seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Judges 8:4 Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. 5 He said to the men of Sukkoth, “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
6 But the officials of Sukkoth said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?”
7 Then Gideon replied, “Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”
8 From there he went up to Peniel[a] and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had. 9 So he said to the men of Peniel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”
6 But the officials of Sukkoth said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?”
7 Then Gideon replied, “Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”
8 From there he went up to Peniel[a] and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had. 9 So he said to the men of Peniel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”
a. Judges 8:8 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel; also in verses 9 and 17
Bibletrack.org is really enjoyable to me.
These two cities were about 4.5 miles apart (Succoth and Penuel) located in the territory of the Tribe of Gad just east of the Jordan River, about 25 miles southeast of the battle at Jezreel in Judges 6:28-35. The cowardly Midianites (15,000 of them) had headed that way. These Gadites just had no confidence that Gideon and his band of 300 could finish off the enemy. I mean...300 men in pursuit of 15,000 - what are the chances you'll see these 300 men again? These cowardly fellow Jews in verse 6 ask, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?" That's a reference to the two Midianite kings Gideon is pursuing.
So, these fellow Jews refuse provisions to Gideon for fear of reprisal from the Midianites if they do so. Bad news guys! When Gideon returns after taking care of that army, you'll meet those two kings...in the hands of Gideon; you're in for a very unpleasant surprise. Gideon threatens the leadership of both cities with a very unpleasant means of capital punishment when he says in verse 7, "I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers." He also adds this guarantee to Penuel in verse 9, saying, "When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower." Despite the threats, neither city is moved to cooperate with Gideon by these threats.
So, these fellow Jews refuse provisions to Gideon for fear of reprisal from the Midianites if they do so. Bad news guys! When Gideon returns after taking care of that army, you'll meet those two kings...in the hands of Gideon; you're in for a very unpleasant surprise. Gideon threatens the leadership of both cities with a very unpleasant means of capital punishment when he says in verse 7, "I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers." He also adds this guarantee to Penuel in verse 9, saying, "When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower." Despite the threats, neither city is moved to cooperate with Gideon by these threats.
This is from the easy English site.
In these verses, the writer continues the story from Judges 7:25. Gideon and his men did not have much strength. But they continued to chase the army that had come from Midian. Gideon’s 300 men had increased to 1500 men. So they were now a force that could fight against Midian’s army. The people in Succoth refused to help him, because Midian’s kings Zebah and Zalmunna were still free. The people in Succoth were afraid of Midian’s people. If the people in Succoth helped Gideon, then Midian’s people might attack them. That is why they were afraid. So Gideon became more cruel. He made this promise. He would make Succoth’s people suffer pain because they had refused to help. Gideon would do this when he returned. The men in Peniel also refused to help. Peniel was the place where Jacob fought the angel (Genesis 32:24-30). There was a tower there. People could escape to the tower in an emergency. Gideon said that he would destroy the tower.
I have to keep reminding myself. Gideon was in serious trouble in the eyes of the Midianites. Gideon is the one that tore down their alter and pushed down their asherah pole. He had attacked them in their religion.... he was tired of things going so bad for the past seven years. God is backing him.... but God is making him do this with a ridiculous number of soldiers. The Midianites are well armed and the odds of Gideon defeating them with this ridiculous number of soldiers are lottery winning slim. I have to keep reminding myself.... God is backing Gideon.
I have a little experience with desert thorns. Out in the Sonoran Desert.... hubby and I take walks. We don't walk every day.... but we do manage most days. We walk at least a mile and sometimes, when we find a trail that is not too hard, we will walk five miles in a day. No matter where we walk, though, we run into those desert thorns.... some come from a bush called a "jumping cholla". It's a cactus.... and it throws it's thorns at you... seriously.... get too close and you are in serious pain.... Even though I avoid these plants... their thorns aremoved around by wind and other animals. Those thorns will get into your shoes through the sole! I wear Reeboks.... and those thorns have poked me.... seriously!!!
I cannot imagine the pain of having my flesh deliberately scraped with those thorns....
Seriously, Gideon is threatening his cousins.... they won't stand up with him because he's in so much trouble.... and they are just yellow....
Come to think of it.... they could have torn down that alter and that pole.... but they didn't.... yep.... yellow...
