DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SUNDAY MARCH 13:
DAILY BIBLE READING
Judges 7-9Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
7 Early in the morning Jerub-Baal (Gideon) and all his men set up their camp
at the spring of Harod. The Midianites were camped in the valley at the
bottom of the hill called Moreh, north of Gideon and his men.
2 Then the Lord said to Gideon, "I am going to help your men defeat the
Midianites, but you have too many men. I don't want the Israelites to forget
me and brag that they saved themselves. 3 So make an announcement to your
men. Tell them, 'Anyone who is afraid may leave Mount Gilead and go back
home.'"
At that time 22,000 men left Gideon and went back home, but 10,000 still
remained.
4 Then the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take the men
down to the water, and I will test them for you there. If I say, 'This man
will go with you,' he will go. But if I say, 'That one will not go with
you,' then he will not go."
5 So Gideon led the men down to the water. There the Lord said to him,
"Separate the men like this: Those who drink the water by using their tongue
to lap it up like a dog will be in one group. And those who bend down to
drink will be in the other group."
6 There were 300 men who used their hands to bring water to their mouth and
lapped it like a dog does. All the other people bent down and drank the
water. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, "I will use the 300 men who lapped the
water like a dog. I will use them to save you, and I will allow you to
defeat the Midianites. Let the other men go home."
8 So Gideon sent the other men of Israel home. He kept the 300 men with him.
Those 300 men kept the supplies and the trumpets of the other men who went
home.
The Midianites were camped in the valley below Gideon's camp. 9 During the
night the Lord spoke to Gideon and said, "Get up. I will let you defeat the
Midianite army. Go down to their camp. 10 If you are afraid to go alone,
take your servant Purah with you. Go into the camp of the Midianites. 11
Listen to what they are saying. After that you will not be afraid to attack
them."
So Gideon and his servant Purah went down to the edge of the enemy camp. 12
The Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the other people from the east were
camped in that valley. There were so many people that they seemed like a
swarm of locusts. It seemed like they had as many camels as there are grains
of sand on the seashore.
13 Gideon came to the enemy camp, and he heard a man talking. That man was
telling his friend about a dream that he had. He was saying, "I dreamed that
a round loaf of bread came rolling into the camp of the Midianites. That
loaf of bread hit the tent so hard that the tent turned over and fell flat."
14 The man's friend knew the meaning of the dream. He said, "Your dream can
only have one meaning. Your dream is about that man from Israel. It is about
Gideon son of Joash. It means that God will let Gideon defeat the whole army
of Midian."
15 After he heard the men talking about the dream and what it meant, Gideon
bowed down to God. Then Gideon went back to the camp of the Israelites and
called out to the people, "Get up! The Lord will help us defeat the
Midianites." 16 Then Gideon divided the 300 men into three groups. He gave
each man a trumpet and an empty jar with a burning torch inside it. 17 Then
Gideon told the men, "Watch me and do what I do. Follow me to the edge of
the enemy camp. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly what I do. 18
You men surround the enemy camp. I and all the men with me will blow our
trumpets. When we blow our trumpets, you blow your trumpets too. Then shout
these words: 'For the Lord and for Gideon!'"
19 So Gideon and the 100 men with him went to the edge of the enemy camp.
They came there just after the enemy changed guards. It was during the
middle watch of the night. Gideon and his men blew their trumpets and
smashed their jars. 20 Then all three groups of Gideon's men blew their
trumpets and smashed their jars. The men held the torches in their left
hands and the trumpets in their right hands. As they blew their trumpets,
they shouted, "A sword for the Lord and a sword for Gideon!"
21 Gideon's men stayed where they were. But inside the camp, the men of
Midian began shouting and running away. 22 When Gideon's 300 men blew their
trumpets, the Lord caused the men of Midian to kill each other with their
swords. The enemy army ran away to the city of Beth Shittah, which is toward
the city of Zererah. They ran as far as the border of the city of Abel
Meholah, which is near the city of Tabbath.
23 Then soldiers from the tribes of Naphtali, Asher, and all of Manasseh
were told to chase the Midianites. 24 Gideon sent messengers through all the
hill country of Ephraim. The messengers said, "Come down and attack the
Midianites. Take control of the river as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan
River. Do this before the Midianites get there."
So they called all men from the tribe of Ephraim. They took control of the
river as far as Beth Barah. 25 The men of Ephraim caught two of the
Midianite leaders named Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at a place named the
Rock of Oreb and Zeeb at a place named the Winepress of Zeeb. They continued
chasing the Midianites, but first they cut off the heads of Oreb and Zeeb
and took the heads to Gideon. Gideon was at the place where people cross the
Jordan River.
8 The men of Ephraim were angry with Gideon. When they found him, they
asked, "Why did you treat us this way? Why didn't you call us when you went
to fight against the Midianites?"
2 But Gideon answered the men of Ephraim, "I have not done as well as you.
You people of Ephraim have a much better harvest than my family, the
Abiezers. At harvest time you leave more grapes in the vineyard than my
family gathers! Isn't that true? 3 In the same way you have a better harvest
now. God allowed you to capture Oreb and Zeeb, the leaders of Midian. How
can I compare my success with what you did?" When the men of Ephraim heard
Gideon's answer, they were not as angry as they had been.
Gideon Captures Two Kings of Midian
4 Then Gideon and his 300 men came to the Jordan River and went across to
the other side, but they were tired and hungry.[a] 5 Gideon said to the men
of the city of Succoth, "Give my soldiers something to eat. They are very
tired. We are still chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian."
6 But the leaders of the city of Succoth said to Gideon, "Why should we give
your soldiers something to eat? You haven't caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet."
7 Then Gideon said, "The Lord will help me capture Zebah and Zalmunna. And
since you would not give us any food, I will come back and beat you with
thorns and briers from the desert."
8 Gideon left the city of Succoth and went to the city of Penuel. He asked
the men of Penuel for food, just as he had asked the men of Succoth. But the
men of Penuel gave Gideon the same answer that the men of Succoth had given.
9 So Gideon said to the men of Penuel, "After I win the victory, I will come
back here and pull this tower down."
10 Zebah and Zalmunna and their army were in the city of Karkor. Their army
had 15,000 soldiers in it. These soldiers were all who were left of the army
of the people of the east. 120,000 strong soldiers of that army had already
been killed. 11 Gideon and his men used Tent Dwellers' Road, which is east
of the cities of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the enemy at Karkor. The
enemy army did not expect the attack. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of the
Midianites, ran away. But Gideon chased and caught them. Gideon and his men
defeated the enemy army.
13 Then Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle. He and his men
returned by going through a mountain pass called the Pass of Heres. 14
Gideon captured a young man from the city of Succoth. He asked the young man
some questions. The young man wrote down some names for Gideon. The young
man wrote down the names of the leaders and elders of the city of Succoth.
He gave Gideon the names of 77 men.
15 When Gideon came to the city of Succoth, he said to the men of that city,
"Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You made fun of me by saying, 'Why should we
give food to your tired soldiers? You have not caught Zebah and Zalmunna
yet.'" 16 Gideon took the elders of the city of Succoth and beat them with
thorns and briers from the desert. 17 Gideon also pulled down the tower in
the city of Penuel and killed the men living in that city.
18 Then Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "You killed some men on Mount
Tabor. What were the men like?"
Zebah and Zalmunna answered, "They were like you. Each one of them seemed
like a prince."
19 Gideon said, "Those men were my brothers, my mother's sons! As the Lord
lives, if you had not killed them, I would not kill you now."
20 Then Gideon turned to Jether, his oldest son, and said, "Kill these
kings." But Jether was only a boy and was afraid, so he would not take out
his sword.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, "Come on, kill us yourself. You
are a man and strong enough to do the job." So Gideon got up and killed
Zebah and Zalmunna. Then Gideon took the decorations shaped like the moon
off their camels' necks.
Gideon Makes an Ephod
22 The Israelites said to Gideon, "You saved us from the Midianites. So now
rule over us. We want you, your son, and your grandson to rule over us."
23 But Gideon told the Israelites, "The Lord will be your ruler. I will not
rule over you, and my son will not rule over you."
24 Some of the people who the men of Israel defeated were Ishmaelites. And
the Ishmaelite men wore gold earrings. So Gideon said to the Israelites, "I
want you to do this one thing for me. I want each of you to give me a gold
earring from the things you took in the battle."
25 The Israelites said to Gideon, "We will gladly give you what you want."
So they put a coat down on the ground, and each man threw an earring onto
the coat. 26 When the earrings were gathered up, they weighed about 43
pounds.[b] This did not include the other gifts the Israelites gave to
Gideon. They also gave him jewelry shaped like the moon and jewelry shaped
like teardrops. And they gave him purple robes. The kings of the Midianites
had worn these things. They also gave him the chains from the camels of the
Midianite kings.
27 Gideon used the gold to make an ephod,[c] which he put in his hometown,
the town called Ophrah. All the Israelites worshiped the ephod. In this way
the Israelites were not faithful to God-they worshiped the ephod.[d] The
ephod became a trap that caused Gideon and his family to sin.
The Death of Gideon
28 The Midianites were forced to be under the rule of the Israelites. The
Midianites did not cause trouble anymore. And the land was at peace for 40
years, as long as Gideon was alive.
29 Gideon[e] son of Joash went home. 30 Gideon had 70 sons of his own. He
had so many sons because he had many wives. 31 He had a slave woman who
lived in the city of Shechem. He had a son by her. He named that son
Abimelech.
32 So Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age. He was buried in the tomb
that Joash, his father, owned. That tomb is in the city of Ophrah, where the
family of Abiezer lives. 33 As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites again
were not faithful to God-they followed Baal.[f] They made Baal Berith[g]
their god. 34 The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God, who had
saved them from all their enemies living around them. 35 The Israelites were
not loyal to the family of Jerub-Baal (Gideon), even though he had done many
good things for them.
Abimelech Becomes King
9 Abimelech was the son of Gideon. Abimelech went to his uncles who lived in
the city of Shechem. He said to his uncles and all of his mother's family, 2
"Ask the leaders of the city of Shechem this question: 'Is it better for you
to be ruled by the 70 sons of Gideon or to be ruled by only one man?
Remember, I am your relative.'"
3 Abimelech's uncles spoke to the leaders of Shechem and asked them that
question. The leaders of Shechem decided to follow Abimelech. They said,
"After all, he is our brother." 4 So the leaders of Shechem gave Abimelech
70 pieces of silver. That silver was from the temple of the god Baal Berith.
Abimelech used the silver to hire some men. These men were worthless,
reckless men. They followed Abimelech wherever he went.
5 Abimelech went to his father's house at Ophrah and murdered his brothers.
He killed the 70 sons of his father Gideon. He killed them all at the same
time,[h] but Gideon's youngest son hid from Abimelech and escaped. The
youngest son's name was Jotham.
6 Then all the leaders in Shechem and the house of Millo[i] came together.
Everyone gathered beside the big tree of the pillar in Shechem and made
Abimelech their king.
Jotham's Story
7 Jotham heard that the leaders of the city of Shechem had made Abimelech
king. When he heard this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim[j]
and shouted out this story to the people:
"Listen to me you leaders of the city of Shechem. Then let God listen to
you.
8 "One day the trees decided to choose a king to rule over them. The trees
said to the olive tree, 'You be king over us.'
9 "But the olive tree said, 'My oil is used to honor gods and humans. Should
I stop making my oil just to go and sway over the other trees?'
10 "Then the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come and be our king.'
11 "But the fig tree answered, 'Should I stop making my good, sweet fruit
just to go and sway over the other trees?'
12 "Then the trees said to the vine, 'Come and be our king.'
13 "But the vine answered, 'My wine makes men and kings happy. Should I stop
making my wine just to go and sway over the trees?'
14 "Finally, all the trees said to the thornbush, 'Come and be our king.'
15 "But the thornbush said to the trees, 'If you really want to make me king
over you, come and find shelter in my shade. But if you don't want to do
this, let fire come out of the thornbush. Let the fire burn even the cedar
trees of Lebanon.'
16 "Now if you were completely honest when you made Abimelech king, may you
be happy with him. And if you have been fair to Gideon and his family, and
if you have treated him as you should, this is also good. 17 But remember
what my father did for you. He fought for you and risked his life when he
saved you from the Midianites. 18 But now you have turned against my
father's family. You have killed 70 of his sons all at the same time. You
made Abimelech the new king over the city of Shechem. He is only the son of
my father's slave girl. But you made him king because he is your relative.
19 So if you have been completely honest to Gideon and his family today,
then may you be happy with Abimelech as your king. And may he be happy with
you. 20 But leaders of Shechem and the house of Millo,[k] if you have not
acted right, may Abimelech destroy you. And may Abimelech be destroyed too!"
21 After Jotham had said this, he ran away and escaped to the city named
Beer. He stayed there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.
Abimelech Fights Against Shechem
22 Abimelech ruled the Israelites for three years. 23-24 Abimelech had
killed Gideon's 70 sons-and they were his own brothers. The leaders of
Shechem had supported him in doing this evil thing. So God caused trouble
between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. And they began planning ways
to hurt Abimelech. 25 The leaders of the city of Shechem did not like
Abimelech anymore. They put men on the hilltops to attack and rob everyone
who went by. Abimelech found out about the attacks.
26 A man named Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers moved to the city of
Shechem. The leaders of the city of Shechem decided to trust and follow
Gaal.
27 One day the people of Shechem went out to the vineyards to pick grapes.
They squeezed the grapes to make wine. And then they had a party at the
temple of their god. The people ate and drank and cursed Abimelech.
28 Then Gaal son of Ebed said, "We are the men of Shechem. Why should we
obey Abimelech? Who does he think he is? Abimelech is one of Gideon's sons,
right? And Abimelech made Zebul his officer, right? We should not obey
Abimelech. We should follow our own people, men from Hamor.[l] (Hamor was
the father of Shechem.) 29 If you make me the commander of these people, I
will destroy Abimelech. I will say to him, 'Get your army ready and come out
to battle.'"
30 Zebul was the governor of the city of Shechem. Zebul heard what Gaal son
of Ebed said, and he became very angry. 31 Zebul sent messengers to
Abimelech in the city of Arumah.[m] This is the message:
"Gaal son of Ebed and Gaal's brothers have come to the city of Shechem. They
are making trouble for you. Gaal is turning the whole city against you. 32
So now you and your men should come tonight and hide in the fields outside
the city. 33 When the sun comes up in the morning, attack the city. Gaal and
his men will come out of the city to fight you. When they come out to fight,
do what you can to them."
34 So Abimelech and all his soldiers got up during the night and went to the
city. The soldiers separated into four groups. They hid near the city of
Shechem. 35 Gaal son of Ebed went out and was standing at the entrance to
the gate of the city of Shechem. While Gaal was standing there, Abimelech
and his soldiers came out of their hiding places.
36 When Gaal saw the soldiers, he said to Zebul, "Look, there are people
coming down from the mountains."
But Zebul said, "You are only seeing the shadows of the mountains. The
shadows just look like people."
37 But again Gaal said, "Look, there are some people coming down from that
place over there by Land's Navel. And there! I saw someone's head over by
Magician's Tree.[n]" 38 Zebul said to Gaal, "Why aren't you bragging now?
You said, 'Who is Abimelech? Why should we obey him?' You made fun of these
men. Now go out and fight them."
39 So Gaal led the leaders of Shechem out to fight Abimelech. 40 Abimelech
and his men chased Gaal and his men. Gaal's men ran back toward the gate of
the city of Shechem, but many were killed before they could get back to the
gate.
41 Then Abimelech returned to the city of Arumah. Zebul forced Gaal and his
brothers to leave the city of Shechem.
42 The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields to work.
Abimelech found out about it. 43 So Abimelech separated his men into three
groups. He wanted to attack the people of Shechem by surprise. So he hid his
men in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he jumped
up and attacked them. 44 Abimelech and his group ran to a place near the
gate to Shechem. The other two groups ran out to the people in the fields
and killed them. 45 Abimelech and his men fought against the city of Shechem
all that day. They captured the city of Shechem and killed its people. Then
Abimelech tore down the city and threw salt over the ruins.
46 There were some people who lived at the Tower of Shechem.[o] When they
heard what had happened to Shechem, they gathered together in the safest
room[p] of the temple of the god El Berith.[q]
47 Abimelech heard that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem had gathered
together. 48 So Abimelech and all his men went up to Mount Zalmon.[r]
Abimelech took an ax and cut off some branches and carried them on his
shoulders. Then Abimelech said to the men with him, "Hurry! Do the same
thing that I have done." 49 So all the men cut branches and followed
Abimelech. They piled the branches against the safest room of the temple of
the god El Berith. Then they set the branches on fire and burned the people
in the room. About 1000 men and women living near the Tower of Shechem died.
Abimelech's Death
50 Then Abimelech and his men went to the city of Thebez and captured that
city. 51 But inside the city there was a strong tower, so all the leaders
and other men and women of that city ran to the tower. When the people were
inside the tower, they locked the door behind them. Then they climbed up to
the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelech and his men came to the tower to attack
it. Abimelech went up to the door of the tower to burn it. 53 But, while
Abimelech was standing at the door of the tower, a woman on the roof dropped
a grinding stone on his head. The grinding stone crushed his skull. 54
Abimelech quickly said to the servant who carried his weapons, "Take out
your sword and kill me. I want you to kill me so that people will not say,
'A woman killed Abimelech.'" So the servant stabbed Abimelech with his
sword, and he died. 55 The Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, so they
all went back home.
56 In that way God punished Abimelech for all the bad things he had done.
Abimelech sinned against his own father by killing his 70 brothers. 57 God
also punished the men of the city of Shechem for the bad things they had
done. So the things said by Jotham son of Gideon came true.
Footnotes:
a.Judges 8:4 hungry This is from the ancient Greek version. The standard
Hebrew text has "chasing."
b.Judges 8:26 43 pounds Literally, "1700 shekels" (19.55 kg).
c.Judges 8:27 ephod This may have been a special vest or coat like that worn
by the high priest (see Ex. 28:2-14), or it may have been a kind of idol.
d.Judges 8:27 were not faithful . ephod Literally, "acted like a prostitute
to it."
e.Judges 8:29 Gideon Literally, "Jerub-Baal," a nickname given to Gideon
earlier (see 6:32). Also throughout chapter 9."
f.Judges 8:33 were not faithful . Baal Literally, "they acted like a
prostitute to Baal."
g.Judges 8:33 Baal Berith A name that means "Lord of the Agreement." It
shows that the people were confusing the worship of the true God with the
worship of local idols. Also in 9:4.
h.Judges 9:5 all at the same time Literally, "on one stone." Also in verse
18.
i.Judges 9:6 Millo This was probably a well-protected part of the city,
perhaps even the palace area. It might have been in the city itself or
somewhere near the city.
j.Judges 9:7 Mount Gerizim This mountain is right beside the city of
Shechem.
k.Judges 9:20 house of Millo Or "Royal Family of Millo."
l.Judges 9:28 men from Hamor This refers to native born citizens of Shechem.
Hamor was the father of Shechem in a story in Gen. 34. The city of Shechem
is said to have been named after Hamor's son.
m.Judges 9:31 in the city of Arumah Or "secretly" or "in Tormah," the town
where Abimelech lived as king. It was probably about eight miles south of
Shechem.
n.Judges 9:37 Land's Navel . Magician's Tree Two places in the hills near
Shechem.
o.Judges 9:46 Tower of Shechem This was probably a place near Shechem but
not actually part of the city.
p.Judges 9:46 safest room The meaning of this Hebrew word is uncertain. Also
in verse 49.
q.Judges 9:46 El Berith Another name for the god Baal Berith mentioned in
verses 4 and 8:33. The name here means "God of the Agreement." Also in verse
49.
r.Judges 9:48 Mount Zalmon This is probably another name for Mount Ebal, a
mountain near Shechem.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright C 2006 by Bible League International
