Up and Slay Them - Judges 8:21

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 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”, and in chapter eight and verse twenty-one of Judges, we learn how, “Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise you, and fall upon us” where we read,

Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise you, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. 

And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks.

The verse reads, “Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise you, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength.” The writer began with the words, “Zebah and Zalmunna said” which means “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 Zalmunna whose name means ‘deprived of protection’ and was a Midianite king slain by Gideon” “rise you” or “Gideon you be raised and stand up”, “and fall upon us” which means “and make intercession, entreat, strike and attack us, Zebah and Zalmunna”: “for as the man is” or “because, since and on account that even and indeed like the male human being exists”, “so is his strength” which means “similar and in likeness exists his, the man’s, power, might and authority”. The writer shared how “Zebah and Zalmunna” challenged “Gideon” to get up and kill them himself because they deemed a “man” to exist in likeness to his power and might. 

The verse goes on to say, “And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks.” The writer continued with the words, “and Gideon arose” which means “and Gideon whose name means ‘hewer’ and was youngest son of Joash of the Abiezrites, fifth judge of Israel who led the Israelites against the Midianites”, “and slew Zebah” which means “and struck, hit, beat and killed Zebah whose name means ‘deprived of protection’” “and Zalmunna” whose name means “deprived of protection and was “a Midianite king slain by Gideon”, “and took away the ornaments” which means “and fetched, lay hold of and seized the round pendants for the neck or round tire like the moon” “that were on their camels’ necks” or “that existed upon the physical necks of Zebah and Zalmunna’s beast of burden for riding which were animals known as camels ”. The writer shared how “Gideon” arose, killed “Zebah and Zalmunna” and seized the round pendants which were around their “camel’s”, physical necks. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how “Zebah and Zalmunna” challenged “Gideon” to kill them himself, and he obliged them after they said a “man” is known according to his power and might. He also took the jewelry that was upon their “camel’s” physical necks. In other words, “Gideon” completely destroyed these two kings and seized their loot. God gave him this victory, and He will do the same for us when we receive His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we yield to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and empower us to live according to that truth so we too are victorious over our foes in this world. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:37)

Next time we learn how, “the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule you over 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".