Judges 8:13-21
Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna (Part 2)
13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. 14 And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men. 15 And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’” 16 And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson. 17 And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.” 19 And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” 20 So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
In our previous study, we learned how Gideon discerned the difference between conflict and betrayal. The tribe of Ephraim aggressively confronted Gideon because they felt offended when they were not asked to help fight the enemy, the princes of Midian. This caused a conflict. And Gideon, with his leadership skills, was able to placate their concerns and resolve their differences. After all, it was the men of Ephraim who captured and killed Oreb and Zeeb, the princes they were chasing. The people from the tribe of Gad in the cities of Succoth and Penuel, on the other hand, were extremely mean and hateful. They refused to give Gideon and his men the food they requested. The Gadites were not faithful and loyal to their brother Israelites. It appears they preferred friendship with the godless Midianites and Amalekites who lived near them on the east side of the Jordan River, then with their own kinsmen on the west side. This is a betrayal and in this lesson, will see how Gideon mishandled this betrayal and how God instructs us to behave as recorded in His Word.
Our passage today begins in Judges 8:13. Gideon returns from battle to return his vengeance on those who ridiculed him and refuse to give them provisions. But first, we must remember that the citizens of Succoth, as well as those from Penuel, are Israelites who are also chosen by God to worship and serve Him. They, just like the Israelite tribes in Canaan, have also rejected God and worshiped other deities from the surrounding nations that live near them. Yet, Gideon captures a man from Succoth and gets him to betray his town, family, and friends. He writes down all the names of the 77 men who are the city officials. It was the city officials who taunted Gideon with shame when he asked for food. They asked why should they help Gideon when the kings of Midian are still free and alive. The citizens of Penuel said the same thing. They refused to help. In verses 8:16-17, Gideon pours out his vengeance upon his countrymen. First, to the citizens of Succoth, Judges 8:16 says, “And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson.” In other words, Gideons took thorns and brier branches to flog the men and tear their skin. Secondly, to the citizens of Penuel, Gideon acted even more disgracefully. He tore down their tower as promised, but he also killed all the men of the city (verse 8:17). Daniel I. Block said, “Gideon’s behavior could be justified if Penuel were a Canaanite city, but these were fellow Israelites! His character has been transformed again — he acted like a general out of control. no longer bound by rules of civility, let alone national loyalty” (NAC, Book of Judges, p.293). Therefore, as the Gadites of Succoth and Penuel disrespected and betrayed their loyalty to Gideon, Gideon also brought himself down to their level and shamefully acted in the same ungodly behavior as well.
Instead of treating the men of Succoth and Penuel with the same grace he gave the Ephraimites, Gideon, the leader, and judge of Israel, acted disgracefully. He killed a whole town of Israelite men. How shameful. Rather than praying and turning the situation over to God, Gideon took matters into his own hands. We would assume that Gideon’s character would have increased because of his godly character of humility and obedience at the time of God’s calling. However, from what we have just seen by him taking vengeance on his brother Israelites, Gideon’s character has declined since his calling. Nevertheless, God is patient when dealing with his servants. The writer of the Book of Hebrews commends Gideon for his faith in Hebrews 11:32-34. From this, we can conclude that Gideon will be held accountable for all his actions. Additionally, we can also conclude that God is pleased when his people serve Him by faith (Hebrew 11:6). It does not have to be great faith, even one with little faith can please God because faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-10). Whether it is great faith or little, all faith is a gift from God to each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned (Romans 12:3).
Had Gideon operated by faith, he would not have to take matters into his own hands. Just like the Ephraimites who aggressively confronted Gideon to the point of almost being violent, Gideon behaved worse than the Ephraimites. Gideon, instead of acting my faith, acted in a moment of anger and rage by killing the men of Penuel. Gideon, who once did all for God in humility at his call, is now filled with pride. One can only wonder if Gideon killed the men of Penuel thinking to himself, “How dare they not do what I asked? I am Gideon, who is called Jerubaal, one who contended with Baal!” Nevertheless, according to the Word of God and his nature, we are not to take vengeance into our own hands. Scripture says in Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (KJV).
Therefore, in application to our lives. we must never follow Gideon’s example and take vengeance in our own hands. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. This removes us from being the judge, jury, and executioner in our relationships. This allows us to remain in obedience to the Lord with humility. When we are humble, then we are more willing to deny ourselves of being controlled with pride, We then do the right thing and consider others as having great worth and value. Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others.”
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My God of all Peace and Comfort, I pray that You be glorified in me as I serve You by serving others. Help me to always resolve conflicts and never take vengeance into my own hands. May I also stay humble and obedient to You and Your Word! In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!
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Others, by Charles D. Meigs in 1902:
