Judges 7 Study Notes

7:1-3 Having proven to Gideon’s satisfaction that he was present, the Lord emphasized the point that his presence was all Gideon needed. The army was strategically camped at the spring of Harod, where water supply would not be an issue. The name of this particular spring is “Spring of Trembling,” which describes the state of Gideon’s army. Yet from the Lord’s perspective, there were too many troops there. If an army of this size won, even against the innumerable hordes of the Midianites, Israel might be tempted to take credit for the victory. To show that the victory was entirely his, the Lord reduced the size of Gideon’s army. Gideon’s words recall Dt 20:8 and the rules of war stated there.

7:4-8 The Lord gave Gideon an additional test to reduce the size of his army further, by taking them down to the water to drink. It appears that those chosen scooped water up in their hands and lapped it from there, while those who got down on all fours and drank directly from the river like a dog were rejected. The selection process may have been arbitrary, or it may have been designed to favor those who remained watchful while drinking. Gideon’s army now numbered just three hundred. Nothing must detract from the truth that the Lord can save as easily by using a few as by using many (1Sm 14:6).

7:9-14 The army was now sufficiently small, so the Lord commanded Gideon to get up and begin the action against the camp of the Midianites. Yet instead of immediate action, there was further delay while Gideon’s continuing fears were addressed. The Lord told Gideon that if he was afraid to go against the Midianite camp, he should secretly visit it and listen to what the Midianites were saying. He crept down to where he could see the Midianites, Amalekites, and . . . Qedemites, i.e., “eastern peoples” spread out like a swarm of locusts, with innumerable . . . camels. Visually nothing had changed since the opening verses of chap. 6. Yet what Gideon heard told a different story—God had given members of the enemy force a dream that was utterly demoralizing. It is ironic that the Midianites were quick to grasp the significance of a dream, while Gideon was slow to believe repeated signs and direct messages from the Lord.

7:15-16 Eavesdropping on this conversation at last had the desired effect on Gideon. In response, he bowed in worship, acknowledging the truth of the Lord’s words, now that he had heard them repeated by pagans. He returned to Israel’s camp and finally delivered to his men the instruction he had received from the Lord in v. 9. Gideon divided his small army into three divisions and “armed” them with a ram’s-horn trumpet, an empty pitcher, and a torch. Clearly, unless the Lord fought for them they would have no chance of victory.

7:17-18 Gideon’s earlier hesitancy was now gone. He led his men to the battle, instructing them to follow his example. When they came to the outpost at the edge of the Midianite camp, they were to blow their trumpets and to shout as their battle cry, For the Lord and for Gideon. The pairing of the Lord’s name with that of Gideon strikes a discordant note. After all, this was a battle that the Lord had taken great pains to make clear would be won by his might alone, greatly reducing the size of the Israelite army so that they would not be able to boast (v. 3).

7:19-25 The strategy worked out exactly as planned. The beginning of the middle watch would be midnight. Gideon’s three groups, spread out surrounding the camp, would sound like a much larger army. The element of surprise, combined by a divinely induced fear, sent the Midianites fleeing for their lives and fighting one another in the confusion. The victory was not just the result of successful psychological tactics. It was the Lord who caused the Midianites to turn on each other. The surviving Midianites fled toward the Jordan River, though the exact locations of the places mentioned in v. 22 are uncertain.

At this point, with victory assured, Gideon called out the men of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh—presumably the remainder of his original army of thirty thousand—to join in the pursuit. He also called out the men of Ephraim to seize the fording places over the Jordan to cut off any retreat for the remnant of the Midianites. It seems discordant with the spirit of holy war for Gideon to call in reinforcements after the Lord had already won the victory with the smaller force. This was perhaps a sign of Gideon’s growing self-confidence. Oreb and Zeeb were Midianite princes or military commanders.