Hidden Spiritual Gem #4 from the Bible: Gideon’s Battle With the Midianites, Et al.
Introduction
Although It will not be entirely elaborated upon in great depth in this study (more detail concerning Gideon is in an earlier post), Gideon’s battle against, and his defeating of, the Midianites (and the Amalekites and “all the children of the east”) should be understood to be another “Historical Parable” in the Bible that typifies “Judgment Day“, where
1) Gideon spiritually represents (is a “Type”) of the Lord Jesus Christ,
2) The men with Gideon who participate in the attack spiritually represent the believers in Jesus Christ, and
3) The Midianites (et al.) spiritually represent the enemies of God (who are the devil’s own, including the purveyors of false gospels) in the world who are miraculously destroyed.
This event is also reminiscent of the battle that we read about in Judges 4&5.
In this “Historical Parable” of the Battle of Gideon, which is an actual historical account that is spiritually interwoven into Judges chapter 7 where we are provided with another “hidden gem” that God has concealed within the Bible.
In Judges 7:20, we read “And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow [withal]: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.” In this single verse there are four key elements worthy of further scrutiny from a spiritual perspective as expounded below.
- The “Trumpets” warn of the Judgment to come
- The “Pitchers” are the hearts of the believers within which is hid the Light of Christ
- The “Lamps” represent the Light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
- The “Sword of the LORD” is the Word of God
1. When The Last Trumpet Sounds, It Will Herald Judgment Day
The Trumpet is from the original Hebrew word שׁוֹפָר (šôp̄ār)H7782, and is the same word that we read about inExodus 19:16, Exodus 19:19, Exodus 20:18, and Joshua 6:4-20 at the battle of Jericho (another prefigurement of Judgment Day).
When the “Last Trump” sounds, it will be Judgment Day for the world as we are told in 1 Corinthians 15:52, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” The seventh trumpet is the last trumpet that we read about being sounded by the seventh angel in Revelation 11:15, “¶And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.“
2. The Pitchers Also Typify the Believers
2 Corinthians 4:3-7, tells us plainly, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
Remember also Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.“
The “pitchers” are “earthen vessels”, which represent the believers who have the Glorious Light of Jesus Christ shining brightly in their hearts, that is otherwise hidden from the world of the unsaved, which is to be revealed on the Last Day, Judgment Day.
John 3:19-21, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.
This is all in accordance with God’s plan. We know from the following verses that the Light/Fire will be revealed as we read in :
Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” and 1 Corinthians 3:13, “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.“
Daniel 12:3, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.“
Moreover, the truth of that Light will be kept hidden from the world of unbelievers until Judgement Day, when the Judgment that befalls them comes as a “thief in the night”. This is exactly what we are told in 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.“
3. The Lamp Is The Light of The Gospel of Jesus Christ
The lamp (לַפִּיד (lapîḏ))H3940, which means “lamp“, “torch“, and “lightning” points to the Light of Christ that will be made fully manifest on Judgment Day. For more on the meaning of “lapid”, please see the section that expounds on the meaning of Lapidoth, the husband of the Prophetess, Deborah, in the study of Judges 4&5.
Which leads us to remember John 9:5, where Jesus announces, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” after which he immediately healed a blind man, “born blind”. Then we read later in John 9:39,”And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.”
4. The “Sword of the LORD” Is the Word of God
The “sword” is also important because it is another spiritual reference to the Word of God as we find in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Remember also that Jesus is pictured as having a two-edged sword coming out of His mouth in Revelation 1:16, “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.“
To underscore that point, we need to remember the last six verses of Psalm 149 remind us that the believers will be accompanying Jesus on Judgment Day as was reported in an earlier post.
Psalm 149:4-9, “For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. [Let] the high [praises] of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, [and] punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.“
The believers are also viewed as “conquerors” as we find in Romans 8:37, “¶Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”
Regarding the “Sword of the LORD”, we should also remember the following verses that also point to Judgment Day:
Isaiah 34:5&6 “For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.“
Ezekiel 21:28 “And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword [is] drawn: for the slaughter [it is] furbished, to consume because of the glittering (בָּרָק (bārāq)H1300):”
Psalm 7:11-13 we read, “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry [with the wicked] every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.”
It is very difficult to begin to understand the might of God’s wrath against the wicked, against God’s enemies on Judgment Day. But that Sword of Truth is Jesus, and He told us that His Word is what will bring judgment on Judgment Day as we read in John 12:48, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”
The Death of The Two Pairs of Kings of Midian
The finality of the Judgment is also manifest in the last verse of Judges Chapter 7, Verse 25, “And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.“ Judges Chapter 8 informs us that two other Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, were subsequently also killed (see below).
The First Two Kings are Captured and Slain
The first two Midianite kings, who Gideon slew, were named Oreb (עֹרֵב(ʿōrēḇ)H6159) means “Raven” (an unclean “fowl of the air”) which represents the forces of the devil as Jesus expounded upon in the “Parable of the Sower“, and Zeeb (זְאֵב(zᵊ’ēḇ)H2062 ) means “Wolf”. Remember that Jesus Christ is The Good Shepherd, protecting His Eternal flock from the spiritual wolves, which we know are out there in the world, as we read in Matthew 7:15 “¶Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Again, in Acts 20:29, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.”
So in both cases these kings represent the wicked one’s servants who look like “kings”, but are really purveyors of a false gospel seeking to kill and devour the righteous.
The “rock of Oreb” is mentioned in Isaiah in the context of a Judgment Day against the Assyrians (typifying the final Judgment Day), through the relating of the slaughter there to the destruction of Egypt in the Red Sea at the start of the Exodus as we read in, Isaiah 10:26, “And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and [as] his rod [was] upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.” The context is further elaborated in the immediately preceding verses in Isaiah 10:24&25, and then expounded upon in Romans 9:27, “Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: For he will finish the work, and cut [it] short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.“
It should be clear that the death of king Zeeb at the “winepress” (יֶקֶב (yeqeḇ))H3342 is not accidental or incidental, because it brings to mind other references that point to Judgment Day. The “winepress”, which in the original Hebrew can also be גַּת (gaṯ)H1660, refers to God’s wrath that must be brought to bear in judgment for sin. Jesus, as the believers’ atoning sacrifice, first had to endure that wrath and suffer the shame of God’s reproach for their sins. But for those who remain dead in trespasses and sins, they will be tread down in the winepress of God’s wrath by Jesus as their Judge.
Key verses to recall regarding the meaning of the “winepress”:
Isaiah 63:1-6, “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore [art thou] red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat (winepress, גַּת (gaṯ) H1660 ? I (Jesus) have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people [there was] none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance [is] in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and [there was] none to help; and I wondered that [there was] none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.“ Jesus endured the wrath of God in the Winepress of Shame in the first Judgment Day (in 33AD for the believers), and Jesus will bring Judgment on His enemies in the great winepress of the wrath of God on the second and final Judgment Day.
Joel 3:13, we read, “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press H1660 is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness [is] great.”
Revelation 14:19, “And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.”
Revelation 19:13, we see this picture of Jesus, “And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.“
For more on this please see the study of Jonah (Jonah was from a village called “Winepress of Shame”).
The Second Two Midianite Kings Are Also Captured and Slain
But there were two other kings who Gideon pursued as we read about Chapter 8. It is particularly noteworthy that these Midianite kings, Zebah (זֶבַח (zeḇaḥ) H2078) which means “Sacrifice“, and Zalmunna (צַלְמֻנָּע (ṣalmunnāʿ) H6759) which means “Deprived of protection“, had earlier killed the brothers of Gideon, evidently at mount Tabor, and were themselves, subsequent to their capture, also killed by Gideon in retribution.
In Judges 8:18, when Gideon asked the two remaining Midianite kings the following question, and they gave their reply (just before Gideon had them killed), “Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men [were they] whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou [art], [so were] they; each one resembled the children of a king.” The children of a king refers to the believers who are the children of God and they are like Jesus. For more about the meaning of “children of a king”, please see: mephibosheth-and-a-covenant-of-grace/ Gideon replied to the two kings in Judges 8:19, “¶And he said, They [were] my brethren, [even] the sons of my mother: [as] the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.“
“As Thou Art, So Were They“
These two Midianite kings made it clear that those whom they slew at mount Tabor appeared like Gideon. Does this not bring to mind what we read in Hebrews 2:9-13, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. ¶For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom [are] all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified [are] all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.” (Note: Hebrews 2:12 is specifically referencing Psalm 22:22, which reads, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.“)
And when we look a little few verses further down in Hebrews to Hebrews 2:16-18, we are reminded of how closely Jesus identifies with mankind to save a people for Himself, “For verily he took not on [him the nature of] angels; but he took on [him] the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto [his] brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things [pertaining] to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.“
And is it not also true that the Bible says that the believers are to become likened to Jesus? Look at what 1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
Mother and Brethren?
Given that Gideon is an unequivocal “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is worth remembering what Jesus said regarding His “mother” and His “brethren”. In Matthew 12:48&49, we read “But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! And again in Mark 3:33&34, “¶And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?And he (Jesus) looked round about on them which sat about him, and said,Behold my mother and my brethren!“
Therefore, those who are counted among Jesus’ disciples, the believers, are Jesus’ brethren. Where do we see accounts of Jesus’ brethren (disciples) being killed? The first recorded one is Stephen, in Acts 7:59. And who killed Stephen? The apostate church leaders! And what were Stephen’s last words? In Act 7:55, we read, “But he(Stephen), being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, andsaw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” His death occured in the presence of Heaven. And remember what Tabor spiritually represents? Yes, Heaven (with Judgement in view)! God saw it, received Stephen, and God, as Jesus the Judge, will remember it, come Judgment Day! This was the case for all the prophets that were also killed in the Old Testament and continuing right through to the end of Great Tribulation in the run up to Judgment Day.
Some additional verses that address how the apostate church (represented by the Jews) killed Jesus’ disciples:
1 Thessalonians 2:15, “Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.”
And consider the last days when the witnesses (representing the true believers) are killed by the apostate church ruled by the Abomination of Desolation in Revelation 11:7-12, “¶And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice overthem, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. ¶And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.“
Note how well this conforms with John 16:2, “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” The apostate church will drive out (and effectively “kill”) the true believers. But we must remember that Psalm 116:15 makes clear how God feels about the death of Jesus’ brethren, “Precious in the sight of the LORD [is] the death of his saints.“
Further Corroboration
Note also that in Psalm 83:9-12, where we read of the death brought to the enemies of God in the book of Judges, “Do unto them as [unto] the Midianites; as [to] Sisera, as [to] Jabin, at the brook of Kison (Kishon) [Which] perished at Endor (Endor/En-Dor, the same that was the home of a witch 1 Samuel 28:7, is located in the valley of Megiddo, most likely between Megiddo and Taanach) : they became [as] dung for the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna: Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.”
Therefore, in Psalm 83:9-12, God is clearly equating Gideon with Barak(and hence the Lord Jesus Christ), because they both defeated and killed those named individuals, all six who were clearly identified as “enemies” of God (who sought to claim the “houses of God” as their own) as stated in Psalm 83:2, ” For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.” Moreover, we can again see more clearly how both and Gideon and Barak are spiritual representations of Jesus, Who, on Judgment Day, will defeat the devil and his accomplices, the false teachers who have sought to subdue the Church of God (take “the houses of God in possession”) through apostasy. we see in Psalm 83:3, “They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.”
Conclusion
We have learned from this study that we have been provided another amazing “Historical Parable” pointing us to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have been shown that Gideon is a clear “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ, and how Gideon was chosen by God to utterly destroy God’s enemies, involving the utter supernatural defeat of the Midianites (and the Amalekites and “all the children of the east”) in a battle typifying Judgment Day with 300 men out of 32,000 who were refined and purified for the purpose through testing by God. We also see how the two pairs of Midianite kings (the number “two” represents a witness in the Bible) were used by God to represent leaders of apostate churches purveying false gospels to lead astray, and thereby hope to kill the believers as we read in Mark 13:22, “For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if [it were] possible, even the elect.”
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