JUDGES CHAPTER 8, “Gideon
Causes
By
Jim Bomkamp
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1.
In our last study, we looked at chapter 7 and the incredible story of
how the Lord used this man Gideon to deliver His people from the Midianites.
1.1.1. We saw that the Midianites
were a huge hoard of nomads who roamed the countryside and that for eight years
running they had come upon the Israelites during the harvest and stole all of
the Israelite’s produce as well as their livestock. The sons of
1.1.2. We saw in that study that
the Lord had to teach Gideon a couple of lessons before Gideon would be able to
be used mightily by Him in His purposes as a deliverer. We will see that it is critical that we as
Christians learn these same lessons:
1.1.2.1. We have to be totally
dependent upon the Lord in order to be used mightily by Him.
1.1.2.1.1.
The Lord created two tests of Gideon’s faith when He sought by greatly
reducing the size of Gideon’s army to teach him the lesson that he had to learn
to be totally dependent upon the Lord:
1.1.2.1.2.
Gideon began with 32,000 men to go up and to fight this army of 135,000
men. However, the Lord used the two
tests of Gideon to reduce Gideon’s army to a mere group of 300 men.
1.1.2.2. We have to learn to be
confident in the power of the Lord’s might to fight our battles.
1.1.2.2.1.
Gideon had been paralyzed by his fear and couldn’t step out and be used
by the Lord, then after receiving numerous reassurances from the Lord, he
finally sees the light and realizes that the Lord really is planning to fight
on Israel’s behalf, and from that point on Gideon has become a man of faith and
is victorious in battle over Midian.
1.1.2.2.2.
When finally filled with faith and confidence in the Lord fighting the
battle for him, Gideon conceives a battle attack plan simply using what tools
and resources he had available to him.
1.1.3. We saw that this was the
most unconventional battle that men have ever fought, and a battle won against
the greatest of odds. It was
unconventional because the 300 sons of Israel whom Gideon brought to fight
against Midian used only trumpets, torches, and clay lamps as their weapons,
and they did not even move from their positions for the Lord caused the
Midianites to be confused and begin slaying one another.
1.1.4. We saw in that study how
that average men and women can be used greatly by the Lord!
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at chapter 8 of Judges and how
that Gideon stumbled in the later days of his life, and in his stumbling Gideon
also caused all
1.2.1. What we will see in this
chapter is that Gideon now has great challenges to face because of his success
in battle. There is always more danger
in God’s people’s lives when they have had a great amount of success than when
they were struggling. The greatest
temptations come to God’s people when they have been successful.
1.2.1.1. We in the church need to
realize the most important concept that whenever the Lord begins to use our
life in a great way and whenever the Lord begins to move within the church here
in a great way, that we always need to be more on our guard and more in prayer
than ever before, for we will then be facing our greatest temptations.
1.2.2. Gideon had been used in an
incredible way by the Lord in defeating Midian and for this his name is found
listed in Hebrews chapter 11’s “Hall of Faith.”
However, after success in battle against Midian we see that Gideon fell
to temptations and his legacy to the children of
1.2.3. Gideon could have not only
led the children of Israel in conquering their oppressors, the Midianites, but
he also could have led them to spiritual renewal in the Lord. However, after defeating Midian, Gideon
instead caused the children of
1.2.4. Sadly, all of the good
things that Gideon accomplished by his conquering of the Midianites were
overturned by his subsequent failure in causing the sons of
1.2.4.1. In Acts 20:24, we read of
how important it was for Paul to not only begin his race well, not only run a
good long ways, but to finish his race well, “24 “But I do not
consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my
course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify
solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”
1.2.4.2. We need to learn a very
important lesson from Gideon in this chapter, namely: What a sad thing it is for a Christian to
have begun the race of his Christian life well and once be used by the Lord,
perhaps even in a mighty way, to then later be disqualified from his race and
not finish well for the Lord.
1.2.4.2.1.
A race started well is really of little value if it is not finished
well.
1.2.4.3. I personally know so many
Christians who once ran the race of their Christian life very well, yet today
they are either not attempting to run the race and finish the course the Lord
called them to finish because they have given up, or because of some personal
failure they are sitting disqualified on the sidelines watching everyone else
run their races.
1.2.5. We see in our chapter that
after the victory over the Midianites that the Lord places before Gideon
several tests to see if he truly will obey and serve the Lord with all of his
heart. Gideon initially passes the
tests, however eventually he succumbs to the temptations and he goes into a
very destructive spiritual decline that he evidently never recovers from.
1.2.6. There were two factors which
helped Gideon to stumble after his defeat of Midian, wealth and power:
1.2.6.1. Gideon became very wealthy
from the spoils of war.
1.2.6.2. Gideon now had great power
and the admiration of the people.
1.2.7. After the great defeat over
the Midianites in a battle which was the most unconventional in all of the
battles in history, and fought against the greatest of odds, the sons of
1.2.7.1. Warren Wiersbe has pointed
out that Gideon started out as a servant and ended up as a celebrity, and this
occurred primarily because he became puffed up in his pride.
1.2.8. Gideon rejects the offer to
be made king over the people, however he then asks the people to bring to him
gold rings and jewelry, and he makes an elaborate priestly ephod out of
these. It is believed that since the
priesthood had fallen into apostasy in Gideon’s time that instead of trying to
bring spiritual renewal to the priesthood that Gideon might instead have
himself acted as a priest to the sons of Israel using this ephod and perhaps a
Urim and Thummim which were contained in its breastplate. In any case, Gideon caused the children of
2. VS 8:1-3 - “1 Then the men of
Ephraim said to him, “What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us
when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him vigorously.
2 But 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 vintage of
Abiezer? 3 “God has given the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb into
your hands; and what was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger
toward him subsided when he said that.” - Gideon has
to contend with Ephraim
2.1.
We see in this chapter that the Lord placed Gideon in several difficult
tests after his incredible victory over the Midianites. The first test came in regard to these men
from the tribe of Ephraim.
2.2.
In these verses, we see that the tribe of Ephraim is contentious and
they confront Gideon because he didn’t invite them to come to the battle when
he went up against Midian and conquered the nation.
2.3.
The fact of the matter however was that the tribe of Ephraim had been invited
to come to the battle against Midian however they chose instead to stay at home
and see how Gideon and his army would fare before they would commit themselves
and come to battle. The tribe of Ephraim
were just being contentious at this point in time and they were a thorn in the
side of
2.4.
This first test of Gideon, he handles extremely well. If only he handled the rest of the tests as
well. Gideon uses flattery to deflate
this crisis and avoid further conflict with the tribe of Ephaim. Gideon flatters the tribe of Epraim by
telling them that his victory over Midian was not nearly as impressive as their
killing of these two kings of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, whom Ephraim had captured.
2.5.
As Christians, we will be wise if we learn to pick our battles
carefully and decide what issues we need to make an issue and take a stand
for. Gideon was wise to just avoid
causing further conflict with the tribe of Ephraim at this point.
3. VS 8:4-7 - “4 Then Gideon and the
300 men who were with him came to the
3.1.
The second test of Gideon after his victory over Midian was in handling
the men of the cities of Succoth and Penuel who refuse to give his men bread
for their hunger when he came to them while pursuing the Midian kings, Zebah
and Zalmunna.
3.2.
Succoth was a city on the wilderness side of the
3.3.
Here, we see that the people of the city of
3.4.
The leaders of Succoth showed that they had no obligations or
allegiance with the people of God, and thus they refused food to Gideon’s men. However, Gideon vowed that when he and his
men returned after the Lord had given these kings into his hand, that he would
whip these men of Succoth with thorn bushes.
4. VS 8:8-9 - “8 He went up from
there to Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him
just as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 So he spoke also to the
men of Penuel, saying, “When I return safely, I will tear down this tower.”” - Gideon asks the men of Penuel also to give
his men bread, however he is refused bread by them as well
4.1.
This city of
4.2.
The exact location of Penuel is not known.
4.3.
The men of Penuel also showed that they had no obligations or
allegiance with the Lord’s people by refusing Gideon’s men bread. Again, this kindness should have been
extended by God’s people to any weary and needy traveler, and to refuse it
showed great callousness on their part.
4.4.
Gideon promised the men of Penuel that he would tear down their tower
when he returned from successfully capturing this two fleeing kings.
5. VS 8:10-12 - “10 Now Zebah and
Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about 15,000 men, all who
were left of the entire army of the sons of the east; for the fallen were
120,000 swordsmen. 11 Gideon went up by the way of those who lived
in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the camp when the camp
was unsuspecting. 12 When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them
and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole
army.”
- Gideon and his 300 men capture Zeba
and Zalmuna and rout their whole army
5.1.
We see in these verses that there were still 15,000 men of the 135,000
that Midian originally had in their army.
These men were under the command of these two kings, Zebah and Zalmunna.
5.2.
We don’t know by what means that Gideon and his army were able to
conquer this army that was 98% larger than them in number.
5.2.1. By this time with all of the
Midianites that had fallen in battle, I’m sure at least that now Gideon’s men
had their pick of all of the best war implements to fight with.
5.2.2. Having seen the Lord do such
an incredible work in routing the Midianites when they only had trumpets, clay
pots, and torches, the men now had momentum added to their faith, for their
faith was growing.
5.2.2.1. Spiritual momentum is an
awesome thing in the lives of God’s people, for each time the Lord does some
great thing in and through our life this produces in us greater faith for that
next spiritual battle that we are faced with.
6. VS 8:13-17 - “13 Then Gideon the
son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. 14 And
he captured a youth from Succoth and questioned him. Then the youth wrote
down for him the princes of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. 15 He
came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning
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 weary?’ ” 16 He
took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and he
disciplined the men of Succoth with them. 17 He tore down the
6.1.
Gideon brings the two kings of the Midianites, Zeba and Zalmunna, with
him to the two cities who had rejected his plea to them for bread, and he
carries out his threat that he had made to discipline them with thorns upon his
return.
6.2.
I guess that we have to ask the question of whether Gideon was right in
disciplining the men of these two cities in this way, and I have say that I
think that he was right in disciplining them in some manner, however I believe
that he went overboard by killing the men of the city of Penuel.
6.2.1. These two cities had not
shown the common compassion that even Gentile nations were to be shown, and yet
these were their very brothers in the Lord.
The men needed some rebuke and discipline of the Lord, but not to be
killed.
6.2.2. It appears to me in these
verses that Gideon’s spiritual decline had already begun:
6.2.2.1. Gideon took vengeance into
his own hands and his hands were now covered with the blood of his own
brothers, the leaders of the city of
6.2.2.2. Gideon evidently now was
acting out of an exaggerated self-importance when he chose to react in anger
and pour out his own personal vengeance upon these men of the city of
7. VS 8:18-21 - “18 Then he said to
Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at
Tabor?” And they said, “They were like you, each one resembling the son of a
king.” 19 He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my
mother. As the Lord lives,
if only you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 20 So he said
to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them.” But the youth did not draw his
sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a youth. 21 Then
Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise up yourself, and fall on us; for as the man, so
is his strength.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the
crescent ornaments which were on their camels’ necks.” - Gideon kills Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of
Midian whom he had been chasing
7.1.
Gideon takes personal vengeance out against these kings because they
had killed his brothers according to the flesh.
7.2.
We saw in the previous verses that Gideon had just finished taking out
his own vengeance by killing the men of the city of
7.3.
Gideon shows further disobedience to the Lord in the fact that he tells
these kings of Midian that if they hadn’t killed his brothers that he would
have let them live. Moses had commanded
the sons of
7.4.
Zebah and Zalmunna try unsuccessfully here to save their lives by
flattering Gideon as they describe his brothers whom they had killed as
‘resembling the son of a king.’
7.5.
It is interesting to note here that these kings had ‘crescent
ornaments’ which were on their camel’s necks.
The ‘crescent’ is the symbol of the moon and finds it origin in ancient
8. VS 8:22-23 - “22 Then the men of
8.1.
Here in these verses, we see test number three for Gideon after his
victory over the Midianites. He is asked
to be a king and set up a dynasty.
8.1.1. First, Gideon had been
tested by the contentiousness of the tribe of Ephraim, and he handled that test
very well passing it with flying colors.
Gideon resisted the temptation to enter into further strife with that
tribe.
8.1.2. Secondly, Gideon had been
tested by how he would deal with the leaders of the cities of Succoth and
Penuel when they wouldn’t give his army bread when they came to him hungry
during their pursuit of the two Midianite kings. Gideon took personal vengeance against the
men of Penuel and killed them, which indicates that he evidently failed this
test.
8.2.
This test of Gideon in these verses is much more difficult even than
the previous tests. This test created a
great temptation to Gideon, especially after the great victories he had just
experienced in pulling down the alter to Baal and cutting down the Ashera at
his father’s house, and then the incredible victory over the army of Midian. Gideon was now popular. He was a celebrity.
8.3.
Gideon knew from the Law given to Moses’ that the Lord alone was to be
king over the children of
8.3.1. 1 Sam. 8:7, “7 The
Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to
the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have
not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.”
8.3.2. 1 Sam. 12:12, “12 “When you saw
that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me,
‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ although the Lord your God was your king.”
8.4.
One thing that is telling in this chapter is that after their great
victory over the Midianites that we don’t see once that Gideon or the sons of
8.4.1. How many times do we as
God’s people forget to give the Lord praise and thanksgiving after He answers
our prayers or blesses us in a great way?
8.4.1.1. We too can be guilty of
having an attitude of ungratefulness before the Lord for the things He does in
our lives.
8.4.2. Is it any wonder then that
Gideon should fail the subsequent tests that the Lord puts him through?
8.5.
The request of the people to have Gideon rule over them as king was
done because of their unbelief for evidently they had either forgotten or not
known that it was not Gideon nor the power of his might that had delivered them
from the Midianites, but rather it was the Lord who had won this battle. Gideon had a major flaw in his character of
cowardliness and chapter 7 revealed clearly to us that the Lord worked in spite
of Gideon, and, in fact He could have used anyone.
8.5.1. Remember, we learned in
chapter 7 that God uses average people to do incredible things for him.
8.6.
The rest of this chapter reveals that though Gideon initially passed
this test by denying the people’s request to make him their king, that
none-the-less he was corrupted in his heart after this point in time. Though he denied the people’s offer to make
him king, Gideon began from this point in time to act like a king, and in doing
so he caused the children of Israel to stumble greatly.
8.7.
Gideon initially placed his utter dependence upon the Lord for victory
in battle, however after the great victory over the Midianites, Gideon did as
so many of God’s men have done, he began to think that his being greatly used
by the Lord had something to do with him.
Thus, Gideon’s heart was corrupted before the Lord.
9. VS 8:24-27 - “24 Yet Gideon said to
them, “I would request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his
spoil.” (For they had gold earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 They
said, “We will surely give them.” So they spread out a garment, and
every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil. 26 The
weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold,
besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were
on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on
their camels’ necks. 27 Gideon made it into an ephod, and placed it
in his city, Ophrah, and all
9.1.
Here we see in these verses that our man Gideon, who had originally
been such a cowardly man but who had finally gotten over his fear and come to
trust in the Lord for the victory, goes further astray from following the Lord.
9.2.
Though Gideon could have been used by the Lord to bring true spiritual
reformation to the children of Israel, instead his legacy is greatly marred and
all that he really ever accomplished for the Lord, aside from pulling down the
altar to Baal and cutting down the Ashera at his father’s house, was the
delivering of the children of Israel from the Midianites.
9.3.
As was mentioned, though Gideon refused the offer to be made king over
9.4.
I’m not sure what Gideon’s motivation was for having the children of
9.4.1. He may have originally
thought that creating this elaborate ephod would help the children of Israel to
worship the Lord. This may also have originally
been Aaron’s motivation for creating the golden calf for the children of
9.4.1.1. The original motive may have
been good, however the result was that the children of
9.4.1.2. If this was Gideon’s motive,
Warren Wiersbe has pointed out, “a good motive can never compensate for a
bad action.”
9.4.2. Gideon may have had intentions
of taking on the priestly role since the priests were not truly seeking the Lord
and providing their God given service of leading God’s people, and he may have
thought then that creating this golden ephod for him to wear when he acted as a
priest would cause the people to be in awe of him and therefore be more likely
to accept him in the priestly role.
9.4.2.1. If this is the case, then
Gideon’s heart had been corrupted much more thoroughly at this point in time.
9.4.3. Instead of this ephod being
something that someone might wear, and perhaps even Gideon might wear, it
instead could have been created as a standing idol.
9.4.3.1. If this was a standing idol,
then Gideon was breaking the first commandment by creating an idol for worship.
10.
VS 8:28-35 - “28 So
Midian was subdued before the sons of
10.1.
In our story, we see that Gideon continued in decline as he continued
to act like a king, even though formally he had rejected the offer to become
king over
10.1.1.
Gideon accumulated to himself many wives we see here, and thus just
like king David and his son king Solomon, he sought to demonstrate his wealth,
power and might as a king by marrying many women and having many sons.
10.1.1.1. Likewise, as with kings
David and Solomon, the many wives that Gideon possessed caused him to be led
astray.
10.1.1.2. We will see later in the
next chapter that all 70 of these sons of Gideon were slaughtered by their half
brother who decided to try to make himself king.
10.1.2.
We see here that not only did Gideon have many wives, but they weren’t
enough for him, so he also obtained a concubine in Shechem. This slave of Gideon’s would then also bear
him a child.
10.1.3.
Gideon named his son from the concubine “Abimilech” which means “son of
a king.” Though Gideon formally rejected
the offer of kingship over God’s people, none-the-less he named his son with
this name so that everywhere this son of his went that people would know that
his father really was a king.
10.1.3.1. Though Gideon formally
rejected kingship because the Lord was to be their king, everything that he did
subsequently to this demonstrated that he actually embraced being their king.
11.
32 And Gideon the son of Joash died
at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, in Ophrah of
the Abiezrites. 33 Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead,
that the sons of
11.1.
Apparently during the lifetime of Gideon the children of
11.2.
The children of
11.3.
We see here in these verses that not only did the sons of Israel forget
the Lord and the great things He had done on their behalf in the past in
delivering them from their enemies, they also forgot the good things that
Gideon himself did for them and they did not show kindness to Gideon’s
household and descendants.
12.
CONCLUSION:
12.1.
Lets be on our guard whenever the Lord uses us in any ministry for it
will always be the case that it is then that we will face our greatest
temptations.
12.2.
Lets realize the importance of being most prayerful and alert after
those successes that we have in the Lord.
12.3.
Lets remember the importance of not only starting the race of our Christian
walk, not only running the race well, but also of finishing the race well.
12.3.1.
We Christians can undo the great things that the Lord has done in our
lives and damage our testimony in people’s lives so quickly.
12.3.2.
We therefore must always keep our guard up against the attacks of our
enemy for they can come in such a subtle way in which we least expect it.