KILLING ZEBAH AND ZALMUNNA By the spirit of humility, Gideon reconciled with the stirred-up men of Ephraim; and with the spirit of strife, he set forth to capture and to kill the two kings of Midian.. 1- Gideon reconciles with the men of Ephraim 1 - 3 2- The shameful attitude of Succoth and Panuel 4 - 9 3- Gideon kills the two kings of Midian 10 - 21 4- Gideon makes golden Ephod for himself 22 - 28 5- The death of Gideon 29 - 35 1- GIDEON RECONCILES WITH THE MEN OF EPHRAIM: “Now the men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the Midianites?” And they reprimanded him sharply” (1). The tribe of Ephraim was known for its strength among the tribes, and occupied the best portion of the promised land. Even when Israel was divided into two kingdoms, the ten tribes were called ‘Ephraim’ (Jeremiah 31: 9 , 19, 20). With such prominence, that tribe expected to be called by Gideon to join him in the battle against the Midianites; and as he failed to do that, they reprimanded him sharply (1). Here, Gideon showed his wise leadership in dealing with this situation, with great amiability and humility that absorbed their anger. Referring to them the favor of killing the two princes of Midian Oreb and Zeeb, he said to them: https://coptic-treasures.com/ “’What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison with you?’ Then their anger toward him subsided when he said that” (2, 3) In great humility he proclaimed that the gleaming of the grapes of Ephraim is better than the vintage of Abiezer, his own family. By referring to them the favor of, and commending them on getting the heads of the two Midianite princes, their anger toward him subdued, according to the words of the Holy Book: “A soft answer turns away wrath” (Proverb 15: 1). Gideon could have rebuked them, on account of the fact that the Midianites enslaved them for seven years, and they never moved. But, being a wise leader, he proclaimed, instead, their good side. He pretended that what he has already done was just a preparation for the battle; whereas they did what was befitting of their honor and greatness. By that, he gained them as supporters, instead of losing them as opponents. He wisely counted Epraim, of such lowly soul, in need of a word of encouragement, and not of rebuke. 2- THE SHAMEFUL ATTITUDE OF SUCCOTH AND PANUEL: “When Gideon came to the Jordan, he and the three hundred men who were with him crossed over, exhausted but still in pursuit. Then he said to the men of Succoth https://coptic-treasures.com/ “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian” (4, 5) Seeing how exhausted his men became through their pursuit of the Midianites, Gideon sought from the inhabitants of Succoth, something that would cost them only a little, namely to provide those few men with loaves of bread; those who were fighting to the account of the whole congregation; in particular, that they have not ceased to strive, but were on their way to get the heads of the two Midianite kings Sebah and Zalmunna. It was befitting of the people of Succoth to join Gideon in the battle to liberate them from the bondage of the Midianites; but, lacking enough faith to do that; they should at least contribute by providing the warriors with bread. In having such coolness of feeling, a surrender to bondage, and being a bad example to those who were faithful in their strife, they were worst than those men of Ephraim, and even than the enemies themselves. ………….They did not only refrain to give, but their leaders even mockingly said: “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?” (6) ‘Succoth’, means (booths), located east of the Jordan, and north of ‘Jebok’, nowadays ‘Tel-Akhsas’, west of ‘Der-Ala’ close to (the river of Zerkah), 4 miles east of the Jordan. It carried the name ‘Succoth’, after Jacob set in it booths for himself, his children, and his livestock (Genesis 33: 17); It was a portion of the tribe of Gad. https://coptic-treasures.com/ “So Gideon said, “For this cause, when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers!” (7) In this, Gideon, who was so humble before God (6: 15), and before the men of Ephraim, appeared very firm, and even violent with the people of Succoth; Being the judge over Israel, it was his duty to chastise firmly, those people with the tools of chastisement, to separate the hay from the wheat, lest the curse would dwell on the whole people. If the people of Scuccoth were ‘wheat’, they would be glorified by the threshing implement, which separate the wheat from the hay; but being ‘thorns and briars’, they are worthy of being destroyed by the threshing implement, and gathered for burning………… Wheat do not fear the threshing implement but rather wait for it with joy; whereas the thorns and hay have terror of it. What Gideon threatened to do, does not only concern the people of Succoth, but every man, whose inner land produce thorns and briars of curse. In other words, would fall under the destructive threshing implement of Gideon, he who lives, carnally (in flesh), by his mind, heart, and life, bearing the thorns of the curse of sin in himself; Whereas, he who walks by the Spirit and has the heavenly fruition, no threshing implement would harm him, but would rather glorify him. I pray to God to take away from us our carnal thoughts, to burn in us the thorns of sin that strangle the soul, and to destroy all what are foreign with His threshing implement (His Holy Cross), to let us live by the truth as spirituals who dwell in the heavenlies “Then he went up from there to Penuel and spoke to them in the same way. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. So he also https://coptic-treasures.com/ spoke to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I come back in peace, I will tear down this tower!” (8, 9) The word ‘Panuel’ means (the face of God), a camp east of the Jordan, east of Succoth, where Hacob saw God face to face (Genesis 32: 30). It was befitting of those who see God’s face, to go down with Gideon to fight against the Midianites, but they, instead, took refuge in the tower of their city during the battle. And after it came to an end, they refused to provide Gideon and his men with bread. They represent those who, even though had a spiritual experience with the Lord for some time, like seeing Him face to face, they reject the spiritual strife, and trust in their self-righteousness (their tower), which, accordingly, is worth of being demolished; In other words, if the people of Succoth represent the carnal man, who is worthy of having his flesh destroyed, and the thorns of his evil desires broken down;; those of Panuel represent him who has the outer appearance of the spirit, but is closed-shut around his ‘Ego’; The former is struck by the left strokes, namely the sins of the body; while the later, by the right strikes of the self-righteousness. The former is in need of the threshing implement of the true Gideon, namely, of the cross of the Lord to destroy and to crucify the evil desires of his body; and the later needs Gideon ‘s tools to tear down the tower of his Ego. 3- GIDEON KILLS THE TWO KINGS OF MIDIANL “Now Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East; for one hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword had fallen; Then Gideon went up by the road of those who dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah; and he attacked the army while https://coptic-treasures.com/ the camp felt secure. When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them; and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army” (10 – 13) The word ‘Zebah’ means (a sacrifice); probably because he was a Nazirite to the Midianite gods. While the word ‘Zalmunna’ is a Midianite word meaning (to whom no refuge was given), (who has no shadow), or (the dark god). ‘Karkur’, meaning (flat to the ground), is a town close to the eastern border of ‘Gad’, probably in the Valley of ‘Serhan’. The two kings Zebah and Zalmunna refer to the devil and his followers; for the former, by his name, means that he is a sacrifice to the idols; and the later proclaims the kingdom of the dark god . …….. Now, as the true Gideon -- Jesus Christ – leads the spiritual battle through His men, bearers of the cross, there is nothing left before the devil but to flee to ‘Karkor’, namely to go down to the level of the ground, to lose his authority and his awe before his believers. If the enemy, at the beginning, seemed strong and mighty, with 135,000 warriors; yet, whoever hides in the true Gideon, would despise the devil, and crush him under his feet on the ground. Our Lord Jesus Christ confirms: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall, by any means hurt you” (Luke 10: 18, 19). That is what St. John Chrysostom confirmed in several of his writings, beside some of his articles concentrated on that the devil has no more authority on us “Gideon went up by the road of those who dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the army while the camp felt secure”. When the two kings felt that they were finally safe, away from Gideon, they were surprised to see him in the wilderness; Gideon represented the Lord Christ, who was led by His Holy Spirit to the wilderness to enter with the devil into a battle on the https://coptic-treasures.com/ mountain, that ended up with His conquest to our account, and the defeat of the enemy. The word ‘Nobah’ is a Hebrew word meaning (barking), a town in the portion of ‘Gad’. Its name came to conform to the battle; for the devil is often likened to a dog that violently barks before its house, but attacks no one but the fearful, whom it distinguishes by the smell of his body sweat caused by his fear. Whereas it flees before the brave who does not fear them….. The demons attempt to terrify us by their barks, but flee before the true believers in great cowardice. ‘Jogbehah’, means (a high place), probably is ‘Gebihat’ nowadays, a village 6 miles north-east of ‘Amman’ the capital of the kingdom of Jordan, on the way to the city of ‘Salt’. The battle took place at ‘Jogbehah’, namely at the high lofty place; for it is the foremost feature of the Satan; in whose pride he got into animosity against God, and entered into a losing battle that ended in his eternal perdition. ………. The (high place), may refer to the high mountain where the battle of temptation against Christ took place (Matthew 4)’; Or it may also refer to the cross, high up on Mount Golgotha, where we had our conquest in our Lord Jesus Christ over the deadly darkness. “ Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle, from the Ascent of Heres” (13) The word ‘Heres’ in Hebrew means (the sun); hence it came in the Chaldean version as “before sunrise”; Although, according to others, Gideon set forth from the ‘Ascent of Heres’, namely from (the height of the sun); so called probably because on it they used to worship the sun. “And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth and interrogated him; and he wrote down for him the (names) of the leaders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven https://coptic-treasures.com/ men. Then he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you ridiculed me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your weary men? And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth”. Then he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city” (14 -17) Such a verdict, even though it seems very cruel, yet we see it followed almost all over the world, at the times of war and emergencies, for the sake of the security of the whole people. Here we notice that the figure 77 is the same one uttered by the Lord Christ, when the apostle Peter asked Him: “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him: I do not say to you ‘up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven’” (Matthew 18: 21, 22). ………. Commenting on this figure, St. Augustine says: [The law represents the figure 10; and breaking the law represents a hidden commandment; namely “Do not break the law”, which if added to the ten, it makes the eleventh commandment. So if the figure 77 is the product of multiplying 11 X 7; it therefore, symbolizes the man who broke all the commandments of the Old Testament (11); and those of the New Testament (7). ; It is as though, we should forgive any sin mentioned in the Holy Book.. By the same line of thought , we can say that Gideon killed the 77 elders by the threshing implements between the thorns , as a reference to the Lord Christ who, with His cross, destroyed all our sins, disobedience, and breaking of the commandments, mentioned in the two testaments, together with destroying the thorns of the curse that dwelt upon us. https://coptic-treasures.com/ It is to be noticed that Gideon did not instantly kill the two kings, but took them along to be seen by the people of Succoth and Panuel “And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor? So they answered, “As you are, so were they; each one resembled the son of a king.” Then he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you. And he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them; But the youth would not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth. So Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength .So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks” (18 -21) By so doing, he probably intended to show the people of Succoth and Panuel that his is not blood-thirsty; and would not condemn anyone to death before interrogating him. And even after their confession he demanded from his son to do the killing, to show them that he was not keen about killing them by his own hands …….Being a judge, he loved justice, yet with firmness. “He took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks” (21). Having been worshippers of the moon, those crescent ornaments were also put on by men (8: 26), and women (Isaiah 2: 18) as xxxxxxxxxxx to bring to them good luck, and to keep away harm from them. It is as though Gideon took away their gods that were unable to protect them. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 4- GIDEON MAKES GOLDEN EPHOD FOR HIMSELF:. “ Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your son, and your grandson also; for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.” (22) Gideon proved that he is led by the Holy Spirit, by passing passed through a difficult test, when his people demanded from him to rule over them, he and his son, and his grandson after him, for he delivered them from the hand of Midian.(22). This is the first time Israel attempts to set the inherited royal system; for Israel counted God Himself as their King; When, therefore, they sought from the prophet Samuel to set a king over them, the Lord said: “They have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Samuel 8: 7)……….. Having walked by the Spirit, and was not seduced by authority, Gideon said to them: “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you” (22=23) By so saying, Gideon revealed what was deep in his heart; for even in his work as a judge he did not covet authority, but was truly a servant of the Lord and of his people; and he accepted the assignment for the sake of obedience, and for being sure that it is God who works. “Then Gideon said to them, “I would like to make a request of you, that each of you would give me the earrings from his plunder.” For they had golden earrings, because https://coptic-treasures.com/ they were Ishmaelites” (24) Even though Gideon passed the difficult test in rejecting the kingdom for himself, his children and grandchildren, yet, in human weakness he demanded from the people to give him the golden earrings from the plunder they took from the Medianites, who, being Ishmaelites, had golden earrings.. Counting his request as nothing, compared to his salvation work, and his rejection of the kingdom for himself and his children, they answered: “We will gladly give them’, And they spread out a garment, and each man threw into it the earrings from his plunder. Now the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around their camels’ necks. Then Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house” (25-27). Their was controversy among the scholars concerning that issue of ‘the ephod’; According to some, as the ephod, being the attire of the high priest (Exodus 28: 4), that was an indication that Gideon, who rejected the kingdom , has fallen into coveting the priesthood, in spite of not belonging to the tribe of Levi. Whereas according to others, basing their view on what came in verse 28: “It became a snare to Gideon and to his house”.. the ephod here belong to the idols; for the pagans used to have ephod in every house for their idols, from which they used to seek counsel before any action (1 Samuel 23: 9-12; 30: 7, 8); ………..Yet https://coptic-treasures.com/ many scholars believe that Gideomn was not an idol-worshipper, but remained faithful to the Lord, died at a good old age (32), .and was counted among the men of faith ( ), and believed that the ephod he made , he kept, but did not worship. 4- DEATH OF GIDEON: “ Thus Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted their heads no more. And the country was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon” Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash (Gideon) went and dwelt in his own house.. Gideon had seventy sons who were his own offspring, for he had many wives. And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech. Now Gideon the son of Joash died at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal- Berith their god. Thus the children of Israel did not https://coptic-treasures.com/ remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel” (28 – 35)
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