[[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[Judges Overview]] [[Judges 06]] [[Judges 08]] # Judges 07 📖 > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts]] [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Gideon Reduces the Ranks [[#Verse 01.]] Jerub Baal (that is, Gideon) and his men got up the next morning and camped near the spring of Harod. The Midianites were camped north of them near the hill of Moreh in the valley.  [[#Verse 02.]] The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. Israel might brag, ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’  [[#Verse 03.]] Now, announce to the men, ‘Whoever is shaking with fear may turn around and leave Mount Gilead.’” 22,000 men went home; 10,000 remained.  [[#Verse 04.]] The Lord spoke to Gideon again, “There are still too many men. Bring them down to the water and I will thin the ranks some more. When I say, ‘This one should go with you,’ pick him to go; when I say, ‘This one should not go with you,’ do not take him.” [[#Verse 05.]] So he brought the men down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink.”  [[#Verse 06.]] Only 300 men lapped with their hands to their mouths; the rest of the men kneeled to drink water.  [[#Verse 07.]] The Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will deliver the whole army and I will hand Midian over to you. The rest of the men should go home.”  [[#Verse 08.]] The men who were chosen took supplies and their trumpets. Gideon sent all the men of Israel back to their homes; he kept only 300 men. Now the Midianites were camped down below in the valley. ### Gideon Reassured of Victory [[#Verse 09.]] That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up! Attack the camp, for I am handing it over to you.  [[#Verse 10.]] But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with Purah your servant  [[#Verse 11.]] and listen to what they are saying. Then you will be brave and attack the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to where the sentries were guarding the camp.  [[#Verse 12.]] Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. Their camels could not be counted; they were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore.  [[#Verse 13.]] When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. The man said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.”  [[#Verse 14.]] The other man said, “Without a doubt this symbolizes the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God is handing Midian and all the army over to him.” ### Gideon Routs the Enemy [[#Verse 15.]] When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!”  [[#Verse 16.]] He divided the 300 men into three units. He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them.  [[#Verse 17.]] He said to them, “Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely! I am going to the edge of the camp. Do as I do!  [[#Verse 18.]] When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, you also blow your trumpets all around the camp. Then say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’” [[#Verse 19.]] Gideon took 100 men to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guards. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars they were carrying.  [[#Verse 20.]] All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right. Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”  [[#Verse 21.]] They stood in order all around the camp. The whole Midianite army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away.  [[#Verse 22.]] When the 300 men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords throughout the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.  [[#Verse 23.]] Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites. ### Gideon Appeases the Ephraimites [[#Verse 24.]] Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the Ephraimite hill country who announced, “Go down and head off the Midianites. Take control of the fords of the streams all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.” When all the Ephraimites had assembled, they took control of the fords all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.  [[#Verse 25.]] They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb. They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River. ## ==📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary== ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24 ###### Verse 25. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights - coming soon. %% PRIVATE NOTES (only I see this) Write down things that are not straight from commentary but interesting facts that ground the text in history. %% ## 🧠 Chapter Summary - coming soon. %% PRIVATE NOTES (only I see this) Write a short paragraph (3–5 sentences) summarizing what happens in this chapter. - What is the main event or teaching? - How does this chapter fit the book’s overall story? - What stands out immediately? Anything Apologetic to point out? %% ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application - coming soon. %% PRIVATE NOTES (only I see this) - 📌 Observation 1 - 📌 Observation 2 - 📌 Observation 3 - (Add more as needed.) %% %% #### Today, I can apply this chapter by: - ✅ Application 1 - ✅ Application 2 Make these very practical: - "Trust God's timing in an uncertain situation." - "Speak truth even when it’s unpopular." Think: - What do we learn about God here? - What do we learn about people? - Are there promises, commands, or warnings? %% ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - coming soon. %% PRIVATE NOTES (only I see this) - 📖 [Verse Reference] – "Quote of important verse." - 📖 [Verse Reference] – "Quote of another important verse." (You can link to deeper notes if you want later.) %% ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 coming soon. - 🔗 coming soon. %% Examples: - John 1:1 and Genesis 1 - Romans 5 and Genesis 3 %% ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection - coming soon. %% PRIVATE NOTES (only I see this) Write 3–6 sentences reflecting on: - How this chapter encourages your faith, - Convicts your heart, - Reveals God's character. Optional format: "In light of this chapter, I am challenged to..." or "I am comforted by..." %% ##### 📂 Internal Links/Personal Notes