Sunday, September 14, 2008

 

Gideon, son of Joash

A story of Gideon, son of Joash the Abiezrite.

The Israelites, by worshiping Baal, offended the LORD and were delivered into the power of Midian who held them subjects. They lived in fear, took refuge in the caves and the strongholds, and established fire signals on the mountains. For seven years, Midian, Amalek and the Kedemites plundered and destroyed their crops as far as the outskirts of Gaza, leaving no sustenance in Israel, nor sheep, oxen or asses. Reduced to misery by Midian, the Israelites cried out to the LORD.

The LORD sent a prophet who reminded them that the LORD had freed them
from slavery in Egypt, gave them their land by driving out their enemies, and forbade them to worship other gods but The LORD, and yet they disobeyed.

Then the LORD sent an angel to Gideon; the angel said, "Go with the strength you have and save Israel from the power of Midian." Gideon asked how he could do that, being the most insignificant in the meanest family in Manasseh. However, Gideon prepared an offering and asked for a sign to show that the LORD was with him. The angel touched the offering with his staff and thereupon a fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened cakes; then the angel disappeared.

Gideon was afraid, having thus seen the angel of the LORD face to face. But the LORD assured him that he would not die, and told him to destroy his father's altar to Baal with the seven-year-old spare bullock and instead build the proper kind of altar; and then offer the bullock as a holocaust on the wood from the sacred pole of Baal to the LORD. Gideon did as he was told but at night instead for fear of his family and the people.

When the townspeople found out the deed the next morning they demanded of Joash his son's life. But Joash said that if Baal whose altar had been destroyed was a god he should act for himself, and any man acting for him would be put to death. So, on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, meaning "Let Baal take action against him since he destroyed Baal's altar."

The spirit of the LORD enveloped Gideon; he blew the horn and summoned
Abiezer; he sent messengers and the tribes throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali gathered to follow him.

But Gideon asked of the LORD, "If indeed you are going to save Israel through me as you promised, let dew come on the woolen fleece alone while all the ground is dry." The next morning he wrung from the fleece a bowlful of water while the ground was dry. Still, he asked the LORD to let the fleece alone be dry but dew on all the ground; and the fleece alone was dry while there was dew on all the ground that night.

Early the next morning Gideon encamped by Enharod with all his soldiers. The camp of Midian was in the valley north of Gibeath-hammoreh. The Midianites, Amalekites, and all the Kedemites were as numerous as locusts; their camels could not be counted, for these were as many as the sands on the seashore.

The LORD told Gideon to reduce the size of his army as He did not want Israel to vaunt itself against the LORD that its own power gained the victory. So when Gideon, as instructed, asked those who were afraid to leave, twenty-two thousand of the soldiers left, but ten thousand remained. But the LORD said that that was still too many. So Gideon led the soldiers down to the water to drink. Almost all the soldiers knelt down to drink the water, but there were three hundred who lapped like dogs the water raised by hand to their mouths. Gideon picked exactly these three hundred and sent the rest home as the LORD had instructed him.

The LORD told Gideon to attack, else if he was afraid to go with his aide Purah to spy first. When they reached the camp they heard one said, "I had a dream that a round loaf of barley bread was rolling into the camp of Midian. It came to our tent and struck it, and turned the tent upside down." The other replied, "This can only be the sword of the Israelite Gideon, God has delivered Midian and all the camp into his power."

Gideon understood, and he prostrated himself; then returning to the camp of Israel, he said, "Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your power." He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and provided them all with horns and jars with torches inside the jars. When Gideon and the men came to the edge of the enemy camp at the beginning of the middle watch, all three companies blew their horns and broke the jars and cried out, "For the LORD and for Gideon !" They held the torches in their left hands, and in their right hands the horns they were blowing, crying out, "A sword for the LORD and Gideon!" They all remained standing in place around the camp, while the whole camp fell to running and shouting and fleeing. But the three hundred men kept blowing the horns, and throughout the camp the LORD set the sword of one against another. The enemy fled as far as Beth-shittah in the direction of Zarethan, near the border of Abel-meholah at Tabbath.

The Israelites from Naphtali, from Asher, and from all Manasseh, were called to arms, and they pursued Midian. Gideon also sent messengers throughout the mountain region of Ephraim to say, "Go down to confront Midian, and seize the water courses as far as Beth-barah, as well as the Jordan." So all the Ephraimites came and seized the water courses as far as Beth-barah, and the Jordan as well.

They captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, killing Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian and carried the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.

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