Then said he to Zebah and Zalmunna, What sort of men were they that ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the sons of a king.
Gideon has captured the two kings of Midian, and his question about Tabor turns a national war into a family matter. Their answer — the dead men looked like Gideon, like royal sons — raises three questions: why that compliment was dangerous, where the likeness came from, and what it pictures.
Judges never tells the story of Tabor. One writer notes the gap, then questions the ground Gideon took against the two kings.
This killing at Tabor must have taken place some time before, but we have no record of it. They answered that those men resembled Gideon, their appearance being as sons of a king (v. 18). So Gideon tells them they were his own brothers, and if Zeba and Zalmunna had let them live, Gideon would not kill them (v. 19). Gideon may have been too partial in saying this, for these kings were enemies of God, which is more serious than their attitude toward individual Israelites who were Gideon's relatives.
The kings' reply flatters Gideon, and one writer sees danger in it.
The defeated kings praised Gideon freely (v. 18-21), and that praise was all the more dangerous because they seemed to have no selfish motive for it.
The same writer weighs what that flattery did to Gideon:
This speech does not appear to have turned Gideon aside from God's path. But he seems to have lost a true sense of the power of the enemy, and to have despised it instead of fearing it… Two things are fitting for us when we fight the enemy. We need fear and trembling about ourselves, and full assurance about God, which shuts out all alarm, for we know that Satan and the world are defeated foes.
Where did that royal look come from? One writer traces it back to Gideon threshing wheat in hiding, and to what he then did with the wheat.
But something very fine is said about Gideon. He threshed wheat in secret, despite all that was going on around him (verse 11). And I think we can infer something more from verse 19 of this chapter. He shared it with his brothers, and the result was that his brothers were like himself; each one "resembled the son of a king."… If we read the Scriptures only in order to give out, it will be a poor thing. But if we read the Scriptures, if we are threshing wheat, there will be one inevitable result: we shall want to share the wheat with our brothers.
Another writer reads the scene as a picture of Christ and His own.
Do we not have a lovely picture here of Christ claiming as His brothers those whom the great men of this world have persecuted and killed? The kings had to admit the likeness that Gideon's brothers bore to him, and the royal dignity that marked them. And do not Christ's brothers carry His own features — traits of moral dignity and beauty that mark them as associated with Him?
The same writer hears more in the kings' words than a comparison of faces:
The words of Zebah and Zalmunna, "As you are, so were they," remind us of what is said of the children of God, "as He is so also are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). We have been brought before the Father to share the place of His own Son. Like Gideon's brothers, we have a relationship of closest intimacy and affection with Him who is ours. We are "accepted in the Beloved," loved as He is loved, sharing His place of favour and relationship.
One writer sets this moment beside Saul of Tarsus, and what the Lord said to him from heaven.
When the time of reckoning came, the enemies of God's people had to acknowledge the true likeness of those they had killed, and Gideon was not ashamed to call them his brothers. Saul of Tarsus had been persecuting the saints of God in ignorance. He had not thought that he was "breathing threats and murder" against the brothers of Christ when he persecuted the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth. But his distress must have been great when the Lord from heaven acknowledged those Saul had been trying to destroy as His brothers — yes, as part of Himself.
- Likeness formed. Gideon threshed wheat in secret under enemy occupation and shared it with his brothers, and they came to look like him.
- Likeness seen. Even hostile kings could not miss it: the men at Tabor carried the bearing of royal sons.
- Likeness owned. Gideon claimed the dead as his own brothers — a picture of Christ claiming as His brothers those the world has killed.
- Likeness flattered. In praising the dead men the kings praised Gideon, and one writer warns that such praise is most dangerous when it looks sincere.
- Likeness weighed. One writer judges Gideon too partial here, treating a family wrong as weightier than the kings' standing as enemies of God.
And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother. [As] Jehovah liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
Gideon has captured Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, and before he kills them he asks about men they had killed at Tabor. Their answer turns a battle into a family matter: the dead men were his own brothers, and they looked like sons of a king.
One writer walks through the exchange, then questions the reason Gideon gives for killing the kings.
Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna what kind of men they had killed at Tabor. This killing must have taken place some time before, but we have no record of it. They answered that those men resembled Gideon, their appearance being as sons of a king (v. 18). So Gideon tells them they were his own brothers, and if Zebah and Zalmunna had let them live, Gideon would not kill them (v. 19). Gideon may have been too partial in saying this, for these kings were enemies of God, which is more serious than their attitude toward individual Israelites who were Gideon's relatives.
Gideon's words turn on what the kings did not do: they did not spare his brothers. One writer finds the same principle in the meaning of their names.
Zebah means "sacrifice." Here the name points not to the way of approach to God, but to the slaughter that the world delights to inflict on the people of God, without mercy — which is what Zalmunna, "shade," or "refuge denied," suggests. So the same slaughter would come on them, with no mercy to shelter them: "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy." This victory over Midian becomes the pattern for the final overthrow of Israel's enemies. We see it in the prayer of the suffering remnant (Ps. 83), and in the fulfilment Isaiah predicts (Isa. 9:4).
One writer hears deep feeling in Gideon's reply, and reads the likeness as a picture of Christ and His people.
There is something very touching in what Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. He asked what kind of men they had killed at Tabor. Their answer was, "As you are, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king." And is not Gideon's reply full of feeling? "They were my brothers, the sons of my mother." Do we not have a lovely picture here of Christ owning as His brothers those who have been persecuted and killed by the great men of this world? And do not the brothers of Christ have His own features, traits of moral dignity and beauty that mark them as associated with Him?
The same writer carries this forward to Saul of Tarsus, who persecuted God's people without knowing whose brothers they were.
When the time of reckoning came, the enemies of God's people had to acknowledge the true likeness of those they had killed, and Gideon was not ashamed to speak of them as his brothers. Saul of Tarsus had been persecuting, in ignorance, the saints of God. When he persecuted the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, he had not thought that he was "breathing threats and murder" against the brothers of Christ. Then the Lord from heaven acknowledged as His brothers — yes, as part of Himself — those whom Saul had been seeking to destroy. How great his distress must have been.
Why did Gideon's brothers look like him? One writer finds the answer earlier in Gideon's story, and turns it into a lesson about reading the Bible.
There is something very fine said about Gideon: he threshed wheat in secret, despite all that was going on around him (verse 11)… And I think we can infer something more from the 19th verse of chapter 8. He shared it with his brothers, and the result was that his brothers were like himself; they "resembled the children of a king." If we read the Scriptures only to give out, it will be a poor thing. But if we read the Scriptures, if we are threshing wheat, there will be one inevitable result: we will want to share the wheat with our brothers.
The kings' praise did not stop with the likeness. They went on to compliment Gideon's own strength, and one writer sees a trap in it.
This was fresh flattery, and Gideon ought to have protested against it, for he had learned a completely different lesson in the school of God. In reality, his strength was the exact opposite of anything that came from man… In his better days, Gideon would not have accepted this flattery, nor allowed the adversary to plant a seed of self-confidence in his heart.
- Likeness given. The dead men at Tabor carried Gideon's own features and royal bearing — a picture of believers marked by the traits of Christ.
- Likeness formed. It grew from wheat threshed in secret and then shared — reading Scripture for yourself, then passing it on.
- Likeness owned. Gideon was not ashamed to call them his brothers; Christ likewise owns the persecuted as part of Himself.
- Likeness avenged. The kings gave no mercy at Tabor, so no mercy sheltered them — and their fall is the pattern for the final overthrow of Israel's enemies.
- Likeness guarded. The same praise turned into flattery about Gideon's own strength — flattery he should have refused, since his strength was never his own.
And he said to Jether his firstborn, Arise, slay them! But the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
Gideon has caught the two kings of Midian. Before killing them, he learns that they had murdered his own brothers. He then hands the sword to his eldest son — and the boy is too afraid to use it. Why give a child a soldier's work?
One writer traces the order back to a change in Gideon. He had stopped treating the enemy as a real danger. So he handed a child a task no child should be given.
Gideon does not appear to have left God's path because of this speech. But he seems to have lost a true sense of the enemy's power. He despised the enemy instead of fearing him... Two things suit us when we fight the enemy. One is fear and trembling about ourselves. The other is full assurance about God, which shuts out all alarm. We know that Satan and the world are defeated foes. Gideon realized these things imperfectly. He entrusted to his son Jether the task of killing these two kings. "But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid." In Judges 7 the Lord had separated those who were afraid. He withdrew them from the conflict. Here Gideon handed a child the destruction of an enemy he despised. He did not act in keeping with the ways of God. God does not call those who are only children in the faith to perform public, brilliant actions. A child goes to school, not to war.
The same writer looks at what happened next. The kings refused the boy and called on Gideon instead, praising his strength.
Then those kings said, "Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength." This was a fresh piece of flattery. Gideon should have protested against it, for he had learned a completely different lesson in God's school. In reality his strength was the exact opposite of human strength. Did he not know it when the angel of the Lord said to him — the least in his father's house — "Go in this might of yours"? Had he not grasped it on that solemn night? God revealed to him that a cake of barley bread was about to overturn all the tents of Midian. In his better days Gideon would not have accepted this flattery. He would not have let the enemy plant a seed of self-confidence in his heart.
Earlier he states the rule behind it.
Let us distrust the flattery of the world. A moment's thought before the Lord would tell us this: the world flatters to weaken us and to strip us of the weapons we fight it with.
Why did these two kings have to die? One writer reads the meaning of their names and finds an answer there.
The name Zebah means sacrifice. Here it suggests not the way of approach to God, but the slaughter which the world delights to inflict on the people of God without mercy. The name Zalmunna means shade, or refuge denied, and it points the same way. So the same slaughter would fall on them, with no mercy to shelter them: "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy." This victory over Midian becomes the pattern for the final overthrow of Israel's enemies. We see it in the prayer of the suffering remnant (Psalm 83) and in the fulfilment Isaiah predicted (Isaiah 9:4).
Gideon called the murdered men his brothers. Another writer takes that as a picture of a coming reckoning.
When the time of reckoning came, the enemies of God's people had to admit the true likeness of those they had killed. Gideon was not ashamed to call them his brothers. Saul of Tarsus had been persecuting the saints of God in ignorance... Think how great his distress must have been. The Lord from heaven owned as His brothers — yes, as part of Himself — the very people Saul was trying to destroy. A terrible day awaits those who have killed the servants of the Lord Jesus. At His judgment seat He will confess as His brothers the saints who suffered oppression, torture and martyrdom for His name's sake.
Jether's fear was not disgrace; he was simply not yet grown. Scripture elsewhere marks off the same stages, and the youngest are kept out of that particular fight.
Notice those three things. Now you see that a "babe" is not exposed to meeting the devil in this form. Such a one is sheltered, just as in our homes on earth... The infant state is protected by the love that busies itself with the very weaknesses, exposure and inability found in infancy... But when you come to manhood, there you have to meet and face the real obstacles of life; and in God's family the first thing that meets a person when he reaches this state of manhood is the devil — Satan.
- Strength misplaced. Gideon had stopped fearing the enemy, and contempt for a foe is what put a sword in a child's hand.
- Strength untested. Jether's fear only proved he was a boy. A child goes to school, not to war.
- Strength flattered. "As the man is, so is his strength" was praise aimed at Gideon's self-confidence — the world flatters to disarm.
- Strength borrowed. His real might was never his own: the least in his father's house, a barley cake overturning Midian's tents.
- Strength vindicated. The kings who showed no mercy received none. The brothers they killed, Gideon owned by name — a picture of the day when the Lord will own His own before those who killed them.
Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall on us; for as is the man, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the moons that were on their camels' necks.
Gideon's long chase ends here. The two Midianite kings who escaped the battle now die by his own hand. His young son could not strike them, and the kings themselves asked for the blow. The verse holds justice long delayed, a boy's fear, a taunt dressed as a compliment, and the ornaments Gideon carries home.
The towns of Succoth and Penuel had insulted Gideon on the way. He did not stop to settle that score until the kings were in his hand. One writer sees an order of priority there.
While the work was still to be done, they were taken up with the work and passed on: there is time enough for vengeance when the work is done.
The same order holds through the whole chase. One writer sees a real danger in losing it.
Everything in its time for God's witness. Satan tries to confuse us about this, so that he can put obstacles in our way. Zebah and Zalmunna must not escape. Judgment on the rebellious cities will come later.
Their names, one writer notes, describe what they had done to others — and what now comes back on them.
Zebah means "sacrifice." Here that does not point to the way of approach to God. It points to the slaughter that the world delights to inflict on the people of God, without mercy. Zalmunna means "shade," or "refuge denied," and shows the same thing. So the same slaughter came on them, with no mercy and no shelter: "judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy." This victory over Midian is made the pattern for the final overthrow of Israel's enemies, both in the prayer of the suffering remnant (Ps. 83), and in what Isaiah predicts (Isa. 9:4).
"As the man is, so is his strength" sounds like admiration. It praises Gideon's own strength, and that is the opposite of what God had taught him.
Then those kings said: "Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength." This was fresh flattery, and Gideon should have refused it. He had learned a completely different lesson in the school of God. In reality, his strength was the exact opposite of what belongs to man. Did he not know it when the angel of the Lord said to him — the least in his father's house — "Go in this might of yours"? Had he not proved it on that solemn night? God showed him that a cake of barley bread was about to overturn all the tents of Midian. In his better days, Gideon would not have accepted this flattery. He would not have let the adversary plant a seed of self-confidence in his heart.
The praise of a beaten enemy is not harmless. It is a tactic.
Let us be suspicious of the flattery of the world. A moment's thought before the Lord would tell us why. The world flatters to weaken us, and to strip us of the weapons we fight it with.
Before Gideon acted, he handed the task to his son Jether. The boy's fear shows a mistake in the father. He had come to think too little of the enemy.
He entrusted to his son Jether the task of killing these two kings. "But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid." In Judges 7, the Lord had separated those who were afraid and kept them out of the fight. Here Gideon handed over to a child the destruction of an enemy he despised. That was not in keeping with the ways of God. God does not call those who are still children in the faith to perform public and brilliant actions. A child goes to school, not to war.
Gideon wins. He takes the ornaments from the camels' necks and rides home a victor. Yet one writer marks this point as the place where the danger changed direction.
In all this history, I am not sure I have said enough about two marks joined together in Gideon: humility and energy of faith. Energy gathered and purified the people for battle and for the pursuit of the enemy. Humility freed him from all self-confidence and led him to depend on the Lord completely. And yet the enemy was about to set a snare for him on the very side that seemed to need the least watching. In the end that brought about the moral ruin of this outstanding leader in Israel.
- Finish first. The insults from Succoth could wait; the kings could not. Deal with the enemy while the work is on, and settle the rest afterwards.
- Measure returned. Their names spell out slaughter and refuge denied — and that is exactly what they received.
- Flattery attacks. "As the man is, so is his strength" was praise meant to weaken. It plants self-confidence where God plants dependence.
- Children don't fight. Handing a boy a job he was not ready for showed a leader who had started to despise an enemy he once feared.
- Watch the strong side. Gideon's humility looked like his safest ground. That is where the enemy set the snare.