Judges 8:13-21 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Judges 8:13-21. Let’s go!
Judges 8:13-17 (NIV)
13 Gideon son of Joash then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres.
14 He caught a young man of Succoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Succoth, the elders of the town.
15 Then Gideon came and said to the men of Succoth, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, ‘Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?'”
16 He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers.
17 He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.
On verses 13-17: After capturing the Midianite kings Zebah and Zalmunna, Gideon finds out the names of the 77 officials in the Israelite town of Succoth who earlier rejected his request for food for his troops (Judges 8:4-6). In keeping with his promise (Judges 8:7), Gideon punishes the elders of Succoth with desert thorns and briers. Also, just as he promised, Gideon pulls down the tower of Peniel, the other Israelite town that earlier had rejected him and his troops (Judges 8:8).
Earlier in Judges 8:1-3, Gideon was compassionate and gentle toward the Ephraimites when they opposed him but here Gideon is harsh with the towns of Succoth and Peniel when they opposed him. Why? It’s because the Ephraimites had participated in Gideon’s mission to save Israel from the Midianites and were angry only because they didn’t get to participate more. In contrast, the people of Succoth and Peniel did nothing to support Gideon’s mission to save Israel, even though they themselves were Israelites.
Similarly, Jesus takes personally our decision to follow Him or not. One day Jesus will make a distinction between those who truly followed Him and those who associated with him by name only but did not really follow Him. As Jesus says in Luke 11:23, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.” Jesus will honor those who served alongside Him (Luke 12:37), and He will judge those who nominally associate with Him but practically did nothing to support His mission.
Judges 8:18-21 (NIV)
18 Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one with the bearing of a prince.”
19 Gideon replied, “Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the LORD lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.”
20 Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.
21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, do it yourself. ‘As is the man, so is his strength.'” So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels’ necks.
On verses 18-21: This is where the mission gets particularly personal for Gideon. That is because, according to Gideon in verse 19, Zebah and Zalmunna, the Midianite kings he captured, had killed his siblings. So now, in getting rid of two Midianite kings, Gideon is also avenging the death of his siblings. You can tell what is in a person’s heart by understanding what that person is willing to kill for and what person is willing to die for. Gideon’s family was evidently in his heart. The fact that God the Father sacrificed His own Son Jesus so that we could be reconciled to God, the fact that Jesus would willingly lay down His life for that same purpose, shows you what is in God’s heart: you and me.
Thank You God for always having me in Your heart and for being willing to pay the highest price for me. May I be among those who follow You the whole way. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
