incensed multitude, and Gideon received the name of Jerub-baal, that is, 'Let Baal fight against him.'

The campaign against the Midianites was now to commence, and Gideon conducted it as general. He easily collected round him the men of his own family and clan; then sending out messengers throughout the northern districts of the land, he roused the warriors of Manasseh and Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali. The renown of his name and the reliance placed in his valour and wisdom, induced very large numbers to answer his call. Yet though filled with the spirit of the Lord, he could not divest himself of doubt and diffidence. He again prayed earnestly for a sign, this time to guarantee his success in the impending war. He spread the fleece of a sheep upon the ground, where he left it during the night; should he find the earth around dry, but the fleece saturated with dew, he would be convinced of the Divine assistance. On the next morning, he saw the ground dry, while the fleece was steeped in dew. Still a remnant of doubt lingered in his mind, and he prayed for the same sign reversed. The following day, copious dew lay on the ground, but the fleece was dry. Now at last Gideon's fears were quieted, and his resolution taken.

Thirty-two thousand men had answered to his summons; but that number was deemed by him too large, for the defeat of the enemy was to appear mainly as the work of God, not of men, and Israel was not to say, 'My own hand has saved me.' Therefore Gideon proclaimed, Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead.' Twenty-two thousand soldiers left the camp. But as even the remaining ten thousand men were considered too many for the purpose, a curious device was adopted for weeding out the least energetic. Gideon took the men to the water: those who threw themselves on their knees and drank leisurely were sent home;

while those who, gathering the water in their hands, rapidly lapped it as a dog laps,' were retained: of the latter there were but three hundred men; and with this small band Gideon boldly undertook to meet the enemy, who lay in the valley of Jezreel as the sand by the sea-side for multitude.' It was night, and the Lord bade Gideon arise and approach the camp of the heathens, which was sure to fall into his hands: if he was afraid to go alone, he might take his armour-bearer Phurah with him. So both stole softly, in the stillness of the night, into the valley. When they had reached the outskirts of the camp, they heard one man tell his dream to his comrade: 'Lo, a cake of barley tumbled into the host of Midian, and came to the tents, and struck them that they fell, and overturned them, and the tents lay along'; after which he heard his comrade give this interpretation: This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel; for into his hand has God delivered Midian and all the host.' When Gideon heard these auspicious words, he worshipped God in gratitude, and returned hopefully to his men. He told them that the hour of action had come. The plan of attack was promptly made: the three hundred men were arranged in three divisions; each man was provided with a trumpet, an empty pitcher, and a torch within the pitcher; and all the soldiers were in every respect to imitate Gideon's actions. The latter went onward accompanied by a hundred men; the rest followed. Gently they ascended the hill, and stood close to the unsuspecting enemy. Gideon advanced, blew a stirring blast on his trumpet, broke his pitcher, and held aloft the lighted torch. His example was instantaneously followed by his soldiers, who rushed forward to the war-cry, 'Sword for the Lord and for Gideon.' The deafening din of the trumpets aroused the sleeping Midianites, and the blazing torches alarmed them. Utter confusion reigned in their

camp; seized with a panic, and without attempting the slightest resistance, they turned in hasty flight, and sped on madly, in the hope of gaining the fords of the Jordan, and thus to reach in safety the Desert or some friendly tribe. Fierce was the chase through Palestine; Gideon sent his speedy messengers through all the mountain of Ephraim, bidding the people occupy at once the passes of the Jordan, and so cut off the retreat of the Midianites. The men of Ephraim promptly obeyed the command, and caused a terrible massacre at the fords of the Jordan. They captured also the two Midianite princes, Oreb and Zeeb, slew them, and brought their heads as trophies to Gideon. A hundred and twenty thousand of the enemies fell in this fearful war.

But the men of Ephraim, hardy warriors, conscious of their growing power, and not free from overbearing pride, which was later to cause fatal divisions, felt aggrieved that they should not have been summoned sooner to share in the glory of the victory, and they remonstrated sharply with Gideon. His judicious answer, reflecting the moderation and nobleness of his nature, averted a dangerous conflict: What have I done,' he replied, 'in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer? God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and what was I able to do in comparison with you?' The Ephraimites were satisfied. Gideon and his three hundred men continued their pursuit of the enemy; they hastened on eastward, anxious to capture the Midianite kings Zebah and Zalmunna, crossed the Jordan, and arrived wearied and exhausted at the ancient city of Succoth. They begged for bread to satisfy their hunger; the men of Succoth answered tauntingly, 'Dost thou hold Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hands, that we should give bread to thy army?' Gideon swore to take fearful

revenge if he should return victorious, and passed on with his hungry followers. Having arrived at Penuel, he repeated his entreaty, was as heartlessly refused, and menaced a similar retribution. Meanwhile Zebah and

Zalmunna had rallied at Karkor the remnant of their army, consisting of fifteen thousand men, eager to crush Gideon and his handful of followers. But the Hebrews, incited by despair, and fighting for their existence, surprised the hostile camp at an unguarded hour with complete success. The heathen army was routed and put to flight; Gideon dashed off in pursuit of the two kings, and captured them. He proceeded with them to Succoth, summoned the elders of the town, seventy-seven in number, and bade them look upon his royal captives. 'Behold, here are Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom you mocked me, saying, Are Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hands, that we should give bread to thy men that are weary?' Thereupon he carried out his fearful threat, and beat the elders to death with thorns and briars. He then fell upon the town of Penuel, and slew its inhabitants. Now he ordered Zebah and Zalmunna to be brought before him; the moment had arrived for fulfilling what he considered a sacred duty. What manner of men,' he asked the captives, were those you slew at Tabor?' Promptly they replied, 'As thou art, so were they, each one resembled the children of a king.' Then Gideon exclaimed, 'They were my brothers, the sons of my mother; as the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not slay you.' Desirous to leave to his firstborn the merit and the glory of the deed, he called upon his son Jether to strike the death-blow. But the youth trembled to approach the famous heroes. Then the kings, anxious to escape the indignity of falling by the hand of a boy, requested Gideon, Rise thou, and fall upon us, for as the

man is, so is his strength.' So Gideon himself avenged the murder of his brothers, and the war was concluded.

When perfect peace and security were restored, the Hebrews, ready to show their gratitude to the hero who by his fearless courage had restored to them their liberty and their homes, offered him the crown of royalty, to be hereditary among his descendants. But Gideon felt that his task was accomplished; he had always considered himself merely as an agent and instrument of God; he was satisfied to have been the champion of his people, he shrank from being their king, and he replied, 'I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you, the Lord shall rule over you.'

Nothing gives us a better insight into the strange character of the time than the fact recorded of Gideon after this noble answer, which seems to imply an absolute obedience to the Divine will. He requested the Israelites to bring him from the spoils as many golden trinkets as they could find; and when they had presented heavy golden earrings, and chains taken from the camels' necks, and magnificent embroideries, he made of them an image or ephod, and set it up as an object of worship at Ophrah, his own city. Can we doubt that this image was dedicated, not to an idol, but to God, whom it was meant to represent? How far, therefore, was true Mosaism from being established in the minds of even firm believers in the one God!

Gideon had many wives, and became the father of seventy sons, besides whom a wife of inferior rank bore to him at Shechem another son, whom he called Abimelech. He survived his glorious victories for forty years, a happy and peaceful time for the Israelites; and when he died at a great age, he was buried in the grave of his ancestors, mourned by a grateful nation.