So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.
So Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the enemy camp at the start of the midnight watch. The guards had just changed shifts, and at that moment they blew their trumpets and smashed the clay jars they were carrying.
Gideon and his small army launched their surprise attack at midnight when the enemy guards had just changed shifts, using trumpets and breaking jars as part of their battle plan.
📚 Historical Context
In the era of the Judges, the Israelites were suffering under the oppression of the Midianites, who frequently raided their crops and livestock, leading to widespread hardship. God called Gideon, an unlikely leader from the weakest clan, and commanded him to reduce his army from 32,000 to just 300 men to ensure that the victory would be attributed to divine intervention rather than human strength. In Judges 7:19, Gideon and his small band approached the Midianite camp under the cover of night during the middle watch, a time when the guards had just changed, and used trumpets and broken pitchers with torches to create confusion and panic.
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