Judges 8:1-35

The Bible is always very faithful to tell us about the history of Israel and its leaders in a clear and complete way.  It does not just record the good things that they did; it also tells of their failures.  Gideon continues to pursue the kings of Midian, still at a huge disadvantage, but once he is successful he creates an idol and marries many women.  It is a wonderful privilege to be used by God and to see Him do amazing things through our lives and ministries.  However, we must constantly guard our hearts from the sins that commonly follow these types of success.  We must never see ourselves as more than instruments and recognize that all of us are prone to pride so that we can protect ourselves from this sin that so easily fills our hearts.

GIDEON PRACTICED RECONSILIATION: One of the most impressive things that I see in Gideon as a leader is that he encourages his people and does not allow his own pride to become divisive.  The tribe of Ephraim was called in at the last moment to help with the battle and then acted offended that they had not been called at the beginning, when in reality, they had been called but refused to come.  They wanted credit for what they had done, and Gideon very humbly gives them the credit they want and makes himself small by comparison.  I think I would have been tempted to tell them to stop complaining and point out that they had been cowards and now they were wanted to be considered courageous heroes.  Good leaders will swallow their pride and encourage the weak in order to promote unity.

GIDEON REQUESTS REFRESHMENT: As Gideon continues to pursue the army of Midian and the kings of their enemy he and his 300 soldiers are exhausted and ask for the people of two towns to give them bread to eat.  The towns refuse in fear of Midian being victorious and then coming back to destroy them.  In other words, the people still did not like Gideon’s odds.  Gideon promises to return and deal with them later but does not become distracted from the main task at hand so he continues to pursue the Midianites.  We must not become discouraged or distracted when people do not cooperate with us like we think they should.  We must focus on dealing with the problems at hand.

GIDEON DESTROYS THE REMNANT: Gideon’s odds have improved but they are still staggering.  The conflict and from 300 X 135,000 to 300 X 15,000.  This is an impressive victory of killing 120,000 without losing one man but there is still much work to be done and Gideon moves forward with decisive force and destroys the remnant of the army of Midian and captures the kings.  These had been cruel kings that had killed man of Gideon’s brothers so he now kills these kings.  We will often find ourselves pushed to the point of exhaustion and be tempted to be satisfied with the victories of the past and simply not finish the job to which the Lord has called us.  This is a grave mistake and we must be committed to being faithful to the very end.

GIDEON EXACTED REVENGE: Once the victory was in hand Gideon returns to the cities that had refused to feed his men and, as promised he whips them with thorns, tears down their towers and kills the men of the village who tried to discourage his men.  From my perspective, I think that this may have been his first failing.  If he would have stopped with the whipping instead of killing the people who remained neutral, I believe that would have been more pleasing to the Lord.  Revenge may taste sweet at the beginning but it can bring bitter consequences.

GIDEON AVOIDS RECOGNITION: When Gideon returns, the people of Israel want to make him king and have his family rule over Israel.  Gideon refuses to accept this position and reminds the children of Israel that God is their king and that they needed to follow Him.  His humility and lack of personal ambition is a wonderful thing and I truly wish that the story of Gideon ended her, but it does not.

GIDEON PROMOTES FALSE RELIGION: It is astounding to me that after such an amazing victory and courageous actions in dependence upon the Lord; Gideon makes an idol.  He has just torn down and idol and defeated Midian with the strength of the Lord and now he makes a golden image for the people to worship.  He has just refused to be made king and then goes out and marries many women as the kings in these cultures did.  He continued to protect the people from outside enemies, but he led the people astray from the Lord and when he died the people took what he did in moderation and did it in excess.  The most dangerous times we face in life are just after great victories.  We must constantly protect our hearts from the pride and idolatry that naturally flow from our fallen nature.