Today’s passage: Judges 7:19-25
Helpful thoughts:
- The three hundred Israelites surrounded the Midianite camp in the middle of the night.
- They took the jars off of their torches (They had been concealing the light)
- They broke the jars and blew their trumpets, startling the army below, and announced their arrival.
- The only soldiers with weapons in this scene were the Midianites, and they slaughtered themselves.
- God reduced the numbers of Israelite troops to ensure they would know who won the battle. Then as the numbers of Midianites plummeted, Gideon called on more men to continue the fight.
- These locations where the slaughter of the princes occurred were named in memory of this particular battle. The winepress and the rock were not name Oreb and Zeeb before this happened.
Questions to consider:
- Where is God in this passage? What does the Scripture say that God did? Why did Israel win?
- In what way do you see the prospect of giving Gideon the credit for this victory? What did he do (Or, what could you say that he did) to ensure victory?
- Though Israel appears to be “winning” are they winning? Why or why not?
- Where would all the “new” soldiers have come from as Israel pursued the remaining Midianites who had fled? What was Gideon doing in calling them for battle? What kind of man of valor is he being? Where is his bravery being shown?