Temptations of the Triumphant - Judges 7:23-8:23 - Keith Christensen

So in the beginning of chapter 7, God told Gideon, I'm going to save Israel from her oppressors, the Midianites, and I'll save them through you, Gideon.

But I want to do it in a way that would prevent you and prevent Israel from boasting after the fact, saying, my hand has saved me.

So God defeated Israel's enemy by making that enemy defeat itself, basically.

God made the Midianite army so confused and panicked and afraid that they started to fight and kill each other in the dark of the night.

And Israel's troops just blew trumpets and stood there and watched.

God saved them from this army apart from anything that their hands did.

Most of the Midianite army fell by the sword of another Midianite.

But some of them were able to leak out and escape and flee.

So Gideon called then the men of Israel to run after those who were running away.

That's where we pick up.

Verse 23.

The men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from Ammonassah.

And they pursued after Midian.

Midian.

Okay, now Gideon's going to call another tribe of Israel to join the chase.

In verse 24, Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "'Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them as far as Beth Barah, and also capture the Jordan.'" So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they captured the waters as far as Beth Barah and also the Jordan, the waters that these Midianites were trying to cross to escape.

Verse 25, they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb.

Zeb they killed at the winepress of Zeb.

Then they pursued Midian and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gideon across the Jordan.

That would have been a beautiful ending to the Gideon story.

You may not think so.

I say that because these verses bring us full circle from where the Gideon story began.

In chapter 6, when the Lord called Gideon to save Israel from the Midianites, Gideon was where? Hiding in a winepress.

And he did what after that? He offered a sacrifice to God on a rock.

So we began with Gideon at a winepress and a rock, and now here God has saved Israel through Gideon And we come again to a winepress and a rock where the leaders of Midian meet their end.