Up and Slay Them - Judges 8:20

In the book of Judges we learned how Gideon, “beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city. Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom you slew at Tabor? And they answered, As you are, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king. And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not slay you”, and in chapter eight and verse twenty of Judges, we learn how Gideon said, “said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them” where we read,

And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. 

But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

The verse reads, “And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them.” The writer began with the words, “and he said” which means “and he, Gideon, uttered, declared and proclaimed” “unto Jether” or “to Jether whose name means ‘abundance’ and was the oldest son of Gideon”, “his firstborn” which means “his, Gideon’s, oldest child”, “up, and slay them” or “arise, stand up and kill, murder and destroy them, “Zebah and Zalmunna”. The writer shared how “Gideon” instructed his oldest son “Jether” to stand up and kill “Zebah and Zalmunna”. 

The verse continues, “But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth.” The writer added the words, “but the youth drew not his sword” which means “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover the lad, or youthful male did not take out or unsheathe his, Jether’s, sharpened implement for battle or war”: “for he feared” which means “because, since and on account that he, Jether, revered, was afraid and in dread”, “because he was yet a youth” or “since and on account that he, Jether, still existed as a lad or youthful male”. The writer shared how “Jether” would not unsheathe his sharpened weapon for battle on account that he was still a young person. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how “Gideon” wanted his oldest son to kill the two kings of Midian, “Zebah and Zalmunna”, however, “Jether” would not kill them since he was a young person. We shall see what “Gideon” does about this in our next verses, but for now let us consider what it must have been like for “Jether” to receive this directive. In a similar manner, when we submit to God’s Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the dead after three days, we obey His directive, and He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth so we have the ability to carry out whatever task He asks of us regardless of how young or old we are. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:37)

Next time we learn how, “Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise you, and fall upon us”, 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".