The Lord had given Gideon and his three hundred men a glorious victory over the host of 135,000 Midianites. “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” had been their battle cry. They had blown their trumpets, broken their pitchers, and let their torches shine. They had not had to fight, for the Lord had caused the fear-stricken Midianites to kill each other and to flee in confusion.

Other Israelite tribes had then joined in pursuit. Gideon had called upon the tribe of Ephraim to take the fords of the Jordan to prevent the enemies from crossing over. They had killed the princes of Midian and had brought their heads to Gideon. But now these proud Ephraimites berated Gideon for not having called them sooner. Gideon answered wisely and humbly, giving them full credit for what they had done, and downplaying his own exploits. He was pursuing the enemy and would not waste time in argument.

How often we do the opposite, snatching defeat out of the very jaws of victory by quarreling with our fellow believers! Rather than winning souls to the Savior we criticize the methods others use to do so. Rather than battling the enemy’s hosts together, we fight against our brethren. Like the disciples in Mark 9:38, we want to forbid others to do what we fail to do “because they do not follow us.” We should rather pursue the enemy than waste time making enemies of our brethren.