle of the night, just after the changing of the watch. They blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, uncovering the torches. So 300 lights suddenly appeared around the camp of Midian. The Midianites rushed from their tents. They heard the trumpets, saw the lights, and fell into confusion. They thought the enemy had got inside their camp. So they lashed out with their swords at other men who had swarmed out of the tents. So the Lord set every man's sword against his own companions, and the whole army fled.
The places named in the verse mark the line of that flight, running down toward the Jordan valley.
Bethshittah. Place near the Jordan valley. Judges 7:22.
The men did no fighting. What God used was the noise they made about Him.
The war-cry went up: "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon." Each man stood in his place around the camp. The whole army ran, cried out, and fled. And the three hundred blew their trumpets. It was not their skill or their strength that was used. It was their testimony — their loud testimony to the Lord's mission, the Lord's will, and the Lord's handing over of the Midianites into their hands.
The jars were only fit to be smashed. Writers see in this God's pattern with everyone He uses.
Empty pitchers represented what Gideon and his warriors were in themselves. Their leader had just learned this lesson in the camp of Midian. The three hundred had to learn it too, each one for himself. Like Paul's earthen vessel, these empty pitchers were only fit to be broken. When God raises up a testimony, He glorifies Himself only in instruments He has broken. He carried His gospel to the nations by a Saul whom He had first cast down in the dust on the road to Damascus.
Another writer names the weapons we fight with, and warns about who gets the credit.
The weapons we fight with are testimony by word of mouth and our own insignificance. Our power is in giving testimony to Jesus. We must never get out of the place of being only "earthen vessels." We must remember that the vessel only holds the light; let us not pretend that it is the light. The surpassing power must be of God and not of us.
Each man carried a trumpet and a torch. One writer reads them as the two halves of any real witness.
Let us take the trumpet as a figure of the testimony of the lip, and the torch as a figure of the testimony of the life. Both of these forms of witness are needed to fight the "good fight" of faith.
Of the three items, the light is the one that matters.
In this testimony the trumpets represent the word of God, and the pitchers represent ourselves. What then are the lamps but the life of Jesus, the light of Christ? The first two only serve to make the third visible in the surrounding darkness... It is God Himself who takes care to break the vessels, "so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh."
One writer sees this same night repeated in a day still ahead.
A panic — that is the force of the word "tumult" — will seize the nations besieging Jerusalem. It will be like the panic that fell on the Midianites when Gideon and his three hundred men attacked. It will be like the one that came on the army of Ammon, Moab and Edom as they advanced against Judah in the days of Jehoshaphat. The huge army will melt away and destroy itself.
The rout did not stay with the three hundred.
It is encouraging that testimony breeds testimony. The three hundred were used to reunite the people. The men of Israel gathered and pursued Midian. All the men of Ephraim came, joined the chase, and shared in the spoil. We shall see this result if we are faithful.
- Testimony, not swords. God did not use fighting skill. He used three hundred men who stood still and bore loud witness to Him.
- Testimony breaks the vessel. The jars were only fit to be smashed. God glorifies Himself in instruments He has broken, so the credit cannot land on them.
- Testimony has two halves. The trumpet is witness by the lip, the lamp is witness by the life — and the light shines only once the vessel gives way.
- Testimony routs the enemy. God turned Midian's swords on Midian. Writers expect the same panic on the nations besieging Jerusalem, whose army will melt away.
- Testimony spreads. The few who stood in place drew the rest of Israel into the chase. Testimony breeds testimony.
And the men of Israel were called together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after Midian.
The three hundred have already won: they blew their trumpets, broke their jars, and watched Midian turn its swords on itself. Now the tribes who missed that night come out to chase a beaten army — so what share do the many have in a victory God gave to a few?
Kelly notes the order of events. Faith acts first; numbers arrive later.
But if faith does not wait for numbers, nor rest on them in the battles of the Lord, others follow when the enemy has received a clear defeat.
Most of these men had been in Gideon's camp. God sent them home on purpose. Darby ties that sifting to the question of who gets the credit.
But ten thousand men are still too many. Jehovah's hand alone must be seen. Only those may remain who do not stop to drink at their ease. They refresh themselves in haste, as the chance comes, more taken up with the fight than with their own comfort along the way. This was what Israel needed: Jehovah must have His place in their hearts and in their faith. And it fitted the just judgment of God in Israel that, as far as their part in the work went, they had no share in its glory.
So the men of Naphtali, Asher and Manasseh come out to a fight that is already decided. Darby asks who really won it, and what the crowd's part in it was.
It is Jehovah who does everything. The trumpets and the lamps alone announce His presence, and that of His servant Gideon. The crowd of Israel pursue the enemy. They profit by the work of faith, though they have no faith themselves — the usual result of such a movement.
Gideon could have kept the win for himself and his three hundred. Instead he sends word to Ephraim and widens the circle.
The people flock to the victory, just as they will, whenever individual faith has opened the way, and it is a comfort to think that this is the case. We saw the same in Ehud's case: he blew a trumpet, and Israel gathered after him. But first he had to kill the king of Moab alone. So here, once the battle is won and the enemy is in flight, the rest of Israel gather and join the pursuit. Gideon in fact sends messengers to show that he does not want the credit, if we may use that word, of the victory for himself.
Ridout also warns that a shared victory carries a cost.
We come next to something that, sadly, becomes all too common as the book of Judges goes on: the strife connected with the victory, and in a sense growing out of it.
The pursuit is not a victory lap. It is the practical work of finishing the rout — cutting the fleeing army off from water.
The enemy being routed, Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and Manasseh gathered and pursued the Midianites (v.23). Gideon also sent messengers throughout Ephraim. They were to bring their armies to help mop up, by taking from the enemy the watering places that matter so much to an army's welfare. In doing this they also captured and killed two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They brought their heads to Gideon on the other side of Jordan.
Darby draws the lesson for anyone who wants to call others into God's work.
We are powerless in ourselves for blessing, and we have found this out. But we have proved how good simple dependence on God is. So we can, like Gideon, call others to share with us. But let us not be setting up ourselves. Everything depends on the presence of the Holy Spirit, ungrieved, unhindered. Let this be told, and let us hide ourselves.
- Few win. Faith does not wait for numbers; the three hundred acted while the rest of Israel was at home.
- Glory kept. God sent the larger army home so that His hand alone would show — and they had no share in the glory of the work.
- Many follow. Once Midian breaks, the crowd joins the pursuit and gains from a faith it did not have.
- Credit shared. Gideon widens the circle instead of guarding his honour — though strife often grows out of a victory.
- Work finished. The pursuit takes the water sources and the princes of Midian. A night's rout becomes a full deliverance.
And Gideon sent messengers throughout mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters unto Beth-barah, and the Jordan. And all the men of Ephraim were called together, and took the waters unto Beth-barah, and the Jordan.
Gideon's three hundred men have just broken the Midianite camp, but the enemy is still running. So Gideon sends messengers across the hill country of Ephraim with one order: take the water crossings before Midian can escape.
God had cut the army down to three hundred. Only after the win did the rest of Israel come running. One commentator marks the order:
Faith does not wait for numbers, and it does not lean on them in the battles of the Lord. But others follow once the enemy has clearly been beaten. Israel gathered from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh and chased Midian, and Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim — and so the victory was complete.
Water was the one thing a fleeing army could not do without:
Gideon also sent messengers throughout Ephraim to bring their armies in to finish the work. They were to take from the enemy the watering places that an army needs so badly. In doing this they also captured and killed two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, then brought their heads to Gideon on the other side of Jordan.
Gideon did not keep this victory to himself. One writer reads his motive in the sending:
Gideon sends messengers to show them that he does not want the credit of the victory himself. He sends messengers to Ephraim, to go down and take the crossings of the Jordan, so that they can wipe out the enemy completely.
One writer draws from that same invitation a lesson for anyone who has learned their own weakness:
We are powerless in ourselves to bring blessing, and we have found this out. But we have also proved how good it is to depend simply on God. So, like Gideon, we can call others into fellowship with us (v. 24, 25). But let us not set ourselves up. Everything depends on the presence of the Holy Spirit, ungrieved and unhindered. Let this be told, and let us hide ourselves.
Ephraim had a real share in this victory, though not the leading share. One writer also finds meaning in the names of the two men they killed:
Ephraim is now called to take part in the fight. They answer the call and win a decisive battle. They take two princes of Midian — Oreb and Zeeb, the "Raven" and the "Wolf" — and bring their heads to Gideon, on the other side of Jordan. There is indeed a place for Ephraim in a fight like this, though it is not the first place. The spiritual meaning again throws light on the history. The names of the princes killed seem to show that they stand only for the rougher and lower of Israel's enemies — or the Church's; and the word used is the plain word "princes," not "kings."
Jealousy followed the victory, and argument is not what answers it:
Here, Christian reader, is the true way to overcome jealous and envious brothers. The cake of barley bread and the empty pitcher can overcome jealous Ephraimites as well as hostile Midianites. A self-hiding spirit is the grand secret of victory over envy and jealousy, in all their hateful forms. It is difficult, if not impossible, to quarrel with a man who is down in the dust, in true self-abasement.
Another writer turns the mirror on the complainers themselves:
Here is Ephraim, though: they are simply jealous, because God had used a more spiritual instrument than themselves. Jealousy is a proof that God cannot use you. If you are jealous of another, if you envy the spiritual state or spiritual power of another, it is just the proof that God cannot use you. You would not be jealous of another if God could use you. What jealousy should teach you first is to go down in the dust and own to God that you are not a faithful instrument. The man who envies his brothers should rather criticise himself.
Scripture later points back to this victory as a picture of one still to come:
Isaiah 10:26 shows that Gideon's victory over Midian at the rock of Oreb foreshadows the final victory over the Assyrian. In the same way, Barak's victory over Sisera at Megiddo pictures the final slaughter of the armies that will gather in the last days at Armageddon.
- Few first. Faith does not wait for a crowd; the crowd arrives once God has already broken the enemy.
- Then many. Gideon refuses the credit and calls others in: take the waters, finish the job.
- Real work. The water crossings were the practical prize; holding them turned a rout into a complete victory.
- Second place. Ephraim's part was genuine but not first, and the two they killed were princes, not kings.
- Self hidden. The same self-emptiness that beat Midian also quiets envy: no one can quarrel with a man in the dust.
And they took two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb; and they pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.
Gideon's attack has scattered Midian, and the men of Ephraim now block the shallow crossings of the Jordan, where a fleeing army has to pass. The verse asks who owns a victory, and why two death sites were worth naming.
Gideon does not keep the closing work for himself. He calls in the tribe that missed the night attack.
After the victory, with the enemy in flight, the rest of Israel gather together and join in the pursuit. Gideon, in fact, sends messengers to show them that he does not want the credit, if we may use that word, of the victory himself. He sends messengers to Ephraim. They are to go down and take the fords of Jordan, so that they may wipe out the enemy entirely.
One writer draws the line between calling others in and putting yourself forward:
We are powerless in ourselves for blessing, and we have found this out. But we have proved how good it is to depend on God alone. So we can, with Gideon, call on others to have fellowship with us. But let us not be setting up ourselves. Everything depends on the presence of the Holy Spirit, ungrieved and unhindered. Let this be told, and let us hide ourselves.
One writer reads the two names, and the two places where they died, as a picture:
The two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, were slain. Oreb means "raven" and Zeeb means "wolf." Oreb, the raven, is slain on the rock and Zeeb, the wolf, at the winepress. The raven is the bird that represents darkness and evil, so it is the type of corruption. The wolf is the destroyer of the sheep. The rock and the winepress are pictures of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Cross. There the victory over both was won.
Why can a winepress stand for the cross? One writer traces it back to what a press produces:
The winepress reminds us of the blood of the grape, and of His blood that cleanses from all sin. It may well then suggest the cross, the winepress for Him. And this is indeed an effective shelter and hiding place for faith from all the power of the world. We take our place by the cross, and no Midianite dare dispute our position.
Ephraim comes into the fight late, and the men they kill are named by rank:
Ephraim is now called to take part in the contest, and they respond and win a decisive battle. There is indeed a place for Ephraim in such a contest as this, though it is not the first place. The spiritual meaning again lights up the history. The names of the princes slain seem to show that they represent only the ruder and lower of Israel's — or the Church's — enemies. According to the plain word, they are "princes," not "kings."
The ground Ephraim held matters as much as the men they killed:
Nor is it wise or right to run down the work of Ephraim. Oreb and Zeeb — Raven and Wolf — the princes of Midian, had fallen at their hands at the fords of Jordan. These names suggest the destructive character of that world whose prince spares no one. But the fruits of the Spirit overcome the hosts of this world, and the principalities and powers who lead them. When works are in their true place — at the Jordan, the river of death — they do their work most effectively.
Their share in the win was real, but it did not keep them content:
The men of Ephraim are seen at the close of chapter 7 slaying Oreb and Zeeb. (They are allowed to come in for blessing as a result.) Now they turn and argue with Gideon for not having called them at the first.
The rock kept the dead prince's name, and a prophet later took up that day:
In Isaiah 10:26, the victory of Gideon over Midian at the rock of Oreb foreshadows the final victory over the Assyrian. The victory of Barak over Sisera at Megiddo does the same. It pictures the final slaughter of the armies that will gather in the last days at Armageddon.
- Shared, not hoarded. Gideon sends for Ephraim so the pursuit is not his own trophy. A man who has proved his own weakness can call others in without pushing himself forward.
- Named. Raven and Wolf mean corruption and the destroyer of sheep. They fall at a rock and a winepress — pictures of Christ and His cross.
- Ranked. They are princes, not kings — the coarser, lower enemies. Ephraim's place in the fight is real, but it is not the first place.
- Placed. Ephraim's work told at the fords of Jordan. Service done in its true place, at the river of death, does its work best.
- Remembered. The rock keeps Oreb's name, and Isaiah takes that day as the pattern of a final deliverance still ahead.