Judges 5:31b–5:6 (ESV)        

And the land had rest for forty years.

The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD.

This time, it takes about two generations of “rest” for Israel to forget the LORD and get back to their usual evil ways. Then it takes about seven years of abuse by the Midianites for Israel to wake up and cry out for help to the LORD. Well, at least they haven’t forgotten His name.

The Midianite oppression is so severe that it sets a standard. Isaiah mentions it a couple of times.

For the yoke of his burden,
            and the staff for his shoulder,
            the rod of his oppressor,
            you have broken as on the day of Midian. — Isaiah 9:4 (ESV)

This oppression is worse than subjugation to a totalitarian government. It’s just relentless, random thievery.

It’s the randomness that makes it so horrible. Even in the slavery under Pharaoh, the Israelites had some idea of what tomorrow would bring. It was horrible, but livable. You could work within the system because there was a system. Even when their quota of bricks was doubled, there was a quota.

The Midianites don’t have a quota (or it’s infinite).

This greatest oppression will set the stage for the greatest judge—Gideon. There’s a lesson in that.

These swings from bad to good to bad are like a pendulum. The farther a pendulum swings one way, the more it’s prepped to swing far the other way. So it is with Israel’s behavior (and ours).

At the heart of this is our sinful reaction to good things. Good things can’t stay good, because our sin pollutes it. For example, success leads to complacency and over-confidence. This sets the stage for failure, which sets the stage for repentance. But that’s a good thing; repentance is the ideal state.

Our lowest points are really the highlights.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.