Judges 8:1-3
Ephraim Offended
1 Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they accused him fiercely. 2 And he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? 3 God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger against him subsided when he said this.
Gideon, though he has been weak in faith, yet, we must give Gideon credit for being a man of godly character. In Judges 6:15, we saw that Gideon was humble before the Lord after his call and said, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” Additionally, Gideon was obedient and did all that the Lord asked. In Judges 6:25-17, after destroying the altar of Baal and Asherah, Gideon used the wood from the Asherah to sacrificed two bulls on the correct altar he made to the Lord. This, he did in spite of the persecution from the townspeople who wanted to kill him. And finally, Gideon proved to be wise as well. With the 300 men that God gave him, Gideon planned a surprised, middle-of-the-night attack that put the enemy’s camp into confusion. He and the 300 men chased the Midianites away. Gideon also sent messengers to the tribes of Asher and Naphtali, and Ephraim, who pursued the Midianties and captured and killed the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. As promised by the Lord, Gideon and the Israelites defeated the Midianites (Judges 7:15-25). Victory was the Lord’s!
In today’s passage, in between two battles, we see a conflict when the tribe of Ephraim were offended and brought their complaint to Gideon. Gideon was from the tribe of Manassa on the west side of the Jordan. And both Ephraim and Manassa are from the house of Joseph. As the story goes in Genesis 48, Manassa was older than Ephraim. But when their grandfather, Jacob, blessed them before he died, he crossed his hands to place his right hand on Ephraim, and not on Manassa. This displeased Joseph because Jacob gave Ephraim his blessing as Jospeh’s firstborn. The two brothers, not because of this situation only, but because of the nature of sibling rivalry anyway, were at contention with each other. In this passage, Gideon from the tribe of Manassa, as a descendent of Abiezer, was God’s chosen instrument to bring peace by defeating the Midianites. The Ephraimites, however, were jealous and voice their complaints to Gideon after having one victory and before continuing on to fight another. For a proverb says, “We may have won the battle, not the war.”
Gideon had to be quick to respond with godly wisdom. Fortunately, like Jesus Christ at his trial before the Jewish leaders and Pontus PIlate in Matthew 26:57-68, Gideon, when he was reviled, did not strike back. He had a cool temperament and spoke with sincerity to bring an immediate closure for their concern. The Ephraimites said in verse 8:1, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” This was more than a request. The Biblical text in the ESV says they accused him [Gideon] fiercely. When comparing the various English translations, we gain a deeper understanding on how deep this contention really was. The King James Version says, “And they did chide with him sharply.” The NIV says, “And they challenged him vigorously.” And the Wycliff Bible says “And they strongly complained to him, and they almost did violence to him.” Instead of being comrades at arms, they appeared to be dire enemies. However, they were not complaining about the Manassa involvement as much as they were opposed to Gideon. And this was a dangerous position to have — Gideon was God’s chosen. This reminds us when Arron and Miriam, the brother and sister of Moses, who became jealous and opposed Moses because he married a Cushite woman. God did not like this and as a result, God struck Miriam with leposy and she had go be placed out of the camp for one week (Numbers 12). And in Numbers 26:9-10, it says concerning those who opposed Moses and Arron,
“These are the Dathan and Abiram, chosen from the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord 10 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a warning.”
Oh, how fearful to oppose and contend against God and his leaders. In the same way, when David was running away from King Saul because the king was wanting to kill him, David had opportunity to take the kings life. Saul entered that same cave that David was hiding in. However, instead of taking vengeance for himself, David said in 1 Samuel 24:6, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.” In the same way, the Epraimites were not just contending against Gideon, they were opposing God and his anointed.
Gideon calmly placated the Ephraimites and told them he did not and could not do anything without them. For God gave the princes of Midian into their hands, not his. The Ephraimites were the one who captured and killed Oreb and Zeeb, princes of Midian. With this being said, the Ephraimites were pleased and the matter concluded. Gideon, with the wisdom of God, subdued the potential insurrection with his brotherly tribe. Consider how quickly the crowd at Jesus’ trial wanted him to be king on day, and then that same week they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (Matthew 27:16-26,Mark 15:7-15,Luke 23:18-25,John 18:40).
In application, we also are to be quick to resolve any notion or hint of conflict with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The reason is quite simply stated by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:12, which says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Sometimes, the conflict that arises between brothers and sisters reveal the corrupt nature that lies within all of us. We become jealous and envious. In our pride, we desire to be recognized and have the seat of honor. But this is not the way of Christ who is meek and lowly. Christ gave us a new commandment, to love each other as Christ has loved us. By this, others will know that we are children of God, because we have love for one another (John 13:34-35). When we love, there is no room for quarels, strife, and contentions. First Corinthians 13:4-6 says,
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
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My Lord and God, contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me. May I never seek my own vengeance, for vengeance belongs to You. Give my a heart of love, O God. May i be quick to resolve all conflicts and never harbon anger, jealousy, or envy. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!
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Love One Another, by Lanta W. Smith in 1905″
