What I Noticed Today (Judges 8-9)
Note: There is a lot going on in these two chapters. I really had to dig in to keep track of all the names of people and places!
Judges 8
Leading off in Judges 8, the men of Ephraim are upset that Gideon didn’t call on them to join the fight against the Midianites. Gideon was able to calm them with a bit of flattery (Judges 8:2). He suggested that the Ephraimite gleanings (leftovers) were better than the finest grapes of Abiezer (Gideon’s clan).
In verses 4-21, Gideon and his exhausted army of 300 men pursued Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.
Note: We do not read that Gideon asked God, or was led by God in this campaign.
- He asked for bread for his army from the men of Succoth and Penuel (both Israelite cities), but they both refused him. Gideon said he would destroy them when he returned.
- He finally caught up to the Midianite kings and their army of 15,000 men in Karkor and killed them with his army of 300 men.
- Gideon immediately carried out his threats against Succoth and Penuel. He captured a young man from Succoth who wrote down the names of 77 princes and elders of the city. Gideon disciplined the leaders with thorns and briars. He went on to Penuel, tore down the tower and killed all the men of the city.
- Gideon accused the two Midianite kings he had captured (Zebah and Zalmunna) of killing men at Tabor. The two kings told Gideon the men were like him, kings. Since these people were part of Gideon’s family, he instructed his son, Jether, to kill them. Jether was afraid, so Gideon killed them both and removed their crescent symbols (symbolic of kings).
In verses 22-28, the Israelites seem to rally behind Gideon’s leadership asking him to become their king, but Gideon tells them he will not be their king, neither will his sons or grandchildren, but only the Lord will rule over them.
- But then the very next thing he does is tell the people to give him a share of the plunder. They agreed, and he received about 40-pounds of gold from them!
- Gideon then made an ephod with the gold (an ephod was worn by the priests to determine the will of God). He put the ephod in his hometown of Ophrah, and it became a snare to Gideon and his people.
Note: Gideon’s ephod made with golden earrings reminds me of Exodus 32 and the golden calf made with earrings. They were both idols made with plundered gold that led people away from worshipping the Lord.
In verses 28-35, Gideon had 70 sons with many wives, a violation of Deuteronomy 17:17.
- He also fathered a son named Abimelech from a Canaanite concubine in Shechem who was a Baal worshipper.
Note: Baal, pronounced Ba-all, was a god of the Canaanites. Baal was worshipped as the son of Asherah the goddess of the sea.
- After Gideon died the people prostituted themselves with the Baals and worshipped their god, Baal-berith.
Note: The child with the concubine was named Abimelech, which means “my father is king.” So while Gideon may have outwardly refused the position of a king, he seems to have thought of himself as a king by naming his son “my father is king.”
- For 40 years of Gideon the people had peace, but as soon as he died the people forgot about Gideon and what he had done for the Israelites. They turned away from God and turned back to worshipping Baal.
Note: None of the remaining judges whom the Lord raised up over the Israelites resulted in a period of peace (see Judges 3:11, 3:30, 5:31, and 8:28). There is a marked social and moral decline throughout the remaining history of the Judges.
Judges 9
Judges 9 diverts from our story of Judges to reveal the destruction brought on by Gideon’s son, Abimelech.
In verses 1-6, Abimelech went to his mother’s people in Shechem and convinced them that he would be a better leader for them than the 70 legitimate sons of Gideon (though Gideon never laid claim to kingship). The leaders of Shechem paid Abimelech 70 pieces of silver from the temple of Baal, and with that Abimelech hired men and killed the sons of Gideon, his half-brothers. One piece of silver for each of Gideon’s sons.
In verses 7-21, Jotham, Gideon’s oldest son, was apparently the only surviving son of Gideon’s, and when he heard what happened to his brothers, he pronounced a curse on Abimelech in the form of a parable (Judges 9:7b-15).
- In this parable, the olive tree is offered kingship over the other trees but refuses.
- Then the fig tree is offered kingship over the other trees, and it also refuses.
- Then the grapevine does the same.
- Finally, the trees ask the bramble to be king of the trees and the bramble agrees.
- Jotham is equating Abimelech’s kingship with that of the brambles, worthless.
- Jotham then curses Abimelech and the people of Shechem saying that fire will consume them all because they have not acted faithfully to Gideon for risking his life and rescuing the people from the Midianites.
In verses 22-57, Abimelech had ruled over Israel three years when God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and they rebelled against him.
Note: The leaders of Shechem dealt deceitfully with Abimelech by placing men on the hilltops to rob people traveling to Shechem. This would reduce tolls and tributes paid to Abimelech.
- Gaal, son of Ebed, rose up against Abimelech. Abimelech chased Gaal and his men into the tower of Shechem where Abimelech lit the tower on fire burning them all to death.
- Abimelech went on to the city of Thebez to repeat his victory from Shechem. The leaders took shelter in the city tower, but as Abimelech came to burn the tower, a woman dropped a millstone on him. Abimelech had a servant finish him off with a sword.
- In this way, God turned back the evil of Abimelech that he had done by killing his brothers. God also turned back the evil of the men of Shechem for supporting Abimelech and turning away from Him. The curse of Jotham was fulfilled.
Gideon started out fearful and reluctant to answer God’s call, but with victory came arrogance. Gideon went into battle on his own without consulting God. He multiplied his wives and even took a Baal worshipping concubine. He refused the title of king but behaved like kingship was due him collecting tribute and even named his son Abimelech. The Israelites had peace while Gideon was alive, but as soon as he died, they returned to their old ways by rejecting God and worshiping Baal. Introducing Baal worship into his family through his concubine even led to the death of his sons.
Some thoughts for further consideration:
- I am reminded of Galatians 5:11, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” In the case of Gideon, the sin of arrogance led to many trials and tribulations for the entire nation of Israel.
- This is so true of us today as well. We sin, and sometimes that sin destroys families and nations immediately, but sometimes our sin will not impact us but will impact future generations.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
