Judg 8:15-17 | KingComments | STEP | Before he deals with the captured kings, Gideon will first fulfill his vows to Succoth and Penuel. These two cities have not only taken a neutral stance in the battle, but they have also refused to unite with the warriors for God and have withheld the necessary support. This means that in a practical sense they have chosen the side of the enemy. Whoever withhold from God’s people the means by which they would receive strength for battle, while those means are available, is playing into the hands of the enemy. The latter then has to deal with a weakened opponent. Gideon’s indignation is therefore justified. In order to be able to express it in a good way, he uses a young man from Succoth whom he has captured. He lets him write down the names of the people he considers responsible for the attitude of the city. When he arrives at the city, he reminds them of their attitude and scornful remarks, pointing to the captured kings. They must have been ashamed. Now they must bow to the announced discipline. Gideon chastises them because they behaved kindly toward the enemy at a time when the servants of God are tired and yet continued the pursuit. Thorns and thistles will make their sharp stimuli feel and remind them for a long time how half-hearted they behaved in the day of decision. It is a sensitive lesson. The thorns and thistles as means of discipline represent the distress, disappointments and sufferings necessary to repent those who have been half-hearted in their confession of the Lord Jesus and to make them realize that they have gone astray in connection with the cause of God. In Penuel, the city with the tower that probably gives the city an important appearance, he demolishes the tower and kills the men. As with Succoth, the judgment is carried out here to those who could have participated in the battle against the enemy by at least encouraging the men of Gideon in their pursuit. Their arrangement is the result of purely human calculation. Such thoughts are strongholds raised up against the knowledge of God and that must be broken down. The tower of Penuel seems to represent human thought and judgment, of having trust in themselves. There should be no room for this ( ). The first tower mentioned in the Bible is mentioned in Genesis 11. Why this tower is being built, is told: “Let us make for ourselves a name” ( ). The tower serves to glorify man. Whoever owns and honors such a tower will always keep his distance from the battle in which faith is involved. But he who contends for the faith ( ), breaks down that tower.

‏ Judges 8:15-17

The Repayment

Before he deals with the captured kings, Gideon will first fulfill his vows to Succoth and Penuel. These two cities have not only taken a neutral stance in the battle, but they have also refused to unite with the warriors for God and have withheld the necessary support. This means that in a practical sense they have chosen the side of the enemy. Whoever withhold from God’s people the means by which they would receive strength for battle, while those means are available, is playing into the hands of the enemy. The latter then has to deal with a weakened opponent.

Gideon’s indignation is therefore justified. In order to be able to express it in a good way, he uses a young man from Succoth whom he has captured. He lets him write down the names of the people he considers responsible for the attitude of the city. When he arrives at the city, he reminds them of their attitude and scornful remarks, pointing to the captured kings. They must have been ashamed. Now they must bow to the announced discipline.

Gideon chastises them because they behaved kindly toward the enemy at a time when the servants of God are tired and yet continued the pursuit. Thorns and thistles will make their sharp stimuli feel and remind them for a long time how half-hearted they behaved in the day of decision. It is a sensitive lesson. The thorns and thistles as means of discipline represent the distress, disappointments and sufferings necessary to repent those who have been half-hearted in their confession of the Lord Jesus and to make them realize that they have gone astray in connection with the cause of God.

In Penuel, the city with the tower that probably gives the city an important appearance, he demolishes the tower and kills the men. As with Succoth, the judgment is carried out here to those who could have participated in the battle against the enemy by at least encouraging the men of Gideon in their pursuit. Their arrangement is the result of purely human calculation. Such thoughts are strongholds raised up against the knowledge of God and that must be broken down.

The tower of Penuel seems to represent human thought and judgment, of having trust in themselves. There should be no room for this (2Cor 10:4-5). The first tower mentioned in the Bible is mentioned in Genesis 11. Why this tower is being built, is told: “Let us make for ourselves a name” (Gen 11:4). The tower serves to glorify man. Whoever owns and honors such a tower will always keep his distance from the battle in which faith is involved. But he who contends for the faith (Jude 1:3), breaks down that tower.