Weary, Yet Pursuing Text: Judges 8:1-21
Introduction: The Morning After the Miracle
The great temptation for the people of God, after a mighty deliverance, is to think that the war is over. The Midianite horde, a locust plague of 135,000 men, has been routed by 300 men with trumpets, torches, and clay pots. The impossible has happened. The main battle has been won in a spectacular fashion, and the temptation is to put your feet up, slap each other on the back, and wait for the parade. But the Christian life is not a single sprint; it is a long-distance pursuit. The enemy may be broken and fleeing, but he is not yet destroyed.
This chapter in Gideon's life shows us the gritty reality of what comes after the miracle. The mopping-up operation is often harder than the main assault. The adrenaline is gone, the body is exhausted, and the real tests of character begin. And the tests do not always come from the enemy you are chasing, but rather from the allies at your back and the countrymen you thought were on your side. Here we see three distinct challenges that every faithful leader, every faithful Christian, will face: the pride of your friends, the cowardice of your countrymen, and the final confrontation with the enemy. How Gideon navigates these challenges provides us with a master class in godly leadership, and how he stumbles later shows us that he is still just a man. But in this moment, he is God's instrument, and his motto is the motto for all saints in all ages: weary, yet pursuing.
The Text
Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they strongly contended with him. But he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? God has given the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, into your hands; and what was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger toward him subsided when he spoke this word. Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing. And he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me, for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” But the princes of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?” And Gideon said, “Thus, when Yahweh has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thrash your bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” So he went up from there to Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. So he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I return safely, I will tear down this tower.” Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their camps with them, about 15,000 men, all who were left of the entire camp of the sons of the east; for the fallen were 120,000 men who drew the sword. And Gideon went up by the way of those who dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah and struck the camp when the camp was unsuspecting. Then Zebah and Zalmunna fled. And he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw the whole camp into utter fright. Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. And he captured a youth from the men of Succoth and questioned him. So the youth wrote down for him the princes of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. Then he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you reproached me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’ ” Then he took the elders of the city as well as thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth a lesson. And he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” And they said, “They were like you, each one resembling the son of a king.” And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if only you had let them live, I would not kill you.” So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them.” But the youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a youth. Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise up yourself, and smite us; for as the man, so is his might.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna and took the crescent ornaments which were on their camels’ necks.
(Judges 8:1-21 LSB)
Dealing with Prickly Allies (vv. 1-3)
The first obstacle Gideon faces after the rout is not the Midianites, but his own countrymen from the tribe of Ephraim.
"Then the men of Ephraim said to him, 'What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?' And they strongly contended with him." (Judges 8:1)
Notice the gall. Ephraim was a powerful tribe, and their pride had been wounded. They weren't angry that Midian had been defeated; they were angry that they hadn't been given a starring role in the victory. Their question is dripping with self-importance: "Why didn't you call us?" The answer, of course, is that God had deliberately whittled the army down to 300 men so that Israel could not say, "My own hand has saved me." Ephraim's pride is a direct assault on the very lesson God was teaching. They are contending with Gideon, but their real argument is with God's script. This is the constant peril of ministry: friendly fire born of envy. When God blesses one part of His church, other parts are tempted to grumble about their own lack of glory instead of celebrating the victory of the kingdom.
Gideon's response is a model of diplomatic wisdom and humility.
"But he said to them, 'What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?'...Then their anger toward him subsided when he spoke this word." (Judges 8:2-3)
Gideon, the mighty warrior, does not respond with force or with a recitation of his resume. He gives a soft answer. He turns their pride against itself with a masterful bit of flattery. He says that their "gleanings," their work of cutting off the fleeing Midianites and capturing two of their princes, Oreb and Zeeb, was more glorious than his entire "grape harvest." It was a massive exaggeration, and everyone knew it, but it was exactly what their pride needed to hear. He gave them the credit, and it defused the conflict. A lesser man would have stood on his rights and started a civil war. Gideon understood that the mission, pursuing the kings of Midian, was more important than winning an argument. He poured water on the fire of their envy so he could get on with the business of finishing God's war.
Dealing with Cowardly Countrymen (vv. 4-9)
Having pacified his proud allies, Gideon and his exhausted band of 300 face their next test: the cynical cowardice of their own kinsmen.
"Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing." (Judges 8:4)
This phrase is the heart of the passage. They are spent. They have been blowing trumpets, smashing pots, shouting, and chasing the enemy all night. They are physically and emotionally drained. But the two chief kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, are still at large. So they press on. This is the essence of faithfulness. It is not just the initial burst of enthusiasm, but the dogged, weary pursuit of obedience long after the feelings have faded.
He comes to two Israelite cities, Succoth and Penuel, and makes a simple request: bread for his starving army. The response is a disgrace.
"But the princes of Succoth said, 'Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?'" (Judges 8:6)
This is the voice of the cowardly pragmatist. They are playing the odds. They see Gideon's little army, weary and battered, and they see the two Midianite kings still on the loose with 15,000 men. They think, "What if Gideon loses? If we help him, the kings will come back and punish us. We will remain neutral until there is a clear winner." This is treason. In God's covenant, there is no neutrality. To refuse to aid God's appointed deliverer is to side with the enemy. They were Israelites. They had a covenantal obligation to support Gideon's army. Gideon's response is not a fit of pique; it is a promise of righteous judgment.
"And Gideon said, 'Thus, when Yahweh has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thrash your bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.'" (Judges 8:7)
He makes a vow. He is not just threatening them; he is binding himself to an act of covenantal discipline. He will "teach" them with thorns. When he gets the same answer from the men of Penuel, he promises to tear down their tower, the symbol of their false security. These men were trusting in their own resources and their own cynical calculations rather than in the God of Israel. Gideon promises to destroy their idol and teach them the meaning of loyalty with the sharp instruction of desert thorns.
Dealing with the Defeated Enemy (vv. 10-21)
Despite the lack of support, Gideon presses on and God gives him the victory.
"And Gideon went up... and struck the camp when the camp was unsuspecting... and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna..." (Judges 8:11-12)
He does not allow the faithlessness of his countrymen to deter him from his mission. He finishes the job. He captures the kings. And then he returns to make good on his promises.
Gideon is a man of his word. He finds a young man from Succoth to identify the seventy-seven elders who refused him aid. Then he carries out the sentence.
"Then he took the elders of the city as well as thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth a lesson. And he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city." (Judges 8:16-17)
In our soft and sentimental age, this seems harsh. But it is justice. It is the necessary discipline for treason. These men had abandoned their posts. They had betrayed their covenant. The lesson was painful, but it was a lesson in the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. The tower of Penuel, their monument to self-reliance, was thrown down, and the traitors were executed. Gideon understood that internal rot is just as dangerous as an external enemy.
Finally, he confronts the captured kings. Here, the conflict becomes deeply personal.
"Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, 'What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?' And they said, 'They were like you, each one resembling the son of a king.' And he said, 'They were my brothers, the sons of my mother... if only you had let them live, I would not kill you.'" (Judges 8:18-19)
We learn that this was not just a military operation; it was the duty of a kinsman-redeemer. These kings had murdered Gideon's own brothers. Under the law, Gideon had the responsibility to be the goel, the avenger of blood. His justice is not personal vengeance but lawful retribution. He then commands his oldest son, Jether, to execute them, to initiate him into his duties as a man of the covenant. But the boy is afraid. The pagan kings then taunt him, "Rise up yourself, and smite us; for as the man, so is his might." They prefer to be killed by a warrior, not a boy. And so Gideon, the man, does the hard duty himself. He executes God's justice and his family's redemption with his own hand.
Conclusion: The Perfect Gideon
Gideon's story is a raw and rugged account of leadership in a fallen world. He shows wisdom with the proud, severity with the cowardly, and faithfulness in his mission. He is a type, a shadow, of the one to come. But he is a flawed one, as the rest of his story will show.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the true and perfect Gideon. He came to His own, and His own, like the men of Succoth, did not receive Him. He faced the pride of the Pharisees, who were jealous of His authority. On the night of His betrayal, He asked His closest friends for support, and they, weary, fell asleep. He was weary, yet He pursued His mission to the end. He pursued it all the way to the cross.
He is the ultimate kinsman-redeemer, who shed His own blood to avenge us against our great enemy, Satan. And He is the coming Judge, who will keep all His promises. He will tear down every proud tower that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and He will render perfect justice. Unlike Gideon's son, He did not shrink from His task. He faced the enemy and He crushed his head.
Therefore, we are called to be His 300. We are called to be weary, yet pursuing. Do not be surprised when you face opposition, not just from the world, but from within the camp. Do not be discouraged by the proud or the cowardly. Your Captain has gone before you. He provides the true bread for your journey. Your job is to finish the task He has given you, to pursue righteousness to the very end, knowing that He who promised is faithful. He has won the victory, and He will bring His justice to bear.