Metaphysical meaning of Midianites (mbd)
Midianites mid'-l-an-ites (fr. Heb.)--of or belonging to Midian.
Descendants of Midian, Abraham's son by Keturah, and inhabitants of the land of Midian (Gen. 37:28; Num. 31:1).
Meta. Discrimination or judgment in sense consciousness; also strife, contention.
In Judges 7, the oppressors are represented by the Midianites, meaning strife. The Children of Israel had not fully followed the command, "Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image." They were not strong enough to hold steady and let the divine imaging power do its perfect work. They tried to go ahead of the Lord, and false images, false standards, were established. This resulted in strife in both soul and environment, or within and without.
To many people there is no other enemy that is so difficult to eliminate as strife. Petty quarrels, jealousies, uncharitable thoughts--how they come back again and again! Nor can they ever be overcome except by divine love--the mind that was in Christ Jesus--"who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." Strife and contention must be put wholly out of our life before we can entirely possess the Promised Land; we must "smite the Midianites as one man," impersonal evil, and that, even, as a claim that never was and never shall be.
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Preceding Entry: Midian
Following Entry: Migdal-el
