GIDEON AND THE MIDIANITES Being sure of God’s company with him, Gideon rose early to make war against the Midianites. 1- God saves with the few 1 - 8 2- Gideon is likened to a loaf of barley bread 9 - 18 3- The defeat of the Midianites 19 - 23 4- The capture of Oreb and Zeeb the two princes of Midian 24 – 25 1- GOS SAVES WITH THE FEW: “Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley” (1) “Herod’, a Hebrew word meaning (trembling); the place was so called on account of the trembling and disturbance that came upon the army of the Midianites in that battle (19- 22). It is claimed that it is actually ‘Ein-Glod’, or (Ein-Galot), but changed to ‘Herod’, because of mishearing, or mispronunciation. It is located north-west of Mount Gilboa, or the mountain of Gilead, about a mile south-east of Jezreel, close to Bisan. As to the ‘Hill of Moraah’, it is about four miles from the ‘Ein’, called ‘Mount Dohey’, of 1815 miles above seal level; between Mout Tabor https://coptic-treasures.com/ northward, and Mount Gilboa southward. ‘Morah’ is Canaanite word, meaning (teacher). Gideon coming to that place (beside the Well of Herod), was not without meaning; for the secret of conquest is the divine possibilities enjoyed by the believer through the fountain of baptism, called ‘Herod’ (or trembling), for it represents terror to the devil. All the liturgies of the early church came carrying two main lines: Denying Satan with all his energies; and enjoying the possibilities of the Holy Trinity. According to the scholar Tertullian: [In the church under the hand of the bishop, we testify that we deny Satan, all his procession, and angels]. And according to St. Cyril of Jerusalem:[After that, you are anointed on your chests, to wear the shield of righteousness, and to holdfast against the tricks of Satan. The same way, after His baptism, and the dwelling of the Holy Spirit on Him, Christ came out and fought against the adversary; so you, after the holy baptism and the sacrament of anointment, will holdfast against the adversary power, to fight, wearing the perfect armor of the Holy Spirit, saying together with the apostle Paul:”I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me” (Philippians 4: 13)] While the Midianites were 135,000 warriors, those with Gideon were only 32,000 . . “And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me” (2) Even though the number of people with Gideon were few, compared to the Midianites, yet God intended to confirm that conquest is not through the number, https://coptic-treasures.com/ but through His divine work in the pure heart. According to St. Gregory of Nyssa: {God’s pleasure is not in numbers]. “Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead; And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained” (3). Unfortunately the number of the fearful was more than one third of the army. Those were not only useless, but, as it came in the book of Deuteronomy: “What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted, let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart” (Deuteronomy 20: 8) . “ But the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go” So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink, and put their hands to their mouths. And the number of the later group was three hundred men; but all the rest of the https://coptic-treasures.com/ people lapped the water with their tongues as a dog laps.. Then the LORD said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who put their hands to their mouths, I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.” (4-7) According to some, those who put their hand to their mouths, control themselves more than those who lapped from the water with their tongues directly. God, therefore chose the former to work with, He works with the very few, to fight against those who were “as numerous as locusts; their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude” (12). According to St. Augustine , the figure 300 refers to the cross; for the letter ‘T’ which bears the form of the cross, refers to the figure 300 in Greek. Adopting the same interpretation, St. Ambrose says: [Gideon chose 300 men for the battle, to show that the world should be liberated from the serious attacks of the enemy by the secret of the cross, and not through the multitudes of men. The bearers of the cross (the three hundred) set forth to the spiritual strife under the leadership of the true Gideon; whereas the multitudes of other men, of no use for the spiritual work, went, everyone to his place; or back to the ‘ego’. In other words, he who does not bear the secret of the cross in his life, is closed-shut around himself, to work, not to the account of God, but to that of himself. . “So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley” (8) https://coptic-treasures.com/ Those men took provisions and trumpets in their hands, according to the Septuagint version, from those who went back to their tents ………Those provisions probably refer to faith, and the trumpets refer to the Word of God. For we cannot set forth to the spiritual bathe against the devil and all his works, except by faith and holding fast to the word of God; according to the words of the psalmist: “I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed; …… I will never forget Your percepts; for by them You have given me Your commandments” (Psalm 119: 446, 94). 2- GIDEON IS LIKENED TO A LOAF OF BARLEY BREAD: It was not easy for Gideon to see God chose for him only 300 men out of about 32,000, to fight against 135,000 enemy warriors. Particularly that the battlefield was to take place be in the valley where there are no natural refuges, or caves to protect them against the arrows of the enemy; Together with the few possibilities and the military equipments that were robbed by the Midianites during the seven years of affliction; Besides that, his men, were not trained on war for many years, and lack military experience. In other words, Gideon was leading few men, poorly armed, and with no experience of war. ……….Yet the Lord was with him, promised him conquest, and strengthened his faith, . “ It happened on the same night that the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down https://coptic-treasures.com/ to the camp with Purah your servant, and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp. Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude. And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to (the royal tent) and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed. Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.” (9 – 14) Barley. the cheapest of the kinds of bread in Palestine, is the food of the poor, and even given as fodder to the animals. ………By such a dream, God intended to proclaim, even to the enemy, that He will destroy them with Gideon, who seemed so weak and poor like a barley loaf of bread, of cheap price. ………. We would expect the enemy to see a rock roll down to the valley to destroy anyone in its way; but to see a barley loaf of bread roll down to destroy the royal tent, and https://coptic-treasures.com/ turn it upside down, this, according to the Medianite soldier himself, is a divine work. In the time of affliction, it is not only the believers who experience the work of God with them, through His heavenly exalted comforts, but even the adversaries would stand in awe before God’s work by His children, who seem like a barley loaf of bread. “ And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand. Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do. When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!’” (15 – 18) If God works with the few to refer to His own power, and not to that of man, Yet, He sanctifies the human effort, and does not despise, nor disregard the human wisdom, energies and talents. ………. In the war of Gideon against the Midianites, having separated only 300 men to fight; yet God granted Gideon the wisdom and the good ordinance. He let him divide the 300 men into three companies, each company occupied a side of the camp, all around the https://coptic-treasures.com/ Midianites. All came at night in the second watch (for the Jews used to divide the night into three watches, each of four hours; the first watch starts at 6 o’clock pm); Every man carried a trumpet, an empty pitcher, and a torch inside the pitcher. “So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers—they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing—and they cried, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!”. And every man stood in his place all around the camp;…………. When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp of the enemy; and the army fled to Beth Acacia toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath” (19 – 22) The Midianites who, at the time, were all most probably sleeping, except for a few sentinels; awakened on the sound of trumpets on all sides at once; and of men breaking their empty pitchers, probably those of their companions, to produce a sound, as though of military tools striking one another; ……….That made the Midianites think that the battle had already begun between the two armies; In the darkness they started to strike one another by swords; with the https://coptic-treasures.com/ assumption that he is an enemy. ………. While each of Gideon’s men, standing in his place, watched the Midianites fighting against one another. Seeing Gideon’s men with their torches, on all sides from afar with their torches, and assuming that they have got new recruitments, the Midianites, amid the darkness, had to desert the camp and flee to Beth Acacia (22); between the Valley of Jezreel, and Zererah in the Valley of the Jordan. From there they fled to ‘Abel Meholah’, in the Valley of Ephraim in the Ford of the Jordan; probably the town of ‘Sertan’, whose name means (coolness) in the Valley of the Jordan. From there they fled to the edge of ‘Abel Meholah, namely on its border; whose name means (the field of the dance); known nowadays as ‘Tel el-Maklab’ in the Valley of the Jordan; although according to some, it was west of the Jordan, 12 miles south of ‘Beth Shaan’. From Abel Meholah they headed to ‘Tabbath’, fleeing with no pursuers, For it was God Himself who terrified them; or in other words, delivered them to their evil works, that made them lose their peace and comfort, to be unceasing on the run.. ……… For according to the wise Solomon: “The wicked is banished in his wickedness” (Proverbs 14: 32); and, “The wicked flee when no one pursues” (Proverbs 28: 1). The wicked, therefore, sometimes flee to Beth Acacia, probably to find a shadow underneath some trees, the way his parents Adam and Eve did when they fled before the face of God; And sometimes set forth to ‘Sertan’, where the (coolness) would take away all the warmth of the spirit; and a third time he sets forth to the edge of the house of dancing, with the hope that the evil pleasures of this world may give him joy and peace. But in all this, he will be like a fugitive with no comfort; for he is far from God, the Grantor of peace, and the Source of the true comfort. “ And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites” (23). https://coptic-treasures.com/ “Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, saying, ‘Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan’ Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan” (24, 25) While the Midianites were unconsciously fleeing from one place to another, Gideon sought from the inhabitants of the mountains of Ephraim, to come down, and seize from the Midianites all the watering places as far a ‘Beth Barah’, which means (of the barren land not suitable for agriculture), which is 30 miles northeast of Jerusalem. The goal of seizing the watering places , was to utterly destroy the chances of the Midianites to flee. The watering places may refer God’s gifts and grace. If the devil, used even God’s gifts, our talents, and our energies created by God in us; to his account; Returning to the Lord, we retreat from the enemy with all our energies and talents; leaving no place for him in us; and denying him the chance to turn our energies into tools to work to his account; and he will, therefore, be utterly destroyed, as far as we are concerned, for good. 4- THE CAPTURE OF OREB AND ZEEB, THE TWO PRINCES OF MIDIAN: “And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian https://coptic-treasures.com/ and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan” (25). It did not stop at denying the Medianites of the watering places, but they also killed their two princes Orab and Zeeb, and brought their heads to Gideon, after they pursued Midian in their escape. They called the rock on which they killed Oreb “the Rock of Oreb’. And the winepress at which they killed Zeeb ‘the Winepress of Zeeb’. If the dove refers to the Holy Spirit; as well as to the church, led by the Holy Spirit; the raven refers to the evil spirit, as well as to te kingdom of the devil. In the episode of Noah (Genesis 7: 7), Noah sent the raven out of the arc, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground; but the raven did not return to Noah, and kept going to and fro; as though it was the evil spirit that descended from his heavenly position, to live on corruption, to move from a corpse to another, exulted in that widespread death and corruption. The evil spirit pours his evil in the life of the wicked who carry his features, and walk by his defiled mind. And as the lamb refers to the Lord Christ, as well as to every believer united to Him; The wolf, on the other hand, refers to the devil, who has violence in its nature, and pours from this spirit on his followers, to devour the meek lambs. In other words, ‘Oreb’ and ‘Zeeb’, the two Midianite princes, refer to the devil, concerning his love of corruption (Oreb), and devouring (Zeeb); But if we bind ourselves to the true Gideon, our Lord Jesus Christ, we would kill in ourselves every longing for defilement, and every intention toward violence and devouring; as though we kill in it Oreb and Zeeb. It is amazing how Oreb and Zeeb were successively killed on a rock, and at a winepress. If the Rock refers to the Lord Christ, according to the saying of the apostle (1 Corinthians 10: 4), and the winepress refers to the church; the devil https://coptic-treasures.com/ with all his corruption and violence, will lose his life and being, through our unity with the Lord Christ, our Rock, and our membership in the church. By the end of that battle, in which Gideon and his men, defeated Oreb, Zeeb, and their men, we can say that the secret of power lies in the spiritual way taken by Gideon on several aspects: 1- His men were 300, by which they proclaimed that they were bearers of the cross 2- Divided into three groups, they worked together, and with the same spirit, under the leadership of Gideon; as though they were the church bearing the feature of resurrection, for the figure 3 refers to the resurrection after the burial in the tomb together with the Lord Christ. 3- Each man carried a trumpet, namely the Word of God; ……..empty breakable pitches, that refer to the bodies put to death concerning their evil desires, to be sanctified in the Lord; ………….and a torch, namely the work of the grace of God, that grants enlightenment to the soul. 4- Killing Oreb and Zeeb refer to their rejection of corruption and viciousness. That is the way of the spiritual conquest under the leadership of the Lord Christ – the True Gideon –the Grantor of conquest.
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