Gideon’s Trumpet – 300 Men Prevail

The testimony of Gideon’s Trumpet never ceases to fascinate me. In Judges 7, he fought an army with overwhelming numbers and depended completely upon God for victory.

So, let’s take a look at Judges 7 and discover what is about to unfold in the camp of Midian. And, discover the final outcome of a battle against all odds — with God’s help.

The phrase; “Gideon’s trumpet” is common. But, do you know the complete story?

Remember in the last reading from Judges God cut Gideon’s army down to a mere 300 men to fight the massive Midianite forces.

But, what happens next is yet another miracle and the subject of today’s Bible lesson.

Against All Odds – Gideon’s Trumpet

Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.

When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.”

His friend replied, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.”

When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the camp of Midian into your hands.”

He divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers.

He said to them, “Look at me and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do.

When I and all who are with me blow the trumpet, then you also blow the trumpets all around the camp and say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”

So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands.

When the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”

Each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled.

When they blew 300 trumpets, the Lord set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.

The men of Israel were summoned from Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian. – Judges 7:12-23 NASB

Why Barley?

When the soldier had his dream (or nightmare) about barley rolling into the camp the friend instantly grasped the meaning. But why was barley bread so significant?

When making bread, wheat is the grain of choice because barley bread is not of good quality.

At the time of Gideon, wheat was worth about twice the value of barley.

Israel is the “Barley” Bread

Just as the barley was of inferior quality, the army of Israel was thought to be far below the Midianites. These soldiers were great in number and even had a Calvary unit ( camel riders) so should have no problem with a “tiny” nation such as Israel.

In fact, I did some research and, although these numbers may not be accurate; Mission Bible Class put the Medianite Army at about 135,000 strong!

Now, let’s infuse this dream together with the knowledge of what God did for Israel all through the Bible.

This literately put fear in the hearts of an otherwise brave and invincible army.

Fear and Confusion when Gideon’s Trumpets Sound

Gideon gave the order to sound the trumpets and smash the pitchers around 10 PM. So, most of the Midianites were still awake.

So, they heard the screeching sounds from the beginning. And, it was terrifying coming from the dark outside the camp.

A Waiting Game

At this point, the Midianites became so confused and panicky, they turned on each other – sword against sword!

Gideon only had to wait until the time was right to march into town almost unopposed.

Whose Victory is It?

This passage is not just a fantastic story of strategy against might. In truth, it demonstrates how God can work with anything — and anyone.

No, Gideon could not have done this alone.

The lesson for us is that, victory does not come to those of might. It comes to those who are obedient to God.

I hope we can trust God enough when our “Midianites” threaten us.

If so, He will see us through.

Love in Christ

– Bob

If you would like to discover more about the love and life-changing experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to read John 3:16 here.