Judges 8-9: Gideon - Postscript

In spite of the victories which Gideon secured over Midian, the end of the story is tragic. Most of the narratives of the judges and the kings end tragically. There may be blessing and victory along the way; yet the very ones by whom that victory is won find themselves compromised in the end.

Gideon's success is represented for us in the fact that he captured Zebah and Zalmunna, prominent leaders of the Midianites.

(1) The request for a dynasty -- 8:22

One of the consequences of the victory was that the people asked Gideon to be their king, and to establish his own family as a succession of kings over them. The reason is 'you saved us from the hand of Midian'. Instead of ascribing the victory to God, they ascribe it to Gideon. Gideon himself has the presence of mind to remind them that the victory is the Lord's (8:23), which sounds very pious and very correct.

Undoubtedly the people had forgotten that it was not their own hands or strength that had secured their victory, but the strength of Jehovah. He had worked by means of Gideon, but they confused the end with the means, and detracted from the glory of God by their request. How careful we need to be lest we do the same.

But can we fully exonerate Gideon? When he says 'The Lord will rule over you', does he envisage that the Lord's rule will be through himself, so that, although he will not overtly be crowned king, he will exercise the prerogative of kingship? He certainly acts as a king, by commandeering the spoils of the war; and when he gave birth to a son he called him 'Abimelech', which means 'my father is king'.

Gideon's status and position in Israel was such that he found himself puffed up with pride following the victory over Midian, instead of being humbled before God. But God will resist the proud and give grace to the humble (James 4:6). In spite of his apparent refusal to accept the office of king, he still consolidates his position, acting as king in all but name. There is a matter of pride which is at the root of the problem here, as it always is.

(2) The ephod which became a snare -- 8:22-28

This is also seen in the action regarding the ephod. Having requested the golden earrings taken as spoils of battle, Gideon made them into an ephod. Ralph Davis, in his commentary on Judges, explains the significance of the ephod:

The ephod was part of the high priest's attire (see Exodus 28:1-35; 39:1-26), a sleeveless tunic worn over his other garments. It was made of costly and colourful materials -- gold, blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen. Attached to the ephod was a breastplate in which twelve precious stones (representing Israel's twelve tribes) were set in four rows. There was a pocket or pouch in the breastplate which contained the Urim and the Thummim (Exodus 28:30), objects used to discover Yahweh's will on particular matters (pp113-4).

This was what Gideon made for himself -- an ephod, which at the very least showed that he was usurping the prerogatives of priesthood to himself; but which, more than that, meant that he was setting himself up as the person by whom Israel was to know the will of Jehovah. Gideon was saying 'if you want to know God's will, you must come through me'.

What is more, unlike the original ephod which remained with the priest who officiated wherever the ark settled and the tabernacle was pitched, Gideon's ephod was set up at Ophrah. God's original intention was that he would take the initiative in leading his people; but now Gideon sets himself up as the source of divine guidance, and people need to come to him for it.

Ophrah was mentioned in 6:24, as the place where Gideon set up an altar to Jehovah-Shalom. But his former zeal and enthusiasm for God have now given way to a pride and an arrogance that have displaced God from his position of authority and sovereignty in Israel.

We are only a step away from Gideon's sin ourselves. It is so easy for us to think not only that we are indispensable, but that we are the sole agents and means of guidance and of revelation. Many leaders in today's church have become just so absorbed with themselves and their own position and their own agenda that they consider themselves to be infallible, the leaders and the guides of the church.

But whenever we move away from the prerogative of God and the sufficiency, authority and supremacy of God's Word, we have lost our moorings. The result was tragic: 'all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family' (8:27). In the words of Andrew Faussett, the 19th century commentator, Gideon 'drew away the people from the one lawful sanctuary; and thereby undermined the theocratic oneness of Israel, and paved the way for the nation's apostasy to Baal idolatry, which is spiritual whoredom, after his death' (p150).

Thus Gideon's pride was not simply a snare to himself, but to his household and ultimately to the whole nation. What a large fire can be lit from a small spark!

(3) The death of Gideon -- 8:29-35

Several things are told us of the last days of Gideon's life and judgeship.

First, the land had rest from the Midianites, and God did his work, notwithstanding the pride and the rebellion of Gideon himself. God protected his own, even in the midst of their sin. Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more.

Second, Gideon had many wives, and seventy sons. Not content with these, he also has a concubine, who bears him the son called Abimelech. This is the son who is going to conspire against his brothers in chapter 9 to make himself king. Gideon's immoral conduct leads to tragic consequences. He sows the wind, and reaps the whirlwind. He sows to the flesh and reaps corruption.

How careful we need to be to maintain our battle with the flesh, and to live by the Spirit. Living to the flesh is the mark of the carnal mind, according to Romans 8, not the mark of the mind liberated and led by the Spirit of God. It is disastrous for us to live according to the world's standards and lifestyles.

Third, the death of Gideon marks the end of Jehovah's protection, and the beginning of a new period of apostasy. The people forget God, in spite of all he has done. Gideon's behaviour has done nothing to perpetuate the name of Jehovah. But they also forget Gideon, in spite of what he tried to do to perpetuate his own name. Here is the fickleness of Israel, and the fickleness of the human heart.

Paul's definition of the true Israelite in Romans 2:29 includes the observation that 'his praise is not from man but from God'; in seeking to secure a name for himself, Gideon's successors only forget his family and his household.

(4) The conspiracy and downfall of Abimelech -- 9:1-57

This is a long narrative, but it is about an attempt to establish kingship in Israel. Gideon's concubine was in Shechem, a place of great significance in the Old Testament:

Abraham had built his first altar there. Jacob bought property there and dug a well. Joseph's grave was at that site as well. And at Shechem Joshua had led the nation in reaffirming the covenant Yahweh had pledged to the patriarchs (W. Kaiser, A History of Israel, p192).

Perhaps it was for these reasons that Baal came to be known as 'Baal-berith', Baal-of-the-covenant, at Shechem -- mixing the covenant religion of the patriarchs with the pagan worship of Canaan.

Now Shechem had become the base of Abimelech's conspiracy. There he won the support of his mother's relatives against the seventy sons of Gideon: the leaders of Shechem made Abimelech their king (9:6).

It was then that Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon, went to Mount Gerizim and shouted his famous parable about the trees deciding on their best leader. The rich, tall trees of the forest made the bramble their leader, and the bramble tree asked for absolute devotion. The meaning was clear: if the coronation of Abimelech was done sincerely and for the right reasons, they had reason to rejoice; but if not, their choice would consume them (9:19-20).

Jotham's parable is difficult to interpret, but it brings us face to face with the whole issue of leadership. How do we choose our leaders in the nation and in the church? Do we simply appoint the most charismatic of them? The most popular? Do we even appoint those who are available? Should churches appoint as ministers and elders those who are there? Or ought we first to assess the suitability for leadership of those who would exercise such office? Do we examine biblical qualifications before making our appointments?

Abimelech held his position for three years, but God was not silent. His presence in the narrative is one of judgement. At the outset, 'God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem' (9:22); and at the conclusion, 'God returned the evil of Abimelech which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubaal' (9:56-7).

So God is not asleep while all this is going on. He is there at the beginning and at the end, his presence inescapable, and his verdict final. The history is under his control, notwithstanding all the human intrigue and ingenuity. The thread of his purpose is woven into the narrative, as it is in all the world, even when men conspire against the Lord and against his anointed.

Nowhere is that seen more than in the irony of Abimelech's death, at the hands of a woman. Her millstone crushes his head, and he prefers to be run through with a sword than to perish at her hand. Yet that is the way of it. In God's plans and purposes there is only the crushing, humiliating defeat of the enemies of the covenant, and the blessing, uplifting, encouraging, strengthening help for those who are his own.

So Jotham's parable was right. The trees chose the bramble, and were destroyed. 'Abimelech destroyed Shechem and Shechem destroyed Abimelech' (Davis, p128). Evil is its own destruction. Ultimately that is the hope and comfort of the people of God: no weapon formed against them will prosper ... 'this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication from me, declares the Lord' (Isaiah 54:17).