WE will now continue our study of the antitypical fulfillment of Judges 7:
“They [the three hundred] stood every man in his place round about the camp” (verse 21). They stood type the fact that the antitypical 300 remained stationed in their place, nothing by any means being able to allure them from their work.
“And all the host ran, and cried, and fled” (verse 21). The Divine rightists were seized with fear, causing them to seek to escape the unanswerable arguments that came from the facts and principles presented by the faithful, while the World War corroborated the teachings of the faithful.
“And the three hundred blew the trumpets” (verse 22). The three hundred kept on blowing their trumpets as loudly as possible, until the end of the battle, which types the fact that the faithful used all the energy in continuing the onslaught against the Divine Right doctrines in announcing the overthrow of Satan’s empire and in proclaiming the coming Kingdom of God.
“And the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host” (verse 22). God caused the Truth to shine upon the World War and the Divine Right doctrines, resulting in much contentious and strifeful discussion of them, producing a great overthrow of faith in the Divine Right doctrines.
Most versions of the Bible translate the last sentence of verse 22 as follows: “And the host fled (1) as far as Beth-shittah [house of acacia] toward Zererah [cooling], (2) as far as the border of Abelmeholah [meadow of the dance] by Tabbath [famous].” We here see that the Midianites fled away from the first battle with Gideon in two groups, headed in two different directions. This types Christendom’s division into two classes: (1) the Conservatives and (2) the Radicals.
Three Groups of Antitypical Warriors
Verse 23 brings three groups of warriors upon the warfare scene – the 9,700 who were rejected from participation in Gideon’s first battle. These 9,700 men were from the tribes of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh, and they type the three groups of the Great Company, who warred against the antitypical Midianites. From the Levitical picture they type the antitypical Merarites, Kohathites, and Gershonites.
The first Great Company group to enter this antitypical warfare was the partisan Society adherents and the Standfasts. These type the men of Naphtali. Their part of the warfare covered the period of the Big Drive from the Fall of 1917 to the Spring of 1918. The second Great Company group to enter the antitypical warfare was the Olsonite branch of the Great Company. These type the men of Asher. The third Great Company group to enter the antitypical warfare was the P.B.I. and the B.S.C. (British Bible Students Committee). These type the men of Manasseh.
It is noteworthy that while Gideon invited the 300 to enter the first battle with him (Judges 7: 15) and invited the men of Ephraim to pursue after the Midianites (Judges 7: 24), he did not invite the men of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh to do either of these things; nor did he lead, nor was he with them in their part of the battle. This types the facts that our Lord did not invite the three groups of the Great Company to take part in the warfare against antitypical Midian. It was not the Truth on the subject that impelled them to enter this antitypical warfare; for they did it under a measure of error and unholy ambition.
(to be continued)