OceanSide church of Christ
![]() |
Return to Gideon |
Next ![]() |
![]() |
GIDEON: A JUDGE AND A MIGHTY MAN OF VALOR
The Program Carried Out
Judges 7:19-23
Lesson #12
Victor M. Eskew
INTRODUCTION
A. In our last lesson, Gideon prepared his 300 men for the battle with the Midianites.
B. The weapons they were going to use were very unconventional: trumpets, pitchers, and torches. Too, they would shout, saying: “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.”
C. We can almost see the men dispersing themselves around the Midianites in the quiet of the night.
D. Two of the groups were waiting and watching for Gideon’s call to battle.
1. The hearts of the men are racing.
2. There is a still just before the battle.
3. Everyone is in a state of extremely high anticipation.
I. The Raid against Midian (Judges 7:19-20).
A. Charting the Time (Jgs. 7:19a)
So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch…
1. The Jews divided the night into three watches.
a. 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
b. 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.
c. 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.
2. There are several allusions to the night watches in the Old Testament (Exo. 14:24; 1Sam. 11:11; Psa. 63:6; 90:4; 119:148; 130:6; Lam. 2:19).
When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
3. The Jews accepted the Roman division of four night watches when Rome subdued Israel.
4. The battle began at the “beginning of the middle watch.” This would have been at 10:00 p.m.
a. The skies would be dark.
b. Most of the soldiers would have been in their beds.
c. Most wars during that time in history were fought in the daylight hours.
d. Thus, this raid upon the nation of Midian would have been a complete surprise.
B. Clamor Created by Israel (Jdg. 7:19b-20)
And they blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon
1. Israel was divided into three companies.
2. They could have been in front of the Midianites and on either side of them.
3. If the soldiers were spread out, they could have covered some 6 to 10 football fields of distance.
4. The silence of the night was broken by three sounds:
a. The trumpet blasts, 300 of them.
b. The breaking of earthen pitchers, 300 of them.
c. The shouts of 300 men crying from all directions: “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.”
5. In addition to the sounds, every man had a torch to wave. Waving it while walking through the trees would have seemed like a lot of men. Too, it may have been assumed that several men were being guided by one torch.
6. In the darkness and silence of the night, sounds like this can appear to be thousands instead of hundreds.
II. THE REACTION OF THE MIDIANITES (Judges 7:21-22)
A. The Confusion in the Camp (Jgs. 7:21)
And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
1. The Midianites were taken completely by surprise.
2. The text indicates the confusion that existed among them: they ran, and cried, and fled.
a. They did not have time to light their lamps.
b. They did not have time to properly put on their armor.
c. They could barely dress and grab a sword and run as quickly as possible.
B. The Conflict within the Camp (Jgs. 7:22a)
And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host…
1. The shophars are extremely loud when blown properly. It is difficult to imagine the sound of 300 of them crying out at the same time.
2. Because of the chaos that ensued in the camp, the Midianites lifted up their swords against one another. They could not distinguish friend from foe.
3. This bloodshed would create even more fear and chaos within the camp.
a. The Midianites were not thinking. They were only acting.
b. Can you imagine the cries not only of fear, but also of pain when soldiers were being cut and stabbed with swords?
C. The Clearing of the Camp (Jgs. 7:22b)
…and the host fled to Beth-shittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abel-meholah, unto Tabbath.
1. This is something that every army on the attack longs to see. They enemy is giving up their camp and is fleeing from the battlefield.
2. The towns that are mentioned are towns that were down from the plain of Jezreel and near the Jordan River. If they could cross the Jordan River, there might be some safety afforded them.
III. THE RUSH BY THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL (Judges 7:23)
And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.
A. Once the battle had begun, and the Midianites were put to flight, others from the tribes of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh who had returned home joined in the fight.
B. NOTE: They did not cause this mass exodus by the Midianites. God made sure they knew that it was he who had put the enemy to flight. Now, however, they could assist in the defeat of their enemies.
C. We are not told how many joined in the pursuit. It was enough that the Midianites could not regroup and return to the field of battle.
CONCLUSION
A. What man might think could never work will work when God’s hand it in it.
B. We often think, we are too small, or we are too poor to really accomplish the work of God. We reason that we do not have many resources at our disposal.
C. We fail to remember that we have God. The old saying is true: “Little is much when God is in it.”
D. Deuteronomy 7:7-10
The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.
E. Let us not forget that at this point, Gideon has manifested remarkable faith in the Almighty God.
1. He overcame his doubts.
2. He conquered his fears.
3. He moved with faith.
4. He obeyed God’s commands.
5. This led to the routing of the enemy (1 John 5:4b).
…and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.