Judges 7:17
And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
Gideon spoke these words on the edge of the Midianite camp after seven years of oppression, directing his three hundred men to watch him closely and do exactly as he did so they would act together under his lead. The command was part of a plan given by divine direction to divide into three companies with trumpets and torches hidden in pitchers, then at Gideon's signal to sound, break the pitchers, show the lights, and rush on with a cry for the Lord and for Gideon. It was a special direction from God, and the small band prevailed by following it in living faith rather than by numbers or human wisdom, showing that God's work succeeds through faith-filled obedience to the means He appoints. The deliverance was wrought in a way that left no one able to claim the glory, for the power and wisdom behind the victory came from God rather than human strength, teaching humble dependence on Him and that He alone must receive the praise.
Setting and Command
The command belongs to the deliverance raised up for Israel from Midian after seven years of oppression. The children of Israel had done evil and had been delivered into the hand of Midian, with the tribes east of the Jordan suffering first. Midianites with Amalekites and peoples of the desert came as locusts for multitude with flocks and herds, spreading from the Jordan to the Philistine plain at harvest time, stripping the increase of the earth, robbing the inhabitants, and forcing those in the open country into walled towns, fortresses, caves and rocky fastnesses. When the people in distress gave heed to reproof and confessed their sins, a helper was again raised up for them.
Gideon was one of the faithful and valiant men raised up to put down idolatry and deliver Israel from its enemies, proving that God had not utterly forsaken His people despite their backsliding. This stands within the repeated pattern of backsliding and chastisement followed by confession and deliverance, after which, when the deliverer died and his authority was removed, the people gradually returned to their idols. In this setting Gideon directed his men to watch him and copy what he did when he came to the outside of the camp, so that the three hundred would act together under his lead. The plan was given by divine direction and was at once carried out. The three hundred were divided into three companies, every man was given a trumpet and a torch concealed in an earthen pitcher, and they were stationed to approach the Midianite camp from different directions, then in the dead of night at the signal of Gideon's war horn they sounded their trumpets, broke their pitchers, displayed the blazing torches, and rushed upon the enemy with the war cry of the Lord and of Gideon.
Victory by Divine Power
Gideon's command to watch him and do exactly as he did was a special direction from God, and his army prevailed because they followed that direction in living faith rather than because of their numbers. The work of God succeeds through such faith-filled obedience to His directions, while faithlessness and narrow views and narrow plans accomplish very little.
The instruction belonged to God's unusual plan for the three hundred with trumpets and empty pitchers and shouting, a plan that by ordinary human judgment could look confused and unreasonable. God's way of working need not match human ideas of sensible or methodical action. God used the simple actions of Gideon's small band to overthrow a stronger enemy, so that the victory came through God's power rather than through human strength or ingenuity. The lesson is humble dependence on God and trust in the means He appoints.
Israel's deliverance was set out before the battle in a way that left no person able to claim the glory, for the power and wisdom and might behind the victory came from God rather than from human ability or visible strength. Success came through God's help working with human effort rather than through human wisdom or skill alone, teaching that humble trust in God and faithful obedience to His commands are essential even when His way differs from the world's. The Lord accomplishes the work and must receive the glory, and human beings are not to attract praise or exalt themselves as the source of victory.
Later Echoes and Application
Gideon's method of dividing his force into three companies for a surprise attack became a pattern followed later in the rescue of Jabesh-gilead. After a rapid night march across the Jordan with 330,000 men, the army was likewise divided into three companies. The attack fell upon the Ammonite camp in the morning watch, at an early hour when no danger was suspected and security was least. The result was panic and a rout with great slaughter.
The keeping of lamps concealed in pitchers until the pitchers are broken illustrates holding a message back until divine direction indicates the appointed time to bring it forward to meet the need. The breaking of the pitchers and the shining forth of the light applies to the bringing forward of a prepared message after open challenge to the testimonies. At that moment those who had been confused were enabled to see clearly and to choose their side.