Cutting off the head may look good, but digging out the root is what’s needed.

Scripture Read: Judges 8:10-12 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about 15,000 men, all who were left of the entire army of the sons of the east; for the fallen were 120,000 swordsmen. 11 Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the camp when the camp was unsuspecting. 12 When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.

Application: It would be reasonable to ask why whould Gideon feel the need to continue to pursue his enemies when he had already taken an Army of 300 against an army of over 120,000 and now there was only 15,000 left. Surely logic would dictate that the enemy's army having been so thoroughly decimated would seek escape and not engagement. If Gideon's army had already destroyed 105,000 troops why would it fear a mere 15,000 more? Is Gideon bloodthirsty and a warmonger? The principle that is communicated in this passage is so important for all of us. 

We are in the race of life with a desire of final victory for our Lord. The very approach that Gideon is exhibiting is what we need. It is also this exact failure of Israel when she took the Promised Land. Israel was told that God was using her to judge the nations that were in the land, because they have become filled with idolatry, horrendous abominations so much so that even their children were sacrificed to their false gods. The societies had become a cancer on the human anatomy and God had decided that they must be cut out. However, Israel failed to follow through until completion. This is the insight that Gideon is showing, whether it was something he learned by observing the failure in the history of his own nation, or wisdom given to him by the Holy Spirit, Gideon knew that a real victory would only be accomplished when the entire enemy had been destroyed. Again, I realize this seems harsh but history has demonstrated that unless evil is completely rooted out, what is left will grow again and come back to haunt you. Consider the examples shown here in Joshua and Judges:

Joshua 13:13 But the sons of Israel did not dispossess the Geshurites or the Maacathites; for Geshur and Maacath live among Israel until this day.

Judges 1:27–36 But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; so the Canaanites persisted in living in that land....Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer...Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them...So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. ³³ Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh

All these societies that continue to exist and live among the Israelites grew in strength and brought back their idolatry and evil practices that finally infiltrated and infected Israel's society to the point that by the time of Isaiah, Israel was a mere shadow of the nation of God it had been in the Exodus.

We do not wrestle with flesh and blood, so war and shedding blood is not in our agenda. Yet, the principle of fighting Evil the way Gideon did is still applicable for us. When we stop short and choose to leave any remnant of the evil we've been battling in our lives, we place ourselves in the same jeopardy that Israel did. That evil will remain under the surface of our conscious thought, but in time will grow in strength and at some point will attempt to resurface and control our flesh. Gideon's approach was Zero tolerance for the enemy, we must adopt the same philosophy if we hope to see victories one at a time take place in our life. The saddest of all statements is: “He started well, but finished bad.” God wants us to finish great, and will provide a way for us if we will just follow.

Meditation Questions: How thorough are you in your life? Do you have a hard time completing things? How important is that discipline to you? If you struggle finishing things, Why? Have you taken time to evaluate why that happens? If you do well finishing things, does that include your spiritual life? If not, Why? Would you want to drink water with just a “little” poison in it? How is sin different? Are there evils in your life that you tolerate? Are there sins that you rename with words like “mistake”, “slip”, “being human” “failure” and “weakness” ... just to name a few? Do you do that to lessen the idea of SIN? None of those terms are wrong, unless you refuse to see that ALL of them mean – SIN  - and separate your fellowship and intimacy with our Lord. What areas are you struggling with right now? Will you face them and call them sin?

Then God can show you how to deal with them!