Gideon’s Legacy

Gideon’s defeat led to a lengthy stretch of peace:

Judges 8:28 (HCSB)

So Midian was subdued before the Israelites, and they were no longer a threat. The land was peaceful 40 years during the days of Gideon.

The land had ‘peace’ but Gideon’s life was anything but peaceful after his triumph.

Exchanging Relationship for Ritual

We can certainly commend Gideon for his response to the request that he and his family take the role of a king.

Israel needed no king. Moses, Joshua both acknowledged that Yawheh was king and Israel needed no human to take the sit on a throne.

Israel’s experience in the wilderness experienced the LORD as king -

In the victory song after crossing the Red Sea:

Exodus 15:18 HCSB

The Lord will reign forever and ever!

The people also heard God’s call on their lives in relationship to Him:

Exodus 19:6 HCSB

and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”

Gideon wisely rejected the offer. However his next act revealed a willingness to ignore the past.

Judges 8:25–27 (HCSB)

They said, “We agree to give them.” So they spread out a mantle, and everyone threw an earring from his plunder on it. The weight of the gold earrings he requested was about 43 pounds of gold, in addition to the crescent ornaments and ear pendants, the purple garments on the kings of Midian, and the chains on the necks of their camels. Gideon made an ephod from all this and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. Then all Israel prostituted themselves with it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

Taking to spoils of war was common. The use to which Gideon applied these symbols of his victory was a open rejection of the ways and words of God.

Ephods

An ephod was an apron like part of the garment of the Jewish high priest (see Ex 28). The high priests ‘ephod’ had space for 12 stones - each representing one of the tribes of Israel. the ephod also had space for the Urim and Thummim -

The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Urim and Thummim)

They were likely a pair of objects, but since the words Urim and Thummim are both plural in form, it is possible that there were more than two objects.

Other passages indicate that the High Priest was to use the Urim and Thummim to discern the will of God (Num 27:21; 1 Sam 28:6; Ezra 2:63). None of these passages describe how they were to be used for this purpose, but it is often taken to involve some form of casting lots, which would qualify this as a form of divination.

In other words Gideon made for himself an object that would identify him as a priest - as one set apart by God for a priestly assignment.

The last phrase of Judges 8:27 is difficult to read:

“Then all israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.”

Exchanging the inner image of God for the outer recognition of humans

Gideon had been chosen by God because God had seen in him that which no one else had seen.

Judges 6:12 HCSB

Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

Gideon’s reluctant obedience and wavering faith never changed God’s heart toward him.

There was never a moment in Gideon’s actions when God ‘abandoned’ him.

There are several indicators of Gideon’s turning away from all God had created and called him to be:

a). Judges 8:30 (HCSB)

Gideon had 70 sons, his own offspring, since he had many wives.

Nowhere in God’s word is polygamy commanded or encouraged.

The pattern God established at Creation is one man and one woman.

Certainly many of the patriarchs of Israel’s faith disobeyed and had multiple wives. Just because one sins is no reason for the next generation to continue the same sin.

However, as God’s word makes abundantly clear, humans sin.

There is no mention of how many wives or concubines Gideon accumulated.

Instead of returning home, living humbly before God, his lifestyle indicates he was living as a king.

b). A son named Abimelech

This son, whom we will see in detail next Sunday, is not from one of Gideon’s many wives.

Rather, this son is the result of Gideon’s relationship with a concubine -

Lexham Theological Wordbook (פִּלֶגֶשׁ)

In the OT, a pilegeš is a woman who belongs to a man, either a wealthy man or a king, and serves as his sexual partner, though one who possesses a lower status than that of a wife.

While that in itself is a significant issue, the name he gives this son indicates what Gideon truly thought of himself:

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary Abimelech (Person)

The name “Abimelech” means “the (divine) king is my father,”

Gideon may have publicly refused to ‘rule’ over Israel. By naming his son - ‘the king is my father’ - we see through his duplicity.

c). Returning to his old pattern of life

Gideon went home. Remember what occupied his home prior to God’s call?

An altar to Baal and an object of worship representing Baal’s consort, Asherah.

Exchanging God’s presence for idolatry

The end result of Gideon’s activity in defeating the Midianites and their associated armies sees Israel right back where they started - an oppressed and defeated people.

Reflect and Respond

The choices Gideon made after the defeat of the enemy are as important as the choices he made as God first spoke to him.

Just this week a friend of mine who had already announced his retirement from an educational institution was nominated for a ew job - one that will require he and his wife to move halfway across the country.

I joked with him that if that’s what it means to retire I may rethink my plans!

What the decision this friend made stands in direct contrast to Gideon.

When God calls us to follow Him it is a lifelong call.

The places we serve may change, the positions we occupy may be different, and the responsibilities we are assigned may be new to us.

God’s call doesn’t expire.

Gideon’s choices -

exchanging relationship for a homemade ritual

exchanging the beauty of being God’s creation for manmade offices

led an entire nation to turn away from God and return to idolatry.

The wavering faith, the searching for ways to delay that we’ve seen in Gideon’s life often match our own experiences.

And like Gideon our choices will have a broader impact than we know.

Gideon’s choices obscured the real nature of God - which set the stage for a slide into idolatry.

Where was the God who threw the enemy army into confusion with 300 men armed only with torches, trumpets, and pitchers?

Gideon’s choice to create an object of worship of his own design, Gideon’s moral failure, Gideon’s refusal to reign as king yet name one of his sons ‘the son of the king,’ all obscure all that God had done!

We have similar tendencies:

insisting on rituals that replace a genuine relationship;

disobeying God’s specific commands in order to justify our own desires;

hiding our pride but acting in ways to secure the accolades of others;

Today we can choose differently. Gideon had choices. He had an experience with God that was intensely personal He easily could have refused the accolades, the gifts, and the temptation to secure his place in history and lived peacefully in a day to day relationship with God.

He could have made choices that would have highlighted the character and nature of God instead of choosing ways that made it hard for other ti discover the fullness of God’s presence.

What choices will we make?