SERIES H --- THE JUDGES --- LESSON 08

FORTY YEARS OF PEACE

ZEBAH AND ZALMUNNA

From Judges 8

‘Why did you insult us?’ the leaders of Ephraim complained to Gideon angrily. ‘Why didn’t you ask us to fight the Midianites when you when you first went out?’ ‘But look at the important work that you have done,’ Gideon answered. ‘YHVH helped you capture the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I done that is as important as that?’ When Gideon had spoken, they were no longer angry with him. With his three hundred men, Gideon crossed the Jordan River in pursuit of Zebah and Zalmunna, the Midianite kings. They were tired and hungry so Gideon asked the men of Succoth for some food. ‘Give my men some loaves of bread,’ said Gideon. ‘We are pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna.’ ‘Why should we give you bread?’ the leaders of Succoth said. ‘You haven’t caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet.’ They were afraid that Zebah and Zalmunna would kill them if they helped Gideon. ‘Since you won’t help us against our enemies, I’ll return when I capture Zebah and Zalmunna,’ said Gideon. ‘When I do, I will beat you to death with the thorns and briars of the wilderness.’ From Succoth, Gideon went to Penuel, asking for food there. But the leaders of Penuel refused Gideon the same as the men of Succoth. ‘When I return after the battle, I’ll break down your tower,’ Gideon answered. Zebah and Zalmunna had reached Karkor with fifteen thousand men who had survived, for a hundred and twenty thousand of them had been killed. Following the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbedah, Gideon and his men caught the army off guard. Zebah and Zalmunna tried to escape, but Gideon captured them and threw their soldiers into a panic. After the battle Gideon started home by the ascent of Heres. He caught a young man from Succoth and made him write down the names of the seventy-seven leaders of the city. ‘Take a good look at Zebah and Zalmunna!’ said Gideon. ‘You didn’t think I would capture them, did you?’ Then he took thorns and briars from the wilderness and taught these men a bitter lesson. Then he broke down the tower at Penuel and killed the men of the city. ‘Tell me about the men of Tabor that you killed,’ Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna. ‘They looked and dressed like you,’ the kings answered. ‘Each of them looked like a prince.’ Then Gideon said, ‘They were my brothers, sons of my mother. If you had spared their lives, I would have spared yours now.’ ‘Stand up and kill those men!’ Gideon said to his oldest son Jether. But Jether was still quite young and was afraid to kill them. ‘You kill us!’ said Zebah and Zalmunna to Gideon. ‘We would rather die by a man’s strength.’ Gideon killed them and took the crescent ornaments from the necks of their camels. ‘Rule over us!’ said the men of Israel to Gideon. ‘We want you and your descendants to be our rulers.’ ‘No, Adonai must be your King!’ said Gideon. ‘Neither I nor my son must take His place. But I do have one request. I want each of you to give me the golden earrings you took from the Ishmaelites.’ ‘We will be glad to,’ said the men. They spread out a cloak and each man threw onto it the golden earrings he had gathered from the Ishmaelites. The gold weighed about seventeen hundred shekels, worth many thousands of pounds. Besides, there were the crescents, the pendants and the purple robes of the Midianite kings as well as chains from the camels’ necks. With the gold, Gideon made an ephod and put it in his hometown, Ophrah. But because the people of Israel soon began to worship the ephod, making the ephod proved to be an evil thing for Gideon’s people. Midian was completely defeated by Israel; there was peace in the land for forty years, throughout Gideon’s lifetime. Gideon came home and through the years he had seventy sons, for he had many wives. He also had a concubine in Shechem. She and Gideon had a son whom they named Abimelech. When he was a very old man, Gideon died and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, at Ophrah. As soon as he was dead, Israel turned back to the worship of Baal and Baal-berith. They ignored Adonai, Who had saved them from the enemies that surrounded them. They even forgot to show kindness to Gideon’s family even though Gideon had done much for Israel.

COMMENTARY

CANAANITE JEWELRY

With the Midianites driven out, Israel offered to crown Gideon king. Gideon refused. [Adonai must be your King! Neither I nor my sons must take His place.] During the forty years that Gideon judged Israel the people followed Adonai and the land knew peace and plenty. A Canaanite woman’s gold chains and silver beads often represented her family’s lifetime savings. For a married woman, jewellery also reflected her husband’s high esteem. She might wear only a nose ring, a string of coloured beads or a bronze anklet for every day, but the amount of wealth she could display on special occasions was a measure of her beauty and importance. For weddings and festivals, a woman adorned herself with every bit of finery she owned. Rings and bracelets were just a start. Women added headbands and anklets with rows of jingling silver crescents and bells. They covered their foreheads with silver pieces set with gems. Jewels were sewn into veils and scarves. Many women also wore necklace bands of solid gold or strings of coloured glass beads and semiprecious stones. Perfume was expensive; those who could afford it wore scented lockets that were called {boxes of refreshment.} Amulet necklaces, worn to ward off evil, displayed gems of a special colour. Others believed they kept evil away with fragrant spices or bits of coloured thread. By the time a fashionable woman had arranged all her ornaments, she might be covered with several pounds of jewellery. Canaanite men also displayed their wealth with gold earrings, armbands and bracelets. Many wore seal rings and seals fastened to simple chains. Even camel harnesses were decorated with gold pendants and neck ornaments as a sign of wealth.