Judg 8:1-3 | KingComments | STEP | This chapter is also about battle. The battle in the previous chapter goes against an enemy from outside who has gained a foothold in the promised land. The main force has been defeated. The victory has been achieved, but cannot yet be celebrated. There are other types of battle in this chapter. They are the result of jealousy ( ), of refusal to cooperate ( ) and of flattery ( ). How Gideon deals with this, again contains important teaching material for our spiritual warfare. The chapter ends with Gideon’s death. Ephraim is a jealous tribe. In Isaiah 11 jealousy is given as a special feature of this tribe ( ). Their own ‘I’ is aroused because they are not known in battle. Their self-esteem is affected. In Joshua 17 we already see what is wrong with the Ephraimites: they are not satisfied with their allotted land ( ). After all, they are a large tribe and are therefore entitled to a larger piece, they think. They feel themselves the main tribe. When God is working to keep the believers together, there may just be someone who causes new difficulties. To jealousy it is intolerable that God uses others and passes us by. If someone does something the Lord blesses, instead of a ‘praise the Lord!’, something will come like ‘why didn’t you call me?’ It comes down to: ‘It can’t be good because it is done without me.’ The ‘Ephraimites’ are still not extinct. The spirit of jealousy that characterizes the Ephraimites is certainly not found in Paul. He rejoices in it when Christ is preached, even at his expense ( ).

‏ Judges 8:1-3

Introduction

This chapter is also about battle. The battle in the previous chapter goes against an enemy from outside who has gained a foothold in the promised land. The main force has been defeated. The victory has been achieved, but cannot yet be celebrated. There are other types of battle in this chapter. They are the result of jealousy (Jdg 8:1-3), of refusal to cooperate (Jdg 8:4-17) and of flattery (Jdg 8:18-31). How Gideon deals with this, again contains important teaching material for our spiritual warfare. The chapter ends with Gideon’s death.

Jealousy

Ephraim is a jealous tribe. In Isaiah 11 jealousy is given as a special feature of this tribe (Isa 11:13). Their own ‘I’ is aroused because they are not known in battle. Their self-esteem is affected. In Joshua 17 we already see what is wrong with the Ephraimites: they are not satisfied with their allotted land (Jos 17:14). After all, they are a large tribe and are therefore entitled to a larger piece, they think. They feel themselves the main tribe.

When God is working to keep the believers together, there may just be someone who causes new difficulties. To jealousy it is intolerable that God uses others and passes us by. If someone does something the Lord blesses, instead of a ‘praise the Lord!’, something will come like ‘why didn’t you call me?’ It comes down to: ‘It can’t be good because it is done without me.’ The ‘Ephraimites’ are still not extinct.

The spirit of jealousy that characterizes the Ephraimites is certainly not found in Paul. He rejoices in it when Christ is preached, even at his expense (Phil 1:15-18).

Gideon’s Gentle Answer

The mind of the Ephraimites is revealed precisely by the victory of Gideon. Through the reaction of the Ephraimites, Gideon’s mind also becomes public. There is an interaction. When we have gained a victory for and by the Lord, others are put to the test, but so are we ourselves. Did that victory make us important? Gideon does what is written in Philippians 2: “With humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves” (Phil 2:3). This is the means to prevent discord and to maintain unity among the people.

He appeases their anger by praising them. He does not go hard against it, but with gentleness, for “a gentle answer turns away wrath” (Pro 15:1a). Although the Ephraimites were not involved in the real battle, Gideon gives them more honor than himself. They killed more enemies than he did. This what he brings forward. More enemies are killed when the enemy flees than when the battle rages in all its intensity. Gideon makes their share large and important and presents his own share as smaller.

With this attitude and mind he wins his wronged brothers and thus indicates that he is stronger than a strong city. “A brother offended [is harder to be won] than a strong city” (Pro 18:19). We sometimes belittle the service of another person. Jephthah takes a very different approach to this matter and the result is civil war. We get that history in Judges 12.

The Ephraimites leave with the idea that by their efforts the war has been won. It can be a means of preserving peace in the local church by emphasizing certain good qualities or activities of a ‘troublesome’ brother in the community, without falling into flattery.

It demands of us the mind of humility that is perfectly present in the Lord Jesus. He is our example (Phil 2:1-9). His humiliation was voluntary and total. He always looked for the other person’s interest. His example is the most far-reaching of what someone has ever done for another. He came from heaven to earth, became Man, became Slave, and died the death on the cross. Greater humiliation is inconceivable. And we often have the greatest difficulty with the slightest indulgence to another. This is not about justifying a sin. It’s about our attitude toward someone who is difficult to deal with, by which our mind is tested, whether we think we are important.