THE BOOK OF JUDGES
Lesson 3: Chapters 6-8
Part II: The Wars Against Israel's Enemies
The Central Campaign of the Judge Gideon
Almighty God,
Your old covenant people suffered in the cycles of sin and apostasy as
they repeatedly broke the commandment to serve and worship You alone. They
turned to the false gods of the pagans who they believed offered them
acceptance by their pagan neighbors and the hope of material wealth and social
prominence. And yet we are reminded that despite their sins, You did not
abandon them; they abandoned You. Help us, Lord, as we face the same
temptations in being influenced by the secular world. Socially acceptable
attitudes toward morality and tolerance being used as an excuse to turn a blind
eye to sin have become more important than right worship and obedience to Your
commands. These have become the false gods of the modern age. Give us the
spiritual and moral strength to withstand those influences and the wisdom to
recognize what is a snare to draw us away from our covenant relationship with
You. We pray in the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
+ + +
The Sea-people are gathering in the north,
the vessels from the coasts of Kittim.
They will bear down on Asshur, bear down on Eber,
he too will perish forever.
Prophecy of Balaam, Numbers 24:23-24
(the Kittim are any of the peoples to the west from across the Mediterranean, Asshur is ancient Assyria, and Eber/Heber refers to the Hebrews)
The land was at rest as long as sin was at rest ...
Origen, Homilies on Judges 7.1
Historical period c. 13th - 12th centuries BC:
As the era of the Judges continues, the spiritual and social condition of the Israelites grew worse. In fact, the entire region is in chaos. In the 1200s BC, groups of migrating peoples from across the Aegean, driven out of their homelands by natural disasters and political upheaval, invaded in ships from across the Mediterranean to attack Egypt, Canaan and Assyria. When they arrived in Egypt, in what proved to be one last burst of glory for a fading empire, Pharaoh Ramesses III (reigned c. 1186-1155 BC) was able to hold them off and drive them out of northern Egypt. The Egyptians gave these migrating groups of peoples the name "Sea Peoples," and Ramesses III was so proud of their defeat that he recorded his victory in both documents and in inscriptions on temple wall reliefs.
Some of the Sea Peoples died in the war with the Egyptians; some were captured and became mercenaries in the Egyptian army, but most invaded Canaan's coastal plain. The Sea Peoples arrived in Canaan about the time Deborah and Shamgar were judging and defending Israel. The various groups of Sea Peoples united and came to be identified as the Philistines. Shamgar fought the Philistines and killed six hundred of the invaders who were threatening Israelite settlements (Judg 4:31). The Philistines settled along the coast of Canaan in the five main cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gaza, and Gath, intermarrying with the Canaanites. Of the five city-states founded by the Philistines, all have been positively identified by archaeologists with the exception of Gath.
As the Israelites were farther and farther removed from the generation of the elders of the holy warrior generation born during the 40 years of the wilderness experience, they grew farther and farther from God despite God's repeated gracious deliverance of them from the periods of oppression which are followed by years of peace. This distancing of the Israelites relationship with God and His covenant is reflected in the character of the judges, each of whom is a product of his own generation and the violent conditions of the times in spite of a divine calling. Gideon, the fifth judge, is an example. He is the son of an apostate family living in an Israelite town that worships Baal. But, despite his initial hesitation, Gideon serves God faithfully and refuses to take on the role of king over Israel (Judg 8:22-23). However, that noble act is tarnished by his action in which he erected a cult object which became an object of worship in defiance of the first commandment (Judg 8:27). After his death, a son of his will usurp power, cause disunity among the tribes, and will push the tribes of Israel into a civil war. Notice that the careers of the judges continue to follow the same movement from south to north as the summary of the continuing conquest in chapter 1.
Chapter 6 ~ Part I: The Call of Gideon
The narrative of the judgeship of Gideon can be divided
into two sections:
Part I: The description of the period of Israel's sin and
subjugation by the Midianites and their allies until Gideon's call as a
deliverer. Through the miracles God works for Gideon, he is able to achieve
victory over Israel's enemies (Judg 6:1-8:3).
Part II: The description of Gideon's leadership until his
death (8:4-8:28).
Judges 6:1-6 ~ Israel is oppressed by the Midianites
and their Allies
1 The Israelites
did what is evil in Yahweh's eyes, and for seven years Yahweh handed them over
to Midian; 2 and Midian bore down
heavily on Israel. To escape from the Midianites the Israelites used the
mountain clefts and the caves and shelters. 3 Whenever Israel sowed seed the Midianites would march up with
Amalek and the sons of the East. They would march on Israel. 4 They would pitch camp on their territory and
destroy the produce of the country [land] as far as Gaza. They left Israel
nothing to live on, not a sheep or an ox or a donkey, 5 for they came up as thick as locusts with
their cattle and their tents; they and their camels were innumerable; they
invaded the country to pillage it. 6 Thus
Midian brought Israel to great distress, and the Israelites cried to Yahweh.
In verse 1 we have another of the repeated statements
announcing Israel's covenant failures: The Israelites did what is evil in
Yahweh's eyes... (2:11; 3:7, 12 [twice]; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6 and 13:1); this time
their oppressors are the Midianites and other nomads who lived east of the
Jordan River.
Question: Who are the Midianites, how are they
related to the children of Israel, and why do they inhabit the lands to the
east in the Transjordan (east of the Jordan River)? See Gen 17:19; 25:1-6.
Answer: After Sarah's death, Abraham married a
woman named Keturah by whom he had five sons. The fourth son by Keturah was
Midian. When these sons reached adulthood, Abraham sent them away to "the
lands to the east" (Gen 25:6) so they could not present a danger to his one
heir and inheritor of the covenant with Yahweh who was Isaac, Abraham's son
with Sarah.
The confederation of Midianite tribes was counted among the "peoples of the east" (Judg 6:3, 33; 7:12). They were nomadic tribes that mostly occupied the desert lands in the Arabian Peninsula but their clans and settlements extended as far north as Syria. They formed alliances with the peoples of the Negeb and the Transjordan like the Kenites, Amalekites, Moabites, Ammonites and Ishmaelites (Num 10:29; 25:6, 15, 16-18; Judg 1:16; 6:3, 33; 8:24). The Biblical designation "the land of Midian" (Ex 2:15; Hab 3:7) probably refers to the center of Midianite territory in northwestern Arabia along the Gulf of Aqabah's eastern shore to the east of the Sinai Peninsula (1 Kng 11:18).
Gaza, a Philistine city mentioned in verse 4, was located
in southwest Canaan about three miles from the Mediterranean coast. The
implication is that the entire land was devastated by the Midianite camel
raiders and their allies from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean coast.
Question: In what ways did the Israelites suffer
under the continued attacks by the Midianites and their allies?
Answer:
Question: Why were they destroying the crop when
it was planted instead of waiting for the harvest?
Answer: They were probably raiding at seed time
and at harvest. The intention wasn't just to steal from the Israelites; the
intention was probably to starve out the Israelites and force them to leave the
land.
The inspired writer compares the Midianites and their allies to locusts. This metaphor describes the way the enemy destroyed everything in their path like a plague of locusts. The same comparison will be made in 7:12 to describe the huge numbers of the enemy.
Judge deliverer cycles 1-4 for Gideon are fulfilled in this passage:
Judges 6:7-10 ~ A Message from God's Prophet
7 When the
Israelites cried to Yahweh because of Midian, 8 Yahweh sent a prophet [prophet man = nabi is] to the
Israelites. He said to them, This is what Yahweh, God of Israel, says, "It
was I who brought you out of Egypt, and [I] led you out of the place of
slave-labor. 9 I rescued you from
the power of the Egyptians and from the power of all who oppressed you, I drove
them out before you and [I] gave their country to you. 10 And I said to you: I am Yahweh your God. You
are not to fear the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now living.
But you have not listened to my voice."'
[..] = literal translation IBHE,
vol. I, pages 646-47.
That the Israelites "cried out" to Yahweh (verses 6-7) is the fourth part of the deliverer cycle. God's response is not to send a deliverer but that He "sent" a "man prophet." The Hebrew word for "sent" (slh) in verse 8 is a technical term for the commissioning of a prophet as God's messenger (see for example Is 6:8-9 and Jer 23:21). The Hebrew text specifically records that this messenger of Yahweh is a "man prophet." Nabi/navi is the Hebrew word for male prophet and nabia/navia is the word for prophetess/woman prophet. In Exodus 15:20 Miriam is called ha-nabia Miriam (the prophetess Miriam). It is a curious redundancy in identifying the prophet as male when the word for male-prophet is used. This redundancy is unique to this passage and to Judges 4:4 where Deborah is called a "prophetess woman" (nabia issa). Nowhere else in Scripture is this redundancy used for a prophet. The only exception may be 2 Kings 9:4 but in that case "young-man prophet" is used to distinguish Elisha's apprentice from Elisha. Nothing in Scripture is accidental therefore this redundancy is meant to catch our attention for a reason.
Question: Is there a point the inspired writer
wants to make? What is the purpose of explicitly stating that this man-prophet
is a man? See the same redundancy in Judges 4:4 where the literal Hebrew reads
nabia issa, literally in the Hebrew "prophetess woman," for Deborah. What
is the contrast in their missions?
Answer: The point is this prophet is a man as
opposed to the last prophet mentioned in the Book of Judges, the nabia issa
Deborah. The contrast is that this man prophet does not come to set in motion
the process of deliverance like the prophetess Deborah. Instead he comes as
God's prosecuting attorney to deliver another covenant law-suit indictment in
accusing the Israelites of covenant infidelity and in forgetting God's acts as
Israel's Savior and divine King.
Judges 6:7-10 is the second direct intervention by God in announcing an indictment against the Israelites for their covenant failures in the Book of Judges:
Question: What is the prophet's message from God?
Notice the first person pronouns in the Hebrew text and how many times "I" (referring
to Yahweh) is repeated.
Answer: It is a personal message given in seven first
person pronouns to remind the Israelites of the miracles God worked to
liberated them in the Exodus and the gift of the Promised Land. The message
ends in a concluding summary statement:
Concluding statement: But you have not listened to my voice.
Seven is one of the so-called "perfect numbers" in Scripture (3, 7, 10 and 12) indicating divine perfection in fulfillment or completion especially in God's plan (for example, seven days in a week and God rested on the seventh day and Jesus' seven saying from the Cross, etc.); see the document "The Significance of Numbers in Scripture.
Question: In verse 10b God tells the Israelites
through His prophet that they do not need to fear the false gods of the
Amorites, but by implication who should they fear? See Lev 25:17, 36, 43; Dt 6:13, 24; 8:6; 10:12, 20.
Answer: They do not need to fear false gods, but
they do need to fear offending Yahweh.
The summary statement But you have not listened to my voice is repeated from Judges 2:2 and is a reminder of God's warnings that the Israelites must "listen" to God's voice and obey (for example see Dt 4:1; 7:12; 11:13; 15:5; 27:9, etc.) and their promise to be obedient to His commands (Ex 24:3, 7 and Josh 24:16-24). God is frustrated with Israel's cycles of sin, subjugation, supplication and deliverance. The prophet is sent to caution the Israelites against presuming that every descent into apostasy that brings divine judgment can be remedied by an appeal to elicit deliverance.
Judges 6:11-16 ~ The Angel of Yahweh appears to Gideon
11 The Angel of
Yahweh came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah which belonged to Joash of [of
the] Abiezer. Gideon his son was threshing wheat inside the wine-press, to
keep it hidden from Midian, 12 and
the Angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said, Yahweh is with you, valiant
warrior!' 13 Gideon replied,
Excuse me, my lord, but if Yahweh is with us, why is all this happening to
us? And where are all his miracles which our ancestors used to tell us about
when they said, "Did not Yahweh bring us out of Egypt?" But now Yahweh has
deserted us; he has abandoned us to Midian. 14 At this, Yahweh turned to him and said, Go in this strength
of yours, and you will rescue Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not
sending you myself?' 15 Gideon
replied, forgive me, my lord, but how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the
weakest in Manasseh and I am the least important of my father's family. 16 Yahweh replied, I shall be with you and you
will crush Midian as though it were one man.'
Up to this point, the coming of Yahweh's messengers has been associated with judgment (2:15 and 6:7-8). But after Yahweh's prophet delivers a message concerning Israel's covenant failures in verses 8-10, God sends another messenger; "the messenger of Yahweh" is a divine messenger who appears with his staff (6:21) sitting under the terebinth tree belonging to Gideon's father in Gideon's village. The terebinth is a tree common to the lower regions of the hill country of Canaan/Israel. Its broad, spreading branches, great size and long life made it a tree that was venerated by the inhabitants of Canaan/Israel.
Gideon's father, Joash, is the leader of the Abiezer clan
in the tribe of Manasseh.(1) Despite Gideon's claim (6:15), his
family is depicted as prosperous (Judg 6:19, 25, 27) and his father, as the
leader of the clan and owner of the terebinth tree he sits dispensing justice
like Deborah under her palm (Judg 4:5). You will recall that sitting under
Deborah's Palm Tree in 4:5 was the setting for the commissioning of Barak.
Question: Why is it significant that the messenger
of Yahweh now takes Joash's place and sits under the tree belonging to Joash?
Answer: Taking Joash's place sends the message
that there is now a new authority that is above Joash. It is this authority
who will begin the process of deliverance for Israel by commissioning of Gideon
as Deborah commissioned Barak sitting under her Palm Tree.
The difficult choice for Gideon will be to whose authority will he submit himself: to his father's authority or to the authority of the messenger/angel of Yahweh? The angel finds Gideon hiding in a wine press threshing grain. A wine press is sunken into the ground and is therefore a more effective hiding place for the grain than a threshing floor. A threshing floor is usually on higher ground where the wind can carry away the chaff that is tossed into the air.
The angel addresses Gideon as "valiant/mighty warrior," a
form of address that shocks Gideon because he is not a mighty warrior, he is a
farmer.
Question: What is the point of the divine
messenger's address?
Answer: The point is that he will become a
"valiant warrior" if he obeys God's divine call.
Gideon is hesitant to believe in the divine presence of Yahweh. He is at a disadvantage because he had not been raised to know Yahweh by a faithful Israelite family. His father and the people of his village were apostates who had built an altar to Baal upon which they offered sacrifice. Most Biblical scholars believe that Gideon's name is from the Hebrew verbal root which means to "to tear down" or "to cut off." It is a name that will be fulfilled in his first act as God's agent (verse 25). Gideon does know something of the history of his people since he refers to the Exodus liberation. The seven annual festivals the people were commanded to keep were intended to allow every generation to relive the Exodus experience (Ex 13:3-10; Lev 23). His family apparently kept these feasts and it was from them that Gideon knew about the miracles of the Exodus liberation through the feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread.
Question: In Gideon's rather rude response, of
what does he accuse God and is his accusation founded on truth?
Answer: He accused God of abandoning the
Israelites; however, the truth is God has not abandoned Israel; the Israelites,
like Gideon's father, have abandoned God.
Judges 6:14-16 ~ At this, Yahweh turned to him
and said, Go in this strength of yours, and you will rescue Israel from the
power of Midian. Am I not sending you myself?' 15 Gideon replied, forgive me, my lord, but how can I deliver
Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least important of my
father's family. 16 Yahweh
replied, I shall be with you and you will crush Midian as though it were one
man.'
We, along with Gideon, discover that this divine
personage is Yahweh Himself appearing in visible form like a man; it is also
possible that the vision of the man is the pre-Incarnate Christ. The "Angel of
Yahweh is simply called "Yahweh" in verses 14, 16 and 23.
Question: Barak was commissioned by a prophetess
of God sitting under a tree to set in motion the deliverance of Israel, but who
commissions Gideon? See verse 14.
Answer: God Himself.
Gideon has received an answer to why God has not rescued
his people from the Midianites. It is because it was not yet time for a
deliverer and now he discovers to his shock that he is that chosen savior!
Question: What two reasons does Gideon give for
not being able to accept the commission?
Answer: His clan is the weakest (probably meaning
the least numerous) in the tribe of Manasseh and he is not his father's heir.
In response God tells Gideon that this is not a problem because I shall be with you and you will crush Midian as though it were one man.'
Judges 6:17-24 ~ Gideon Asks for a Sign
17 Gideon said,
If I have found favor in your sight, give me a sign that you are speaking to me.
18 Please do not go away from here
until I come back to you, bringing you my offering and laying it before you.'
And he replied, I shall stay until you come back.' 19 Gideon went away, he prepared a young goat
and from an ephah of flour he made unleavened cakes. He put the meat into a
basket and the broth into a pot, then brought it all to him under the
terebinth. As he approached, 20 the
Angel [messenger] of Yahweh said to him, Take the meat and unleavened cakes,
put them on this rock and pour the broth over them.' Gideon did so. 21 The Angel of Yahweh then stretched out the
tip of the staff which he was carrying, and touched the meat and unleavened
cakes. Fire sprang from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened cakes,
and the Angel of Yahweh vanished before his eyes. 22 Gideon then knew that this was the Angel of
Yahweh, and he said, Alas, my Lord Yahweh! Now I have seen the Angel of
Yahweh face to face!' 23 Yahweh
answered, Peace be with you; have no fear; you will not die.' 24 Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh and
called it Yahweh-Peace. This altar stands in our own day at Ophrah of Abiezer.
Gideon is beginning to believe that it is indeed Yahweh or His messenger who has called him, but he must be sure so he speaks respectively of how privileged he is to have found favor with God (like the heroes Noah, Abraham and Moses before him in Gen 6:8; 18:3 and Ex 33:12), and he requests a divine "sign" so he can be certain. He asks Yahweh to wait until he returns with an offering and God graciously agrees. The food offering Gideon brings is disproportionally large. The flour to make the bread alone was the equivalent to about 22 liters. The food was probably intended to be eaten in a communal meal as a sign of friendship. This was a common custom as in Isaac's meal with Abimelech (Gen 26:29-30) or Jacob's meal with Laban (Gen 31:53-54), but Gideon knows that the way the offering is received will be the "sign" he is looking for.
Question: Yahweh accepts the offering and uses it
to provide the "sign" Gideon requested. What does He command Gideon to do with
the offering and what are the three "signs" of divinity that Gideon receives?
Answer: Yahweh commands Gideon to place the pot of
meat and unleavened bread rounds in the basket on a rock and to pour the broth
over them. Then, touching the tip of His staff to the rock, God gave three
signs of His divinity:
Question: What is Gideon's reaction and why is he
afraid? See Gen 32:31/30 and Ex 19:21; 33:20; Lev 16:2.
Answer: It is understood that any sinful human who
comes face to face with God cannot survive His awesome holiness that is so far
removed from human unworthiness. Anyone who remains alive after seeing God is
therefore astonished and overwhelmed with gratitude since it is a favor God
rarely grants. Gideon is afraid because he fears he will not survive the
experience.
In Gideon's accusation that God had abandoned Israel because He had not saved them from their enemies as He had in the Exodus liberation, Gideon was indirectly alluding to a deliverer from that time.
Question: Who was another very reluctant hero who
was called by God to deliver Israel from oppression by the Egyptians in the
Exodus liberation? See Ex chapter 3.
Answer: Moses was the divinely called deliverer of
the Exodus liberation.
You may have noticed that Gideon's reluctance to deliver
Israel from oppression by Israel's enemies very similar to God's call to a
reluctant Moses to deliver Israel from oppression in Egypt. It is interesting
that as soon as Gideon spoke the rebuke concerning God's failure to deliver the
Israelites as He did in the Exodus that the inspired writer began to offer
similarities between the call of Moses and the call of Gideon.
Question: What are the similarities in the stories
of their divine calls to service? Compare Exodus 2:15 and Exodus Chapters 3-4:18
with Judges Chapter 6.
Answer: Gideon's call is an echo of God's divine
call of Moses, but in a slightly different sequence:
| The Call of Gideon | The Call of Moses |
| Gideon was hiding from his enemies in a wine press while he was threshing grain when God called him (Judg 6:14). | Moses was hiding from his enemies in Midian herding sheep when God called him (Ex 2:15-3:1). |
| God tells Gideon: "I have sent you" (Judg 6:15). | God tells Moses "I have sent you" (Ex 3:12). |
| Gideon protests that he is inadequate (Judg 6:15) | Moses protests that he is inadequate (Ex 4:1, 10, 13). |
| Gideon received divine reassurance: "I will be with you" (Judg 6:16). | Moses received divine reassurance: "I will be with you" (Ex 3:12a). |
| Gideon is given the sign of a fire theophany to reassure him of God's divine Presence (Judg 6:22). | Moses is given a sign of a fire theophany to reassure him of God's divine Presence (Ex 3:2, 12b). |
| The fire theophany induced fear in Gideon (Judg 6:22b-23). | The fire theophany induced fear in Moses (Ex 3:6b). |
| Two additional signs are given as proof of the success of the mission (Judg 6:36-40). | Two additional signs are given as proof of the success of the mission (Ex 4:1-7). |
| After much hesitation, Gideon accepted the call. | After much hesitation, Moses accepted the call. |
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2013 | |
Question: What is one important difference between
the two calls to divine service?
Answer: In the call of Moses, God identifies
Himself to Moses by His divine name Yahweh, but he does not do the same with
Gideon. It is the inspired writer who tells us it is Yahweh who is personally
calling Gideon.
A second difference is that Gideon like Moses will be in almost constant dialogue with Yahweh but the personal dialogue with Gideon lasts only in the events leading up to the battle in which God speaks with Gideon seven times (Judg 6:25, 36, 39; 7:2, 4, 7, 9). However, God's dialogue with Moses continues throughout his life.
Question: In the comparison between Moses and
Gideon, what is ironic concerning the role of the Midianites? See Ex 2:15-22;
4:18.
Answer: It is ironic that in the time of Moses the
Midianites in the clan of Jethro, Zipporah' s father who became Moses'
father-in-law, were the friends of Moses and the Israelites, but in Gideon's
time they are their enemies.
Judges 6:23-24 ~ Yahweh answered, Peace be with you;
have no fear; you will not die.' 24 Gideon
built an altar there to Yahweh and called it Yahweh-Peace. This altar stands
in our own day at Ophrah of Abiezer.
God reassures him, telling Gideon: Peace be with you;
have no fear; you will not die.'
To commemorate the event, Gideon built a commemorative altar (not to be used in
sacrifice), which the inspired writer testifies remained in place in his time.
In honor of Yahweh's victory over Baal, Gideon names the altar "Yahweh Shalom,"
naming the altar after the life-giving word that has been revealed to him
(verse 23). He has met God and God has given him peace. Gideon's town of
Ophrah has never been identified.
Judges 6:25-32 ~ Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal
25 Now that
night, Yahweh said to Gideon, Take you father's bull, the seven-year-old bull
[take your father's bull and a second seven-year-old bull], and pull down the
altar to Baal belonging to your father and cut down the sacred pole beside it.
Then, on top of this strong-point, build a proper altar to Yahweh your God. 26 Then take the bull [seven-year-old bull] and
burn it as a burnt offering on the wood of the sacred pole which you have cut
down.' 27 Gideon then took ten of
his servants and did as Yahweh had ordered him. But, being too frightened of
his family and of the townspeople to do it in daylight, he did it at night. 28 Next morning, when the townspeople got up,
they found that the altar to Baal had been destroyed, the sacred pole standing
beside it had been cut down and the [second] bull had been sacrificed as a
burnt offering on the newly built altar. 29
Who has done this?' they asked one another. They searched, made
enquiries and declared, Gideon son of Joash has done it.' 30 The townspeople then said to Joash, Bring
out your son; he must die for having destroyed Baal's altar and cut down the sacred
pole which stood beside it.' 31 To
the people all crowding around him, Joash replied, Is it your job to plead for
Baal? Is it your job to champion his cause? Anyone who pleads for Baal must
be put to death before dawn. 32 If
he is a god, let him plead for himself, now that Gideon has destroyed his
altar.' That day, Gideon was given the name Jerubbaal, because, they said, Baal
must plead against him, because he has destroyed [torn down] his altar!' [..]
= literal translation IBHE, vol. I, page 648. Two bulls belonging
to Gideon's father are used: one is an ox, a draught animal for heavy labor, that
was used to pull down the altar and the other bull is to be offered as a
sacrifice.
Question: Yahweh gives Gideon his first test of
obedience. What is he commanded to do and why? How does this test concern his
relationship with God and with his father? Ex 20:3-5a; 34:13-14.
Answer: He his commanded to make war against the
Canaanite cult of Baal by demolishing the town's altar to Baal and to cut down
the cult object associated with it that are sponsored by his father. Then, he
is to build an altar to Yahweh in its place and offer in sacrifice the
seven-year-old-bull of his father which is to be burnt on the wood of the cult
object. Gideon must choose pleasing his divine father over pleasing his
physical father.
Gideon not only passes his test of obedience, but he fulfills the meaning of his name from the verb "to tear down." The "sacred pole," called an asherah, was the emblem of Asherah (Greek = Astarte), goddess of love and fertility and consort of Baal. Sacrifice and worship were restricted to take place at God's altar of sacrifice at His Sanctuary unless permission was expressly given by God to erect an altar and offer sacrifice at another location (prohibition: Lev 17:1-7; Dt 12:11-12; exception as in the covenant renewal ceremony in Josh 8:30-35). That the sacrificed bull was seven years old is symbolically significant. Seven is the number of fullness, completion and perfection. The bull is not offered as a sin sacrifice for the people (see Lev 4:13-21), but as a "whole burnt offering" or holocaust in which the entire animal is offered up to Yahweh the great King as a tribute or "gift offering," acknowledging God's sovereignty and authority. That there were ten servants assisting Gideon may also be significant. The number "ten" is the number signifying divine order (as in the Ten Commandments and the ten Egyptian plagues).
As Gideon feared, the townspeople were angry when they
discovered the Baal altar was destroyed.
Question: How did they threaten Gideon and how did
his father defend him?
Answer: The people threaten to kill Gideon, but
his father defends him by arguing that if Baal is a true god he will defend
himself and if not, he is obviously false.
Gideon's father has to choose between the townspeople or his son, but fundamentally, he must choose between Baal and Yahweh. His son's courageous act has left him no middle ground. He cannot serve both Baal and Yahweh. He chooses his son and Yahweh and further declares his choice by threatening to execute anyone who attempts to defend Baal. This is a pivotal moment in salvation history for Joash and the people of Ophrah.
Question: What is God's point in destroying the people's
pagan altar and pagan cult object?
Answer: The real problem that the Israelites are
facing is not their oppression by the Midianites but the lack of their
relationship with Yahweh.
Joshua 6:32b ~ That day, Gideon was given the name
Jerubbaal, because, they said, Baal must plead against him, because he has
destroyed [hacked/torn down] his altar!'
The townspeople do not challenge Joash and Gideon is
reborn in their eyes as Jerubbaal, which means "let Baal contend", yerubba'al;
it is a word play on the threefold use of the verb riv/rib "to contend/fight
back." Gideon has lived up to his name and in tearing down the altar of Baal he
has given Yahweh victory over the false god.
Judges 6:33-40 ~ The Midianite Invasion and Gideon's
Sign of the Fleece
33 All Midian
and Amalek and the sons of the East joined forces and , having crossed the
Jordan, pitched camp in the plain of Jezreel. 34 And the spirit of Yahweh clothed Gideon around; he sounded the
horn [shofar = ram's horn] and Abiezer rallied behind him. 35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and
Manasseh too rallied behind him; he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun and
Naphtali, and they marched out to meet him. 36 Gideon said to God, If it is really you delivering Israel by
means of me, as you have said, 37 look,
I am going to put a woolen fleece on the threshing-floor; if there is dew only
on the fleece and all the ground stays dry, then I shall know that you will
deliver Israel by means of me, as you have said.' 38 And so it happened. Early next morning,
Gideon got up, squeezed the fleece and wrung enough dew out of the fleece to
fill a cup. 39 Gideon then said to
God, Do not be angry with me if I speak just once more. Allow me to make the
fleece-test just once more: let the fleece alone be dry and there be dew all
over the ground!' 40 And God did
so that night. The fleece alone stayed dry, and there was dew all over the
ground. [..] = literal translation IBHE, vol. I, pages 659-60.
As Gideon is undergoing his ordeal in his hometown, the Transjordan enemies of Israel have launched an attack by invading across the Jordan from the east and setting up their war camp in the Jezreel, a valley containing some of the best arable land west of the Jordan River.
Question: How does God prepare His divinely chosen
deliverer?
Answer: God "clothes" Gideon with His divine
spirit.
In the New Covenant in Christ Jesus God fills and indwells His people with His Holy Spirit (for example see Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; Rom 8:11), but in the Old Covenant the usual expression is that God's spirit "rested" or "clothed/came upon" God's chosen ones (i.e., Num 11:25-26; 1 Sam 10:6; 16:13).
Gideon calls for the blowing of the ram's horn (shofar) signal to rally the tribes to war. His own tribe of Manasseh is the first to respond followed by the northern tribes of Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali. The tribe of Manasseh occupied lands on both sides of the Jordan River. Gideon's clan lives on the west side but the clans on the east side also rallied for war (Judg 7:23).
Gideon has another crisis of faith and asks God for another sign to authenticate his mission. The sign is not to answer the question of when or how he should lead the Israelites into battle but if he should lead them at all. As you may recall there were also two signs to authenticate the mission of Moses in Exodus 4:1-7 (see the chart in the handout). In the second part of the test he even asks God not to be angry; Gideon knows he is on dangerous ground in what he is asking. For the second time, God is infinitely patient with His deliverer (see 6:11-24). God does not even rebuke Gideon. Gideon's imperfections only serve to magnify for us an appreciation for God's grace.
Question: What two ways does he offer a test for a
sign of God's divine Presence with him in his mission? What is the answer?
Answer: He presents a wool fleece with the request
that the night dew only fall on the fleece and not on the ground. When this
fleece-test is fulfilled he asks for the reverse. God, in His patience, grants
the second sign and the fleece remains dry while the ground is wet. Gideon has
his answer: God is with him.
It is not unexpected that the dew should collect on the
fleece which Gideon realizes; it is then that he asks for the reverse sign.
The miracle for Gideon is in the reverse sign.
Question: Why does Gideon need further proof that
God has called him when he has seen the earlier signs like the fire theophany
and is now "covered" with God's Spirit? How is Gideon like all of us?
Answer: Like all of us, Gideon is still a
fallen human being who struggles to maintain his faith and to render obedience
to God. Being "clothed" in the Spirit of God in Gideon's case or being
baptized in the Holy Spirit in the case of a person who has received the
Sacrament of Baptism does not change our personalities nor are we rendered
immune from sin and doubt. The path of salvation is one of continual
conversion and continual submission.
Chapter 7: Gideon's Campaign against the Midianites and their Allies
Judges 7:1-8 ~ Yahweh Prepares Gideon's Army
1 Jerubbaal (that
is, Gideon) got up very early, as did all the people who were with him; he
pitched camp at En-Harod; the camp of Midian was north of his, under the Hill
of Moreh in the valley. 2 Yahweh
then said to Gideon, there are too many people with you for me to put Midian
into their power; Israel might claim the credit for themselves at my expense:
they might say, "My own hand has rescued me." 3 So now make this proclamation to the people, "anyone trembling
with fear is to go back and watch from Mount Gilboa." Twenty-two thousand of
the people went back, and ten thousand remained. 4 Yahweh said to Gideon, there are still too
many people. Take them down to the waterside and I shall sort them out for you
there. If I say to someone, "he is to go with you," that man is to go with
you. And if I say of anyone, "He is not to go with you," that man is not to
go.' 5 So Gideon took the people
down to the waterside, and Yahweh said to him, All those who lap the water
with their tongues, as a dog laps, put these on one side. And all those who
kneel down to drink, put these on the other side.' 6 The number of those who lapped with their
hands to their mouth was three hundred; all the rest of the people had knelt to
drink. 7 Yahweh then said to
Gideon, With the three hundred who lapped the water, I shall rescue you and
put Midian into your power. Let the people as a whole disperse to their
homes.' 8 So they took the
people's provisions and their horns, and then Gideon sent all the Israelites
back to their tents, keeping only the three hundred. The camp of Midian was
below his in the valley.
Gideon's military camp is south of the enemy camp but at
a higher elevation so he has a good view of the large enemy camp (7:8, 9).
That there are too many people with you...' God says for the intended
victory in our human understanding seems incredible, but ours is an incredible God.
Question: Why does God announce that He will
reduce the number of Israelite warriors?
Answer: He does not want to Israelites to claim
the victory through their superior numbers but instead to acknowledge that
their victory is through God's intervention.
Question: How many times does God reduce their
numbers and how many warriors are left?
Answer: He reduced their numbers twice until there
were only 300 men left.
The number three hundred may be literal or symbolic. It is the multiplication of the two perfect numbers three and ten. In sacred Scripture the number three represents that which is solid, real, substantial, and something in its completeness, and ten is the number of divine order. God has reduced the Israelite army to the perfect number of men to create a force of commandos who can surprise the enemy by striking quickly and with deadly force.
Judges 7:9-15 ~ Yahweh Gives Gideon Encouragement
9 Now it
happened, that same night, that Yahweh said to him, Get up and go down to the
camp. I am putting it into your power. 10
If, however, you are nervous about going down, go down to the camp with
your servant Purah; 11 listen to
what they are saying, and that will encourage you to go down to the camp.' So,
with this servant Purah, he went down to the edge of the outposts of the camp.
12 Midian, Amalek and all the sons
of the East were deployed in the valley as thick as locusts; their camels were
as innumerable as the sand on the seashore. 13 Gideon got there just as a man was telling his comrade a
dream; he was saying, This was the dream I had: a cake made of barley bread
came rolling into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent, struck against it and
turned it upside down. 14 His
comrade replied, This can only be the sword of Gideon son of Joash the
Israelite. God has put Midian and the whole camp into his power.' 15 When Gideon heard the dream thus told and
interpreted, he bowed in reverence; he then went back to the camp of Israel and
said, On your feet, for Yahweh has put the camp of Midian into your power!'
Having the advantage of viewing the enemy camp from a higher location must have unnerved Gideon. Gideon is still the reluctant and fearful deliverer. He is not yet the "valiant warrior" that God wants him to be. God works with us as we are and knows what greatness we are capable of even when we lack courage or self-confidence.
Question: Why does God send Gideon down in secret
into the enemy camp?
Answer: Knowing Gideon's fears, God gives him a
sign of encouragement from the camp of the enemy.
God knows our fears and weaknesses as well as our strengths. God also encouraged His chosen agent Joshua before his first battle in Joshua 5:13-15. God even allows Gideon to take his servant with him in the same way Moses was allowed to have his brother Aaron with him for moral support (Ex 4:13-17). We are reminded that it is not fearlessness that is the indispensable requirement for God's deliverer to achieve victory, but it is obedience to God that is necessary.
Judges 7:12 ~ Midian,
Amakek and all the sons of the East were deployed in the valley as thick as
locusts; their camels were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore.
This is the second time the locust metaphor has been used
for Israel's enemies in the Gideon narrative (see 6:5). Even though God has
promised him victory (7:9), Gideon needs to hear the prophecy of defeat from
the mouth of his enemy. The prophecy served to unnerve the enemy camp in the
same way God put dread over the people of Jericho before the Israelite attach
(Josh 2:9), and their fear is the antidote to Gideon's fear.
Judges 7:13-14 ~ Gideon got there just as a man was
telling his comrade a dream; he was saying, This was the dream I had: a cake
made of barley bread came rolling into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent,
struck against it and turned it upside down. 14 His comrade replied, This can only be the sword of Gideon son
of Joash the Israelite. God has put Midian and the whole camp into his
power.'
The man telling the dream and his audience recognize the
dream as being a divine revelation. In the dream the tent represents the
tent-dwelling, nomadic Midianites and their allies. The barley cake represents
the agricultural Israelites. That the barley loaf overturned the tent
foretells the victory of the Israelites over the Midianites and their
tent-dwelling allies.
Judges 7:15 ~ When
Gideon heard the dream thus told and interpreted, he bowed in reverence; he
then went back to the camp of Israel and said, On your feet, for Yahweh has
put the camp of Midian into your power!'
Bowing in worshipful reverence is the sign that Gideon
gives in acknowledging God's power and authority to do what He has promised.
Gideon's fear is gone and he rallies the camp and leads his 300 commandos into
battle with a command that is similar to Deborah's in 4:14.
Judges 7:16-22 ~ Gideon's Surprise Attack
16 Gideon then
divided his three hundred men into three groups. To each he gave a horn and an
empty pitcher, with a torch inside each pitcher. 17 He said to them, Watch me, and do as I do.
When I reach the edge of the camp, whatever I do, you must do also. 18 I shall blow my horn, and so will all those
who are with me; you too will them blow your horns all round the camp and
shout, "for Yahweh and for Gideon!"' 19 Gideon
and his hundred companions reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the
middle watch, when the new sentries had just been posted; they blew their horns
and smashed the pitchers in their hands. 20
The three groups blew their horns and smashed their pitchers; with their
left hands they grasped the torches, with their right hands the horns for blowing
them; and they shouted, The sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!' 21 And they stood still, spaced out round the
camp. The whole camp was thrown into confusion and the Midianites fled,
shouting. 22 While the three
hundred blew their horns, Yahweh made each man turn his sword against this
comrade throughout the entire camp. They all fled as far as Beth-ha-Shittah in
the direction of Zarethan, as far as the bank of Abel-Meholah opposite Tabbath.
Gideon divided his men into three companies of a hundred warriors with each warrior carrying a ram's horn and an empty pitcher with a lighted torch inside. Notice they are not carrying swords in their hands. It is the third night watch when they go down to encircle the enemy camp. Prior to the Roman conquest of the Levant in 68 BC, the Israelites observed the 12 night hours divided into three "watch" periods. The third watch was from about 2 AM to dawn, so it was about 2 AM at "the beginning of the third watch" when the Israelites set out. They encircle the enemy camp, and when Gideon and his men blew their horns and smash their pots followed by the other two groups, the sudden noise and flashes of light in the darkness startled and unnerved the enemy who in their panic turned their weapons on each other. Gideon has deployed his men but God has achieved the victory.
Judges 7:22b ~ They all fled as far as Beth-ha-Shittah
in the direction of Zarethan, as far as the bank of Abel-Meholah opposite
Tabbath.
None of the sites named in verse 22 have ever been
identified. However, it is clear that the enemy fled east toward the Jordan
River as far as the "place-of the-acacia trees" (an unknown site). Zarethan is
one of the fords of the Jordan (1 Kng 4:12) and Abel-Meholah and Tabbath are
probably settlements in the Jordan Valley to the south or southeast of
Beth-Shean.
Judges 7:23-25 ~ The Victory of Gideon and the
Israelites
23 The men of
Israel mustered from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh, and pursued Midian. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the
highlands of Ephraim to say, Come down to meet Midian, seize the water-points
ahead of them as far as Beth-Bara and the Jordan.' All the men of Ephraim
mustered and seized the water-points as far as Beth-Barah and the Jordan. 25 They captured the two Midianite chieftains,
Oreb (Raven) and Zeeb (Wolf); they killed Oreb at Oreb's Rock and Zeeb at
Zeeb's Winepress. They pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and
Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.
As the enemy flees toward the fords of the Jordan River, Gideon doesn't want any to escape. He musters the warriors that had been dismissed from the first raid. He is also aware that the enemy may attempt to cross the Jordan by going south into the lands of Ephraim, and so he sends messengers to the Ephraimite clans to pursue the enemy. The Ephraimites cover the fords as far south as Beth-Barah, an unknown site but presumably on the southern border of Ephraim. The names of the sites where the two Midianite chieftains were killed on the west side of the Jordan are still known in the time of the inspired writer. Gideon has already crossed over the Jordan River into the Transjordan where he will continue the fight. The Ephraimites bring Gideon the heads of the Midianite chieftains to his camp as proof of their success.
Question: What is interesting about the place name
of the site where the Midianite chieftain Zeeb/Wolf was killed in relation to
the beginning of the story of Gideon? See Judg 6:11.
Answer: The story began with Gideon hiding in a
winepress when God first called him "Valiant Warrior." Now, with his first
victory with the help of God, his story has come full circle at another
winepress and he has become the "Valiant Warrior" God called him to be.
Judges 8:1-3 ~ The Ephraimites Take Offense
1 Now the men of
Ephraim said to Gideon, What do you mean by treating us like this, not
summoning us when you went to fight Midian?' And they reproached him
bitterly. 2 He replied, What have
I achieved, compared with you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim's grapes better
than the vintage of Abiezer? 3 God
delivered Oreb and Zeeb, the chieftains of Midian, into you power. What was I
able to do, in comparison with what you have done?' At these words, their
anger with him died down.
This seemingly out-of-place section which breaks up the momentum of the war narrative will be important later for two reasons:
Ephraim and Manasseh were the half-tribes of Joseph. Ephraim
was supposed to have precedence over their brother tribe of Manasseh even
though Manasseh was Joseph's first born (Gen 48:10-14). The Ephraimites were
very jealous of this prerogative and they perceived it as a slight that a
member of the lessor tribe of Manasseh did not call upon them at the first of
the battle against the Midianites and their allies. Their challenge to Gideon
is insulting since no one from Ephraim had the initiative or the divine call to
take up the fight against Israel's enemies
Question: How does Gideon respond to their
challenge? Notice the imagery he uses in the metaphors of "gleaning" and
"vintage."
Answer: Gideon handles the dispute with grace and
diplomacy. He acknowledges the supremacy of Ephraim in verse 2b and gives
credit for the victory to God. He uses the double metaphor of gleaning (what
is gathered up after the harvest) and vintage (the grape harvest itself), but
he uses the metaphors in an unusual context by saying in this case the
"gleaning" or the capture of the enemy chieftains by the Ephraimites, is
greater than the "vintage," the initial "harvesting" of the enemy in the battle
he led.
His humble response placates them. It should not be missed that the symbolic connection in the metaphors he used associated with grain harvesting and the processing of the grape harvest are connected to his first encounter with the messenger of Yahweh in 6:11 where Gideon is hiding in a winepress threshing the grain from the harvest or the gleanings after the Midianites had raided the fields. Now he is the one "harvesting" the enemy and "pressing" them like grapes in a winepress. In those repeated images we have come to the end of Part I of Gideon's story. Up to this point he has been the model of the Mosaic hero: humble, fearful of offending God, reverent, and obedient. He has also been in a continual discourse with God. Part II will reveal changes in Gideon's character, and we no longer have evidence of God's direct interaction with His deliverer.
Chapter 8:4-35 ~ Part II: Gideon's Campaign in the Transjordan
Judges 8:4-9 ~ Gideon Pursues the Enemy to the East
Side of the Jordan
4 Gideon reached
the Jordan and crossed it, but he and his three hundred companions were
exhausted with the pursuit. 5 So
he said to the men of Succoth, Please give my followers some loaves of bread,
since they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna the kings of
Midian.' 6 The headmen of Succoth
replied, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your grasp, that we
should give bread to your army?' 7 Very
well,' retorted Gideon, when Yahweh has put Zebah and Zalmunna into my power,
I shall tear your flesh off with desert-thorn and thistles.' 8 From there he went up to Penuel and asked the
men of Penuel the same thing; they replied as those of Succoth had done. 9 And to those of Penuel he made a similar
retort, When I return victorious, I shall destroy this tower.'
Either the narrative is now out of sequence and we return
to when Gideon and his men crossed the Jordan into the Transjordan lands before
the incident with the Ephraimites in 7:25-8:1-3 or this is a different campaign.
The three hundred selected in 7:1-8 apparently continue to be Gideon's vanguard
commando force. They pursue the Midianites and the allies across the Jordan
into the region of the Transjordan on the east side of the river near the
village of Succoth and Penuel to the east of Succoth. These sites are also
mentioned in the Jacob narrative; it was at Penuel where Jacob wrestled with
God (see Gen 32:23-31 and 33:17). The villages are located in the tribal lands
of Gad and are occupied by Israelites from that tribe (Josh 13:24-28). When Gideon
requests food for his exhausted men, his request is rudely denied by both towns.
Question: How is Gideon's response to their
rudeness different from his response to the Ephraimites?
Answer: He makes no attempt to court their support
and instead threatens them.
The "tower of Penuel" was a fortified tower used for observation and defensive. His threat to destroy the tower is in essence a threat to destroy the town and the people. The names of the Midianite kings mean respectively "victim/sacrifice" and "wandering shade," apparently names given to them by their Israelite enemies.
Judges 8:10-12 ~ Defeat of the Midianites and their
Allies in the Transjordan
10 Zebah and
Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, all that
was left of the entire army of the sons of the East. Of men bearing arms, a
hundred and twenty thousand has fallen. 11
Gideon approached them by the tent-dwellers' route, east of Nobah and
Jogbehah, and attacked the army when it thought itself in safety. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled. He pursued them; he
took the two kings of Midian prisoner, Zebah and Zalmunna, and the whole army
he routed in panic.
Karkor is a desert oasis on the caravan route that is about 100 miles southeast of Amman, Jordan. It is still used by Moslem pilgrims traveling to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The "tent-dwellers route or caravan route of the eastern desert peoples that is mentioned is just east of Amman. The Midianites did not expect Gideon and his army to move so quickly to the east but that is the advantage Gideon had marching with a reduce force. Gideon and his men ambush the enemy and are victorious.
Judges 8:13-21 ~ Gideon's Acts of Revenge
13 After the
battle Gideon came back by the Ascent of Heres. 14 He caught a young man, one of the people of Succoth, and
questioned him, and the latter wrote down the names of the headmen and elders
of Succoth for him, seventy-seven men. 15
Gideon son of Joash then went to the people of Succoth and said, Here
you see Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me and said, "Are the hands
of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your grasp, that we should give bread to your
exhausted troops?"' 16 He then
seized the elders of the town and, taking desert-thorn and thistles, tore [threshed]
the men of Succoth to pieces. 17 He
destroyed [tore down] the tower of Penuel and slaughtered the townsmen. 18 He then said to Zebah and Zalmunna, The men
you killed at Tabor, what were they like?" They replied, They looked like
you. Every one of them carried himself like the son of a king.' 19 Gideon replied, They were my brothers, the
sons of my own mother; as Yahweh lives, if you had spared their lives I would
not kill you.' 20 To Jether his
eldest son he said, Stand up and kill them!' But the boy did not draw his
sword; he dared not; he was still only a lad. 21 Zebah and Zalmunna then said, Stand up yourself, and strike
us down; for as a man is, so is his strength.' Then Gideon stood up and killed
Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the crescents from round the camels' necks.
[..] = literal translation IBHE, vol. I, page 655-66; dwsu = "threshes"
and nts = torn down."
After defeating the Midianites and their allies, Gideon returned west toward the two Israelite towns of Gad to fulfill his threat with chilling ruthlessness. His men capture a young man from Succoth and force him to write down the names of the chieftains and elders of his town (notice that the young man is literate; there is historical evidence of the literacy of Israelites in this early period). Gideon kills the seventy-seven (probably a symbolic number) elders of Succoth but his violence escalates against Penuel where he not only tears down the tower but slaughters all the men of the town. Biblical author Gregory Mobley notes that Gideon who once "threshed" wheat in Judged 6:11 now "threshes" the leaders of Succoth with thorns and thistles in Judges 8:7, 16, and Gideon who had once "torn down" the shrine of Baal in Judges 6:32 now "tears down" the tower of Penuel in Judges 8:17 (Mobley, Empty Men, page 144).
After years of war and military success, how has Gideon's
character changed?
Question: He is no longer the humble and
diplomatic young deliverer he was in his first campaign. His is now confident,
arrogant, and cruel.
Gideon made no attempt to court the townspeople of
Succoth or Penuel into rendering aid to his men as he diplomatically soothed
the hurt feelings of the Ephraimites in 8:1-3. Instead he threatened them and
returned to fulfill his threat in a horrific act of violence against his own
people.
Judges 8:18-19 ~ He
then said to Zebah and Zalmunna, The men you killed at Tabor, what were they
like?" They replied, They looked like you. Every one of them carried himself
like the son of a king.' 19 Gideon
replied, They were my brothers, the sons of my own mother; as Yahweh lives, if
you had spared their lives I would not kill you.'
Gideon's oath in verse 19 does not seem genuine. For the
first time we hear about a battle at Mt. Tabor in which Gideon's brothers were
killed.
Judges 8:20-21 ~ 20 To
Jether his eldest son he said, Stand up and kill them!' But the boy did not
draw his sword; he dared not; he was still only a lad. 21 Zebah and Zalmunna then said, Stand up
yourself, and strike us down; for as a man is, so is his strength.' Then
Gideon stood up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the crescents from
round the camels' necks.
Next, wishing to deny his enemies an honorable "warrior's
death," Gideon attempts to force the vengeful role of "blood-redeemer" for the
deaths of his brothers upon his pre-adolescent firstborn son by commanding him
to carry out the executions.4 It is a
task the boy is unwilling to fulfill. Gideon's delegation of power to the boy
may be a sign designed to designate the boy as his successor and may be
considered his "blooding" as a warrior. It is also a final humiliation to the
Midianite kings to be killed by someone below their rank. In this episode
Gideon is arrogant, cruel, and vengeful. He has forgotten God's command when
He told the Israelites: "Vengeance is mine" (Dt 32:35). Yahweh's wars are not
wars of personal vengeance but holy wars of liberation. While the enemy kings
deserved to die for their crimes, Gideon has violated the prohibitions of a
holy war. In verse 21 the Midianite
kings defiantly take the opportunity to make the most of Gideon's embarrassment
concerning his son and berate Gideon for not carrying out their executions
himself, and so he kills them.
Question: What has happened to Gideon? How is he
no longer the image of a Mosaic liberator? See Num 12:3; Sir [Ecclesiasticus]
45:4.
Answer: It appears that his successes have
delivered him into the sin of pride. He is no longer the humble deliverer in
the image of Moses.
and he took the crescents from round the camels' necks. These are probably golden ornaments on the Midianite kings' camels that identified their status. Gideon's use of the ornaments will demonstrate how far Gideon has drifted from the young, humble and valiant warrior in Part I of the narrative.
Judges 8:22-28 ~ Israel's Offer to Gideon and his
Refusal
22 The men of
Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, you, your son and your grandson, since
you have rescued us from the power of Midian.' 23 But Gideon replied, I will not rule you, neither will my
son. Yahweh shall rule you.' 24 Gideon
went on, however, Let me make you one request. Each of you give me one ring
out of the booty', for the vanquished had had gold rings, being Ishmaelites. 25 We shall give them gladly,' they replied. So
he spread out his cloak, and on it each of them threw a ring from his booty. 26 The weight of the gold rings which he had
asked for amounted to seventeen hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescents
and the earrings and purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides
the collars round their camels' necks. 27
From this Gideon made an ephod and set it up in his town of Ophrah. All
Israel, following his example, prostituted themselves to it, and it was a snare
for Gideon and his family. 28 Thus
Midian was humbled before the Israelites. He did not raise his head again, and
the country had peace for forty years, as long as Gideon lived.
For the first time we learn that Ishmaelites were among
the allies of the Midianites.
Question: Who are the Ishmaelites? See Gen 16:1-2, 15-16.
Answer: They are the desert nomads who are the
descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Sarah's Egyptian slave girl
Hagar.
The seventeen hundred shekels of gold in verse 26 amount
to about 49 pounds of gold.
Question: The Israelites offer to make Gideon king
over them. What is his answer?
Answer: To his credit, Gideon refuses and
acknowledges Yahweh as the only king over Israel but he asks for a king's
ransom in gold as a donation from each warrior.
Question: What does Gideon do with the gold?
Answer: He makes a gold object and sets it up in
his hometown where the altar of Baal used to stand.
Question: Gideon's request for gold earrings is
eerily similar to what other request for gold earrings used to make an object
of idol worship? See Ex 32:2-6.
Answer: It is reminiscent of Aaron's request for
the earrings of the Israelites to make the idol of the Golden Calf.
The making of the Golden Calf was the beginning of Israel's fall from grace just as the making of Gideon's golden cult object is the beginning of his family and his clan's descent into idolatry and sin. It is uncertain what the ephod was. It most certainly was not like the ephod of the High Priest which was worn since this object is "set up" like an idol. Gideon may have intended it as a reminder of his achievements but it was a snare for Gideon and his family, which must mean members of his family and others came to worship it following his example (8:27b). The Gideon narrative that began with a reminder of the Exodus liberation in 6:8-9 and Gideon's accusation that God had not done for Israel in her current suffering what He did for Israel in the Exodus in 6:13 now ends with a repeat of the people's fall from grace after the Exodus deliverance in the worship of the Golden Calf, just as the people now turn to idol worship after God's gracious deliverance through Gideon.
The Gideon narrative cycle concludes with the announcement of the years of peace brought by Gideon's judgeship: 28 Thus Midian was humbled before the Israelites. He did not raise his head again, and the country had peace for forty years, as long as Gideon lived.
Judges 8:28-35 ~ Israel Relapses into Idolatry
29 So Jerubbaal
son of Joash went to live at home. 30 Gideon
had seventy sons begotten by him, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also
bore him a son, to whom he gave the name Abimelech [father-is-king]. 32 Gideon son of Joash died after a happy old
age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of Abiezer. 33 After Gideon's death, the people of Israel
again began to prostitute themselves to the Baals, taking Baal-Berith
[baal-of-oaths] for their god. 34 The
Israelites no longer remembered Yahweh their God, who had rescued them from all
the enemies round them. 35 And to
the family of Jerubbaal, Gideon, they showed no faithful gratitude for all the
good which it had done for Israel.
These verses serve as the conclusion of the Gideon narrative and as the introduction to the story of Gideon's son Abimelech. After Gideon's death the people began to worship idols again. The sin of idolatry in the Bible is imaged as both adultery and prostitution (i.e., Jer 3:8-9; 5:7; Ez 16:1, 30-43; 23:37). Baal-Berith was the god of covenant oaths and contracts and therefore a deity important to merchants. Israel, engaged in doing trade with the Canaanites, was making covenants in violation of Deuteronomy 7:3. They had forgotten God's mighty works on their behalf and the works of His deliverer Gideon. The Israelites lacked both faith and gratitude. But for the first time in the narratives of the Judges, 8:27 makes it clear that the descent of the people into the "sin cycle" begins not after the judge's death but during the judge's own lifetime, and the judge is himself a contributor to it! It foreshadows the evil that is to come.
In July 2021, archaeologists officially announced the discovery of a 3,100-year-old inscription from the site of Khirbet al-Ra'i, thought by some to be Biblical Ziklag (e.g., 1 Sam 30), about2.5 miles west of Tel Lachish. The inscription contains the first archaeological discovery of the name Jerubbaal, the same nickname the people gave the Israelite judge Gideon: That day, Gideon was given the name Jerubbaal, because, they said, "Baal must plead against him, because he has destroyed [torn down] his altar!" (Judg 6:32). The inscription dates to about 1100 BC, the time many Biblical scholars believe Gideon would have lived.
Questions for reflection or group discussion:
Question: Gideon put out a fleece not to discern
God's will but to discern if he was being directed by God. Have you ever put
out a "fleece" to discern God's will for you in determining what path you
should take or decision you should make? What should be the parameters and/or
limitations in the laying out a "fleece" to determine God's will? How can the
commands of the Ten Commandments help you in discerning the will of God in such
a spiritual exercise?
Question: When Gideon realized he was in the presence of God, he was afraid. What does Proverbs 1:7 say about "fear of Yahweh"? Why is fear of offending God a spiritually healthy condition? Do you fear offending God and do you think people today have any fear of God? Why or why not. "Fear of the Lord" is listed as one of the seven gifts of the Spirit (see CCC 1831) and the teachings on the Last Judgment should inspire "fear of the Lord (see CCC 1041). See what Cardinal John Henry Newman wrote about fearful respect of the Lord in CCC 2144.
Question: Can you think of some Christian leaders or other people in our modern age who were called by God to do a work that advanced the Kingdom and who later, like Gideon, fell from grace through the sin of pride? What is the warning in their fall from grace for us?
Endnotes:
1. A pottery shard with writing (oastrcia were the post-it notes of antiquity) was found in Samaria with the name of Gideon's clan and dating to the 8th century BC.
2. R. Boling, Judges, page 141: "...fishermen living on one of the streamless and springless Desert Islands have obtained sufficient water for their livelihood by spreading out fleece in the evening and wringing dew from them in the morning"; quoting from information in The Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, 3 [1923] pages 197-99.
3. In the Gideon narrative and in chapter 12 the Ephraimites are already seeking supremacy over their brother tribes. The quest for supremacy is based on Jacob granting re'shith (firstborn) status to the tribe of Joseph (Gen 49:22-26) and the same status granted to Ephraim over his elder brother Manasseh (Gen 48:5, 13-20). The one with the "firstborn" status of the heir received a double portion of the father's material wealth and spiritual blessing. The Ephraimites even approached Joshua (a member of the tribe of Ephraim) when the tribal lands were being allotted and demanded that he give them double the land that the other tribes received. Joshua ignored the demand (see Josh 17:14) and suggested if they wanted more than their initial allotment that they drive out more Canaanites (Josh 17:17-18). In 930 BC the Ephraimites will lead a revolt against the supremacy of the Judahite king Rehoboam and bring an end to the United Kingdom of Israel (1 Kng 11:26; 12:20).
4. Revenge killings for the death of a family member are still practiced in the Middle East today. In the laws of the Sinai Covenant God established laws to limit such killings and to allow for justice for the accused. In cases of murder, the Law of the Sinai covenant gave the nearest male relative the right and obligation to hunt down the murderer (Num 35:12-28; Dt 19:4-6, 11-13). To avoid injustice in cases of accidental death, cities of refuge were established to offer sanctuary to the accused until his case could be heard by elders, and no one was to be put to death on the evidence of only one witness (Num 35:24, 30; Josh 20:4).
Catechism reference for Judges 6:11-32 concerning the intervention of angels: CCC 332-336.
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2013 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.