What Manner of Men Did You Slay? - Judges 8:18

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 he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth. And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city”, and in chapter eight and verse eighteen of Judges, we learn how Gideon said, “unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom you slew at Tabor?” where we read,

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.

The verse reads, “Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom you slew at Tabor?” The writer began with the words, “then said he unto Zebah” which means “at that time uttered, declared and proclaimed he, Gideon, to 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”, “what manner of men were they” which means “who were the male human beings” “whom you slew at Tabor” or “that you, Zebah and Zalmunna, killed, murdered and destroyed in the mountain of Tabor whose name means ‘mound’ and was located “in the plain of Esdraelon rising abruptly and insulated except for a narrow ridge on the west connecting it to the hills of Nazareth”? The writer shared how “Gideon” asked “Zebah and Zalmunna” who the ‘male human beings” were that they killed in mount “Tabor”. 

The verse continues, “And they answered, As you are, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king.” The writer added the words, “And they answered,” which means “and they, Zebah and Zalmunna, responded and gave the reply”, “As you are” which means “similar and in likeness to you, Gideon”, “so were they” or “even and indeed existed they, the men whom Zebah and Zalmunna, killed”; “each one resembled” which means “every, the whole and all of the men had the shape, form, figure and appearance like” “the children of a king” or “the offspring and progeny belonging to a royal ruler or leader”. The writer shared how “Zebah and Zalmunna” responded to “Gideon’s” question by telling him that the “men” that were killed had a shape and appearance like unto to him because they were similar to the offspring of a royal ruler. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how “Gideon” was interested in what the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, would say to his question concerning the “men” they killed in mount “Tabor”. Their answer was that the men they killed were similar to “Gideon” and like the offspring belonging to a royal leader. We shall see how “Gideon” responds to their answer in our next verse, but for now let us consider that “Gideon” was being wise in his interrogation of these “two kings of Midian”. God was with “Gideon” because he was obedient to God’s direction. God will be with us as well 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 help us to remember “vengeance is” His and He “will repay”. (See Isaiah 63:4; Romans 12:19)

Next time we learn how Gideon said, “they were my brethren, even the sons of my mother”, 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".