Teaching the Men of Succoth - Judges 8:16

In the book of Judges we learned how Gideon, “came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom you did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread unto your men that are weary?”, and in chapter eight and verse sixteen of Judges, we learn how Gideon, “taught the men of Succoth” where we read,

And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, 

and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

The verse reads, “And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, …” The writer began with the words, “and he took the elders of the city” which means “and he, Gideon, fetched, lay hold of and seized the ancient and older men pertaining to the dwelling place, habitation and abode belonging to Succoth”, “and thorns of the wilderness” or “and pricking thorn bushes belonging to the uninhabited land, pasture and desert”  “and briers” which means “and prickly burning bright briars”. The writer shared how “Gideon” lay hold of the ancient and older men of “Succoth” and fetched prickly thorn bushes and briars from the desert and did the following with them.

The verse goes on to say, “… and with them he taught the men of Succoth.” The writer continued with the words, “and with them” which means “and alongside and accompanying them, the thorns of the wilderness and briers” “he taught the men of Succoth” which means “he, Gideon, punished and instructed 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”. The writer shared how “Gideon” used the “thorns and briars” from the desert to punish and give instruction to the ancient males within “Succoth”. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how “Gideon” kept his word concerning the people of “Succoth”. He told them he would return after capturing the two kings of Midian,”Zebah and Zalmunna”, and he would beat them with the “thorns and briars” of the wilderness because they would not feed the three hundred men who accompanied him. (See Judges 8:7) This was the day of reckoning for the men of “Succoth”, and “Gideon” punished them as he said he would. God knows about our day of accountability, (See Hebrews 9:27) and because we have sin in our lives, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days. When we yield 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 teach us the value of being used by Him whenever the opportunity arises as His grace prepares us for the day when we shall give an account to Him. (See John 3:16: Acts 1:8; Revelation 4:11)

Next time we learn how Gideon, “beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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