Judges 8:1

_AND THE MEN OF EPHRAIM SAID UNTO HIM, WHY HAST THOU SERVED US THUS, THAT THOU CALLEDST US NOT, WHEN THOU WENTEST TO FIGHT WITH THE MIDIANITES? AND THEY DID CHIDE WITH HIM SHARPLY._ The men of Ephraim said ... Why hast thou served us thus? Where this complaint was made-whether before or after the crossing of the Jordan-cannot be determined. By the overthrow of the national enemy the Ephraimites were benefited as largely as any of the other neighbouring tribes. But, piqued at not having been sharers in the glory of the victory, their leading men could not repress their wounded pride; and the occasion only served to bring out an old and deeply-seated feeling of jealous rivalry that subsisted between the tribes (Isaiah 9:21). The discontent was groundless, because Gideon acted according to divine directions; and besides, as their tribe was conterminous with that of Gideon, they

1-3 Those who will not attempt or venture any thing in the cause of God, will be the most ready to censure and quarrel with such as are of a more zealous and enterprising spirit. And those who are the most backward to difficult services, will be the most angry not to have the credit of them. Gideon stands here as a great example of self-denial; and shows us that envy is best removed by humility. The Ephraimites had given vent to their passion in very wrong freedom of speech, a certain sign of a weak cause: reason runs low when chiding flies high....

CHAPTER VIII _The Ephraimites are angry with Gideon because he did not call_ _them particularly to his assistance; he pacifies them_, 1-3. _Gideon and his three hundred men pass over Jordan, pursuing the_ _Midianites; and, being faint, ask victuals from the princes of_ _Succoth, but are refused_, 4-7. _They make the like application to the people of Penuel, and are_ _also refused_, 8, 9. _Gideon defeats Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, and_ _takes them prisoners_, 10-12. He chastises the men of Succoth and Penuel

The success of Gideon’s enterprise mortified the pride of Ephraim, as the chief tribe, seeing that they had played a subordinate part. Compare Judges 12:1....

EXPOSITION JUDGES 8:1 THE MEN OF EPHRAIM. It is possible that the transfer of the birthright from Manasseh to Ephraim (Genesis 48:13-1) may have produced some estrangement between the tribes. It is also possible that Ephraim, in view of their great tribal power, and the distinction conferred upon them by the judgeship of Joshua the son of Nun (Numbers 13:8), and the possession of his grave (Joshua 24:30), may have grown haughty and domineering, and perhaps more disposed to rest upon their former glories than to embark in fresh undertakings. Anyhow Gideon did not consult them, nor ask thei

AND THE MEN OF EPHRAIM SAID UNTO HIM,.... To Gideon, when they brought him the heads of Oreb and Zeeb; taking this to be a proper opportunity to expostulate and chide with him, when they had done so much service: WHY HAST THOU SERVED US THUS; neglected them, overlooked them, which they took as a reproach to them, and as if he had bore them ill will: THAT THOU CALLEDST US NOT WHEN THOU WENTEST TO FIGHT WITH THE MIDIANITES? that he did not call them first, when he called other tribes, as Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, when they were as near or nearer, and more nearly allied, being both the descendants of Joseph; and were the tribe that Jacob had given the preference to; and being of proud spirits they envied the glory that Gideon, who was of the tribe of Manasseh, had got; and by which they were jealous he would advance that tribe above theirs: AND THEY DID CHIDE WITH HIM SHARPLY; used r...

EPHRAIM Compare (Judges 12:1); (2 Samuel 2:8); (1 Kings 12:16). Here begins that deep-rooted division in Israel which culminated in the division of Solomon's kingdom under Jeroboam and Rehoboam....

CHAPTER 8 INTERNAL STRIFE, GIDEON'S FAILURE AND END _ 1. The strife (Judges 8:1)_ 2. The complete deliverance (Judges 8:10) 3. Gideon's failure and end (Judges 8:22) 4. Israel's failure after Gideon (Judges 8:33) Internal strife follows. The two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, were slain (Judges 7:25). Oreb means “raven” and Zeeb means “wolf.” Oreb, the raven, is slain on the rock and Zeeb, the wolf, at the winepress. The raven, the bird which represents darkness and evil, is the type of corruption; the wolf is the destroyer o

THE EPHRAIMITES APPEASED. After defeating the mighty foreign foe, Gideon had to settle a domestic dispute which might easily have become serious, and he again proved himself equal to the occasion. He is a man of wit and humour as well as of military prowess. He knows that a soft answer turns away wrath, and he can make the tongue as effective a weapon as the sword. He stoops to conquer. When the jealous Ephraimites complain that he has not given them the first place in his army (which would have entitled them to the best of the spoils), he returns a humble answer, in which they do not perceive any flavour of delicate irony. How should he ever compare his little clan with a mighty tribe? The mere gleanings of Ephraim are more than the vintage the whole harvest of Abiezer. We shall find later that while such treatment appeased the Ephraimites it did not cure them. Jephthah had experience o...

CHIDE. This was the beginning of the strife which ended in the division of the kingdom (1 Kings 12)....