Judges 7

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The account of Gideon’s 300 and their victory over an 185,000-man army is well-known to Bible students. However, Daniel Agee looks into an important lesson in this chapter God has the time of year — seemingly just after Passover — this event happened.

Food for thought

How significant was it that Gideon’s 300 didn’t have shields, not to mention swords?

Why did God raise up Midian against Israel (Judges 6:1)?

What is the tribe of Ephraim doing at this point in history? Why did Ephraim get upset of not having called on to defeat Midian?

What is the difference between lapping water like a dog vs. kneeling down to drink?What is the connection between kneeling to drink and kneeling to an idol, especially the gods of water that were worshiped in the Yezreel Valley area Gideon was attacking? How is that also connected to God’s statement that He wanted the glory for the victory (Judges 7:2-3)?

What would have the Midian seen happen with the 32,000 Israelites that had gathered to fight? How would have the Midianite army reacted?

What is the significance of the barley loaf in the dream the Midianite soldier had in the camp the night before Gideon’s attack (Judges 7:13)? Sages say the translation of "barley" should be "roasted barley," which points to a specific time of year during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, specifically at the time of the wave offering. What does barley symbolize prophetically? What does wheat symbolize?

Where did Gideon station the three companies from the selected 300 around the Midianite army to herd those fleeing into the valley leading to the Yarden River?

What were the torch and shofar (Hebrew for trumpet) used for in the military of the time? What was the effect of so many pottery jars breaking at once? What was a shofar used for in Israel (Ex. 19:16-19)?

Why wouldn’t God had wanted Ephraim to be at the original battle (Judges 7:25)?