Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Judges
Book: Judges
Chapter: 7
Overview:
Gideon's
Army reduced.
(1-8) Gideon is encouraged.
(9-15) The
defeat of the Midianites.
(16-22) The Ephraimites take
Oreb and
Zeeb.
(23-25)
1-8. God provides that the praise of victory may be wholly to
himself,
By appointing only three hundred men to be employed.
Activity and prudence go with dependence upon
God for help in
our lawful undertakings. When the
Lord sees that men would
overlook him, and through unbelief, would shrink from perilous
services, or that through pride they would vaunt themselves
against him, he will set them aside, and do his work
By other
instruments. Pretences will be found
By many, for deserting the
cause and escaping the
Cross. But though a religious society may
thus be made fewer in
Numbers, yet it will gain as to purity,
and may expect an increased blessing from the
Lord.
God chooses
to employ such as are not only
Well affected, but zealously
affected in a good thing. They grudged not at the liberty of the
others who were dismissed. In doing the duties required
By God,
we must not regard the forwardness or backwardness of others,
nor what they do, but what
God looks for at our hands. He is a
rare person who can endure that others should excel him in
Gifts
or blessings, or in liberty;
So that we may say, it is
By the
special
Grace of
God that we regard what
God says to us, and not
look to men what they do.
9-15 The
Dream seemed to have little meaning in it; but the
interpretation evidently proved the whole to be from the
Lord,
and discovered that the name of
Gideon had filled the Midianites
with terror.
Gideon took this as a sure
Pledge of success;
without delay he worshipped and praised
God, and returned with
confidence to his three hundred men. Wherever we are, we may
speak to
God, and
Worship him.
God must have the praise of that
which encourages our
Faith. And his
Providence must be
acknowledged in events, though small and seemingly accidental.
16-22 This method of defeating the Midianites may be alluded
to, as exemplifying the
Destruction of the
Devil's kingdom in
the world,
By the preaching of the
Everlasting Gospel, the
sounding that trumpet, and the holding forth that
Light out of
earthen vessels, for such are the ministers of the
Gospel, 2Co
4:6,7.
God chose the foolish things of the world to confound
the
Wise, a
Barley-
Cake to overthrow the tents of
Midian, that
the excellency of the power might be of
God only. The
Gospel is
a
Sword, not in the
Hand, but in the mouth: the
Sword of the
Lord and of
Gideon; of
God and
Jesus Christ, of Him that sits
On
the
Throne and the
Lamb. The wicked are often led to avenge the
cause of
God upon each other, under the power of their
delusions, and the
Fury of their passions. See also how
God
often makes the enemies of the
Church instruments to destroy one
another; it is a pity that the
Church's friends should ever act
like them.
23-25 Two chief commanders of the
Host of
Midian were taken and
slain
By the men of
Ephraim. It were to be wished that we all
did as these did, and that where help is needed, that it were
willingly and readily performed
By another. And that if there
were any excellent and profitable matter begun, we were willing
to have fellow-labourers to the finishing and perfecting the
same, and not, as often, hinder one another.