Chapter 7 notes how God orders Gideon to take ONLY three hundred men to battle against Midyan. These men were chosen from the 32,000 men who originally gathered at Ein Charod (see 7:1-8). At first glance, it seems as thought the reason for this was to show Gideon (and the rest of the nation) how God fights for Am Yisrael. After all, without depending upon a divine miracle, how could 300 men possibly attack an enemy of tens (if not hundreds) of thousands (see 7:12,21-22 and 8:10-11).
However, from a pure military perspective, Gideon's strategy could be considered ingenious. Gideon, no matter how many troops he can muster, is outnumbered. The entire Jezreel valley is filled with the enemy. However, the enemy's strength in numbers is exactly their weakness, for they form a very unorganized fighting force. Gideon's strategy is to use a very small well trained force to trick the enemy in a manner that it would defeat it.
Under the cover of darkness, he sneaks a small (but well trained) force smack into the middle of the enemy's camp, and climbs to the top a mountain -Givat ha'moreh [today, located adjacent to the city of Afula]. A group of soldiers any bigger could 'blow their cover', therefore he takes only a small, but well trained group. While the Midyanim are asleep, his men suddenly blow the 300 "shofarot", while simultaneously lighting 300 torches in three organized rows (see 7:19-20). To a Midyanite, awaken and startled by these noises & lights, there can only be one explanation - a well trained foreign army had attacked them! The Midyanim became so frightened that pandemonium breaks out; the confusion leads them to kill one another, and they all begin to flee towards the Jordan River valley (to return to Midyan).
Gideon takes advantage of this flight and orders the rest of his soldiers (who were waiting on the surrounding hills) to chase the enemy. The plan worked like a charm!
At that time, Gideon made what he thought was the proper decision. Nonetheless, the long term ramifications of that
decision proved to be disastrous. For the story of Avimelech (that follows the story of Gideon) shows that had Gideon accepted the nation's offer to become their king, then surely he would have prepared for a proper successor from among his children before his death. However, the political 'vacuum' created by Gideon's refusal led to the rule of the worst of his children instead. The terrible manner by which Avimelech rose to power, and well as the disastrous results of his ploy emphasize the danger that can result when a genuine call for leadership is not answered by the proper person (see chapter nine, especially "Mashal Yotam").
After Avimelech, Israel was ruled by Tola for 23 years, then Yair for 22 years. (This actually totals 44 years, as there was one year in which both ruled.) The Jews then backslid into their bad habits and started worshipping idols again. G-d therefore allowed the nation to fall into the hands of Ammon and the Philistines. The Jews cried out for salvation and G-d said no. He had redeemed them many times and they always went back to their evil ways, so this time they could ask the idols to save them. Even though G-d said no, the Jews did a sincere teshuva (repentance) and got rid of their idols. They said to G-d that they would rather be punished directly by Him than by foreign nations. Since they did a sincere repentance, G-d agreed to save them. There was a change, however. Prior to this time, great leaders would redeem Israel completely. The Judges who would arise from this point on, while still great people, were also flawed. And while Israel would receive relief from their enemies, those enemies would not be completely repelled.
Yiftach is next to arrive on the scene. Yiftach sent messengers to the king of Ammon asking what their grievance was. The crux of the matter was land that Israel supposedly took from Ammon when they left Egypt. Yiftach pointed out some history - including that there were 300 intervening years in which Ammon could have made such a claim but didn't. Since Ammon's point of view could not be reconciled with Israel's, war was inevitable. (Does any of this sound familiar today?)
Yiftach made a vow to G-d that if he were successful in battle, he would offer as a sacrifice the first thing that greeted him upon his return. This was greatly lacking in judgment as Yiftach was successful in battle against Ammon and upon his return was greeted by his daughter. She agreed that it was important for Yiftach to keep his word and her friends gathered to bemoan her fate, which became an annual practice. It's important to note that nowhere does it say that Yiftach actually sacrificed his daughter. Human sacrifice is one of the most reprehensible things to G-d. It appears that Yiftach did not actually offer up his daughter, but that she became sanctified and never married.
Perek 12 finds the warriors of Ephraim who upset about not being called to attle. They threatened to burn down Yiftach’s house, with him in it. While almost a century earlier, Gidon was able to appease them with words, Yiftach got into a chest-thumping contest with them. The people of Gilad, Yiftach’s home, warred with Ephraim. They blocked the crossings of the Jordan and whenever someone attempted to cross, they instructed the traveler to say “Shibboleth.” If the traveler said “Sibboleth” in the dialect of Ephraim, they would capture and kill him. 42,000 Ephramites were dispatched this way. Yiftach ruled for six years. He was followed by Ivtzan, who is identified with Boaz from the Book of Ruth. Ivtzan judged for seven
years and was succeeded by Elon. Elon ruled for ten years and was succeeded by Avdon, who ruled for eight years.
Perakim 13-14 introduce us to Shimson who was sanctified as a Nazir from birth. The events with his parents and the Malach are chronicled in Perek 13 vwhile Perek 14 idenitifes Shimson's first interaction with the oppressing Philistines.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 November 2008 13:18