Gideon Reduces the Ranks
7:1 Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and his men got up the next morning and camped near the spring of Harod. The Midianites were camped north of them near the hill of Moreh in the valley.
The two armies met and camped across from each other at the Valley of Jezreel. The Valley of Jezreel was one of the most fertile valleys of Israel.
7:2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. Israel might brag, ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’
Gideon tested God twice. Now, God will test Gideon twice. The satanic world system prefers a large army. Jehovah operates above and outside of this sphere. God wanted a small army, so that Israel would not give credit to themselves.
7:3 Now, announce to the men, ‘Whoever is shaking with fear may turn around and leave Mount Gilead.’” Twenty-two thousand men went home; ten thousand remained.
This announcement was keeping with the Law of Deuteronomy 20:8. God did not need cowards in His army. Cowards are those who do not have enough bible doctrine to trust in God for the final outcome. God has already decided who will win the battle, who will live, and who will die. It is man’s responsibility to trust God in all of these issues.
7:4 The Lord spoke to Gideon again, “There are still too many men. Bring them down to the water and I will thin the ranks some more. When I say, ‘This one should go with you,’ pick him to go; when I say, ‘This one should not go with you,’ do not take him.”
Gideon lost over half of his army. God gave Gideon his second test. God wants Gideon to reduce his army even further.
7:5 So he brought the men down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink.”
Gideon was to watch how the men drank the water.
7:6 Three hundred men lapped; the rest of the men kneeled to drink water.
Three hundred men lapped the water like a dog with their eyes up, watching for the enemy. These were men who were ready to fight. All of the other soldiers kneeled to drink, taking their eyes off of the enemy.
7:7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army and I will hand Midian over to you. The rest of the men should go home.”
Jehovah found 300 men who were ready to fight.
7:8 The men who were chosen took supplies and their trumpets. Gideon sent all the men of Israel back to their homes; he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites were camped down below in the valley.
The other men were sent back to camp. They would not be used in the initial attack, but they would be used later for mop-up duty.
Gideon Reassured of Victory
7:9 That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up! Attack the camp, for I am handing it over to you.
God called for a night attack. The battle was already decided before it even started.
7:10 But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with Purah your servant
Gideon had still not become the man of courage that the Angel of the Lord predicted.
7:11 and listen to what they are saying. Then you will be brave and attack the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to where the sentries were guarding the camp.
Gideon was still scared, so he went down to the camp with his servant to hear the comments of the enemy soldiers.
7:12 Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. Their camels could not be counted; they were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore.
Gideon had good reason to fear. He was vastly outnumbered in men, supplies, and camels. He was outnumbered 135,000 to 22,000.
7:13 When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. The man said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.”
Except for Balaam, God always communicated with pagans through dreams. Examples are Abimelech, Pharaoh, and Nebuchadnezzar.
Barley bread was the staple food of the poor. The Midianites plundered Israel and forced them into poverty. Now, this barley bread would roll through their camp and squash them.
7:14 The other man said, “Without a doubt this symbolizes the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God is handing Midian and all the army over to him.”
The Midianites saw this dream as the sword of Gideon. However, at this time, Israel did not have any swords.
Gideon Routs the Enemy
7:15 When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!”
Gideon had now become the mighty man of valor that was prophesied by the Angel of the Lord. He ordered the night attack.
7:16 He divided the three hundred men into three units. He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them.
The 300 men were planning to attack with only trumpets, empty jars, and torches. It took a lot of faith to execute this type of plan.
7:17 He said to them, “Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely! I am going to the edge of the camp. Do as I do!
Gideon modeled the attack sequence and program.
7:18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, you also blow your trumpets all around the camp. Then say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”
Trumpets were to be blown all around the night camp to confuse the troops into thinking that Gideon was attacking with a very large army.
7:19 Gideon took a hundred men to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guards. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars they were carrying.
The middle watch was between 10 PM and 2 AM, which was the darkest hour of the night. The guards had just changed, so their eyes had not yet adjusted to the light. Gideon’s 100 men blew their trumpets. When the jars broke, their torches instantly shined all over the camp.
7:20 All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right. Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”
All three units followed suit and blew their trumpets. The three units broke their jars, unveiling 300 torches. They shouted out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon.” Gideon made a mistake adding his own name to the attack. He was taking away God’s glory.
7:21 They stood in order all around the camp. The whole army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away.
The Jewish army did not charge. They stood still around the camp and observed the effects of God’s supernatural psychological warfare.
7:22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords throughout the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
The Midianites began to kill each other with their own swords. Then, they ran away, attempting to escape.
7:23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites.
The other Israelite soldiers who were sent back to camp were now called to action for mop-up duties.
Gideon Appeases the Ephraimites
7:24 Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the Ephraimite hill country who announced, “Go down and head off the Midianites. Take control of the fords of the streams all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.” When all the Ephraimites had assembled, they took control of the fords all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.
The Ephramites who were not included in the original call were responsible for taking away the Midianite escape routes.
7:25 They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb. They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River.
Oreb means “raven." Zeeb means “wolf." These two generals were executed. Their heads were brought to Gideon.