Zebah and Zalmunna Routed
8 Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him vigorously. 2 But he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? 3 God has given the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb into your hands; and what was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their [a]anger toward him subsided when he said [b]that.
4 Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing. 5 He said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me, for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 The leaders of Succoth said, “[c]Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?” 7 Gideon said, “[d]All right, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will [e]thrash your [f]bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” 8 He went up from there to [g]Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 So he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I return safely, I will tear down this tower.”
When God gives you success, get ready for trouble. You’ll have those who are jealous, and those who ought to help but won’t, and any number of other odd reactions.
We as human beings aren’t very great at being gracious when someone else is having (what seems to be) more success than we are. That’s crazy, those are exactly the sort of people we should be gracious to. Now, I’m not talking about brown-nosing, weaselly, flattery. And really, we should be gracious to all men. But when someone else finds blessings from God, be thankful, celebrate with them, and don’t be a sore loser!