Judges 8:1-35 - Gideon's Kingdom
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Gideon’s Army (1-21)
Gideon’s Army (1-21)
- Gideon defeats Zebah/Zalmunna & judges Succoth/Penuel
1 Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they accused him fiercely.
2 And 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 grape harvest of Abiezer?
3 God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger against him subsided when he said this.
1-3 - The accusation of the men of Ephraim
4 And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing.
5 So he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
6 And the officials of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?”
7 So Gideon said, “Well then, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”
8 And from there he went up to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.
9 And he said to the men of Penuel, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.”
4-9 - G300 seeks help along pursuit of kings of Midian
Rejected by Succoth & Penuel
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men who drew the sword.
11 And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt secure.
12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic.
10-12 - Capture of Zebah & Zalmunna
13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres.
14 And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men.
15 And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’ ”
16 And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson.
17 And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
13-17 - Teaches Succoth/Penuel a lesson
18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.”
19 And he said, “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, “Rise and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
18-21 - Judgement and Execution of Zebah & Zalmunna
Gideon: Revenge OR Right?
Gideon’s Ephod (22-28)
Gideon’s Ephod (22-28)
22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”
22 - Men of Israel to Gideon: Rule over us
23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”
23 - Gideon: NO…the LORD will rule over you
24 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
25 And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil.
26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels.
24-26 - Gideon gathers the spoil & jewelry from them
27 And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.
27a - Made an ephod and put it in his city, Ophrah
27b - All Israel whored after it there
27c - It became a snare to Gideon’s family
Gideon: Idolater OR Worship Leader?
GO WITH THIS...
Gideon was fighting the right battle against the Kings of Midian
Like the other Judges, Gideon is executing the judgement which God had given Israel to accomplish in the conquest of Canaan. They did not do it…and in these stories their true heart is revealed.
Their lack of obedience is not out of compassion for humanity that is greater than God’s
Their lack of obedience is out their own sinful hearts desiring after the gods of the land instead of the God of heaven.
So…we must PRAY we do not cast the wrong judgement upon the right battles...
Jesus exposed this heart throughout His ministry
The Prodigal Son’s brother
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’
28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him,
29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.
30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’
31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”
Healing on the Sabbath
1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand.
2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.
3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.”
4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.
5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Woman caught in adultery
7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.
9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.
10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
When we value temporal justice OVER eternal life
To have the heart of the FATHER is to REJOICE over the right victory
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Gideon was worshipping the Lord
Wrong worship of right things
Tithing on spices
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
Worship of the Gold of the Temple instead of the Temple
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?
Comfort in tradition
Elevation of pastors
Elevation of worship experiences
Idolizing mountain top moments
Bigger buildings
It’s really easy to judge one another in the Kingdom about whether our worship is right or whether we’re fighting the right battles or not. However, The Kingdom of God is not built on the “right way of doing things” or even on going to the “area of greatest need”
No, the Kingdom Jesus established is built on obedience...
Repent and Believe
Go and Make Disciples
Follow Me
When we ALL humbly live out these simple instructions, the Kingdom will be in our midst.