Is Psalm 110:6-7 an allusion to Judges 7:4-8?

Question

BSB Psalm 110: 6He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead; He will crush the leaders far and wide. 7He will drink from the brook by the road; therefore He will lift up His head.

NIV Judges 7:4But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

5So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” 6Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

7The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” 8So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.

Please see this related post: Lapping like dogs or using their hands? An inconsistency in Judges 7:5-7

Answer 1

The two passages I don't think are related in the way you are asking. The judges passage is a judging of Israelites who are better suited to carry out a task, and though the task is in a way to judge a nation that was against Israel, the Psalm passage is a matter of the LORD judging all nations.

The word in the Hebrew text is better translated probably as GENTILE NATIONS -- all nations other than Israel.

OOPS I MISSED YOUR POINT ABOUT DRINKING. There might be a parallel between the focus on duty of the the Messiah on God's right hand and God choosing those who are focused on the task at hand.

Thanks for asking a rather interesting question that identified in the Psalm a passage of universal application, and that Judges is one of the many historical steps along THE WAY.

I had recently asked a question in regard to Psalm 110 on an issue a couple of verses before, namely the killing by the Lord on God's right hand of the kings of the Gentiles. Connecting to the Psalm verses you refer to might be the phrase "therefore He will lift up His head".

I might also add here to what I said in my question, the head might be as the renewed mind of the believer that is enabled in terms of moving from being a babe on the milk with just the renewed mind, to a fully matured believer with the renewed mind enabled to understand the Bible mysteries.

TO DO THIS INVOLVES PERHAPS OVERCOMING ALL OF THE BELIEVERS REMAINING INDWELLING SINS. The old Gentile or subconscious heart corruption which for a believer with a renewed heart is protected from the evil one by being hid in Christ till he overcomes fully said remaining indwelling sins. The old nature has a kind of hierarchy where there remains yet in that structure a kind of rulership/kingship aspect which is key to facing and overcoming the believer's remaining indwelling sins.

This relates to the mystery in Romans that the fullness of Gentile times must happen before Israel will be added to the church, where Israel is the fully conscious mind that it will become one with the heart mind (the subconscious), where heart and mind are one in the Christ. The first step is a conscious, proper repentance to gain the renewed mind, and an acceptance of the holy spirit as one's teacher to gain the matured renewed mind, which probably is very rare among believers -- among those not yet possessing, such I ... sigh.

Answer 2

When you use a King James Bible you will see that the Lord chose the men who lapped using their hands and NOT bowing down to drink. Passage 7:5 is ALL ONE thought. "So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gidean, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; LIKEWISE every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink." "likewise" means also...or the same as...All the men who bowed down, not paying attention to their surroundings were set aside. The warriors stood...stayed alert...and used their hands, as mentioned in verse 6. "And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: BUT ALL the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water."...The confusion comes in because of the word 'lapped'. There is a connection to Psalm 110:7...The Lord is judging the earth in this verse...and during this time He will be a warrior...looking out for his enemies as Gideon's men...keeping his head lifted. Psalm 110:7 "He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head."

Answer 3

Psalm 110 is a messianic poem.

Psalm 110:1 had been quoted in Matthew 22:44; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42; Acts 2:34 and Hebrews 1:13

The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

Psalm 110:4 had been quoted in Hebrews 5:6 & 7:17

“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

With the understanding the main character is Christ, let's continue to Psalm 110:6-7 (NIV)

6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.

7 He will drink from a brook along the way, and so he will lift his head high.

This was a scene of judgement, that the Messiah was in pursuit of His enemies. Verse 7 requires some imagination. "Drink from a brook along the way", a similar scene was found in 1 King 17:4 that the Lord instructed Elijah to hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and along the way, drank from the brook. So it was a scene of long journey, at time of weary, drank some water from the brook for a refreshment and get back to strength (lift his head high).

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Judges 7:4-8 had a total different setting.

The Lord sent the soldiers drink water from the spring had a purpose to "thin them out" (Judges 7:4). Eventually only 300 men left with Gideon from an original 32000. So it was not because the men had travelled a long journey that they needed water from springs to get a refreshment, nor they were weary in battle, since battle had not even started.

Conclusion

Therefore Psalm 110:6-7 is not an allusion to Judges 7:4-8