Judges 8:1-21
Succoth, Penuel, and the Pursuit
1Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently.
2But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?
3God has delivered Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian, into your hand. What was I able to do compared to you?” When he had said this, their anger against him subsided.
4Then Gideon and his three hundred men came to the Jordan and crossed it, exhausted yet still in pursuit.
5So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my troops some bread, for they are exhausted, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
6But the leaders of Succoth asked, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your army?”
7“Very well,” Gideon replied, “when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness!”
8From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel gave the same response as the men of Succoth.
9So Gideon told the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”
10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.
11And Gideon went up by way of the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked their army, taking them by surprise.
12When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, Gideon pursued and captured these two kings of Midian, routing their entire army.
13After this, Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres.
14There he captured a young man of Succoth and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.
15And Gideon went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your weary men?’”
16Then he took the elders of the city, and using the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he disciplined the men of Succoth.
17He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”
19“They were my brothers,” Gideon replied, “the sons of my mother! As surely as the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”
20So he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” But the young man did not draw his sword; he was fearful because he was still a youth.
21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us yourself, for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments from the necks of their camels.
Berean Standard Bible
Gideon and his three hundred men cross the Jordan exhausted while the kings Zebah and Zalmunna remain ahead.
The men of Succoth and Penuel refuse food until Gideon has captured the kings. Their caution may look sensible, but it leaves them unwilling to help while the pursuit is still costly.
Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently.
Gideon's pursuit is not a clean picture of leadership after a victory. Succoth and Penuel refuse help, and Gideon returns with a promise of punishment; afterward his questions to Zebah and Zalmunna reveal the personal grief tied to his campaign. The chapter gives us a deliverer who is still capable of mixing public duty with private revenge.
Gideon does not stop at the first refusal. He threatens both towns, finishes the pursuit, and returns to punish the men who would not give bread. Then he questions Zebah and Zalmunna about Tabor and kills them after their answer. Deliverance has not made him immune to the same self-protective power that marked the enemies he defeated. The passage invites sober gratitude, not hero worship.
Gideon returns after the victory and disciplines the cities, then kills Zebah and Zalmunna after they describe the men they killed at Tabor. His pursuit is tied to personal grief as well as Israel's deliverance.
Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us yourself, for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments from the necks of their camels.
Ask how tiredness and fear affect the way your household treats people doing difficult work. Also ask where righteous anger can become mixed with a desire to settle a personal score.
Questions
1 What is happening in this reading?
AnswerGideon and his three hundred men cross the Jordan exhausted while the kings Zebah and Zalmunna remain ahead. The men of Succoth and Penuel refuse food until Gideon has captured the kings.
2 Where do we see responsibility or failure?
AnswerGideon returns after the victory and disciplines the cities, then kills Zebah and Zalmunna after they describe the men they killed at Tabor. His pursuit is tied to personal grief as well as Israel's deliverance.
3 What does this passage make clear?
AnswerGideon's pursuit is not a clean picture of leadership after a victory. Succoth and Penuel refuse help, and Gideon returns with a promise of punishment; afterward his questions to Zebah and Zalmunna reveal the personal grief tied to his campaign. The chapter gives us a deliverer who is still capable of mixing public duty with private revenge.
4 What should our household remember?
AnswerAsk how tiredness and fear affect the way your household treats people doing difficult work. Also ask where righteous anger can become mixed with a desire to settle a personal score.
What This Means for Us
Exhaustion and fear can make a household impatient with people carrying a difficult responsibility. Talk about how to offer needed help without ignoring the difference between righteous anger and the desire to settle a personal score.
Fatigue can make justified frustration sound like permission to punish. Before answering sharply, ask what help is needed, what boundary is right, and whether the household is protecting justice or feeding resentment.
Prayer
Lord, teach us to ask how tiredness and fear affect the way your household treats people doing difficult work. Keep our words and our choices under the rule of Your word. Amen.