Conflicts of leaders

Leaders are always faced with conflicts. Those who are not enthusiastic about the Lord’s work tend to criticize those who serve zealously. They also tend to take credit for the results as their own work. Gideon’s dilemma was that some people did not want to participate in the battle due to fear, while others were upset for not being called to fight. If you were Gideon, how would you solve this problem? Messengers were also sent to the tribe of Ephraim, and they joined the battle in the final stage. They captured and killed the two Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. In remembrance of this, the places where they were killed were named “the rock of Oreb” and “the wine press of Zeeb.”

Gideon’s humbleness

Afterward, the men of Ephraim complained to Gideon, questioning why they were not called in the first place. They were self-centered and had prided themselves to be the most important tribe among the twelve tribes (their pride issue resurfaces in Judges 12:1-6). In response to their accusation, Gideon answered humbly. (1) “The grapes of Abiezer” refer to the first battle that Gideon fought, and Joash the Abiezer was Gideon’s father. (2) The “gleanings of the grapes” refer to what Gideon missed during the harvest, which were the two enemy leaders, Oreb and Zeeb, and the men of Ephraim harvested them. (3) Gideon calmed their anger, saying to them that the gleanings the men of Ephraim obtained were far superior to the harvest he had gathered.  What Gideon did here is the very principle described in Proverbs 15:1: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Is there something we can learn from Gideon’s humbleness? The greatest prescription for dealing with anger is humbleness and gentle words.