Judges 8
BBCJudges 8:1
- Gideon’s Victory over the Philistines (8:1-32)8:1-3 At first the men of Ephraim were angry with Gideon that they had not been invited to help sooner. But when Gideon reminded them that their capture of the two princes was more illustrious than anything he had done, they were pacified. As explained previously, Abiezer (v. 2) refers to Gideon and his men. 8:4-7 The Jews of Succoth refused to give food to Gideon and his hungry three hundred because they feared reprisal from the Midianites if he were defeated. Gideon threatened to tear (Heb. thresh) their flesh with thorns and briers when the LORD had delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into his hand. 8:8, 9 The men of Penuel answered Gideon’s request for food in the negative also. His threat to them was that when he came back in peace he would tear down their tower. 8:10-17 Gideon kept his word. He captured the two Midianite kings and routed the whole army. With the help of a young informer’s written list, Gideon taught a lesson to the seventy seven leading men of Succoth. Cohen says: This form of punishment “is described in Plato’s Republic as one inflicted upon the worst offenders.” The learned Rabbis Kimchi and Rashi saw this as an idiom meaning “strike with violence.” Others explain that he [Gideon] threatened to throw them naked into a bed of thorns and trample them together, like grain on the threshing-floor. As for Penuel, Gideon did tear down its tower and he also killed the men of the city. “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Pro_15:1). The first truth is illustrated in verses 1-3 by Gideon’s answer to the Ephraimites. The second truth is illustrated in verses 4-17 by the words of the men of Succoth and Penuel. 8:18-21 Zebah and Zalmunna had killed some of Gideon’s brothers at Tabor, so he ordered his oldest son, Jether, to slay them. He was afraid to because he was still a youth, . . . so Gideon finished the job himself. 8:22, 23 The men of Israel asked Gideon to be their king, so impressed were they by his military exploits. They gave the glory to man instead of to God (cf. Jdg_7:2). But Gideon nobly refused for himself and his sons, pointing out that the LORD alone had the right to rule over them. 8:24-27 But, after resisting one temptation, Gideon fell into another. He asked for the golden earrings which the Israelites had taken from the Midianites (also known as Ishmaelites; cf. Exo_32:1-6). With these Gideon made . . . an ephod, the apron-like vestment of the priest. When this was set . . . up in Ophrah, it became an object of idolatrous worship and thus a snare to Israel, drawing them away from Shiloh and the tabernacle. “He refused the kingship but wanted the priesthood.” 8:28-32 After the conquest of the Midianites, Israel enjoyed quiet for forty years. Special mention is made of the fact that Gideon . . . had many wives, and these bore him seventy sons. Also, he had a concubine . . . in Shechem who bore him a son by the name of Abimelech. Two more characteristics of Gideon’s multifaceted personality show themselves in this chapter. His relentless pursuit of the Midianites displayed a thoroughness and completeness in carrying out his orders. Even though he was tired, even though he had already done a great deal, and even though no one would help him, he pressed on until the Ishmaelites were destroyed and their kings were dead at his feet. The Apostle Paul had a similar drive, only it showed itself in spiritual warfare (Phi_3:12-14). The second characteristic is a negative one: he requested and accepted golden earrings from the plunder as a reward for defeating the Ishmaelites (v. 24), and this became a snare to Gideon, his family, and his country. Contrast this with Abraham’s behavior in Gen_14:21-24. We should strive under God to emulate Gideon’s virtues and avoid his vices.
Judges 8:33
F. Abimelech’s Usurpation (8:339:57)8:33-35 No sooner had Gideon died than Israel turned aside to worship of the Baals. How quickly the Israelites forgot Gideon’s heroic national exploits, even to the point of mistreating his descendants and forgetting God’s deliverance! But are we much better at remembering the blessings we have received from the Lord or even from our fellow men? To our shame we tend to forget them.