Judges
8:4, 10-12, 22, 23 (NIV) Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet
keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it.
. . .
10 Now
Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men,
all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty
thousand swordsmen had fallen. 11 Gideon went up by the route of the nomads
east of Nobah and Jogbehah and fell upon the unsuspecting army. 12 Zebah and
Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them,
routing their entire army.
. . .
22 The
Israelites said to Gideon, "Rule over us — you, your son and your grandson
— because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian."
23 But
Gideon told them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over
you. The Lord will rule over you."
NOTE: The Midanites
numbered 120,000 and now were down to 15,000. Gideon is still chasing them with
his 300. Now, the Ephraimites had joined later and defeated two other kings, so
some of the losses were caused by other tribes. And of course, the Midianites
probably don't realize that only 300 men are chasing them at that moment. They
are scared to death, and the first sign of any troops would probably cause them
to run. As Gideon's small forces chase them down, outlying towns along the way
refused to feed them, probably waiting to see who the victor is and not
thinking 300 men are a threat. But Gideon routs the final 15,000, killing the
last two kings and taking revenge on the cities who did not support him when
requested. Is that moral? I don't know and God is silent, but it is what Gideon
does. To Gideon's credit, when offered a rulership or kingship he turns it
down. And he gives the correct biblical answer, "The Lord will rule over
you." Already, Israel is starting to look for a human king, a physical
presence to rely on. The problem is that they cannot see God and therefore
can't trust God. But the problem is not that God is untrustworthy as shown with
300 men routing a force 400 times larger. The real problem is that the people
do not allow God to rule in their lives (see Judges 6:1-6). And we are like
that too. When we call God, Lord, we need to obey his teaching. We need to
serve others. We need to treat all people with respect (that includes the
person behind the counter at the fast food place, the janitor, the homeless,
the child, the person who is most unlike me). We really don't live as Christ
has called us to live. And as a result, we don't really let God rule in our
lives.
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