Gideon Defeats the Midianites

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 7:1) Then Jerub-Baal, who is Gideon, and all the people with him, rose up early and pitched beside the well of Harod, so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh in the valley.

In the last chapter and post, God had called Gideon to deliver His people from the Midianites, and he had subsequently called tribes of large numbers of men to accompany him.  Gideon had cast down the altar of Baal, and his father called him Jerub-Baal.  Now Gideon, with all his men, rose up early in the morning and pitched a tent beside the well of Harod.  No one can say exactly where this well was located, but it was a location that put the Midianites on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh which was in the valley of Jezreel.

(2) And the Lord said to Gideon, "The people with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.'"

The Lord told Gideon that he had gathered too many men for His purpose to deliver Midian into Israel's hand.  Their numbers might so overpower the Midianites that they would think it was by their own might that they were able to defeat the Midianites.  However, it would be God who defeated them by the hand of a self-described poor and insignificant nobody (Judges 6:15).

(3) "Now therefore go to proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, 'Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead.'" And there returned of the people twenty-two thousand, and there remained ten thousand.

Because there were too many men for His purpose, God told Gideon to go proclaim to the people that if any of them were fearful, they were free to leave Mount Gilead, which was apparently where they were at the time.  This cannot be the Mount Gilead on the eastern side of the Jordan River but must have been another by the same name.  22,000 people subsequently left, leaving 10,000 men.

(4) And the Lord said to Gideon, "The people are yet too many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for you there, and it shall be of whom I say to you, 'This one shall go with you,' the same shall go with you, and of whomever I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' the same shall not go."

The Lord told Gideon there were still too many men.  He told him to bring them down from the hill to the water where He Himself would tell Gideon who was to go with him and who was not to go.

(5) So he brought down the people to the water, and the Lord said to Gideon, "Everyone who laps of the water with his tongue as a dog laps, him shall you set by himself; likewise everyone who bows down on his knees to drink." (6) And the number of them who lapped, their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men, but all the rest of the people bowed down on their knees to drink water.

Gideon brought all the men down to the water, and the Lord told him to separate the men into groups according to how they drank water from the stream.  Everyone who lapped water with his tongue was to be set aside in one group, and those who knelt down to drink were in another group.  The point was not so much the action of the tongue in lapping, but whether they scooped up water in their hand and did a quick lap or slurp or if they took the time to kneel down and drink water from the stream.  It might be that those who stood and took a quick lap from their hands would appear to be of greater stamina and haste to get the job done than those who took the time to get down on their knees to drink their fill.  Three hundred men stood and lapped a handful of water, ready to go forth into battle, while the rest of the men were kneeling at the creek and drinking.

(7) And the Lord said to Gideon, "By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his place."

Indeed, the Lord told Gideon that He would save him and the children of Israel and deliver the Midianites into his hand by the three hundred men who stood and lapped the water from their hand.  Interestingly, I now read that the historian Josephus wrote that the three hundred represented the most fearful men, taking a quick swipe of water, while the more courageous men knelt down, not so afraid of their surroundings.  With this reasoning, God would choose the weakest men so that there was no doubt that it was God alone who delivered the Midianites into Gideon's hand.  Whatever the reasoning, and perhaps there was none other than to separate some men into a small group, God chose the group of three hundred men to accompany Gideon.  Regardless of how strong and courageous they were, they were only three hundred against 135,000 according to Judges 8:10, so there was no doubt that it was God alone who would deliver Israel.

(8) So the people took provisions in their hand and their trumpets, and he sent all Israel every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men; and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

This would appear to be the three hundred men who gathered provisions and their trumpets and perhaps gathered of those of the people not chosen, and Gideon sent all the rest of the people back to their tents.  The Midianite army was below Gideon and his three hundred men in the valley of Jezreel.

(9) And it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, "Arise, get down to the host, for I have delivered it into your hand. (10) But if you fear to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the host."

That night the Lord came to Gideon and told him to get up and go down to the Midianite army for He had already delivered them into Gideon's hand.  One would think that assurance that it was a done deal would be enough for this hero of faith (Hebrews 11:32), but God gave him another option if he was too fearful to go forth toward the enemy.  I find this amazing!  The Lord showed such incredible patience with Gideon from the beginning of His call to him.  He allowed his requests for multiple signs and now He offered him another option if he was too afraid, even after God had assured him that the huge Midianite army was delivered into his hand.  This should give us so much encouragement that the Lord can be so patient with our fears even though He constantly commands that we "fear not."  It all comes down to the heart that the Lord can see.  He can see our trembling faith, and if it is sincere but just needs a little boost of courage, He is gracious and patient to give us what we need.  God told Gideon if he was afraid to go forth with his small army, that he and his servant Purah could first go down privately.

(11) "And you shall hear what they say, and afterward shall your hands be strengthened to go down to the host." Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outside of the armed men in the host.

The Lord continued with what Gideon could choose to do if he was afraid.  He could take his servant and go down secretly to hear what the Midianites said, and then he would be strengthened by what he heard.  Gideon indeed chose to take his servant Purah and went down to the edge of the Midianite army.

(12) And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude and their camels without number as the sand by the seaside for multitude.

Gideon saw that the Midianites, Amalekites, and Arabians, and all their camels lay in the valley as numerous as grains of sand on the seashore.  That sight could have put even more fear in Gideon's heart, but the Lord had told him to listen to what they said.

(13) And when Gideon had come, behold, a man told his dream to his companion, and said, "Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian and came to a tent and struck it that it fell, and overturned it that the tent lay along." (14) And his companion answered and said, "This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel, for into his hand has God delivered Midian and all the host."

When Gideon had come to the edge of the huge army, he heard a man telling his companion that he had had a dream.  He saw a small simple loaf of barley bread tumble into the Midianite army and take down a tent.  His companion interpreted the dream the only way he saw possible, that it must represent the small army of Gideon, a man of Israel, and the fact that God had delivered Midian into his hand.  The dream, as well as the interpretation, had surely been put into the minds of the Midianite soldiers by God to increase Gideon's courage and confidence.  It may have also had the effect of frightening the Midianites.

(15) And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and the interpretation of it, that he worshiped and returned to the host of Israel, and said, "Arise, for the Lord has delivered into your hand the host of Midian."

Gideon was indeed strengthened after hearing the dream and its interpretation.  He worshiped God, surely thanking Him for giving him this extra sign of confirmation.  He then returned to the small Israelite army and told them to rise up for the Lord had delivered the army of the Midianites into their hand, and it was now the time to go take it.

(16) And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.

Gideon divided the three hundred men into three companies, probably one hundred in each company.  He put a trumpet in every man's hand.  There were enough trumpets for every man to have one because they had gathered them from the people not chosen (verse 8).  He gave every man a pitcher empty of any liquid and put lamps inside each one.  As it was night, the lamps would provide a little light for the small army, yet the light would be concealed from the enemy as they approached them.

(17) And he said to them, "Look on me and do likewise, and behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be, as I do, so shall you do. (18) When I blow a trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, 'The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!'"

Gideon told the men in his army to watch him and do just what he did, especially when he came to the outside of the Midianite camp.  Then it appears that the two other companies than the one Gideon was with were to go on other sides of the Midianite camp.  Then when Gideon and his company blew their trumpets, the other companies were to blow their trumpets at the same time, and cry out, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!"

(19) So Gideon and the hundred men with him came to the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, and they had but newly set the watch, and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers in their hands. (20) And the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers and held the lamps in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands to blow, and they cried, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!"

Gideon and his company came to the outside of the Midianite camp in the beginning of the midnight watch.  In the Old Testament the night was divided into three watches, the first watch being the hours after sunset, the middle watch included the hours around midnight, and then there was the pre-dawn watch.  The middle watch had just begun when Gideon and his company blew their trumpets and broke the pitchers, and the other companies blew their trumpets and broke their pitchers and held their lamps in their left hands.  They all cried out, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!"  What a fearsome sight and sound this must have been that awakened the Midianites.  Three hundred trumpets, three hundred breaking pitchers, and three hundred men all yelling at once, as well as three hundred lights surrounding their camp.

(21) And they stood every man in his place around the camp, and all the host ran and cried and fled.

All of Gideon's army stood every man in his place while the Midianites cried out and ran.

(22) And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow throughout all the host, and the host fled to Beth Shittah in Zererah to the border of Abel Meholah to Tabbath.

Gideon's three hundred men continued blowing their trumpets, and the Lord so confused the Midianites that they used their swords against one another throughout the whole Midianite army.  Those who remained of the Midianites fled to places most of which were unknown by the Biblical commentators I study, but they went as far as Abel Meholah which was in the Jordan valley.

(23) And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.

The men of Israel, probably the same ones Gideon had initially called (Judges 6:35) before the Lord cut them down to size, gathered themselves together out of the tribes of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites who had fled.  It appears that the tribe of Zebulun did not accompany the Israelite army this time.

(24) And Gideon sent messengers throughout all Mount Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and take before them the waters to Beth Barah and Jordan." Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together and took the waters to Beth Barah and Jordan.

Gideon sent messengers throughout Mount Ephraim telling them to go down against the Midianites cutting them off at the Jordan River before they had a chance to cross over it back to Midian.  The men of the tribe of Ephraim did just that.

(25) And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb on the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.

The Israelites killed two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb.  They killed Oreb on the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb.  They killed these princes at places that would afterward be called by those names, or more likely they pursued them into Midian, as they brought the heads of those princes to Gideon "on the other side of the Jordan."

(Judges 8:1) And the men of Ephraim said to him, "Why have you served us thus that you did not call us when you went to fight with the Midianites?" And they did chide him sharply.

Then the men of Ephraim asked Gideon why he had done such a thing as to not call them when he went to fight the Midianites.  The fact that they chided him so sharply shows that this was probably out of pride rather than a desire to help.  They didn't like the fact that they had played a subordinate part and that Gideon would get all the glory.

(2) And he said to them, "What have I done now in comparison to you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? (3) God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and what was I able to do in comparison to you?" Then their anger was abated toward him when he had said that.

Gideon gave the tribe of Ephraim a calm and gentle answer, as "a soft answer turns away wrath..." (Proverbs 15:1).  There could have been an all-out civil war between the tribes if Gideon had become puffed up himself, telling Ephraim they had no right to question him as, after all, God had chosen him to deliver Israel.  But he downplayed his part, asking what he had done in comparison to them.  After all, God Himself delivered the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, into their hands.  Wasn't the gleaning of the grapes by Ephraim, that final act of finishing up the harvest, better than the entire vintage or campaign?  I am struck by Gideon's meekness and the fact that God chose such a meek and gentle man for this task.  Gideon constantly downplayed himself.  He called himself poor and the least in his father's house when God initially called him (Judges 6:15).  He called for multiple signs to be sure that it was God calling him.  God, knowing Gideon's heart, obviously did not take these requests as a lack of faith, as He was quite patient in granting them, and he was called one of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11.  If there was any lack of faith on Gideon's part, it was a lack of faith in himself.  He wanted to be sure he was acting in God's will and not some misplaced will of his own.  In Gideon's calm and humble answer in the above verse, he gives the bulk of the glory to Ephraim and averts what could have been a civil war among the tribes.  God, in His great wisdom, of course, chose the right man for the job.

(4) And Gideon came to Jordan and passed over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, faint, yet in pursuit.

Gideon and his army of three hundred crossed the Jordan River pursuing the remaining Midianites.  They were getting fatigued having been up all night.

(5) And he said to the men of Succoth, "Give, I pray you, loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian."

When they came to Succoth on the east side of the Jordan River in the tribe of Gad, he asked the men there to please give his army of men loaves of bread as they were fatigued and hungry, but they were still in pursuit of Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.

(6) And the princes of Succoth said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand that we should give bread to your army?"

The chief magistrates of Succoth, men of Israel, refused them!  Once they saw that they had captured Zebah and Zalmunna, then maybe they would give bread to Gideon's army.  I imagine that they did not see how so little an army was a match for the Midianites and feared if they helped their brethren, they would surely pay for it and their bondage would be harder than it was before.  It was very cruel of them to show no sympathy or compassion for their brethren, and it demonstrated selfishness and concern only for themselves.  John Wesley, in his Notes on the Bible, wrote that these men had to be worshippers of Baal to turn their backs on God's own people, their brethren.

(7) And Gideon said, "Therefore when the Lord has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers."

The humble and meek Gideon was brought to righteous anger.  He told the men of Succoth that when the Lord had delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into his hands, as he had no doubt He would, he would return to tear their flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness.  Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, suggested that Succoth may have been known for all the thorns and briers that grew in the wilderness near the city, as "succoth" or "sukkah" was used by Job in Job 41:7 to mean "barbed irons."

(8) And he went up from there to Penuel and spoke to them likewise, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

Gideon and his army then went from Succoth to the city of Penuel, also inhabited by his Israelite brethren, and asked them for bread to feed his fatigued army, and they shockingly also refused him.

(9) And he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, "When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower."

Gideon spoke to the men of Penuel with the same righteous anger as he had spoken to the men of Succoth and told them that when he had returned their way in peace after conquering all his enemies, he would break down a tower in their city.

(10) Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of all the hosts of the children of the east, for there fell a hundred and twenty thousand men who drew sword.

The kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, were in a place called Karkor, the location of which is not known by the Biblical scholars I study.  All their armies of men were with them, about 15,000, which was all that were left of the original armies, as 120,000 of those who had fought against Israel had fallen.

(11) And Gideon went up by the way of those who dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah and struck the host, for the host was secure.

Gideon and his small army went by the way of the wilderness where the Arabians dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, which were in the tribes of Manasseh and Gad, respectively.  They were able to strike the Midianites because their guard was down as they felt secure in their location.

(12) And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.

Gideon's army threw the Midianite host into a panic and the kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, fled, and Gideon pursued them and eventually took them.

(13) And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up, (14) And caught a young man of the men of Succoth and enquired of him, and he described to him the princes of Succoth and the elders, seventy-seven men.

Gideon returned from battle before sun-up.  As he came to Succoth, he caught a young man of the city and questioned him about the chiefs of the city.  The young man described to him the princes and elders of the city, a total of seventy-seven men.

(15) And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, "Behold, Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom you did upbraid me, saying, 'Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men?'" (16) And he took the elders of the city and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

Gideon then went to the elders of Succoth and told them that he now had Zebah and Zalmunna in his hand, and reminded them about how they had refused to give his weary men bread when they noted that he did not yet have the kings in his custody and insinuated that his small army never would have them (verse 6).  He then took the elders of the city and with the thorns and briers of the wilderness, taught them a lesson.  We often learn the best lessons through adversity.  Actually, the Hebrew characters for the word translated as "taught" are very similar to the characters translated as "tore," and as the latter agrees with what Gideon said he would do to the men in verse 7, it is likely that is what is meant here.

(17) And he beat down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

Gideon, true to his word (verse 8), also went to Penuel and beat down its tower.  He also killed men of the city, probably only the ones who tried to stop him from tearing down the tower.

(18) Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What manner of men whom you killed at Tabor?" And they answered, "As you, so they; each one resembled the son of a king."

Gideon then asked the kings what manner of men they had killed at Mount Tabor.  That particular event was not detailed in scripture, but I imagine it took place sometime after the Israelites had been forced to hide out in dens they made in the mountains (Judges 6:2).  The kings replied that they were like Gideon himself, and that each one looked like the son of a king, probably meaning they were graceful and dignified even in the lowly state to which they were relegated.

(19) And he said, "They were my brethren, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you."

Gideon told the kings that they had been his brethren whom they had killed.  He added "the sons of my mother" to indicate he did not mean brethren in the larger sense, but these were his immediate family.  He added that had the kings saved his brethren alive, he would not have killed them, but the logical conclusion is that because they had killed his brothers, he would kill them.

(20) And he said to Jether, his firstborn, "Up, kill them!" But the youth did not draw his sword for he was afraid because he was still a youth.

Gideon called on Jether, his firstborn son, to slay the kings, perhaps to give him honor for avenging his family's blood, but he was young and afraid and did not draw his sword.

(21) Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Rise yourself and fall on us, for as the man, so is his strength." And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna and took away the ornaments on their camels' necks.

If they must die, the kings asked that Gideon do it.  Perhaps they feared that the strength of the youth would not be enough to kill them at once and instantly put them out of their misery.  They might have died a lingering and painful death at the hands of Jether.  Gideon did indeed rise up and kill the kings, and he took the ornaments that were on their camels' necks.

(22) Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, both you and your son, and your son's son also, for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian."

The men of Israel then asked that Gideon and his son rule over them, as well as their posterity after them.  Their reasoning for wanting him to be as a king over them was because he had delivered them from the hand of the Midianites.  Indeed, God had used Gideon to deliver His people from the Midianites, but it was obviously God Himself who had done the delivering.  How else could three hundred men defeat 135,000 (verse 10)?  The Lord was their King and had always defended and protected them, but they were awed by the success of a man who was merely God's instrument.

(23) And Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you."

Gideon, in fact, did tell the people that neither he nor his son would agree to rule over them.  Only the Lord God of Israel would rule over them.

(24) And Gideon said to them, "I would desire a request of you, that you would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)

However, Gideon did make another request of them.  If they wanted to do something for him, they could give him the earrings of their prey.  They had golden earrings of the Ishmaelites who were spoken of here as the same as the Midianites.  The Ishmaelites were the progeny of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and the maidservant Hagar.  Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness where an angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar and told her that Ishmael would become a great nation.  Genesis 16:12 said that Ishmael would be a wild man with his hand against every man, and he would dwell in the presence of his brethren.  The Ishmaelites at this time resided in Moab next to the Midianites, and as Arabs, they wore earrings and nose-rings.

(25) And they answered, "We will willingly give." And they spread a garment and cast in it every man the earrings of his prey.

The people told Gideon they would willingly give their golden earrings.  They spread out a garment and every man put his earrings into it.

(26) And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred gold, besides ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that had been on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains about their camels' necks.

The weight of the golden earrings gathered totaled 1700 weights of gold.  Most of the Bible translations added the word "shekels," but the original does not say what standard was used.  Even if it were measured in shekels, there is not a consensus as to exactly how much that would be. The word "shekel" itself just means "weight."  I've seen among the commentators I study estimates of 43 to 100 pounds of gold that was gathered just from the golden earrings.  The people also collected ornaments, collars, and purple raiment from the kings of Midian, as well as the chains from the camels' necks. 

(27) And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah, and all Israel went there a whoring after it, which thing became a snare to Gideon and to his house.

Gideon made a golden ephod out of all the gold.  An ephod was an apron like vestment worn on the outside of the clothing.  With it being perhaps 100 pounds in weight, Gideon did not wear it but placed it in his city of Ophrah as a monument of his victories.  The people made an idol of it, which is the meaning of "a whoring" in the Bible.  They committed adultery and worshiped a false god or idol of the golden ephod.  Thus it became a snare to Gideon and his house.  At the very least, it seems that calling for all that gold to make an ephod that would be set up as a kind of trophy, was an act of pride.  And Gideon was responsible for making that idol that the people would begin to worship.

(28) Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

The Midianites were subdued by the Lord using the hand of Gideon and his small army, and they did not regain their strength.  Israel had peace for forty years during the days of Gideon.

(29) And Jerub-Baal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.  

After his victory, Gideon, here called by the name his father Joash had given him, Jerub-Baal (Judges 6:32), went back to his house and dwelled there.

(30) And Gideon had seventy sons begotten of his body, for he had many wives. (31) And his concubine in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

Gideon had a total of seventy sons because he had many wives.  He also had a concubine who did not live in his house in Ophrah but lived in Shechem.  She also bore him a son whom he called Abimelech.

(32) And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon lived a long life and died at a good old age.  He was buried in his father's sepulcher in his city, Ophrah, in the family of the Abiezrites.

(33) And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again and went a whoring after the Baals and made Baal-Berith their god.

It seems the Israelites wasted no time returning to their wicked ways after the death of Gideon.  They started worshipping the various Baals, the false gods of the Canaanites, eventually making Baal-Berith their ultimate god.

(34) And the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side. 

The children of Israel did not remember their Lord God to worship Him; they did not remember how He had delivered them from the hands of their enemies time and time again.  We might find this hard to believe that the Israelites could actually turn from their Lord after all the things He had done for them, after all His love and mercy and providence.  However, if we look honestly within ourselves, we will see how we might not pray as much or think about God as much when things are going well.  We begin to spend more time on things other than God, and those things become idols, as the very definition of "idol" is any person or thing regarded with admiration and adoration.

(35) Neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerub-Baal, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.

It appears that the people also did not show any kindness or gratitude to the family of Gideon after all Gideon had done for them in allowing himself to be used by God to deliver his people from the Midianites.

As so often the case, we see in Gideon another flawed person who God used to do great things.  Why wouldn't this be the running theme throughout the whole Bible when we know that all humans are flawed and sinful (Ecclesiastes 7:20)?  Gideon seemed to be at the very least not very confident in himself as God's choice to deliver Israel.  He needed multiple signs from God to bolster his courage; however, that was not seen by God as a lack of faith in Him, but perhaps just in himself to discern whether or not he was truly hearing from God.  He was sometimes fearful (Judges 7:10).  It seems he became a little prideful after his victory.  Although he did refuse kingship offered by the people, he requested they give him lots of gold with which he made an elaborate golden ephod that stood as a monument to his success.  He had multiple wives and a concubine in another city, which was common in his day, but certainly can't be considered as a sign of model moral character.  Gideon was certainly not the worst of characters; he was just human with some of the human characteristics that befall us all.  However, that should give us all hope and encouragement that God can use us, and He will meet us where we are in life, and He will supply us with all things necessary to carry out His will for us.  Amen!

The Call of Gideon

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 6:1) And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

In the last chapter and post, Deborah as judge, with Barak, had delivered Israel from Jabin king of Canaan and Sisera the captain of his army.  The land had rest for forty years.  But now the people again began doing evil in the sight of the Lord, and He allowed them to be delivered into the hand of Midian for seven years.  The Midianites had been decimated by Moses about 200 years prior, but it seems many of them had fled to neighboring countries and subsequently returned to their own land and grew in number.  God had probably purposely increased their number so that they would be a check on His people.

(2) And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds.

The Midianites prevailed against Israel and brought them into subjection to them.  Because of the oppression of the Midianites, the children of Israel built for themselves dens and caves and places for them to hide out from their enemy.

(3) And it was when Israel had sown that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; (4) And they encamped against them and destroyed the increase of the earth till you come to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

When the children of Israel came out of their hiding places and sowed the land, the Midianites came along with the Amalekites and the children of the east, who were probably Arabians.  They all joined forces and camped by the Israelites and destroyed their growing crops all the way to Gaza which was on the Mediterranean Sea in the far west of Canaan.  As they had come from the east, this meant they destroyed the whole land from east to west.  They left nothing for the Israelites, no crops and no animals.

(5) For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; both they and their camels were without number, and they entered into the land to destroy it.

The Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern tribes, came into Canaan with all their flocks and livestock to eat up the crops.  They came with tents that they could move from place to place in order to take of all that Israel had.  They were as grasshoppers in the land, just as numerous and devouring everything in their path.  They came with camels that were just as numerous, as Midian and Arabia were famous for camels.  They ate as well and trampled and destroyed the land. 

(6) And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried to the Lord.

Israel became greatly impoverished because of the Midianites and others, and they cried out to the Lord, which is always the purpose of God's punishments, to bring His people back to Him, their only source for life.

(7) And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried to the Lord because of the Midianites, (8) That the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel who said to them, "I brought you up from Egypt and brought you forth out of the house of bondage, (9) And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land, (10) And I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell but you have not obeyed My voice.'"

When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, He first sent them a prophet to make them realize how they had sinned against Him and brought this oppression on themselves.  The prophet spoke the words of the Lord, reminding the people how He had brought them out of bondage in Egypt, and He continued to drive out all who came against them to give them their land in Canaan.  He had said to the people that they were not to fear the gods of the Amorites.  He did not mean not to be afraid, but rather have no reverential fear of them so as to worship them (Deuteronomy 7:16).  However, the children of Israel had disobeyed Him, and that is why they found themselves in the trouble in which they now were again.

(11) And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that of Joash the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

Meanwhile, there came an angel of the Lord who sat under an oak tree belonging to Joash, a descendant of Abiezer, in a place called Ophrah.  Joash's son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, which would have been an unsuspecting place, so he could hide from the Midianites.

(12) And the angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor."

The angel of the Lord who had been under the oak tree appeared to Gideon and called him a mighty man of valor and assured him that the Lord was with him.  I love this!  Gideon was just a son of a poor man trying to get by by hiding away in fear of the Midianites.  Yet God was calling him a mighty man of valor!  God can call any of us poor weak individuals to do great things for Him, as He will be with us to perform any task to which He calls us.

(13) And Gideon said to him, "Oh, my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where all His miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."

However, Gideon answered the angel, probably not understanding he was an angel, but seeing him as a distinguished man, asking how it could be that the Lord was with them when He had allowed all that misery to befall them.  He wondered where all God's miracles were of which their fathers had told them, specifically about how God had brought them out of Egypt.  He felt that the Lord had now forsaken them because He had delivered them into the hands of the Midianites.

(14) And the Lord looked upon him and said, "Go in this your might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?"

The Lord Himself looked upon Gideon, and through the angel He told him to go forth in the might he had received from the Lord, as he had already been told by the angel that the Lord was with him (verse 12).  He would save Israel from the oppression of the Midianites because the Lord Himself was sending him, and He would be with him.

(15) And he said to Him, "Oh my Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family poor in Manasseh, and I the least in my father's house."

But Gideon answered, asking how it was that he could save Israel.  He was from a simple family in the tribe of Manasseh, which is a better translation than "poor," for we will see in a later verse that he must have had some wealth.  He called himself the least in his father's house.  He may have been the youngest in his family or just considered himself the least fit to take on such a great work.

(16) And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man."

The Lord assured Gideon that He would be with him, and he would be able to strike down the Midianites as easily as if they were just one man.

(17) And he said to Him, "If now I have found grace in your sight, then show me a sign that You talk with me."

Gideon then asked that if he had surely found grace in the Lord's sight, he might receive a sign from the Lord that it was truly Him talking to him through the angel.

(18) "Do not depart from here, I pray you, until I come to you and bring forth my present and set it before You." And He said, "I will tarry until you come again."

Gideon asked the angel not to leave there until he had come back with a present for him.  And the Lord, through the angel, said He would wait until Gideon came again.  In the words of Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, this "was a wonderful instance of divine condescension," that the Lord would patiently wait on a man.

(19) And Gideon went in and made ready a kid and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour; the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and he brought it out to Him under the oak and presented it.

Gideon went in and prepared a goat kid and unleavened cakes he had made from an ephah of flour, that is about two thirds of a bushel of flour.  He brought some cakes, the goat meat in a basket, and its broth in a pot, out to the angel who was still under the oak tree and presented it all to him.

(20) And the angel of God said to him, "Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes and lay them upon this rock and pour out the broth." And he did so.

The angel told Gideon to place the meat and the unleavened cakes on a rock and pour out the broth.  In this, he was making an offering to God of the meat and bread and likewise with the broth, he used it as a libation, a drink offering poured out to the Lord.

(21) Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff in his hand and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and there rose up fire out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

The angel of the Lord touched the flesh and the cakes with the end of his staff, and fire rose up out of the rock and devoured the meat and cakes.  With that, the angel left, leaving Gideon with the sign for which he had asked.

(22) And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face."

Gideon then realized that the man was an angel of the Lord, and he cried out.  The exclamation "Alas!" was a word used to express pain exclamatorily in the Bible.  Speaking of seeing the angel of the Lord face to face demonstrates that Gideon had fear because of the notion that it was death for mortal man to see God.

(23) And the Lord said to him, "Peace to you, fear not, you shall not die."

The Lord knew Gideon's fear, and He told him to have peace and not be afraid for he was not going to die.

(24) Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it Jehovah-Shalom; unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon then built an altar there to the Lord and called it Jehovah-Shalom, which meant "the Lord is peace."  The altar was still there at the time of the writing of this book, and that was most likely by the prophet Samuel.

(25) And it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, "Take your father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has and cut down the grove that is by it."

That night the Lord spoke to Gideon, perhaps in a dream, and told him to take his father's young bull and a second bull of seven years old.  It's a little difficult to discern if there was one bull or two.  The verse is written in a way that could be interpreted that his father's young bull was a bull of seven years old, perhaps the second in age or position among his team.  However, the phrase "even the second," originally "sheniy," meant more precisely "double, duplicate," so it appears there were two bulls.  It becomes clearer in later verses that there probably were indeed two bulls.  One was to be Gideon's father's young bull and the other may have belonged to the people and was to be offered to Baal which seems plausible in the subsequent verses.  The Lord told him to use the bulls to tear down the altar of Baal that was apparently on his father's property, and also cut down the grove that was by it.  Groves of trees were planted near pagan altars for places of worship to the false gods.

(26) "And build an altar to the Lord your God upon the top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down.

The Lord continued with His command that Gideon then build an altar to Him on the rock, possibly the same one where Gideon had built his altar, or more likely it was just the large rock where Gideon had hidden himself as the Israelites had been forced to do (verse 2).  He was then to take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice of it with the wood of the grove he was going to cut down.

(27) Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had said to him; and so it was, because he feared his father's household and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

Gideon took ten men of his servants, which proves he was not a man poor in wealth (verse 15), to help him do what the Lord had told him to do.  Because he feared the wrath of his father, or the fact that his father would surely try to stop him, and he feared the men of the city which proves the altar to Baal, and perhaps the grove, was frequented by the public even if it was on his father's land, he tore down the altar and cut down the grove at night.

(28) And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered on the altar that was built. (29) And they said to one another, "Who has done this thing?" And when they enquired and asked, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing."

When the men of the city arose early the next morning, they saw that the altar of Baal had been cast down and the grove next to it had been cut down, and a new altar had been built that had a bull as an offering upon it.  They asked one another who had done such a thing, and either received an answer from someone who knew, or just surmised that it was Gideon, perhaps because they knew him to be no friend of Baal.

(30) Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son that he may die because he has cast down the altar of Baal and because he has cut down the grove that was by it."

Then men of the city then demanded of Joash that he bring out his son Gideon so that he might die because he had destroyed the altar of Baal and the grove that was beside it.

(31) And Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you plead for Baal? Will you save him? He who will plead for him, let him be put to death while morning. If he is a god, let him plead for himself because one has cast down his altar."

Joash spoke to the men seeking Gideon.  He asked if they would plead the case for the false god Baal.  After all, these men were children of Israel and knew their one true God.  He asked if they would save Baal.  After all, if he was truly a god, he could save himself and plead his own case.  If he was truly a god, he knew who cast down his altar.  He also said that whoever would plead for the false god Baal should be put to death immediately while it was still morning.  It appears that Joash had come to his senses about worshiping false idols, or at the very least, in trying to save his son, he spoke common sense truth.

(32) Therefore on that day he called him Jerub-Baal, saying, "Let Baal plead against him because he has thrown down his altar."

Joash then called his son Gideon, Jerub-Baal, which literally meant "Baal will contend," because Baal would contend with Gideon if he could.  It appears that name stuck as Gideon was called by that name in several other subsequent verses of the Bible.  It seems to me it would be considered a symbol of courage that he was the man with whom Baal should contend and destroy, but obviously he couldn't, and Jerub-Baal's very existence proved His Lord God's dominion over Baal.

(33) Then all the Midianites and Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together and went over and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.

Because they had heard what Gideon had done, or perhaps just because it was harvest time and time for their usual devouring of the land, all the Midianites, Amalekites, and Arabians from the east gathered together and went over the Jordan River and pitched their tents in the valley of Jezreel.

(34) But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, and Abiezer was gathered after him. (35) And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh who was also gathered after him, and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and filled him with determination, strength, and courage, and he blew a trumpet of alarm.  The Abiezrites, of whom Gideon was a member (verse 11) gathered after him.  He then sent messengers throughout the rest of the tribe of Manasseh, and they also gathered after him.  He also sent messengers to the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet him.

(36) And Gideon said to God, "If You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said, (37) Behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor, and if the dew is on the fleece only and dry on all the earth, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said."

Gideon then said to God in prayer that if He intended to save Israel by Gideon's hand, as He had said, then he proposed a sign to confirm it.  Gideon admitted that God had already said what He wanted him to do, yet Gideon asked for a sign.  His faith may have needed a boost, but this may have been more for the soldiers he had gathered together so that they would be encouraged by the confirmation that God would be with them.  He proposed that he would place a fleece of wool on the floor, probably the threshing floor where the angel first appeared to him which would have been exposed to open air, and if dew was on the fleece but not on the ground around, Gideon would know that the Lord would indeed save Israel by his hand.

(38) And it was so, for he rose up early the next day, and he thrust the fleece together and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.

It was just as Gideon had proposed.  He rose up early the next morning, grabbed up the fleece and wrung out a bowl full of dew from it.  The verse doesn't say it, but I am sure we can safely assume that the ground around him was dry.

(39) And Gideon said to God, "Let not Your anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once; let me prove, I pray You, but this once with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew."

Then Gideon spoke to the Lord and actually asked for another sign!  However, he did ask with a great deal of humility and consciousness of the boldness and appearance of distrust he showed in asking for another sign.  He asked that the Lord not be angry with him, and that this would be the last time he asked for a sign with the fleece.  He asked that this time only the fleece would be dry, and all the ground would be wet with dew.

(40) And God did so that night, for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

The Lord patiently and graciously did as Gideon asked that night, for the next morning the fleece was dry and there was dew all over the ground around it.  Was it Gideon whose wavering faith needed so much strengthening?  If so, it is a beautiful picture of how patient God is and willing to come to us and meet us at our level of weakness and infirmity.  However, Gideon was called one of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11:32.  He probably had faith in God as he had already done things God called him to do but perhaps lacked faith in himself to be the one who could fulfill God's will.  He had thought of himself as simple and poor and the least among his father's house (verse 15).  We must remember that whatever God calls us to do, He equips us to do; He will be with us.  God knows the heart and one's faith and desire to have stronger faith, as demonstrated in Mark 9:24, "...Lord, I believe; help my unbelief."  However, once again, this request for a second sign might have been more for the soldiers Gideon had called, to encourage them and reinforce their faith in God to defeat their enemy. 

Song of Deborah

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 5:1) Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

In the last chapter, Deborah and Barak had just defeated the king of Canaan and his army and its captain, Sisera, by the hand of the Lord who delivered their enemy to them.  Deborah wrote a song of praise that was sung by both her and Barak:

(2) "Praise you, the Lord, for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves."

Deborah began by praising the Lord for taking vengeance on Jabin king of Canaan, when, led by the Lord, the children of Israel willingly went to fight against their enemies for Israel.

(3) "Hear, O you kings! Give ear, O you princes! I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel."

Deborah desired that all kings and princes hear her song of praise, that all might know the wonderful works of the Lord God of Israel.

(4) "Lord, when You went out of Seir, when You marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped; the clouds also dropped water."

Seir and Edom are the same place, and Deborah here acknowledged that the Lord had led His people from there to their land in Canaan.  All the way, He struck dread in the hearts of their enemies with earthquakes and rain and hail storms.

(5) "The mountains melted from before the Lord, that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel."

Even the mountains trembled and melted before the Lord, just as Mount Sinai had trembled and quaked at the presence of God on it.

(6) "In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through byways."

Shamgar succeeded Ehud as judge, but did not appear to rule long or accomplish much (Judges 3:31), or at least not a perfect and complete deliverance of Israel.  But during his time and that of Jael, the wife of Heber (Judges 4:17), the highways were unoccupied by the Israelites because they were dangerous, occupied by their enemies who wished to do them harm.  They were forced to travel by less frequented paths.

(7) "The villages ceased; they ceased in Israel until that I, Deborah, arose, that I arose a mother in Israel."

Life in their villages as it once was ceased because the Israelites were so oppressed by their enemy.  That is, until Deborah rose up; being raised up by God, she was as a mother to the children of Israel, instructing, ruling, and protecting them.  

(8) "They chose new gods, then was war in the gates; was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?"

The children of Israel chose the false gods of the enemy, called new gods because they were new and previously unknown to them.  It's not as if they simply submitted to worshiping them when their enemy forced them, but it seems they willingly chose them.  There was war within the gates of their cities for they were completely taken over by their enemy.  Apparently, their enemy had totally disarmed the Israelites, as well.

(9) "My heart is toward the governors of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless you the Lord!"

Deborah had a heart for the rulers of Israel who had offered themselves willingly to do the work of their Lord.  The original word "chaqaq" that was translated as "governors" came from a root that meant "engrave."  So she might have meant that she had a heart for the wise men and scribes who willingly taught the word of God and His commandments.  She blessed the Lord for giving those "governors" hearts to willingly engage in service to Him, whatever it might be.

(10) "Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit in judgment and walk by the way."

Deborah called for nobles and magistrates, or perhaps it was the wise men and scribes, who rode on white donkeys to speak out.  The original word that was translated as "judgment" was "mad," and it most often referred to garments or clothing.  I believe what is meant here is that Deborah called for the upper class of nobles and leaders, described as having white donkeys and fine raiment, who walked among the common people, to tell of God's great works.

(11) "From the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, the righteous acts of His villages in Israel; then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates."

I'm not sure whether this means the places of drawing water were free from the noise of the archers who attacked the people, and there the nobles could celebrate the righteous acts of the Lord, or if even in spite of the noise of the attacks of their enemies, they were to celebrate the Lord.  "Celebrate" is a better translation of the original word "tanah" that was translated as "rehearse."  Most of the Biblical commentators I study see this as celebration after the Lord delivered them, but as the next verse calls on Deborah and Barak to rise up, I see this as happening before they were delivered.  Deborah had called on the nobles to speak out even in the people's oppression.  This they did, and the people cried out to the Lord (Judges 4:3).  Then they would be able to go in and out of the gates when the Lord delivered them.

(12) "Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song. Arise, Barak, and lead your captivity captive, you son of Abinoam."

Once again, I disagree with the commentators I study about the meaning of this verse.  They believe Deborah is stirring herself to more zeal and enthusiasm in her song after the Lord had delivered Israel.  Why then would the verse continue with raising up Barak against the enemy if that had already been done?  The commentators admit that there are some difficulties in the text of the song which probably lost something in translation.  However, I see this as Deborah relating the chronological order of things in her song.  She was called to rise up, and yes, she would eventually utter a song upon victory, but I believe it's also possible this was a call for her to prophesy when she was raised up.  Then she called on Barak to rise up and make those who held the children of Israel captive, themselves captive.

(13) "Then He made him who remained have dominion over the nobles among the people; the Lord made me have dominion over the mighty."

Then the Lord made those who remained of the Israelites after the oppression of the Canaanites to have dominion over the nobles and officers of the enemy among them.  The Lord had raised up Deborah to have dominion over their mighty enemy.

(14) "Out of Ephraim a root of them against Amalek; after you, Benjamin, among your people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they who handle the pen of the writer."

Out of the tribe of Ephraim, of which Deborah was a member, came the root and foundation of the campaign against the Amalekites, chief enemies of Israel among the Canaanites.  Then the tribe of Benjamin joined forces with the tribe of Ephraim against their enemy.  Machir, the son of Manasseh, represented his tribe on the west of the Jordan, and they sent leaders, probably meaning military leaders, to aid in the campaign against the Canaanites.  Even the tribe of Zebulun where normally clerks and scribes and those mighty with the pen dwelled, sent troops to aid Barak in his campaign against Jabin king of Canaan.

(15) "And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah, even Issachar, and also Barak, he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben, great thoughts of heart."

The leaders of Issachar, as well as Issachar in general, were with Deborah in her campaign.  Barak of the tribe of Naphtali, which I believe means to include the whole tribe of Naphtali, were an integral part of the campaign, and they were sent forth into the valley of the river of Kishon where the Lord would draw Sisera of King Jabin's army to them (Judges 4:7).  Among the clans of Reuben, it appears there were many conflicting thoughts about the campaign, and they did not join their brothers on the western side of the Jordan against Sisera.

(16) "Why did you abide among the sheepfolds to hear the bleating of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben, great searchings of heart."

Deborah chided the tribe of Reuben, asking why they would sit there with their flocks of sheep and not go to help their brethren.  Again, she mentions the great searchings of heart.  Either she was disappointed that they couldn't agree to accompany her, or perhaps she and Barak and the other tribes with them were the ones having to search their hearts for what they felt about their brethren who would not help them.

(17) "Gilead abode beyond Jordan, and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the seashore and abode in his breaches."

The land of Gilead belonged to Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh on the east side of the Jordan River.  Deborah was proclaiming that those tribes stayed put and did not join the campaign.  Neither did the tribes of Dan or Asher.  The tribe of Dan continued in its work in ships on the Mediterranean Sea, as did Asher tend to its business on the shore of the sea.  They abode in their breaks in the shore and ignored their brothers fighting against Canaan.

(18) "Zebulun and Naphtali, a people who jeopardized their lives to the death in the high places of the field."

Deborah commended the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali who were the chief fighters in the war against Sisera, the 10,000 soldiers initially called by Deborah and Barak (Judges 4:6).  They jeopardized their lives in the height of battle in the battlefield while some of their brethren dwelt in safety within their tribes.

(19) "The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money."

I believe both mentions of the kings refer to the kings of Canaan who came from diverse places within Canaan to fight Israel in Taanach not far from the Kishon River.  They were unable to win any spoils; they lost it all.

(20) "They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera."

The Lord fought for Israel from heaven when what Deborah described as the stars themselves fought against Sisera.  I believe this lends credence to Josephus's assertion that Sisera's army was hit with rain and hail from heaven (see Judges 4:15).

(21) "The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, you have trodden down strength."

The Kishon River may have swept away some dead bodies of the enemy, but I rather think this was a somewhat poetic way of saying that the enemy was conquered there because that is where the Lord drew them for battle (Judges 4:7).  An ancient river, although not a necessarily great one, that is where a strong and mighty army was totally trodden down and crushed.

(22) "Then were horse hooves broken by the means of the galloping, the galloping of their mighty ones."

The enemy's horses' hooves were broken because of their violent galloping, the violent galloping of their strong and mighty horses.  Or perhaps the second part meant they were broken because of the violent galloping through the rain and hail, driven hard by their mighty soldiers.

(23) "'Curse you, Meroz,' said the angel of the Lord, 'Curse you bitterly its inhabitants because they did not come to the help of the Lord against the mighty.'"

Meroz was apparently a city close to where they fought, but none of the Bible commentators I study know where exactly it was.  John Wesley, in his Notes on the Bible, suggested that it may have been part of the curse that there should be no remembrance of it left.  The angel of the Lord called it to be cursed, which was either Deborah's way of describing what the Spirit of the Lord had said to her, or perhaps Barak was called the angel of the Lord because he had been called by Him to deliver His people.  Meroz was cursed because they did not come to the aid of God's people against Sisera even though they had surely been called by the Lord.

(24) "Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tents."

However, Jael was blessed because she had helped Israel, even though she had not been initially called.  She was blessed above women in tents, women whose jobs were to take care of their homes, not to be as soldiers.

(25) "He asked water, she gave milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish."

Sisera had asked Jael for water, and she gave him milk.  It seems it was a very rich milk, cream, that she brought to him in a nice dish, rather than just a drink of water from a ladle or simple cup.  It was probably just meant to be a kind act on her part, but as God was about to direct her to do otherwise, the rich milk probably helped to make him sleepy.

(26) "She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer, and with the hammer she struck Sisera; she smote off his head when she had pierced and stricken through his temples."

Jael had taken a tent spike and a hammer and struck the spike into Sisera's temple which went through and out the other temple, pinning him to the floor.  In that way she crushed his head, which is actually a better translation of the original word "machaq" which was translated as "smote off" by the King James translators.

(27) "At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down; at her feet he bowed, he fell; where he bowed, there he fell down dead."

After Jael had struck him, it was as if Sisera bowed before her feet.  Bible commentators struggled to explain how he must had stood up to bow down and fall.  However, again, I think Deborah is just being poetic in song.  Jael could not have stricken Sisera through the temples and pinned him to the floor (Judges 4:21) unless he was lying down.  Sisera fell dead at Jael's feet.

(28) "The mother of Sisera looked out at a window and cried through the lattice, 'Why is his chariot long in coming? Why do the wheels of his chariots tarry?'"

Deborah imagined Sisera's mother looking out a window and crying through the lattice that covered it, wondering why Sisera was so long in returning.  She wondered why she did not hear the clatter of the wheels of his nine hundred chariots returning.

(29) "Her wise ladies answered her, 'Yes,' she returned answer to herself, (30) 'Have they not sped, have they divided the prey, to every man a damsel or two, to Sisera a prey of diverse colors, a prey of diverse colors of needlework, of diverse colors of needlework on both sides for the necks of the spoilers?'"

Deborah imagined that Sisera's mother's wise maidens or women attending her would answer, and she answered herself that yes, Sisera and his army had surely sped through to victory and were still dividing the spoils.  The soldiers were probably taking the women, and Sisera was taking fine, beautiful, and colorful linens and garments either to be worn on his neck, but probably more likely to be carried on the necks or backs of the soldiers.

(31) "So let all of Your enemies perish, O Lord, but those who love Him as the sun when it goes forth in its might." And the land had rest for forty years.

Deborah ended her song with her desire that all the Lord's enemies perish as Sisera and his army had.  And she wished that all those who loved the Lord be as the sun at its brightest and hottest, with intense love and as a bright light to the world.  And then the land had rest from their enemies for forty years.

Deborah and Barak

After a brief interlude with the story of Ruth that was concurrent with the time of the first judges, Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar, Judges 4 continues to chronicle Israel's judges.  Continuing the chronological Bible study:

(Judges 4:1) And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord when Ehud was dead.

At the end of the third chapter of Judges, Ehud had delivered the Israelites from Moab.  Shamgar had a brief mention as he delivered them from at least 600 Philistines, but it appears that Ehud was the stabilizing force that allowed Israel rest for eighty years (Judges 3:30).  However, after he died, Israel returned to her wicked ways.

(2) And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor, the captain of whose host was Sisera who dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

Because they did evil in His sight, the Lord delivered them into bondage to Jabin, the king of Canaan.  During the time of Joshua, there was a King Jabin of Hazor whom Joshua killed (Joshua 11).  This was evidently a successor by the same name who had rebuilt and reinhabited Hazor.  It appeared that Jabin kept a standing army to keep Israel in check, and Sisera was the captain of his army.  He dwelt in a place called Harosheth of the Gentiles.

(3) And the children of Israel cried to the Lord, for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

The children of Israel cried out to the Lord after twenty years of oppression by Sisera.  He had cruelly kept them in check with nine hundred chariots of iron.  These were not chariots made of iron, but rather they were chariots equipped with iron scythes that stood out from the orbs of the wheels and could slash through any group of people, thus striking fear in the Israelites, and they cried out to their Lord for deliverance.

(4) And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

Deborah, a prophetess, a female prophet who by the Spirit of God declared His will, judged Israel at that time.  It is said she was the wife of Lapidoth.  However, he is not mentioned anywhere else.  As the original word "ishshah" that was translated as "wife" can also mean "woman," this might have as easily been translated as "a woman of Lapidoth," making Lapidoth a place rather than a man.  However, there is not a place known by Bible scholars with the name of Lapidoth, so who knows?  The fact that it is only mentioned one time in the Bible makes it of little importance either way.

(5) And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in Mount Ephraim, and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

It appears Deborah sat in judgment in the open air under a palm tree that was called by her name.  It was located between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim.  The Israelites came to her there for judgment.

(6) And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh Naphtali, and said to him, "Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, 'Go and draw toward Mount Tabor and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun'?"

Deborah called for Barak, the son of Abinoam, from Kedesh in Naphtali.  She asked Barak if he knew it to be true that the Lord had commanded Israel to go to Mount Tabor and bring ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun.  Whether or not Barak knew that the Lord had commanded him to do that, I'm not sure.  It might be that this was Deborah's way of informing him that that was what the Lord had said to her, and therefore he could not dare question it.  

(7) "'And I will draw to you to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into your hand.'"

Deborah continued with the words of the Lord, that He would draw Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, to Barak at the river Kishon with all his army and 900 chariots of iron.  The Lord declared through Deborah that He would deliver them into his hand.

(8) And Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, then I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go."

I suppose Barak's answer does show faith that the Lord would deliver Sisera into his hand, as confirmed by Hebrews 11 where he is listed as one of the heroes of faith.  However, it seems to show a little weakness in him that he must have a woman, Deborah, go with him into battle.  Maybe it was because he highly regarded her as an oracle of God and wanted that word of the Lord leading him into battle.

(9) And she said, "I will surely go with you, notwithstanding the journey that you take shall not be for your honor, for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." And Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Deborah instantly agreed to go with Barak, but she told him that by her accompanying him, he would not be given the glory for defeating Sisera, but the Lord would deliver Sisera into the hand of a woman.  Indeed, I believe Deborah is better remembered than Barak.  Deborah rose up and went with Barak to Kedesh.

(10) And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet, and Deborah went up with him.

Barak called the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali to him in Kedesh, where ten thousand men were chosen, and those being under Barak's command, and Deborah, went forward with him.

(11) Now Heber the Kenite of the children of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent to the plain of Zaanaim which is by Kedesh.

Heber, a Kenite from the children of Hobab, actually the son of Moses's father-in-law Jethro, along with all the children of Hobab (see Joshua 1:16), had severed himself from the Kenites, and he dwelt in the plain of Zaanaim which was close to Kedesh.

(12) And they showed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.

It was reported to Sisera that Barak had gone up to Mount Tabor.  It does not say exactly who reported it.  It could have been Canaanites, but it also could have been some of the Kenites who had remained at peace with Jabin as we will see in verse 17.  Whether it was out of good will or perhaps ill will to further God's will, either way it was surely God's will that Sisera be informed about Barak being at Mount Tabor.

(13) And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles to the river of Kishon.

Therefore Sisera gathered together all his nine hundred chariots of iron and all his people from Harosheth of the Gentiles where he resided to the Kishon River which was near Mount Tabor where Barak and his men were.

(14) And Deborah said to Barak, "Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand; is not the Lord gone out before you?" So Barak went down from Mount Tabor and ten thousand men after him.

Deborah told Barak to rise up for she had been told by a spirit of prophecy that that was the day when the Lord had delivered Sisera into his hand.  She assured Barak that the Lord had gone out before him so he might be sure of victory.  Therefore he and his ten thousand men went down from Mount Tabor.

(15) And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak, so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot and fled away on his feet.

The word that was translated as "discomfited" literally meant "to put in commotion."  The Lord confused, troubled, and frightened Sisera and his men and even his chariots.  The historian Josephus wrote that there was a great storm of rain and hail, and a great wind blew rain in the faces of the enemy that blinded their eyes.  The hail numbed their hands so that they could not hold their swords.  If all that is true, there would be no doubt that it was the Lord who stirred up the commotion that allowed Barak to come in with the sword and destroy them.  However, Sisera jumped off his chariot and ran away.

(16) But Barak pursued after the chariots and after the host to Harosheth of the Gentiles, and all the host of Sisera fell on the edge of the sword; there was not a man left.

Barak pursued after the chariots and Sisera's army all the way back to where they had started at Harosheth of the Gentiles.  Everyone of Sisera's army was killed.  There was not a single man left of his army, but Sisera himself had escaped.

(17) However, Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

Sisera had fled to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber, because there had been peace between Jabin the king and the house of Heber, so he felt he would be safe there.  

(18) And Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not." And when he had turned in to her into the tent, she covered him with a rug.

Indeed, Jael went out to meet Sisera and invited him to turn into her tent and not be afraid, insinuating he would be safe there.  When he came into her tent, she covered him with a rug perhaps to hide him, or it may have been a blanket made similarly as a rug just to comfort and warm him.

(19) And he said to her, "Give me, I pray you, a little water to drink for I am thirsty." And she opened a bottle of milk and gave him drink and covered him.

Sisera asked Jael for some water because he was thirsty.  She actually gave him milk, possibly as a courtesy to give him something more nourishing, or perhaps something more than water to make him sleep.  She then covered him.

(20) Again he said to her, "Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be when any man comes and enquires of you, and says, 'Is there any man here?' that you shall say, 'No.'"

Sisera spoke to Jael again and asked her to stand in the doorway of her tent, so that if anyone came looking for a man, they would have no need to enter her tent for she would be in the doorway and would answer that there was no one in her tent besides her.

(21) Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a nail of the tent and took a hammer in her hand and went softly to him and struck the nail into his temples and fastened it into the ground, for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

When Sisera was fast asleep for he was so weary, Jael took a tent spike and a hammer and went quietly to him and drove the spike through his temples, fastening him to the ground, where he, of course, died.  Some of the Biblical scholars I study had a moral dilemma with what Jael did.  Only God knows the heart, but He definitely used Jael to deliver Sisera into the hand of a woman as Deborah had prophesied (verse 9).  Jael may have been sincere when she encouraged Sisera to come into her tent, but she was later struck by the Spirit of God to kill him.  She may have witnessed the rain and hail and chaos that had struck Sisera and his army and may have come to realize that it was of God, and she was therefore led to do what she did.  Whatever was in her heart and spirit at the time, we can be sure that God put it there, or He knew what was there and used it for His purposes.

(22) And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek." And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.

As Barak was still pursuing Sisera and neared Jael's tent, she went out to meet him and told him she would show him the man for whom he was seeking.  This tells me that she was probably Spirit led to do what she did as she knew without a doubt that Barak was looking for Sisera, and she felt safe to invite him into her tent to see him for himself.  Indeed, Barak went into Jael's tent and saw that Sisera was dead with the spike still in his temples.

(23) So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. (24) And the hand of the children of Israel prospered and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Thus God had subdued Jabin, the king of Canaan, before the children of Israel.  The Israelites prevailed against the king of Canaan until they had destroyed him.  Scripture does not tell specifically how King Jabin died, but his army and its captain being defeated, the king was apparently easily destroyed.

Boaz Marries Ruth

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Ruth 4:1) Then Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by, to whom he said, "Ho, such a one! Turn aside, sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down.

At the end of the last chapter and post, Ruth had let Boaz know he was her next of kin, and by law, should marry her.  Boaz, in turn, let Ruth know that although he was her kin, he knew she had one who was nearer in kin to her than he was.  So Boaz went to the city gate and sat and waited until that kinsman he had spoken of came by.  He did indeed come by, and Boaz said something to the effect of he was the one Boaz had been looking for, and he asked him to sit down.  The man did as Boaz asked and sat down with him.

(2) And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here." And they sat down.

Boaz also called ten elders of the city to come and sit by him.  His purpose was to call a court to determine whether or not Ruth's next of kin would assume his responsibility as laid out in Deuteronomy 25:7-9.

(3) And he said to the kinsman, "Naomi, who has come again out of the country of Moab, sells a parcel of land which was our brother Elimelech's, (4) And I thought to advise you, saying, 'Buy it before the inhabitants and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it, but if you will not redeem it, tell me that I may know, for there is no one to redeem it besides you, and I after you.'" And he said, "I will redeem it."

Boaz began by explaining to his kinsman that Naomi who had come back from Moab was now needing to sell a parcel of land that had belonged to their mutual kinsman, Elimelech.  He had come to inform Elimelech's nearest kinsman that he might buy it and redeem it, preserving the inheritance in the family according to the law (Leviticus 25:25).  Boaz asked his kinsman to tell him then and there if he would redeem the land, for if he didn't, then it was Boaz's responsibility to redeem it as he was the nearest of kin after the kinsman to whom he now spoke.  The kinsman said he would indeed redeem it.

(5) Then said Boaz, "What day you buy the field of the hand of Naomi, you must buy also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance."

Boaz went on to explain that on the day the kinsman bought the field from Naomi, he was also buying it from Ruth, as her husband had been the rightful heir of Elimelech's land upon his passing.  Now that her husband was also dead, it was the redeemer's duty to raise up the name of Ruth's husband and Naomi's son, Mahlon, perpetuating it according to the law (Deuteronomy 25:5).

(6) And the kinsman said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance; you redeem my right to yourself as I cannot redeem it."

At that, the kinsman said he would not be able to redeem the land, for he had his own inheritance to think of and pass on to the next generation.  He was surely married and had children and thought that marrying Ruth and raising up children in her husband's name would greatly diminish his own inheritance for his children.

(7) Now this was the custom in former time concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things, a man plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor, and this was a testimony in Israel.

The custom at that time concerning redemption and the exchanging of property, in order to confirm the transaction, a man was to take off his shoe and give it to the other party, in this case Boaz, to confirm that he had refused his right of redemption and allowed it to pass to Boaz.  In Deuteronomy 25:8-9, we saw a stricter version of this custom that was the law, where the widow of the brother of the man who refused to uphold his responsibility in taking his brother's widow as his wife, she herself took off her brother-in-law's shoe and spit in his face because he refused to do his duty in perpetuating his brother's name.  As this kinsman was not a brother to Mahlon, he was therefore not obliged to take Ruth as his wife, but it appears that it remained a custom in the transferring of property to remove the shoe and pass it to the other party to confirm the transaction in the presence of the elders in Israel.

(8) Therefore the kinsman said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." So he drew off his shoe. 

So the kinsman told Boaz to buy the land for himself, and he took off his shoe to confirm that he was relinquishing his right to the land and giving Boaz the right to redeem it.

(9) And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi. (10) Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead not be cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of this place, you are witnesses this day."

Boaz then said to the elders and thus in testimony to all the people of Israel that they were witnesses to the fact that he had bought all that had been Elimelech's, and all that would have been passed down to his sons, Chilion and Mahlon, from Elimelech's widow, Naomi.  In addition, he was purchasing the right to make Ruth his wife and agreeing to raise up the names of Mahlon and his father Elimelech, so that their names would not be cut off and forgotten among their brethren.  From their position at the gate of the city, the elders and the people present were witnesses to those facts that day.

(11) And all the people who were in the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and like Leah, the two who built the house of Israel, and may you do worthily in Ephratah and be famous in Bethlehem, (12) And let your house be like the house of Pharez whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give you of this young woman."

The elders and the people present at the gate of the city declared they were indeed witnesses.  They blessed the union of Boaz and Ruth.  The fact that they wished that Ruth who was coming into his house be like Rachel and Leah seems to indicate that Boaz had married before this time, and their wish was that both women would continue to build up the house of Israel as Rachel and Leah had done.  They wished that Boaz might do well in Ephratah and Bethlehem, which were one and the same place, where Rachel had died and was buried, according to Genesis 35:19.  The elders and the people also wished that Boaz's house might be like that of Pharez, the son of Judah, by Tamar who was actually Judah's daughter-in-law.  When Tamar's husband Er died, the other sons of Judah and Judah himself refused to do their duty to Tamar to raise up an inheritance to her dead husband.  However, she tricked Judah into impregnating her when he did not know it was his daughter-in-law.  This event was detailed in Genesis 38.  The people wished that Boaz's house might be like that of Pharez who was the result of the union between his mother and a redeemer, although an unwitting one.  May he as Ruth's redeemer have descendants as numerous as Judah by Pharez.  The fact that Ruth was a Moabitess, although often mentioned, seems to be of no concern, as Ruth had obviously become a proselyte or convert to the Jewish religion.  

(13) So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife, and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.

Boaz took Ruth as his wife, and he performed his conjugal duty.  As the ultimate proof that God blessed this union, it is said that He gave her conception, and she bore a son.

(14) And the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. (15) And he shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him."

The women of Bethlehem, neighbors of Naomi, told her that the Lord had not abandoned her and left her without descendants after all.  Through her daughter-in-law Ruth, who so loved her, and was better to her than seven sons would have been, she had a grandson.  They wished that his name be famous in Israel as he was to her a restorer of life and nourisher to her in her old age at a time when she had felt alone and abandoned.

(16) And Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom and became nurse to him.

Naomi took the baby and laid him in her bosom as a sign of her tender love and affection for him, and she became a nurse to him, aiding Ruth in her care of him.

(17) And the women her neighbors gave him a name, saying, "There is a son born to Naomi," and they called his name Obed; he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

The neighbor women suggested a name for the baby that was indeed adopted by Ruth and Boaz.  They suggested the name of Obed which meant "serving," as they saw him serving, nourishing, and comforting Naomi in her old age as they had wished for her in verse 15.  However, the name had greater significance than they knew as Obed's grandson, David, was God's beloved servant.  Life was restored to Naomi's name as a son, actually a grandson, was born to her son's wife.  Obed would go on to have a son Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David.  In this would Obed's name become famous in Israelite history as the grandfather of David, as the women neighbors had wished (v. 14).

(18) Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,

The author of Ruth now inserted a descendant genealogy of Pharez, the son of Judah and Tamar, whose house the people of Israel wished for the descendants of Boaz and Ruth to mirror (v. 12).  Pharez's son was Hezron.

(19) And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, (20) And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, (21) And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,

Pharez's son Hezron had a son Ram who produced Amminadab, who produced Nahshon, and Nahshon produced Salmon, the father of Boaz.  And of course, Boaz's son was Obed.

(22) And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

Completing the genealogy from Judah (by his son Pharez) to David, Obed would go on to have a son Jesse, who was the father of David.  How beautiful and fitting that Ruth the Moabitess should play a prominent role in the genealogy of David which would also extend to Jesus, the Son of David, the Lion of Judah.  Of course, Ruth had converted to Judaism, so was not really a Moabite at the time she married Boaz.  But this shows how the Gentile, someone not originally of the Jewish faith, was grafted into the line of Jesus, just as Jesus offered his salvation to the Gentiles and allowed them to be grafted into His living vine (Romans 11).  As the author of Ruth linked her to her great-grandson David, we know her book was written after David's anointing which agrees with Jewish tradition that the prophet Samuel may have written it.

Ruth Visits Boaz on His Threshing Floor

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Ruth 3:1) Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?"

In the last chapter and post, Ruth had met Boaz and found favor with him.  He was Naomi's next of kin by marriage.  Boaz allowed Ruth to glean his fields until the end of all harvests in order to provide for her and Naomi.  Now that the end of the harvests had been gleaned, Naomi asked Ruth if she should seek out a husband for her so that she might have a house of her own and a husband to provide for her that she might be free from the hard labor in the fields she had been recently doing.  Although this verse does not specifically mention marriage, that is what Naomi meant, as she had before called marriage a rest (Ruth 1:9).  Naomi understood it would certainly be a rest from the worries of being a provider for another person such as herself.

(2) "And now is Boaz of our kindred with whose maidens you were? Behold, he winnows barley tonight in the threshing floor. (3) Wash yourself, therefore, and anoint yourself, and put your garment on you, and get down to the floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he shall have done eating and drinking."

Naomi reminded Ruth that Boaz was their kin.  As she knew that he was winnowing barley that night at his threshing floor, she encouraged Ruth to wash and anoint herself and put on a clean, probably her best, garment, and go to where Boaz was.  However, she told Ruth not to make herself known to him until he had finished eating and drinking.  Naomi was actually very wise in that she knew by law, Boaz, her nearest kinsman, was obliged to marry Ruth.  She relied on the law expressed in Deuteronomy 25:5, that if a man died leaving a widow with no children, his brother was obliged to marry his sister-in-law.  She was not to marry outside of the family.  As Ruth had no brother-in-law because he had also died, Boaz was her nearest kin among her late husband's family.

(4) And it shall be when he lies down, that you shall mark the place where he shall lie, and you shall go in and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what you shall do."

Naomi went on to tell Ruth that after Boaz had finished eating and drinking and went to lie down, she should take note of where he lay.  She was to go in and uncover his feet and lie down at his feet, and Boaz would tell her what she should do.  It seems a rather bold and immodest move on Ruth's part, but Naomi knew that by law Boaz should be Ruth's husband, and surely she must have been led by the Spirit of God to suggest what she did.

(5) And she said to her, "All that you say to me I will do." (6) And she went down to the floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her.

Ruth told Naomi that she would do as she had told her to do.  After she had washed and dressed, she went down to the threshing floor where Boaz was.  At this point, she stood out of sight of Boaz.

(7) And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn, and she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.

After Boaz had eaten and had drunk what would appear to be intoxicating drink, as his heart was merry, rather than going to bed in his house, he went to lie down on a heap of corn.  This Naomi probably knew would be the case when she had told Ruth what she should do.  Ruth indeed came softly to where Boaz lay, and she uncovered his feet and lay down at them.

(8) And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid and turned himself, and behold, a woman lay at his feet.

Boaz slept until midnight, at which time he was startled awake and turned himself to find a young woman lying at his feet.

(9) And he said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth, your handmaid; spread therefore your skirt over your handmaid, for you are a near kinsman."

Boaz asked who the woman was.  She answered that she was Ruth, the handmaiden who had been gleaning in his fields.  She told him to spread his garment over her, as if taking her under his wing, a sign of taking her in marriage, for he was her near kinsman.

(10) And he said, "Blessed be you of the Lord, my daughter, for you have shown more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as you did not follow young men, whether poor or rich."

Boaz commended Ruth and asked God's blessing on her, as she continued to show even more kindness to his kinsman than she had in the beginning.  She could have stayed in her own country and followed after the young men there, yet she showed honor to her husband's name and to her mother-in-law by following her to her country and seeking a proper husband according to the Jewish law.

(11) "And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to you all that you require, for all the city of my people know that you are a virtuous woman. (12) And now it is true that I am your near kinsman, however there is a kinsman nearer than I."

Boaz told Ruth not to be afraid.  I believe his sense was that she should not fear that her actions might make her appear to be an immodest woman.  He understood why she did what she did, and he agreed to do all that was required under the law.  He said that the people of his city saw her as a virtuous woman.  He agreed that he was indeed her near kinsman, but he said there was actually one nearer to her than he was.

(13) "Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, if he will perform to you the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part. But if he will not do the part of a kinsman to you, then I will do the part of a kinsman to you, as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning."

Boaz told Ruth to stay until morning, and then they would see if the nearer kinsman would do his part and marry Ruth, and if so, that would be good.  However, if he would not do his part, then Boaz would do his part as a kinsman and marry Ruth, as sure as the Lord lived, he would agree to do his part.  He told Ruth to lie down there until the morning.

(14) And she lay at his feet until the morning, and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, "Let it not be known that a woman came to the floor."

Ruth lay at Boaz's feet until the morning and rose up before it was light enough for one to recognize another.  Boaz told her it should not be made known that a woman had come to his threshing floor, so perhaps he was the one who woke Ruth early.

(15) Also he said, "Bring the veil on you and hold it." And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her, and she went into the city.

Before she left, Boaz asked her to bring her veil to him, and he filled it with six measures of barley and laid it upon her, and she left and went into the city.

(16) And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "Who are you, my daughter?" And she told her all that the man had done to her.

When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked who it was who approached her.  It may have been more of a question like, "Is that you, my daughter?" Ruth told Naomi all that had transpired that previous night.

(17) And she said, "These six measures of barley he gave me, for he said to me, 'Do not go empty to your mother-in-law.'"

Ruth told Naomi that Boaz had given her six measures of barley to take to her mother-in-law, perhaps as an assurance that her daughter-in-law's mission had been successful.

Then she said, "Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will fall, for the man will not be in rest until he has finished the thing this day."

Naomi then told Ruth to sit tight and wait to see how the matter would unfold, for she was certain that Boaz, as a man of great integrity, would not rest until he knew whether or not she would be his wife.  Wise advice from a woman surely following God's direction, as Psalm 46:10 states, "Be still, and know that I am God..."  She had done what she had felt led to do, and now it was time to wait on God to work His will.