Judges 7:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”

NIV: The LORD said to Gideon, 'With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.'

NASB: And the Lord said to Gideon, 'I will save you with the three hundred men who lapped, and will hand the Midianites over to you; so have all the other people go, each man to his home.'

CSB: The Lord said to Gideon, "I will deliver you with the three hundred men who lapped and hand the Midianites over to you. But everyone else is to go home."

NLT: The Lord told Gideon, 'With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home.'

KJV: And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

NKJV: Then the Lord said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.”

God's call on Gideon included empowering him with the Holy Spirit (Judges 6:34), leading to a large army of volunteers gathering to fight Midianite invaders (Judges 6:35). Almost immediately, however, God used two sorting methods to reduce that force to a tiny fraction of its original size (Judges 7:2–6). Here, God confirms that He intends to use only the smaller portion of the men—300—and to send the other several thousand home. At this point, the Israeli forces are now outnumbered something like 450-to-1 (Judges 8:10). Nevertheless, God promises to give Gideon victory over those enemies.

Over the millennia, commentators have debated if God's test in these last two verses was practical, or merely a way to reduce the size of the army. Some suggest it was clearly better for soldiers to stay in a ready position, making the 300 more diligent. Others note that the Midianites were not close enough for a surprise attack, so that factor was not as important. Still others suggest that those who instinctively kneeled did so out of customary idol worship, while those who did not kneel were not in such a habit. Yet another theory, proposed by ancient historians such as Josephus, is that the 300 men were more defective, somehow, making the victory even more impressive.

Regardless of the exact reasons, God has now reduced Gideon's task force to a relatively tiny number. That group will be sent to purge enemy invaders from the land. The rest are sent home—most likely to wait in reserve until they are called.

Judges 7:1–18 begins with Gideon and his large company of Israelite volunteers setting up camp in the hills just a few miles from the Midianite camp in the valley below. God gives Gideon two tests to reduce the number of his troops until only 300 are left. God tells Gideon to spy on the Midianite camp, where he overhears a conversation which bolsters his faith. Gideon returns to his camp and prepares for the attack that night. He gives his men torches concealed in clay jars, as well as trumpets.

Gideon and his 32,000–man army of volunteer Israelites camp in the hills above the Midianite invaders in the valley. The Lord tells Gideon to reduce his troops until only 300 remain. God allows Gideon to overhear the interpretation of a Midianite dream, an event that strengthens his faith. Gideon and his 300 men take positions around the Midianite camp and blow trumpets, hold up torches, and shout battle cries. Those in the camp panic and begin attacking each other. The survivors flee toward the Jordan but are eventually cut off.

Despite a miraculous calling from God, and success in his first actions, Gideon still expressed doubt (Judges 6). After seeing two custom-requested miracles, Gideon prepares to attack the Midianite invaders. He winnows his army down to only 300 men and overhears an encouraging conversation. Gideon and his men surprise the enemy after nightfall with trumpets and torches, sparking a panic. This begins a rout of the enemy. In the next chapter, Gideon succeeds further despite stubbornness from his own people (Judges 8).

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).