A Case for the Bible: Answers for the Book of Judges Chapters 6 – 8

Answers for a study in the book of Judges” is a weekly post in addition to the regular “apologetics” posts on the weekend where the original questions can be found at the bottom of the study, and then answers appear here during the week. This gives you time to do your own research, and then check your answers. Keep in mind these will be basic answers with a little depth, but you can go much deeper for discussion if you’d like.

Note: Class presentation, videos, reflections and Bible study questions are posted on the weekend – Bible study answers (like these) are posted during the week.

Bible Study: The Book of Judges: Chapters 6 through 8

Fourth Period: Gideon, Tola, and Jair

Chapter 6: Israel Oppressed by Midian; Gideon I Visited; The Altar of Baal Destroyed; Sign of the Fleece

Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD and became oppressed by the Midianites, the Amalekites and the sons of the east as they would come and attack them, and destroy their food and livestock, so they cried out to the LORD, and He sent a prophet to remind them of their covenant of protection and history with the LORD. So God came to Gideon, who would be their next judge and savior, by the Angel of the LORD who spoke directly to Gideon (most believe this was a “Christophany” – an appearance of the preincarnate Jesus). Gideon, however, was questioning the LORD as to his choice because he felt unworthy and weak, but God said that He would be with him. Gideon brought God an offering and built an altar there, and God told him to go and tear down the altar of Baal that his father had, and to erect an altar to the LORD and make a sacrifice on it, and he did so in the middle of the night. The people of the city wanted to kill him, but his father Joash spoke up and said “let the Baal content for himself, those who plead for him will be put to death.” So that day Joash choose to defend his son (and therefore the true God). Gideon then received the Spirit of the LORD, and chose men to help him go after the Midianites, but first He wanted to be sure so he tested God’s Word with the sign of the fleece (it became dry when it should have been wet, and wet when it should have been dry), and God honored him.

C = The protection part of the Mosaic Covenant is directly spoken to the people in verses 7-10 where a prophet of the LORD reminds the people of their history and God’s promise of protection, which He begins to enact through the new judge, Gideon.

J = In verses 11-26 we see a Christophany where the Angel of the LORD appears to Gideon. We know it is Jesus, who is always the human personification of God as the second person of the Trinity. We can also know because of the use of “I” when the Angel spoke of what God would do.

Guiding Questions:

1.  What happened to Israel this time when they did evil in the sight of the LORD? (See above summary notes) Research: Who were these oppressors, and what can we know about them historically?

from gotquestions.org:

Midianites:

Abraham had more sons than just Isaac (by Sarah) and Ishmael (by Hagar). He also had six sons by Keturah, his wife after the death of Sarah: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah (Genesis 25:2). The Midianites were the descendants of Midian and therefore children of Abraham. They settled in “the land of the east” (Genesis 25:6). Most scholars believe the land of Midian was officially on both sides of the Gulf of Aqaba, although the Midianites showed nomadic tendencies later in their history (see Habakkuk 3:7, ESV).
When Moses fled the wrath of Pharaoh, he traveled to Midian (Exodus 2:15). There, Moses met and married his wife, Zipporah, and served his father-in-law, Jethro, as a shepherd for forty years. The fact that Jethro was “a priest of Midian” (Exodus 2:16) indicates that the Midianites, at least during Moses’ time, still retained the knowledge of the God of their father Abraham (cf. Jethro’s words and actions in Exodus 18). At the end of Moses’ time in Midian, God appeared to Moses—still in Midian—and commissioned him to lead the Israelites out of slavery (Exodus 3—4).
As the children of Israel traveled through the wilderness, they employed the services of a guide familiar with the desert—Moses’ Midianite brother-in-law, Hobab (Numbers 10:29). However, the relations between the Israelites and the Midianites began to sour when the Midianites joined forces with the Moabites in order to hire Balaam to curse Israel (Numbers 22). Later, when Israel fell into idolatry and sexual sin with the Moabite women (Numbers 25), we find that a prominent Midianite woman was also involved (Numbers 25:6). The Lord then told Moses to wage war against the Midianites: “Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them. They treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the Peor incident involving their sister Kozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader” (Numbers 25:17–19). The Israelites did eventually attack the Midianites, meting out divine retribution against their enemies (Numbers 31). Five kings of the Midianites were killed, as was Balaam (Numbers 31:8). This battle was one of the last things Moses accomplished as leader of the Israelites.
During the time of the judges, “the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country” and plundered the land (Judges 6:3). For seven years, “Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help” (verse 6). God answered their cries and raised up Gideon as a deliverer. With just 300 men, Gideon defeated the armies of the Midianites, although the foe was “thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore” (Judges 7:12). Of course, God was involved, and He was the One who granted the victory over the Midianites (verse 22).
Later references to the Midianites include allusions to God’s victory over them (Psalm 83:9; Isaiah 10:26). And, in a prophecy of Israel’s future glory in the Messianic kingdom, Isaiah writes, “Herds of camels will cover your land, / young camels of Midian and Ephah. / And all from Sheba will come, / bearing gold and incense / and proclaiming the praise of the Lord” (Isaiah 60:6).

Amalekites:

The Amalekites were a formidable tribe of nomads living in the area south of Canaan between Mount Seir and the Egyptian border. They resisted the Israelites during the time of the exodus, and they remained perennial foes of God’s people.
The Amalekites are not listed in the table of nations in Genesis 10, as they did not originate until after Esau’s time. The “territory of the Amalekites“ is mentioned in Genesis 14:7 as being conquered by kings during Abraham’s time, but this reference is likely an example of prolepsis, a representation of something ”out of time.” The territory was designated by the name of its future, well-known inhabitants during Moses’ time. Balaam refers to the Amalekites as “first among the nations” (Numbers 24:20), but he most likely meant only that the Amalekites were the first ones to attack the Israelites upon their exodus from Egypt or that the Amalekites were “first” in power at that time. Genesis 36 identifies the Amalekites as descendants of Amalek, the son of Eliphaz and grandson of Esau (verses 12 and 16). So, the Amalekites were somehow related to, but distinct from, the Edomites.
Scripture records the long-lasting feud between the Amalekites and the Israelites and God’s direction to wipe the Amalekites off the face of the earth (Exodus 17:8–13; 1 Samuel 15:2; Deuteronomy 25:17). Why God would call His people to exterminate an entire tribe is a difficult question, but a look at history may give some insight.
Like many desert tribes, the Amalekites were nomadic. Numbers 13:29 places them as native to the Negev, the desert between Egypt and Canaan. The Babylonians called them the Sute, Egyptians the Sittiu, and the Amarna tablets refer to them as the Khabbati, or “plunderers.”
The Amalekites’ unrelenting brutality toward the Israelites began with an attack at Rephidim (Exodus 17:8–13). This is recounted in Deuteronomy 25:17–19 with this admonition: “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind [typically women and children]: they had no fear of God. When the LORD your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!”
The Amalekites later joined with the Canaanites and attacked the Israelites at Hormah (Numbers 14:45). In Judges they banded with the Moabites (Judges 3:13) and the Midianites (Judges 6:3) to wage war on the Israelites. They were responsible for the repeated destruction of the Israelites’ land and food supply.
In 1 Samuel 15:2–3, God tells King Saul, “I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them, put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.”
In response, King Saul first warns the Kenites, friends of Israel, to leave the area. He then attacks the Amalekites but does not complete the task. He allows the Amalekite King Agag to live, takes plunder for himself and his army, and lies about the reason for doing so. Saul’s rebellion against God and His commands is so serious that he is rejected by God as king (1 Samuel 15:23).
The escaped Amalekites continued to harass and plunder the Israelites in successive generations that spanned hundreds of years. First Samuel 30 reports an Amalekite raid on Ziklag, a Judean village where David held property. The Amalekites burned the village and took captive all the women and children, including two of David’s wives. David and his men defeated the Amalekites and rescued all the hostages. A few hundred Amalekites escaped, however. Much later, during the reign of King Hezekiah, a group of Simeonites “killed the remaining Amalekites” who had been living in the hill country of Seir (1 Chronicles 4:42–43).
The last mention of the Amalekites is found in the book of Esther where Haman the Agagite, a descendant of the Amalekite king Agag, connives to have all the Jews in Persia annihilated by order of King Xerxes. God saved the Jews in Persia, however, and Haman, his sons, and the rest of Israel’s enemies were destroyed instead (Esther 9:5–10).
The Amalekites’ hatred of the Jews and their repeated attempts to destroy God’s people led to their ultimate doom. Their fate should be a warning to all who would attempt to thwart God’s plan or who would curse what God has blessed (see Genesis 12:3).

2.  What did the prophet of God have to say to them, and how does this relate to the Mosaic Covenant? (See above summary notes)

3.  Who was Gideon, and what did the LORD have him do? How did the people of the city react to what Gideon did, and why? (See above summary notes)

4.  Discuss: What was Joash’s reaction to the people; and what does his declaration say about him? Answers may vary, but might include that Joash’s reaction was defiance towards the people concerning the tearing down of the alter to Baal and erecting one for the true God. He supported his son in this matter, but it also shows his repented attitude as he turned and defended the worship of one true God in sacrifice.

5.  Going Deeper: Who was the Angel of the LORD and how can we know from the text? (From the above note on where’s Jesus? J = In verses 11-26 we see a Christophany where the Angel of the LORD appears to Gideon. We know it is Jesus, who is always the human personification of God as the second person of the Trinity. We can also know because of the use of “I” when the Angel spoke of what God would do.)

Chapter 7: Gideon’s 300 Chosen Men; Confusion of the Enemy

Gideon, who was also named Jerubbaal because of his destruction of the altar to Baal, went up against the Midianites with a large company of men, but God did not want him to go with so many people so he reduced his number from 32,000 to 10,000 to 300; this was so the people would not think it was by their own might that they would defeat the Midianites. God had Gideon go down with his servant in the middle of the night, and he overheard the interpretation of a dream, that they would be defeated by him, so he bowed to the LORD and was comforted and strengthened to fight. He then divided the 300 men into companies and gave them specific directions that when Gideon blew his horn, they would also blow theirs and smash the jars/pitchers in their hands. When they did this, they threw the enemy into confusion, causing them to attack each other. Then Gideon called on more of the tribes of Israel (Naphtali, Asher, Manasseh and those in the hill country of Ephraim) and they defeated their enemy and captured and killed their two leaders.

C = We see God’s protection (Mosaic Covenant) of Gideon and his people through this time of preparation to battle the Midianites and others.

J = We see Gideon as a type or picture of Jesus in that he would be the one, as a judge, to lead his people out of oppression under Midian and the other Nations. Jesus will be our final judge and mediator.

Guiding Questions:

1. What did God do to shrink the size of Gideon’s army, and why? (See above summary notes)
2. What did God do to help Gideon gain confidence, and to strengthen him to go forward in battle? (See above summary notes)
3. How did Gideon and his 300 men defeat the large company of men that the Midianites had? (See above summary notes)
4. Going Deeper: What other tribes did Gideon call on after this; and why do you think it was it only these tribes and not the others? (See above notes for the other tribes – speculation that these tribes were closest and would have been most affected by the loss of this battle if Gideon had not defeated the Midianites).

Chapter 8: Zebah and Zalmunna Routed; Forty Years of Peace

In this chapter we find the men of Ephraim feeling left out of the battle (and spoils), but Gideon pointed out that because they were the ones “cleaning up” after the battle, that the spoils that were left for them were even greater than what Gideon’s group had; Gideon also pointed out that Ephraim had finished the job by killing the two enemy leaders and thus these things satisfied them. Gideon and his men, upon pursuing still another two enemy leaders, were denied food (bread) by both the leaders of Succoth and Penuel, thus he vowed to come back and take revenge on them. Upon his victories, and subsequent return, Gideon did all that he had vowed, disciplining the elders of Succoth and tearing down the tower of Penuel. Then Gideon tried to have his young son kill the two captured enemy leaders, but he refused (he was young and scared), so Gideon killed them himself. Then the people asked Gideon to rule over them, and in verse 23 he tells them what Israel should have been doing all along and that is seeking God as the one to rule them. Then Gideon did wrong by asking for gold earrings that ended up becoming an idol (as Israel played the harlot with the ephod he made), and it became a snare to Gideon and his family. Then the text tells us that there was forty years of peace until Gideon died, and thus Israel went right back to forgetting God and worshipping the Baals. Gideon had seventy sons because he had taken many wives, and a concubine who bore him a son named Abimelech.

C = The protection clause is in view again here as the LORD protected Israel as long as they followed Him under the leadership of Gideon, but as we read at the end of the chapter, they went right back to worshipping the Baals, and would again lose God’s protection.

J = Again, we see Gideon as a type or picture of Jesus in that he would be the one, as a judge, to lead his people out of oppression under Midian and the other Nations. Jesus will be our final judge and mediator.

Guiding Questions:

1. Why were the leaders of Ephraim upset, and what did Gideon say to appease them? (See summary notes above)
2. What happened when Gideon and his men were denied food (bread); and then what happened to the deniers? What happened to the enemy leaders of Midian (why is Gideon’s son mentioned)? (See summary notes above)
3. Gideon provided forty years of peace for Israel, but what did he do that lead them in the wrong direction at the end of the story? (See summary notes above)
4. What did Gideon say in verse 23 that is the solution to all of Israel’s problems, and why?

“But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.” Judges 8:23 (NASB) Answers may vary, but might include: If Israel would have put God first in all that they did, then God would have always gave them the protection they needed as promised in the Mosaic Covenant. This will continue to be their problem (and ours) throughout human history.

Please join us each week as we continue our case for the Bible and a study in the book of Judges!

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Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15