Gideon
Gideon was the son of Joash, of the tribe of Manasseh. His name
means "tree feller" or "warrior", and his
story is related in the book of Judges, chapters 6, 7, and 8.
THE CONDITION OF ISRAEL
At the time of the account of Gideon's story, Israel was in one
of its many spiritual down-cycles, having relapsed into evil and
idolatry and been brought under divine discipline through the
domination of the Midianites for the past seven years. The Amalekites
and the "children of the east" (east of the Jordan river)
were allied with Midian; and the power of these allies brought
so much pressure on the Jewish people that they "made them
dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds."
Judges 6:1-6
The enemy camped in Israelite territory, destroyed or stole the
crops and flocks, "till thou come unto Gaza, and left no
sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass." Israel
was said to be "greatly impoverished." The people "cried
for help from the Lord", (6:7). The Lord sent a prophet (name
not given) to reprove them for their disobedience and to bring
them to repentance.
Judges 6:7-10
THE CALL OF GIDEON
Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the
Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said "The
Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." Gideon's despondent
reply was, " if the Lord be with us, why then is all this
befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told
us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now
the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of
the Midianites." The angel of the Lord replied, "Go...and
thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites; have I
not sent thee."
Judges 6:15-24
GIDEON DESTROYS THE ALTAR OF BAAL
The Lord told Gideon to purify his father's house from idolatry,
and to sanctify himself by offering a burnt offering. The following
night, in the dark for fear of the other people, he tore down
the altar and cut down the grove of trees where Baal worship was
held.
The people wanted to kill Gideon because of this act of desecration,
but Joash, Gideon's father, took his part, telling the men to
allow Baal to plead for himself -- if he was a god, he could protect
himself.
THE SIGN OF THE FLEECE
The Midianites and their allies again invaded Israel, and Gideon
gathered an army from the tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun,
and Naphtali. But before going out to battle, he asked for a sign
from the Lord. He asked that dew be allowed to fall on a fleece
which was spread on the threshing floor, which the ground around
remained dry. The next morning the fleece was so wet that Gideon
wrung a bowl of water from it, but the ground was dry. The next
night, the miracle was reversed, with the ground getting wet and
the fleece remaining dry (6:36-40). Thus encouraged, Gideon led
his army toward the Midianite forces.
THE DEFEAT OF THE MIDIANITES
Gideon advanced against the enemy and camped near the brook Harod,
in the valley of Jezreel (the Plain of Esdraelon). His army numbered
about 32,000 effectives, which the army of the Midianites was
135,000 (8:10). Nevertheless, the Lord told Gideon that his army
was too large! So Gideon announced to his forces that every man
who was afraid or fainthearted, was free to go back home. At that
time 22,000 of his troops left for home. (This was not the Alamo.)
The Lord wanted the army reduced so that there would be no doubt
that it was the Lord fighting for Israel and that the victory
would be a true miracle. But even 10,000 troops were too many,
the Lord said, and He gave directions for cutting the army still
further, the water-drinking test. Those who knelt to drink were
rejected and sent home. Those who scooped water in their hands
and lapped it from their hands, in order to drink from an alert
posture, were selected. Only 300 qualified!
Each of the 300 was equipped with a trumpet, a torch, and a pitcher.
Gideon divided these men into three companies, and told them to
surround the Midianite camp, to put their torches inside the pitchers
and sent them on fire, and to wait for the signal of the trumpet.
At the signal, the men broke the pitchers, revealing the torches,
blew the trumpets, and shouted "The sword of the Lord and
of Gideon!"
The effect was complete surprise and shock. The 300 looked like
a massive army, and the Midianites fled hastily, with Gideon in
pursuit. Gideon sent word to the Ephraimites to cut off the enemy
retreat at the Jordan River; and the Midianite prince was captured
and executed.
Gideon was offered the kingship of Israel, but he refused. He
requested a gift of the gold earrings which were taken from the
enemy. With these he made a golden ephod (weighing about 50 pounds),
which subsequently became an object of worship proving a snare
to Israel and to Gideon because he had invaded the prerogatives
of the priesthood.