Give Loaves of Bread - Judges 8:5

In the book of Judges we learned how Gideon told the people of Ephraim, “God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that. And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them”, and in chapter eight and verse five of Judges, we learn how Gideon, “said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread” where we read,

And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.

The verse reads, “And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me;” The writer began with the words, “and he said” which means “and he, Gideon, uttered, declared and proclaimed” “unto the men of Succoth” or “to the male human beings belonging to Succoth whose name means ‘booths’ and was the site where Jacob put up booths for his cattle and built a house for himself; apparently east of the Jordan near the ford of the torrent Jabbok and later allotted to the tribe of Gad”, “give” which means “put, set, bestow, grant and ascribe”, “I pray you” or “I, Gideon, entreat, ask and beseech you, the men of Succoth”, “loaves of bread” which means “round morsels or pieces of food or grain” “unto the people that follow me” or “to the human beings who come after me, Gideon”. The writer shared how Gideon told the male human beings belonging to “Succoth” to give some food, grain or loaves of bread to the ones who came after him. 

The verse continues “… for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.” The writer added the words, “for they be faint” which means “because, since and on account that they, the men who followed Gideon, existed as weary, tired, thirsty and exhausted”, “and I am pursuing after Zebah” which means “and I, Gideon, am following after Zebah whose name means ‘deprived of protection’ and was one of the two kings of Midian who commanded the great invasion of Palestine and finally were defeated by Gideon”, “and Zalmuna” whose name means “deprived of protection’ and was a Midianite king slain by Gideon”, “kings of Midian” which means “royal rulers and leaders belonging to Midian whose name means ‘strife” and was the son of Abraham by Keturah and progenitor of the tribe of Midianites or Arabians”. The writer shared how “Gideon” wanted the people of “Succoth” to feed the three hundred men who accompanied him because they were tired and weary, and he was running after the royal rulers of “Midian” named “Zebah and Zalmunna”.

When we mediate upon the words in this verse, we learn how “Gideon” appealed to the “men of Succoth” for some food for his three hundred men. Not only were they tired and weary, but they were hungry as well. They would need the provisions because they along with “Gideon” were chasing after the royal rulers of the “Midianites” whose names where “Zebah and Zalmunna”. God give us strength through His provisions, and He uses various sources to give us what we need. (See Philippians 4:19) Sometimes He employs people like the “men of Succoth” to provide, and they immediately became involved in Kingdom work as they obeyed. God loves the people of Israel, and they were going to be delivered from the oppression of the “Midianites”. He loves us as well and wants to deliver us from the power of sin and death. He sent His Only Son Jesus into the world to be the “Bread of life” (See John 6:35), and Jesus was crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we surrender our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and sustain our lives to accomplish His will in this world. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:37)

Next time we learn how, “the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".