Judges 8:4-21 Faint Yet Pursuing
Channel: Mike Attwood
Date: 2022-04-15

Sometimes it is as difficult to win the brethren as to defeat the enemy.  In the account of Gideon we are looking at the tests he faced after the initial victory.

The second test:  the men of Succoth and Penuel.  Their concern is not for the well-being of the people of God, but for their own safety.  They failed to help when help was needed.

The first test was hard enough, and the men of Ephraim did help when called.  This second test is against Israelites who had no interest in supporting their brethren.  All Gideon is asking for is a few loaves of bread.

Nothing is more trying to the Spirit than to be engaged in the Lord's battles and find no support from His people.  We are living in days that could be characterised by spiritual apathy on the part of God's people.

It is our failure to recognise what the Lord has done that produces a lack of faith in our own lives.

When Gideon dealt with the men of Ephraim he gave a soft answer.  Now he is dealing completely differently, promising punishment for their lack of support.  There is not a one-size-fits-all way to deal with difficulties.

There is a danger of dismissing the seriousness of what these men did.  They were guilty of treason against God and His people in siding with the enemy.

Gideon, who started out being timid, is now seen as the son of a king, and has captured the two enemy kings.  They confess that they murdered his brothers.  According to Mosaic law, a family was to punish those responsible for a murder.  It's called an "avenger of blood".  There were no police.  Each family had this duty for their own.  Cities of refuge were for manslaughter, not murder.

How a soldier died was important to his legacy.  To be slain by a child was a terrible reproach.  David's defeat of Goliath significant in this way.  Gideon wanted his son to have the reputation and honour that he was the man who killed Zebah and Zalmunna.  However, he was young and not ready, so his father performs the family duty.