Reading: Judges 6-8, Psalm 72
Today we are introduced to the best of the judges of Israel, as least as far as we know. We are given a great deal of detail on the story of Gideon and his son Abimelech in contrast to most of the judges, and I think this is at least partly due to how the story interacts with the idea of a king. The author of Judges is giving us a picture of how attaining kingship can and does go terribly wrong. Israel doesn’t just need any old king. They need the king described in Deuteronomy, a king who studies the law of the God of Israel and follows it, a king after God’s heart. The prophet who appears in the little preamble to the story of Gideon reminds Israel (and us) of the covenant breaking that is going on that is preventing their deliverance.
Our story opens with Gideon threshing grain in a winepress to hide it from the invading Midianites, who have been seasonally invading and stealing all the crops for years, leaving Israel to survive on the scraps. God appears to Gideon and there is an exchange where Gideon questions whether God is really with the people of Israel considering their present circumstances, gets instructions from God, and conducts a test by sacrifice, which the angel of God passes by consuming the offering. Then Gideon goes out and obeys, tearing down the altar of Baal that his father set up in the town. But he does it at night. The men of the town get ticked, but Gideon’s father defends his actions by appealing to the inability of Baal to defend himself.
This is great! Gideon is following the instructions of God, and in so doing revealing to the people of his home town the ineffectiveness and falseness of Baal.
The next time the Midianites come to plunder the land, Gideon summons the army of Manasseh, Asshur, Zebulun, and Naphtali. Hmm. Only four tribes? We see again here how there is a rift in the tribes of Israel. But at least the called ones come. Gideon then performs another test of the will of God, but this time in the presence of the army. This story has often been used as a kind of metaphor for asking God if what we want to do is what he wants us to do. But I’m not sure that is what is going on here. God has told Gideon he will smite the Midianites, and right now Gideon is being pretty obedient. I think he put the fleece out, not for himself, but for the army he’s called up. God does as Gideon asks, twice, proving that Gideon is acting on God’s orders. Now the army will follow him.
The next story is great. God tells Gideon his army of 32,000 is too large. Note that the Midianites are coming with four times that number. But Gideon obeys and ends up with 10,000. God says still too many. Now the Midianites have twelve times his army. But Gideon still obeys, and ends up with 300. Outnumbered four hundred to one, Gideon goes out to battle. With clay jars and torches. Good thing these guys saw that fleece thing happen, or they might think Gideon was stone nuts. God once more gives Gideon (and his men) a sign that he will smite Midian through them by revealing that even the Midianites know he will be doing it. That night, Gideon’s 300 men go out, break some jars and yell a lot, and the Midianites turn and kill each other. God has made it very, very clear to whom this victory belongs. There were only 300 Israelites involved, and they were busy yelling and breaking things. God destroys the army of Midian right in front of them. Of note is that from this point on in the story, God is silent. He has done what he promised, but gives no further orders to Gideon.
Gideon isn’t going to rest on his laurels, though. He calls out the army he sent home earlier and pursues the fleeing kings of Midian. He also calls out the tribe of Ephraim, who go out and smite another group of Midianites along the river, cutting off the escape of those Gideon is pursuing. And then we get a little story showcasing the inter-tribal tension we first learned about in the story of Deborah and Barak. Ephraim is mad they weren’t called to fight Midian. Gideon, though, is diplomatic and avoids a real problem. Besides, he’s still busy chasing the kings of Midian.
He gets after them, but we run into another issue with authority in Israel. He comes to two different towns seeking food and rest so his army can complete the smiting of Midian, and in both cases they refuse to help him. When he returns in victory, he thrashes the elders of one town and destroys the other. Maybe not the best use of his new found military and political power.
Gideon overtakes the kings of Midian, smites their army, and captures them. He finds out they have killed some of his family, and tells his son to execute them. He won’t do it, so Gideon kills them himself. Then he returns home. The people want to make him king! Not a bad choice, if you are an Israelite. Here is a guy who will obey the God of Israel, is an able military commander, and has just effectively destroyed a foreign power. But Gideon shows his quality and refuses a crown that is not his. He get it that God only appointed him to deliver Israel from Midian, not to take a crown that belongs to God. If Israel is to have a king, God will have to appoint him.
Well, Midian is well dealt with, and Israel has a judge who, while perhaps a bit overzealous in some cases, is ready to follow the God of Israel. Things are looking good. Wait, what? The story isn’t quite over yet? What else do we learn about Gideon. He has a bunch of wives and seventy sons. Not exactly a sign of exemplary family life. After his refusal of the crown, Gideon asks the people to give him a bunch of gold earrings. Oh, boy. Where have we seen a request like this before? Exodus 32? When Aaron, the high priest, makes a golden calf idol to represent the God of Israel. Not a good sign for Gideon. He follows the script here, making a golden ephod that the people of Israel start to worship as an idol. Bad move, Gideon.
Still, this is as good as Israel gets. During the life of Gideon, the people of Israel worship their God. But, in accordance with the cycle, after he dies it’s going to fall apart, and the first attempt at a kingship in Israel will end with a curse.