Judges 8:1-35

Life Without Law

Judges

Philip Smith

Chapter 8

v1 The people in Ephraim’s *tribe asked Gideon, ‘Why have you done this to us? Why did you not call us when you went to fight the people from Midian?’ They complained loudly to him. v2 But he answered, ‘I have not done very much, if one compares me with you. Your actions were more useful than what my whole *tribe has done. v3 By God’s power, you killed Midian’s leaders Oreb and Zeeb. I was not able to do much, if one compares me with you.’ After they heard these words, they were not angry any more.

In chapter 8, we learn that we should be careful. And we should remember the good things that other people have done. Ephraim’s *tribe wanted a quarrel. Perhaps they did not like the fact that Gideon had not called them to fight. Perhaps they wanted a share from the goods that the soldiers had taken after the battle. Gideon gave a gentle answer. He told Ephraim’s *tribe that their efforts had been much greater than his efforts. Contrast the way that Jephthah gave an answer to that same *tribe (Judges 12:1-3).

v4 Gideon and his 300 men were very tired. However, they continued to chase their enemies. They crossed the Jordan river. v5 Gideon said this to the men that lived in Succoth. ‘Please give some bread to my army. They are very tired and we are still chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.’ v6 But the leaders of Succoth said, ‘You have not already caught Zebah and Zalmunna. There is no reason that we should give bread to your army.’ v7 Then Gideon spoke. ‘The *Lord will help me to catch Zebah and Zalmunna. Then I will beat you with desert *briars and *thorns.’ v8 From there he went to Peniel. And he made the same request to them. They gave him the same answer. v9 So he said, ‘When I return in peace, I will destroy this *tower.’

In these verses, the writer continues the story from Judges 7:25. Gideon and his men did not have much strength. But they continued to chase the army that had come from Midian. Gideon’s 300 men had increased to 1500 men. So they were now a force that could fight against Midian’s army. The people in Succoth refused to help him, because Midian’s kings Zebah and Zalmunna were still free. The people in Succoth were afraid of Midian’s people. If the people in Succoth helped Gideon, then Midian’s people might attack them. That is why they were afraid. So Gideon became more cruel. He made this promise. He would make Succoth’s people suffer pain because they had refused to help. Gideon would do this when he returned. The men in Peniel also refused to help. Peniel was the place where Jacob fought the *angel (Genesis 32:24-30). There was a *tower there. People could escape to the *tower in an emergency. Gideon said that he would destroy the *tower.

v10 Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with 15 000 men. There had been many more people in the armies from the east. But these were the only ones that were still alive. 120 000 men had died in battle. v11 Gideon went along the road that was east from Nobah and Jogbehah. People who sold goods took this road. He attacked the army. They did not think that he would come from that direction. v12 Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, but he *captured them. He also defeated their whole army.

The army from Midian reached Karkor. This was east from the Dead Sea. They thought that they were safe there. But Gideon made a surprise attack. He *captured the kings and the army ran away.

v13 Gideon, Joash’s son, returned from the battle. He went along the road called Heres, which went over the mountains. v14 He *captured a young man from Succoth. The young man wrote down the names of the 77 leaders of the city. v15 Then Gideon said to the men that lived in Succoth, ‘Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You laughed at me. You said, “You have not already caught Zebah and Zalmunna. There is no reason that we should give bread to your army.” ’ v16 He took the leaders of the city and he made them suffer. He hit them with *thorns. v17 He destroyed the *tower in Peniel and he killed the men in the town.

He *captured the two kings. He punished the people that refused to help him. A young man wrote down the names of the leaders that refused to help. This is a very early reference to words that people wrote. They used letters like a, b and c. Gideon used this list so that all the leaders of Succoth would suffer pain. The result was probably death for them.

v18 Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, ‘What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?’ ‘They were men like you’, they answered. ‘Each one was like a king’s son.’ v19 ‘They were my brothers, my mother’s sons’, said Gideon. ‘I swear by the *Lord. If you had let them live, I would not kill you.’ v20 He said to his oldest son Jether, ‘Kill them.’ But Jether did not take his sword, because he was only a young man. He was afraid. v21 So Zebah and Zalmunna said, ‘Do it yourself. It needs a man to do a man’s job.’ So Gideon got up and he killed them both. He took the *ornaments from their camels’ necks.

Verse 18 shows that this matter had now become a personal argument between Gideon and the kings. He had managed the national crisis. Now he had to manage his private problems. They had killed his brothers. Gideon told his son to kill them. His son would have got great honour if he had done this. He did not do it, because he was afraid. So Gideon killed them himself. They said with courage, ‘You do it.’ And he did what they said. The shape of the camels’ *ornaments was like a new moon.

v22 The *Israelites said to Gideon, ‘We ask you, your son and your grandson to rule over us. You have saved us from the people that came from Midian.’ v23 But Gideon told them, ‘I will not rule over you. Nor will my son rule over you. The *Lord will rule over you.’

The *Israelites wanted Gideon to be their king. His reply may have meant ‘no’. Or it may have meant ‘yes, but I will not be the king in every way.’ Some Bible students say that he accepted the power but he did not accept the name. Other Bible students say that he had God’s Spirit and God’s authority. God did not want a king to rule over *Israel’s people at this time. If a king ruled, the authority could pass from father to son, without God’s Spirit. And God did not want that to happen.

Gideon’s reply may mean that God was really the people’s king. The country was a theocracy. (This means that God ruled over it.) It was not a monarchy (a country that a king rules over). Perhaps he said ‘no’, but maybe he really meant ‘yes’. He aimed to show strong belief in his *religion. He wanted to become popular with those whom he would rule in the future. But in verse 29, the writer says that Gideon went back home to live. Probably, he stopped working and he lived with his family. He had a lot of wealth. Everyone had a good opinion about him.

v24 He said, ‘I would like to ask one thing. You each have a share from the things that we took from the battle. Will you each give me an ear-ring from your share?’ (It was a custom of Ishmael’s people to wear ear-rings.) v25 They answered, ‘We will be glad to give them.’ So they spread out a coat and each man threw an ear-ring onto it. v26 The weight of all the gold rings together was 20 kilos (44 pounds). This did not include the *ornaments. And it did not include the chains that they wore round their necks. It did not include the purple clothes that the kings of Midian wore. Nor did it include the chains round their camels’ necks. v27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod (a coat that priests wore). He placed the ephod in Ophrah, his town. *Israel’s people became *unfaithful to God, because they praised the ephod. It became like a trap to catch Gideon and his family. v28 So *Israel’s people defeated the people from Midian. Midian’s people lost their power. During Gideon’s life, *Israel’s people enjoyed peace in their country. This peace lasted for 40 years.

Gideon did not become a king, but instead he wanted to be a priest. He made his own ephod (priest’s coat). He did not use the one at Shiloh. He covered the coat with a very large amount of gold. This gold came from the ear-rings that Ishmael’s people wore. Ishmael’s people here were people from Midian. They were a group of traders, who bought and sold things. They also went from place to place and they lived in different places. This ephod became something that people praised. In this way, they were not obeying the law that forbade *carved images. Gideon did not intend to go away from the *Lord. Aaron did not intend to go away when he made the male cow from gold. *Israel’s people became ‘*unfaithful to God’. This means that they praised a god in the same way as the *Canaanites did. They had sex with priests and priestesses (female priests). But they completely defeated the people from Midian and peace lasted for about 40 years.

v29 Jerubbaal, Joash’s son, went back home to live. v30 He had 70 sons, since he had many wives. v31 His *concubine, who lived in Shechem, gave him a son called Abimelech. v32 Gideon, Joash’s son, died when he was very old. They buried him in the place where they buried his father Joash, in Ophrah. This was in the area where Abiezer’s relatives lived.

v33 As soon as Gideon died, the *Israelites again started to serve the *Baals. They established Baalberith (*Baal of the *covenant) as their god. v34 They did not remember the *Lord, their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies everywhere. v35 And they did not thank Jerubbaal’s (Gideon’s) family for all the good things that Gideon had done for them.

Gideon’s life ended in an impressive way. He was very successful. And he had many wives. He also had a woman that lived with her own family in Shechem. A king often had such women.

The name of his son ‘Abimelech’ means ‘my father is a king’. Perhaps Gideon would have liked to be a king. However, he did not say so. People considered that Gideon’s other 70 sons belonged to his family. But they considered that Abimelech belonged to his mother’s family. Shechem city was in a valley, between the mountains called Ebal and Gerizim. The land round the city produced good crops. The city was on a cross-roads. These roads were routes on which traders travelled.

At Shechem, God first told Abraham who God was. Jacob’s sons *captured that city. It was a city where people would be safe. Those whom people had accused of murder could go there. People buried Joseph there. Joshua met with all *Israel’s people there before his death. Most people there were *Canaanites and they served Baalberith (the ‘god of the agreement’). The city belonged to the *Canaanites. People may have included it in *Israel by an agreement. This would be an agreement of friendship. Perhaps Abimelech’s mother was a *Canaanite.

After Gideon’s death, the nation again served the gods called *Baals. They served the god of the agreement. This god was at Shechem. Perhaps this agreement was between the *Israelites and the people in certain cities. Or maybe it was between the cities and their god. *Israel’s people had forgotten God’s great acts. They would only turn to him when there was a crisis. To serve other gods was attractive to the senses.

In chapter 6, Gideon was weak, because he had a lack of experience. He did not have confidence in himself. In chapter 8, he changed. He did what he wanted. He was not able to make judgements very well. He produced peace, but this depended on himself. It did not depend on God’s law. The people were not grateful. Perhaps they thought that Gideon had had enough rewards.

tribe ~ a large group of people that are all relatives of each other.
Lord ~ a name for God. It means that he is the master, the ruler over all. Also, people often use this word to translate Yahweh, a very special Hebrew name for God.

Yahweh ~ the name of God. It means ‘I am what I am’. Or it can mean ‘the same always’.
Hebrew ~ the Hebrew people were Abraham’s descendants; and they spoke a language called Hebrew.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
briar ~ plant with sharp points that grow on its branches.
thorns ~ sharp points on a plant.
tower ~ a tall narrow building.
angel ~ a special servant of God. He lives where God lives and he brings messages from God.
capture ~ take someone as a prisoner; take control of a place in war; or take an object in war.
ornament ~ something that people put on a thing to add beauty to it.
Israelites ~ the people that belonged to the nation called Israel. God had chosen them as his own special people.

Israel ~ the nation that consisted of Jacob’s descendants; the country where they lived; another name for Jacob.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
Israel ~ the nation that consisted of Jacob’s descendants; the country where they lived; another name for Jacob.

descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
religion ~ belief that God exists; and belief that we should obey his rules.
unfaithful ~ not loyal.
carve ~ cut away material from wood or stone to make something.
Canaanites ~ people that lived in Canaan. Sometimes the word means one particular group of people that lived there. And sometimes it means all the people that lived in Canaan. They lived there already, before the Jews lived there.

Canaan ~ the country that later was called Israel.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
concubine ~ a woman that lives with a man, but she has a lower position than his wife.
Baal ~ the false god of rain and good crops.
covenant ~ an agreement between two groups of people; or an agreement between God and his people. In God’s agreement, he promised to bless his people if they obeyed him.