“Now Zevach and Tzalmuna were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men, all that remained of the entire army of the people from the east; since 120,000 arms-bearing soldiers had fallen.”-Judges 8:10
Let’s talk for a second about the names of the two Midianite leaders Gideon was chasing down.
The Scripture calls them Zevah and Tzalmuna.
Those two words sound pretty Hebrew, don’t they?
Well, I’ve got news for you homie.
It’s because they are Hebrew.
ZEVAH refers to a certain set of “voluntary sacrifices” normally connected to the vow offerings.
And TZALMUNA means “withheld his hospitality”.
So the question is why in the world would 2 Midianite leaders have Hebrew names?
The answer is they didn’t.
Especially not names like Zevah and Tzalmuna.
Obviously these were names the editor of the Book of Judges gave these 2 Midianite leaders long after the events we’re reading about occurred.
Onward.
We’re told the two enemy leaders had escaped to a place called Karkor.
And there were only 15,000 enemy fighters left from the original 135,000.
It was clear they fled to that particular location because they thought they’d be safe there.
But it was a false security.
Never in a million years would they have imagined that Gideon and his men would pursue them all that distance.
So when Gideon attacked them, it was a complete surprise.
And they most likely still had no idea God had whittled down the number of Gideon’s men down to 300.
We’re told that Gideon and his crew pursued the enemy along a highway called the “route of the nomads”.
This was actually the official name of this long stretch of road.
It wasn’t some fancy pants description of the route Gideon and his men took.
When large numbers of people are traveling in a group, it just doesn’t make any sense to try to blaze new trails like some explorer in the jungle with a machete.
It’s much better to take already well-traveled trade routes with established rest spots that also contained the oh-so-important water sources.
In verses 11 and 12, we’re told Gideon and his men eventually caught up to the enemy and soundly trounced them.
I doubt that Gideon and his men killed all 15,000 of the remaining enemy soldiers.
But he certainly finished off enough of them to the point where they would never threaten Israel again (in Gideon’s time anyway).
Zevah and Tzalmuna ran off like scared cockroaches when they knew their defeat was certain.
Their attempts to escape were to no avail however because Gideon soon caught up with them.
He bound them up and headed back home to take care of some promised revenge in store for the leaders who had treated him and his men so coldly when he asked for food and shelter.
Alrighty, so here’s the takeaway I’m getting from today’s lesson.
From yesterday to today, we’ve read how Gideon and his 300 men defeated a much, much larger army.
No general in his right mind would ever have decided to wage such a kamikaze war of unbalanced proportions.
We also read how after the main battle, Gideon and his men traveled a good 50 miles to pursue the remaining remnant.
And he and his men did it in a famished state.
So what’s the takeaway here?
It’s this.
Sometimes you gotta go go gangster man!
Sometimes you gotta go beast mode!
Through prayer and supernatural perseverance, sometimes you gotta simply outdo your enemy or enemies.
And then victory will follow.
Yeah, sure times are gonna be tough.
There are times when you’re gonna encounter cold-hearted jerks like Gideon did at Succoth and Penuel.
Consider the two refusals from the leaders at the towns of Succoth and Penuel to simply be the common obstacles all men face on the road to victory in any endeavor.
The point is to keep on keeping on in prayer and perseverance.
When you do that, filled with the Holy Spirit, you’ll find you’re capable of so much more than you could ever have dreamed possible.
Remember, those who die with the biggest regrets in life are those who chose security and safety instead of choosing to live on the edge with the Lord.
During their last dying breaths they realize it’s too late to turn back the clock and live for God.
Heck, you’re gonna die anyway.
So might as well cast ALL your bets on the one who holds your eternal future in His hands.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“I can do all things through him
who gives me power.”
Philippians 4:13
“I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith.
All that awaits me now is
the crown of righteousness
which the Lord,
“the Righteous Judge,”
will award to me on that Day
— and not only to me,
but also to all who have
longed for him to appear.”
-2 Timothy 4:7-8
Amen and thanks
Be blessed Abraham.