Judges 7:24 - 8:3 - Lessons from the Ephramites

The strategy Gideon and his 300 deployed had caused the whole camp of Midianites to scatter in panic. They even began to slaughter each other. And while many others were fleeing from the camp in fright, the earlier troops from Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh were summoned to help. They came willingly and the Midianites were routed. In verses 24-25, Gideon called for the assistance of another group of Israelites. They were none other than the Ephraimites. He sent men to all the hill country of Ephraim saying, “Come down against Midian and take the waters before them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” Without hesitation, the Ephraimites answered the call to arm. They were told to take control of the Jordan River. This was a good strategy to take control of the route that would impede the Midianites’ escape.  Besides, it made good sense because the tribe of Ephraim was located around the border of Jordan. It was good that the Ephraimites responded positively. Their contribution to the fray enabled the capture of two leaders of the Midianites namely, Oreb and Zeeb. They cut off the heads of these two leaders and brought them across the Jordan and presented them to Gideon.

In the first three verses of Judges 8, we can see that the Ephraimites had an ax to grind with Gideon. They must have felt slighted that they were not included in the battle from the start. They could even feel alienated and their pride was affected and ego wounded. Isn’t this something that we in the family of God have to deal with from time to time? Pride and ego are two very unpredictable temperaments. For no explainable rhyme or reason, close family members and friends could get offended and become estranged. What’s worst is when they don’t stay around to tell you why, nor give you a chance to amend what you could have done wrong. This can be avoided when we realize that in a family it is not always possible to involve everyone. It is hard to keep everyone apprised of everything and involve everyone in every situation. There will always be those that would be needed first, then others who are available will be called for when needed. If we refuse to take offense, the family can advance better.

Thankfully, in Gideon’s situation, he had the wisdom and found a way to smoothen the ruffled ego of the Ephraimites. He praised them for the capture of Oreb and Zeeb. It is one thing to cause the camp of the Midianites to panic, but capturing their leaders was more important.  Gideon was able to assure them that what they did was more critical than what he and the 300 had done. What they did would disable the regrouping of the enemy forces. Gideon was able to pacify the Ephraimites by his logical explanation. Praise God! It is great to have leaders and members that know how to avoid causing disunity in the family and we must strive to be such people.

Here are some lessons we can glean from the situation with the Ephraimites. In a family, one should stay available to advance our corporate objective and goal. Do not feel slighted when one is not used for any project from the start. It may well be that one's service will be required later. When one is called to be involved later it doesn’t mean that one is less important. It could be a situation where one's service is best suited for that moment. When there’s unhappiness one must not allow it to fester but rather seek to find time to resolve the cause. It is better to have a peaceful settlement and progress harmoniously than to allow unhappiness to divide us.