The Victory Upon the Plain (Part 3)

Wars of the Bible

After defeating the remaining 15,000 men of the Midianite force and capturing the two kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, Gideon returns to the two cities that turned his men away. As a reminder, while pursuing the Midianite army, Gideon and his men passed by Succoth and Penuel. When they asked for replenishment, both cities denied him and then mocked his endeavor against the Midianites. 

Gideon now returns with the two Midianite kings as prisoners to show how foolish their mockery was and to exact judgment: 

¹³ Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. ¹⁴ And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men. ¹⁵ And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’” ¹⁶ And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson. ¹⁷ And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. 

Judges 8:13-17

What really happened to Succoth and Penuel? 

As I’ve discussed in previous blogs in this series, this episode in Judges has surprisingly compelling evidence (keeping in mind "compelling" is a loose term here). Evidence from this period is often lacking. But we do have some understanding of where these cities might’ve been. 

A map showing the locations of Gideon's force and the Midianite army, and their pursuit, leading them past Succoth and Penuel.

Succoth has largely been identified by archaeologists as Deir Alla. It’s a mound in the Jordan Valley, north of the Jabbok River. Excavations at this site show a destruction layer dating to the 12th Century BCE, which fits this biblical period. As for Penuel (or Peniel), the general consensus is that it’s Tulu edh-Dhahab, a fortified site a few miles further along the Jabbok Gorge. 

My spiritual takeaways 

While practical, military reasons for Gideon’s wrath exist, a lack of aid could’ve compromised their mission; something deeper is at work here. God had tasked Gideon with delivering the Israelites from the Midianite threat. The two cities refused to aid Gideon for two reasons. They did it out of fear of Midianite reprisals when they should’ve feared God’s wrath more. Second, they mocked Gideon because his force was small compared with the Midianites', showing a lack of faith. But I would take it further. By mocking Gideon, they were also mocking God. For these reasons, Gideon had to respond both as an Israelite leader and as a servant of God. 

As such, keep these two things in mind spiritually from this episode. 

Never fear something more than God 

It’s so easy to get caught up in fear. We are bombarded across multiple platforms with the world's doom and gloom, from internal politics to wars. Our fear is one of the Enemy’s greatest tools. That's why we must not let it consume us; instead, we should check ourselves by trusting and turning to God to see us through (of course, this is easier said than done). 

Don’t be quick to mock; you might just be mocking God

Many people are doing great work to grow the Kingdom today. And sometimes, we may not understand what they are doing or see the end result. At the same time, we must always be wary of false teachers, because they are everywhere. Mocking ridiculous takes that aren’t based in biblical reality is one thing. But I think this part of Judges shows us the danger of us becoming too confident in our understanding (or lack thereof). 

In the next blog, we’ll look at Gideon’s son, Abimelech, who proved to be a lesser man than his father, as we explore the Battles of Shechem and the Siege of Thebez. 

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Sources

1. Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology. (n.d.). Gideon vs. Midian: Evidence for the biblical account. https://armstronginstitute.org/382-gideon-v-midian-evidence-for-the-biblical-account

2. Bible Gateway. (n.d.). Judges 8 (English Standard Version). https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges%208&version=ESV

3. Bible Hub. (n.d.). The men of Succoth. https://biblehub.com/topical/t/the_men_of_succoth.htm

4. Bible Hub. (n.d.). The punishment of Succoth and Penuel. https://biblehub.com/topical/p/punishment_of_succoth_and_penuel.htm

5. Geographical and historical observations on the old North Israelite Gideon tale in Judges. (n.d.). Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/90076092/Geographical_and_Historical_Observations_on_the_old_North_Israelite_Gideon_tale_in_Judges

6. OnlineGiving.org. (n.d.). Judges 8. https://www.onlinegiving.org/bible-study/judges-8

Images

1. Precept Austin. (n.d.). Judges 8 commentary. https://www.preceptaustin.org/judges_8_commentary

2. Wikimedia Commons. (n.d.). Gideon and His Three Hundred (Bible Card).jpg. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gideon_and_His_Three_Hundred_(Bible_Card).jpg