Urbana Friends Church

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Judges 8

  • 1-3 Ephraim is offended that they were only called into battle at the tail end of the fighting, but Gideon soothes their anger with kind words. Gideon compares this victory as minuscule compared to all the battles won by Ephraim.

  • 4-12 The attitude seems to shift inside of Gideon into one that is able to see the influence he will gain through victory. He wants the victory bad and we begin to see God leaving the picture. Whereas before God was leading the charge into battle, Gideon is now chasing the fleeing kings into exhaustion. And when the surrounding tribes refuse Gideon and the army food, he vows to return to inflict punishment on the tribes. 

  • 13-17 After catching the kings Zebah and Zalmunna, he returns to Succoth and Penuel. He whipped with briers the elders of Succoth and killed the men of Penuel after tearing down their tower. 

  • 18-21 Gideon makes the fight with the Midianites personally, something that is outside of what God was commanding. This war was for God to win, not Gideon. Now Gideon seems to be taking out personal vendettas. 

  • 22-28 Gideon responds properly to the Israelites asking to make Gideon their king. He says that they are to be ruled by the Lord. However, he creates a snare that the people would cause many to falter. The bounty of war was found in the gold earrings of the fallen Midianites, and Gideon collected all the earnings to create for himself and the people an ephod. This ungodly symbol was used for worship, causing the Israelites to worship this reminder of Gideon and not their own God.

  • 29-35 Abimelech is mentioned, drawing attention as he will be important going forward in this continuing story of judges. Interestingly enough, Abimelech means “my father is king”, showing that though Gideon may have said the right thing, he may have felt something different. Unlike other judges before him, Gideon and his family were forgotten just as God was forgotten. When Gideon created a snare, causing the Israelites to lose focus on the Lord, he in turn caused dysfunction in the people causing them to lose respect of their human leaders. 

Here are some concluding thoughts:

How should we feel about Gideon?: This is an important question. For many of us, myself included, Gideon resembles our own walk with the Lord. Many of us struggle with this idea of faith and how it ought to look in our present lives. Many of us struggle with prayer, especially the hearing from God part. I do not think that we should ever be ashamed, it is simply part of the process of growing into boldness. So, in many ways, Gideon ought to be an inspiration as a reflection of ourselves as we walk with the Lord. 

But didn’t Gideon mess things up?: Yes he did. Though he denied the Israelites offer to become their king, he did create a golden ephod, or priestly garment, from his golden spoils of war. This ephod was worn to draw people’s attention to God, instead it brought back memories of the glory of Gideon. This distraction from God leads to the fall of Gideon and the people as they lose their focus on God.