Justin Houtz

Judges 8; Psalm 42; 1 Corinthians 15

DateVersionReading Plan
March 30, 2026ESV (2016)ESV Life Journal Plan – 2026

Judges 8

Observation & Interpretation

Following the defeat of Oreb and Zeeb by Ephraim (Judges 7), the men of Ephraim asked Gideon why he had not called them to fight against Midian. Gideon responded that “their capture of the two princes was more illustrious than anything he had done” (BBB) which subsided their anger. Gideon asked the men of Succoth for bread for himself and the 300 men with him who were exhausted yet pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. The men of Succoth questioned Gideon why they should supply him and that Zebah and Zalmunna was already in his hand. Gideon responded harshly, telling them that when the LORD had given Zebah and Zalmunna into his hand, he would flail their flesh with thorns of the wilderness and with briers. Gideon pursued and captured the kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and threw all the army into a panic. When Gideon returned from battle, he captured a man of Succoth, questioning him, and the man wrote down for Gideon the seventy-seven elders of Succoth. Gideon confronted the Succoth elders, took the thorns and briers of the wilderness and taught the elders a lesson. Gideon then questioned Zebah and Zalmunnah as to the location of the men they had killed at Tabor and order his firsborn, Jether, to slay them. Jether was afraid and would not kill them, so Gideon rose and killed the Midianite kings himself and took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

The men of Israel then asked Gideon to rule over them, he and his sons, because he had saved them from the hand of Midian. “But Gideon nobly refused for himself and his sons, pointing out that the Lord alone had the right to rule over them.” (BBC). Gideon made a request of the people, that each one of them give him the earrings from the spoil. The people did so and Gideon made an ephod from the earrings. The ephod was placed in Gideon’s city, Orphrah, and the people whored after it there, thus it became a snare to Gideon and his family. The chapter concludes with the summary that Midian was subdued before the people of Israel and they had rest for forty years.

Application

The LORD worked through Gideon—providing defeat of Israel’s enemies and subsequent rest—but Gideon was by no means perfect. Gideon was noble in saying that the LORD was to rule the people rather than he and his sons, but then he fashioned an ephod of their earrings of their spoil. This account reminds us that a) no human is without corruption and b) God uses broken people to achieve His divine plan. The fact that we have such indwelled sin should drive us to intimacy with the One who is wholly blameless. May we cast ourselves before Him in utter gratitude and surrender, the spotless, worthy Lamb who was slain for us, acknowledging that His blood cleanses us of all sin and unrighteousness.

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