But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host:
Judges 7:10 stands in Judges 6-8, where faithful and valiant men were raised up to put down idolatry and deliver Israel from its enemies in a repeated cycle of backsliding and chastisement followed by confession and deliverance, after which the people gradually returned to their idols when the deliverer died. It belongs to the deliverance raised up after the children of Israel did evil and were delivered into the hand of Midian for seven years. Once the protecting hand of God was withdrawn, the Midianites from the eastern border and the deserts beyond, with the Amalekites from the south of Canaan, became unrelenting enemies, swarming into the land as locusts for multitude with their flocks and herds. Spreading like a devouring plague from the river Jordan to the Philistine plain as soon as the harvests began to ripen and remaining until the last fruits were gathered, they stripped the fields, robbed and maltreated the inhabitants, and forced those in the open country to abandon their homes for walled towns, fortresses, caves and rocky fastnesses, until in distress the people gave heed to the Lord's reproof and confessed their sins.
The verse shows that God made allowance for Gideon's fear and trembling at the thought of battle by telling him he could go down to the Midianite host and camp with Phurah his servant and attendant. He was sent there to hear what the enemy said that would encourage him and strengthen him to go forward. Gideon's army prevailed not because of numbers but because in living faith they followed the special, definite directions and guidance of God, which were to be obeyed.
The verse belongs to a victory God guided in a way that kept human beings from claiming the credit and showed that the power and wisdom for deliverance came from God. He can bring victory and accomplish His work through a humble instrument and simple means with human effort dependent on His help, so the victory is credited to God and not to human wisdom or skill, and the Lord is exalted while human beings do not receive the glory. Gideon's experience teaches that humble trust and obedience are essential in spiritual conflict. The verse rebukes faithlessness and narrowness of views, teaching that making narrow human plans results in very little accomplished.
Judges 7:10 stands in Judges 6-8, where faithful and valiant men were raised up to put down idolatry and deliver Israel from its enemies in a repeated cycle of backsliding and chastisement followed by confession and deliverance, after which the people gradually returned to their idols when the deliverer died. It belongs to the deliverance raised up after the children of Israel did evil and were delivered into the hand of Midian for seven years. Once the protecting hand of God was withdrawn, the Midianites from the eastern border and the deserts beyond, with the Amalekites from the south of Canaan, became unrelenting enemies, swarming into the land as locusts for multitude with their flocks and herds. Spreading like a devouring plague from the river Jordan to the Philistine plain as soon as the harvests began to ripen and remaining until the last fruits were gathered, they stripped the fields, robbed and maltreated the inhabitants, and forced those in the open country to abandon their homes for walled towns, fortresses, caves and rocky fastnesses, until in distress the people gave heed to the Lord's reproof and confessed their sins.
The verse shows that God made allowance for Gideon's fear and trembling at the thought of battle by telling him he could go down to the Midianite host and camp with Phurah his servant and attendant. He was sent there to hear what the enemy said that would encourage him and strengthen him to go forward. Gideon's army prevailed not because of numbers but because in living faith they followed the special, definite directions and guidance of God, which were to be obeyed.
The verse belongs to a victory God guided in a way that kept human beings from claiming the credit and showed that the power and wisdom for deliverance came from God. He can bring victory and accomplish His work through a humble instrument and simple means with human effort dependent on His help, so the victory is credited to God and not to human wisdom or skill, and the Lord is exalted while human beings do not receive the glory. Gideon's experience teaches that humble trust and obedience are essential in spiritual conflict. The verse rebukes faithlessness and narrowness of views, teaching that making narrow human plans results in very little accomplished.