Gideon:
The Israelites did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because Midian's power was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They encamped in the land and destroyed the crops as far as Gaza and didn't spare anything alive for Israel, neither sheep, nor cattle, nor donkeys. Midian impoverished the Israelites so that they cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord sent a prophet to Israel, who said that that the Lord had warned them for worshipping the gods of the nations around them, but they hadn't listened. (Jdg 6:1–10).
When it says that the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, it means that they began to worship the gods of the Canaanites. God had left these people as a test to see how willing the Israelites were to obey him. It resulted again and again that the Israelites adopted the pagan ways of the peoples around them. The Israelites were unfaithful to the Old Covenant under which they lived. This is an example for us Christians living under the New Covenant of what happens when we compromise God's word. Eventually we will see ourselves in bondage. This also happened to the Israelites for seven years.
The angel of the Lord, who is also called the Lord, appeared to Gideon and said
that the Lord was with him and that he was a mighty warrior. The Lord said so
he would go in the strength he had and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Gideon replied that his clan was the weakest in Manasseh, and that he was the least in his family. The Lord replied that he would be with him and that he would strike down all the Midianites without leaving anyone alive. Gideon replied that he wanted a sign. Gideon prepared a young goat and unleavened bread and offered them to him. The angel of God touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. The fire consumed the meat and the bread, and the angel of the Lord disappeared. Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it "The Lord Is Peace". (Jdg 6:11–24).
Since the angel of the Lord also is called the Lord, it must be someone in the Trinity. It was probably the pre-incarnated Jesus Christ. Gideon wanted a sign to believe.
Gideon didn't think highly of himself or his clan to be used by God.
That same night the Lord told him; to take the second bull from his father’s herd,
the one seven years old, to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and to cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then he would build an altar to the Lord on top of this height. He would use the wood of the Asherah pole that he had cut down and offer the second bull as a burnt offering. Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the people of the city, he did it at night rather than during the day. In the morning the people asked each other who had done it. When they examined it, they were told that it was Gideon. The people of the city demanded that his father took his son out and that he must die because of what he had done. But his father replied that if Baal is truly a god he could defend himself. (Jdg 6:25–32).
Gideon did it at night because he was afraid for his family. This shows that he wasn't strong in himself but depended on the Lord's strength. God uses what is weak and makes it strong in him.
All the Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, he blew the trumpet, and called the Abiezrites to follow him. He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh and called them to arms, and also to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, so that they also went up to meet them.
(Jdg 6:33–35).
Gideon said to God that if he wanted to save Israel by his hand as God had promised, behold: He would put a a fleece of wool on the threshing floor.
If there was only dew on the skin and all the ground was dry, then he
would know that he would save Israel by his hand. That happened too.
Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew,
a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God that he would allow him one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew. That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the
ground was covered with dew. (Jdg 6:36–40).
This shows a bit of Gideon's character. He wanted to be absolutely sure that God really wanted to use him to save Israel from the Midianites. Gideon who was a man who fought against fear and unbelief, a man of mediocrity for the most part, was called by God to be powerfully used to save Israel. Gideon wasn't a strong man in himself and not in his own eyes, and therefore God could use him for his purpose.
Early in the morning, Gideon and all his men men gathered together with the Midianite camp north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord told Gideon that he had too many men. Israel would boast to God if he delivered Midian into their hands, and would say that it was their own strength that rescued them from the Midianites. He who trembled with fear should therefore turn back and leave Mount Gilead. 22,000 men left, while 10,000 remained. But the Lord told Gideon that there were still too many men. Gideon should separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog laps from those who kneel to drink. 300 of them drank from cupped hands and lapped like dogs. All the others knelt down to drink. The Lord told Gideon that he would deliver the Midianites into his hands with the 300 men. Everyone else would go home. Gideon did so. (Jdg 7:1–8).
When you fight a battle for the Lord, you must walk in faith and not in fear.
In this case it should be clear that it was the Lord alone who rescued Israel.
During that night the Lord said to Gideon to go down to the camp of the
Midianites, because God would deliver them into their hands. If he was afraid to attack, he would first go down to the camp with one of his servants and listen to what the Midianites said. Afterwards he would be encouraged to attack the camp. Gideon and his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. The Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley. Gideon arrived just as a man told a friend his dream which was interpreted as God had given the Midianites and the entire camp into Gideon's hands. When he heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out that he Lord had given the camp of the Midianites into their hands. (Jdg 7:9–15).
Gideon was afraid to attack and therefore went to the Midianite camp.
After dividing the 300 men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside. When he and all who were with him blew their trumpets, then all the camp would blow their trumpets and shout: "For the Lord and for Gideon." They did so. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that they had in their hands. They took hold of the torches in their left hands and held in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, shouting: "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!". While each man kept his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. When the 300 trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men in the whole camp to turn against each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah as far as the border of Abel Meholah. Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. (Jdg 7:16–23).
The power of the Lord is made perfect in weakness. It means that when we are weak in ourselves, then we are strong in the Lord. (2 Cor 12:9–10).
Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, telling them to come down against the Midianites and block all access to water in their path as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. They did so, and they also captured two of the leaders of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb, and killed them. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon. (Jdg 7:24–25).
Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon why he didn’t call for them when he went to fight Midian. He answered them that God gave Oreb and Zeeb into their hands.
What could he do, compared to what they did. Then their resentment against him subsided. (Jdg 8:1–3).
Gideon used flattery to calm them down. A gentle answer turns away wrath (Proverbs 15:1). Instead, he could have explained that 32,000 men showed up for the first battle, but God wanted it to be only 300; it was God's will, not his choice. God wanted all the glory of the battle and not share it with anyone else.
Gideon and his 300 men, exhausted but continuing the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. He told the men of Sukkoth to give their troops bread; they were worn out, and he still pursued Zebah and Zalmunna. But the officials to Sukkoth
wouldn't give them bread. Then Gideon answered that when the Lord had given
Zebah and Zalmunna into his hand, he would tear their flesh with the thorns and thistles of the desert. From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request to them, but they gave the same answer. Gideon told them that when he returned in triumph, he would demolish their tower. (Jdg 8:4–9).
The officials of Sukkoth and Peniel were probably unsure of the outcome of the battle and wanted to remain neutral. If the Israelites lost, they didn't want to be accused of helping them.
Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor with a force of about 15,000 men, all that remained of the armies of the eastern peoples; 125,000 swordsmen had fallen. Gideon attacked the unsuspecting army. Zebah and Zalmunna fled but he pursued them and captured them, and threw their entire army into a panic. Gideon returned from battle. He captured a young man from Sukkoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down the names of the 77 officials of Sukkoth, the elders of the city. Gideon took these elders and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson by punishing them with the desert thorns and briers. He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the city. Gideon told Jether, his eldest son, to kill Zebah and Zalmunna. But Jether didn't draw his sword, for he was only a boy and was afraid.
Zebah and Zalmunna told Gideon to do it himself, and he did so. (Jdg 8:10–21).
Gideon killed all these Israelites in Peniel because of his fury and anger. He brought revenge into play that went way beyond what these people deserved. He started so humble when God called him, and have now become an executioner.
Gideon no longer followed God's will but his own agenda for revenge, see
Love and not revenge in The Sermon on the Mount.
The Israelites asked Gideon to rule over them, he, his son, and his grandson, because he had saved them from the hand of Midian. But Gideon told them that he wouldn't, that the Lord would rule over them. Instead, Gideon had a request for them, that each of them gave him an earring from their share of the plunder. So they did. The weight of the gold rings came to 1700 shekels (over 40 pounds or
20 kg) of gold. Gideon also took the ornaments, the pendants, and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian. Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his city. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a snare for Gideon and his family. (Jdg 8:22–27).
It wasn't Gideon who had saved them, he was just a tool. It was the Lord who had saved them. But because the people believed that it was Gideon who had done it, they wanted his family line to become kings in Israel. Gideon did the right thing and declined the offer. But Gideon then embraced a king's lifestyle. He took advantage of the generosity of the people because of the victories. The ephod that he made was much more than a high priestly garment. It became something pagan that the people worshipped. Gideon's actions also affected his family badly.
Gideon who had been so anointed and used by God so powerful made such big
mistakes at the end of his life. Anointing doesn't guarantee stability in the walk with Jesus Christ. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is great and tells us that God is great but says nothing about the character of the anointed. God uses all kinds of people to do his will, because he is a God of grace, see for example Balaam and Balak. God uses people who are weak, small, uneducated, and unpopular. Just because God chooses someone to do something powerful, it doesn't mean that this person's walk with the Lord is even good.
Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and didn't raise his head again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace for 40 years. (Jdg 8:28).
This was the last time in The Book of Judges that they had such peace.
Gideon had 70 sons of his own, for he had many wives. His concubine who lived in Shechem also bore him a son whom he named Abimelech. (Jdg 8:29–31).
Having several concubines was a status symbol of power and authority in the East at that time, and was among kings. Gideon even had a concubine in Shechem which wasn't an Israeli city but a Canaanite city. He rejected the title of king, but wanted the prestige, wealth, women, pleasure, and power of a king.
Gideon died at a good old age. No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith their god and didn't remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. They failed to show any loyalty to Gideon's family despite all the good he had done for them. (Jdg 8:32–35).
For information on other judges, see The Book of Judges.
Abimelech:
Abimelech, son of Gideon, went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem and asked them whether it was better for them to be ruled by all 70 of Gideon's sons or by him who was their flesh and blood. The inhabitants of Shechem were then inclined to follow him. They gave him 70 shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and he used it to hire ruthless scoundrels, who became his followers. (Jdg 9:1–4).
Abimelech went to his father Gideon's home in Ophrah and murdered his 70 brothers. But Jotham, Gideon's youngest son, escaped by hiding. Then all the inhabitants of Shechem gathered to crown Abimelech king. When Jotham
learned this, he asked them from distance if they were being fair to Gideon and his family by making Abimelech king. They had revolted against his father’s family, murdered his 70 sons and made Abimelech, the son of his female slave, king over the people of Shechem because he was related to them. If they hadn't acted fair, fire would come out of Abimelech and consume them, the inhabitants of Shechem, and fire would come out of them and consume Abimelech.
Then Jotham fled because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech. (Jdg 9:5–21).
It was a mass execution of his 70 brothers. The reason was to eliminate any competition for the role of power and leadership that Abimelech wanted.
The people of Shechem supported this only because Abimelech was one of them.
After Abimelech had ruled Israel for three years, God stirred up animosity between Abimelech and the people of Shechem so that they acted treacherously against him. God did this so that the crime against Gideon’s
70 sons would be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the people of Shechem, who had helped Abimelech kill his brothers. In opposition to him these inhabitants of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob all who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelech. (Jdg 9:22–25).
Gaal moved with his clan into Shechem, and its inhabitants put their confidence in him. They held a festival in the temple of their god. As they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech. When Zebul, the governor of the city, heard what Gaal said, he was very angry. Under cover Zebul sent messengers to Abimelech, saying that
Gaal and his clan were stirring up the city against him. He and his men should come and advance towards the city. When Gaal and his men came out against them, they should seize the opportunity to attack them. Abimelech and all his troops moved off and took up hidden positions near Shechem. When Gaal saw them, he went out to fight them. Gaal led out the inhabitants of Shechem and fought Abimelech.
Abimelech pursued him as far as the entrance of the gate, and many were killed as they fled. Then Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his clan out of Shechem. (Jdg 9:26–41).
This means that Abimelech defeated Gaal and his followers.
The next day the inhabitants of Shechem went out into the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech. He took his men and laid an ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them. Abimelech and the bands with him attacked them in the fields and struck them down. All that day Abimelech pursued his attack against the city until he had taken it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it. When the inhabitants of the tower of Shechem heard this, they entered the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith. Abimelech and his men then set branches against the stronghold and set it on fire with the people still inside. All the people in the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women. (Jdg 9:42–49).
Shechem wasn't rebuilt until two centuries later.
Then Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it. Inside the city, however, there was a strong tower, to which all the men and women of the city had fled. They had locked themselves in and climbed onto the tower roof. Abimelech went to the tower and attacked it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, a woman of Thebez dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull. He hurriedly shouted to his armor-bearer to kill him, so that they couldn’t say that a woman killed him. His servant did so. When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home. Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his 70 brothers. God also made the people of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. Jotham's curse came upon them. (Jdg 9:50–57).
This shows how futile this kind of ambition for power, wealth, and status is. God returned their wickedness to them. What a man sows he shall also reap
(Gal 6:7–9). We as believers must be careful to not neglect the moral implications of the decisions we make, and the people we listen to and acknowledge.
For information on other judges, see The Book of Judges.
