Gideon: the Lord shall rule over you
“I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you” (Judges 8:23).
Gideon’s life is a canvas upon which God paints so many spiritual lessons. In Judges 8, Gideon was no longer a hesitant man, uncertain about the right course of action, but a strong leader. He showed wisdom and humility in the way he dealt with the men of Ephraim, illustrating how:
A soft answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly (Proverbs 15:1-2).
We also read, “Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them” (v. 4, AV). How often those words “faint, yet pursuing” have been used to describe a faithful commitment to our God. It is a great reminder to continue in the work of God, despite our sense of weakness. The men of Succoth and Penuel did not recognise Gideon’s authority. Penuel was the place where Jacob wrestled with God and was given the name Israel. Succoth was a place of rest where Jacob built himself a house and booths for his livestock. It was discouraging that, with such a heritage, the men of these cities rejected the man God used to save the nation. In doing so, they dishonoured God, and in victory, Gideon severely judged both places.
Gideon completely defeated the Midianites and personally executed Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian. In response, the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your son, and your grandson also; for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.” Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.” He reaffirmed that it was not for one man to rule over the nation, because God was their king. It was at the end of Samuel’s service as Israel’s greatest judge that the elders of the country asked him, “Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). God told Samuel to make them a king with the words, “They have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Samuel 8:7).
But, despite Gideon’s faithfulness, he did something unusual and foolish. He asked for the golden earrings the Ishmaelites wore. The earrings weighed one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold. With this gold, Gideon made an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. Despite his humility, he created a memorial to himself that became an object of worship and is described as a snare to Gideon and to his house. There was a place for only one ephod in Israel. It was the one worn by the High Priest who interceded for God’s people.
The land had forty years of peace under Gideon. But peace from enemies did not mean Israel was living in happy fellowship with God. As soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel returned to idolatry and ceased to worship God or remember Gideon. May Christ never be displaced in our hearts. We don’t look within, or at what we, or others, have achieved. We look above to our Great High Priest, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).
