Judges 8
Then the Ephraimites said to him, “What have you done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against the Midianites?” And they upbraided him violently.2 So he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? 3 God has given into your hands the captains of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; what have I been able to do in comparison with you?” When he said this, their anger against him subsided.
4 Then Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the three hundred who were with him, exhausted and famished.[a] 5 So he said to the people of Succoth, “Please give some loaves of bread to my followers, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 But the officials of Succoth said, “Do you already have in your possession the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna, that we should give bread to your army?” 7 Gideon replied, “Well then, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will trample your flesh on the thorns of the wilderness and on briers.” 8 From there he went up to Penuel, and made the same request of them; and the people of Penuel answered him as the people of Succoth had answered. 9 So he said to the people of Penuel, “When I come back victorious, I will break down this tower.”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the people of the east; for one hundred twenty thousand men bearing arms had fallen. 11 So Gideon went up by the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the army; for the army was off its guard. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled; and he pursued them and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and threw all the army into a panic.
13 When Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres,14 he caught a young man, one of the people of Succoth, and questioned him; and he listed for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven people. 15 Then he came to the people of Succoth, and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Do you already have in your possession the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna, that we should give bread to your troops who are exhausted?’” 16 So he took the elders of the city and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them he trample the people of Succoth. 17 He also broke down the tower of Penuel, and killed the men of the city.
18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What about the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they, every one of them; they resembled the sons of a king.” 19 And he replied, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother; as the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” 20 So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Go kill them!” But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a boy. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “You come and kill us; for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon proceeded to kill Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels.
Gideon’s Idolatry
22 Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also; for you have delivered us out of the hand of Midian.” 23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lordwill rule over you.” 24 Then Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you; each of you give me an earring he has taken as booty.” (For the enemy[c] had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 “We will willingly give them,” they answered. So they spread a garment, and each threw into it an earring he had taken as booty. 26 The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold (apart from the crescents and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and the collars that were on the necks of their camels). 27 Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his town, in Ophrah; and all Israel prostituted themselves to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. 28 So Midian was subdued before the Israelites, and they lifted up their heads no more. So the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
Death of Gideon
29 Jerubbaal son of Joash went to live in his own house. 30 Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. 32 Then Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites relapsed and prostituted themselves with the Baals, making Baal-berith their god. 34 The Israelites did not remember theLord their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side; 35 and they did not exhibit loyalty to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.
As we are approaching our Sight & Sound trip, to watch Musical Samson, I thought it might be a good idea to walk through the story of judges.
What does the passage say?
V. 1-21 Gideon chases Zebah and Zalmunna down. Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of the Midianites, still has 15,000 men with them (v. 10). However, they are captured by the passion of 300 men, who followed Gideon. During Gideon’s journey pursuing these kings, passes by two towns, Sukkoth and Peniel, and ask for bread. The two towns refused to offer any help to Gideon’s troop. After Gideon finally captures the two kings, he comes back to those towns to conquer them, as well. Not only because they failed to offer hospitality, but also, in that time, it was a humiliation. We have to remember that Israel was under oppression, by many nations surrounding them. The language we hear from this chapter is somewhat hard fro us to understand.
V. 22-27 Gideon comes back, and the people of Israelites are enthralled. They ask Gideon’s family to rule over Israel. Gideon does not accept this offer. Instead, he says, “I most certainly will not rule over you, nor will my son. God will reign over you” (v. 23). He then asks them a share of their plunder and makes an ephod out of it. The ephod is a garment worn by the high priest. And the Bible says this became a ‘snare to Gideon and his family.’
V. 28-35 Gideon dies ‘at a good old age’ and the people of Israel follow God faithfully during the time of his reign. However, after the death of Gideon, they start worshiping other Gods.
What does this mean to me/ us?
The story of Gideon reminds us who vulnerable we are to recognition. Gideon did something that was so marvelous in the eye of the people. He brought back the sense of God looking over the nation and defeated mighty kings with so little. His reputation was well known, probably because of the conquer over the other countries, Israel was able to live in peace, during his lifetime.
However, when he failed to offer all glory to God, and make an Ephod, for his family, the Bible says that it became a ‘snare to Gideon and his family.’ It is good to have a memorial, for us to remember. However, if that takes away the glory of our Lord, and it puts on glory to ourselves, it might become a snare to us.
We always need to remind ourselves of the word of Gideon, who said, “I most certainly will not rule over you, nor will my son. God will reign over you” (v. 23 The Message).
Lord, you are our Lord. Let us remember the weight of this word. We seem to live our lives, but we need to understand what it means to live under your reign. Help us understand the meaning of your Lordship. And today, as we live as your people. In Christ’s name we pray, AMEN.
What are your thoughts?
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