30 – Gideon’s Judgeship

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The story of Gideon is difficult to study. It is the story of a man who begins well but finishes poorly.

There are complications, political ones, between the tribes and between brethren that Samuel only hints at. And there are contradictions that stem from Gideon either not knowing or misunderstanding or simply acting according to his own pride and desire for vengeance rather than from the edicts of the Torah. A Judge of Israel must know and understand the Law and act according to the Law, but he did not, as we shall see. He made some unlawful decisions immediately after the successful battle with Midian at the hill of Moreh.  

Judges 8:1 The men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you treated us this way, that you didn’t call us when you went to fight with Midian?” They rebuked him sharply. 

The Ephraimites were jealous about not being called to battle by Gideon. Gideon’s victory had shamed them because they were the lead tribe in Israel. The Tabernacle was stationed in their tribal land at Shiloh. So they thought Gideon should have disobeyed YHVH and he should have called on them instead. There was glory to be had, and according to the Ephraimites, the glory should have been theirs.

Furthermore, Manasseh, Gideon’s tribe, was the firstborn of Joseph but Jacob had selected Ephraim to lead the family, not Manasseh. What a STING it was to Ephraim, then, that Manasseh produced a leader to whom YHVH spoke and who would take the lead.

It was not Gideon’s call. YHVH called him but what does this matter to the prideful who have now been shamed? Besides, who is this YHVH Elohim when the gross fleshly desires of the body need satisfaction which comes from serving Baal? YHVH was always calling Israel to a higher standard, a rich spiritual life putting the flesh to death which did not appeal to the flesh. So tsk, tsk to YHVH and His call on Gideon. Ephraim wanted their status upheld.

Where was Ephraim when Israel was going astray with Baal? Where was the priesthood at Shiloh? Are the leaders supposed to lead or are they supposed to be led? Neither Ephraim nor the Aaronites at Shiloh did anything to stop the rebellion. If they had, and if all the citizens of Israel had participated in putting the evil away from them, the rebellions would not have happened.  It pains me that the priesthood of YHVH was probably involved in Baal worship along with everyone else and even mixing worship of Baal with worship of YHVH.

We can see this perverse condition in brethren still today. Almost no one will stand up against sin and rebellion in the churches, synagogues and fellowships. YHVH’s people, not the leaders, are the frontline for putting the evil away from us. It is the people who must let the leaders know when the sin and rebellion are afoot. But our brethren don’t do that. They don’t “make the buck stop” with them! The people of Ephraim were as culpable as the leaders for Israel’s idolatry/adultery with Baal and Ashtoreth and all Israel was almost destroyed by the Midianites because of it. We, the last generation, must step up to the task and stop letting the rebellious be among us. We must put the evil away from us before it destroys us.  

Judges 8:2 He said to them, “What have I now done in comparison with you? Isn’t the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
Judges 8:3 God has delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb! What was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that. 

Gideon’s self-deprecation is not the same as humility. Rather, it is appeasement, and appeasement is not a Torah commandment. Gideon’s answer should have been that he was called by YHVH for the task and then rebuke Ephraim for its failure. Perhaps it was fear of reprisal, even death, at the hands of Ephraim that kept him from giving the courageous answer.

Gideon was a good politician rather than a wise man. We also know he was in hot pursuit of Oreb and Zeeb’s fathers, the 2 Kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna. So, the Ephraimites got to kill their sons, but Gideon was going after the big dogs, the proud Kings of Midian, for which he would gain more glory. But his answer got him away from the elders of Ephraim.

Judges 8:4 Gideon came to the Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men who were with him, faint, yet pursuing.
Judges 8:5 He said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 

To his credit, Gideon asked not for himself, but for his men. This is a sign of a good leader but it does not necessarily herald a righteous leader. Many wicked but dynamic leaders have led millions.

Judges 8:6 The princes of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?” 

The men of Succoth’s opinion was that Gideon and his men did not deserve food until Zebah and Zalmunna were dead. Succoth is mentioned in Genesis 33:17 as the place where Jacob lived after meeting Esau on his way back from Haran.

Judges 8:8 He went up there to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way; and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

Penuel is only a different spelling than ‘Peniel’, the place where Jacob fought with God. Gideon again asks for assistance but the men of this second Ephraimite town turned him away.

What was the reason the men of Succoth and Penuel rejected Gideon? The most reasonable thought is that they were supporters of the Midianite Kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, and did not want them to die. Not assisting Gideon was to assist the Midianites, was it not? Maybe the man of Penuel and Succoth were happy in their Midianite Idolatry, and did not want Israel to return to YHVH. And maybe (on top of that), they had made covenant with the Midianites through which there had been material gains.

Judges 8:7 Gideon said, “Therefore when YHVH has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”
Judges 8:9 He spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.” 

Gideon has promised to tear the flesh from the men of Succoth and Penuel and to break down a tower in Penuel. What does a tower have to do with this scenario? This was a phallic tower, a monument to Baal. Gideon will do what is right in YHVH’s eyes with this idolatry which was to tear down all monuments to Baal and Asherah but this will be mixed with the wrongful act of tearing the flesh from the men of Succoth and Penuel.

Judges 8:10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the children of the east; for there fell one hundred twenty thousand men who drew sword. 

Karkor was on the east side of the Jordan river. The Midianite army of 135,000 men fell to 300 elite warriors and 3 tribes of Israelites on the west side of the Jordan. There were now only 15,000 Midianite warriors left.

The number, 120,000, is an interesting number because 12 tribes times 10,000 is 120,000. This acts like an attribution of YHVH, a gift, to all Israel to indicate He counts it “as if” they all fought in the war. Indeed, this was the miracle YHVH needed to draw Israel back to Himself and have each tribe feel “as if” they were part of it while still knowing the victory was, and could only be, a miracle of YHVH.

Judges 8:11 Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and struck the army; for the army was secure. 

Jewish history has it that these were Arabians and Kedarenes, from Kedar, the second son of Ishmael, who lived in tents to watch over their flocks.

Judges 8:12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled; and he [Gideon] pursued them. He took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and confused all the army.
Judges 8:13 Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres. 

The ascent of Heres is the mountainous area northwest of Jerusalem. Gideon will now head back to Succoth and Penuel to fulfill his promises.

Judges 8:14 He caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he described for him the princes of Succoth, and its elders, seventy-seven men.
Judges 8:15 He came to the men of Succoth, and said, “See Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’” 

Gideon told them they had taunted him, so now he is taunting them by making them watch the Midianite Kings which they were likely in covenant with be executed which would end their good ride.

Judges 8:16 He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth. 

Gideon “taught” the men of Succoth, says the author, Samuel. The Hebrew word there is ‘yada’, Strong’s H3045. It means ‘to know’ and ‘to be instructed’. Samuel says Gideon taught the men of Succoth a lesson. The question is what was the lesson? Was it that “you don’t mess with Gideon”? You see, there is no such punishment in the Torah that a National Judge of Israel should be using to “teach” anyone anything in this manner.

Gideon had the men of Succoth beaten with whips laden with thorns and briers. Tearing the flesh of those Israelite brethren is nowhere commanded in Torah. Can we see that Gideon held no trial? He simply decided on the spot that he would execute his judgement on the men of Succoth. Had he held a trial, it may be the punishment would have been death, the death of false prophets who entreated other Israelites to worship another god.

Beating, according to the Torah, was done this way:

Deuteronomy 25:1  If there is a controversy between men, and they come to judgment, and the judges judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.
Deuteronomy 25:2  It shall be, if the wicked man is worthy to be beaten, that the judge [Gideon, in this case] shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his wickedness, by number. 

Lashings with a whip laden with that which tears the flesh is not a proper beating. The execution of beatings was done only after a trial and it was meted out immediately in front of the judge who counted the lashes as the executioner did the beating.

There are a number of other ways this controversy could have gone according to scripture. Gideon’s lashings were defiant of YHVH.

If Gideon had tried the men of Succoth and discovered they were false prophets, according to Deuteronomy 13, he would have been required to stone them to death. But he did not try any of the men of Succoth to determine if lashings or death was in order.

Regarding Penuel:

Judges 8:17 He broke down the tower of Penuel, and killed the men of the city. 

Deuteronomy 12:2  You shall surely destroy all the places in which the nations that you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
Deuteronomy 12:3  You shall break down their altars, and dash their pillars in pieces, and burn their Asherah poles with fire. You shall cut down the engraved images of their gods. You shall destroy their name out of that place. 

Deuteronomy 13 says:

Deuteronomy 13:12  If you shall hear about one of your cities, which Yahweh your God gives you to dwell there, that
Deuteronomy 13:13  certain wicked fellows have gone out from among you, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods,” which you have not known;
Deuteronomy 13:14  then you shall inquire, and make search, and ask diligently. Behold, if it is true, and the thing certain, that such abomination was done among you,
Deuteronomy 13:15  you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, with all that is therein and its livestock, with the edge of the sword.
Deuteronomy 13:16  You shall gather all its plunder into the middle of its street, and shall burn with fire the city, and all of its plunder, to Yahweh your God. It shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again.
Deuteronomy 13:17  Nothing of the devoted thing shall cling to your hand, that Yahweh may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show you mercy, and have compassion on you, and multiply you, as he has sworn to your fathers;
Deuteronomy 13:18  when you listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to keep all his commandments which I command you today, to do that which is right in Yahweh your God’s eyes. 

But this is only after a trial. “Deuteronomy 13:14  then you shall inquire, and make search, and ask diligently.” This is a trial. It may be that the city of Succoth should have been destroyed. Can you see how YHVH’s justice is perverted when proper inquiry is not performed? Lashing the men of Succoth left alive those who likely helped turn Israel away from YHVH. This is injustice toward YHVH. Few people realize that justice in Torah is not only for the brethren, there is also justice toward YHVH that must be upheld and performed.

Gideon, however, made one righteous judgement – the destruction of Baal’s phallic monument in Penuel – and one unrighteous judgement – the unrighteous beating of the men of Succoth and Penuel doing so without trial.  

Do you see now why I said Gideon is a controversial character with complications and contradictions? The complications come from the force of his pride and personality and political acumen, not from his relationship with the Holy Spirit with which he should have called all Israel to repentance, a job that he failed to do as had the previous Judges.

Can’t we sympathize with him, though? He and his 300 men were exhausted and in need of nourishment to continue their pursuit of the Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna.

What are we to do when our brethren so frustrate, irritate or anger us and we can see that they are sinning? Are we to give in to our own flesh and desires to punish them or should we look to the Torah for what YHVH says is appropriate? Sometimes, YHVH’s punishment will be harsher than we want and sometimes it will seem not as satisfactory to us as we would like. It doesn’t matter. We are called to do YHVH’s will, not our own.

Judges 8:18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “They were like you. Each one resembled the children of a king.”
Judges 8:19 He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” 

These Kings had presided over the killing of Gideon’s brothers.

Judges 8:20 He said to Jether his firstborn, “Get up, and kill them!” But the youth didn’t draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was yet a youth. 

Gideon asked his young son to do the killing as an added measure of shame to the Kings. To be killed by a youth was to an adult male the highest shame in battle.

Judges 8:21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise and fall on us; for as the man is, so is his strength.” Gideon arose, and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on their camels’ necks. 

Zebah and Zalmunna taunted Gideon to their own peril for he did kill them.

About the crescent moons. Ancient Ashtoreth, Asherah, Astarte, and Ishtar worshipers used the crescent moon as her symbol. We have this same symbol today in Islam and Hebrew Roots.

In Hebrew Roots, the goddess shows up with the sliver moon, the same crescent removed from the Midianites’ camels. The moon is symbolized also in the horns of cows in pagan religions. Many cultures have used cow horns as a symbol for the crescent moon. Those who “sight” the moon defy YHVH’s express instructions that both the new and the full moons must be fully full.

Let me go down this road a little bit. If you’re sighting the moon to see when the sliver appears, then 15 days later a sliver will be missing from the moon, won’t it? We don’t see that the moon has a sliver missing because of the brightness of the moon.

YHVH said Unleavened Bread and Sukkot happen when the moon is fully full, not when there is a sliver missing from the full moon. Therefore, those who celebrate Unleavened Bread and Sukkot with a sliver missing (because they use the crescent goddess moon as the first day of the month), are not only doing the Feasts wrong, against YHVH’s instructions and in defiance of Him, they are also missing the point! Pun intended.

Finally (at least for this section), we must look for a place in the narrative where Gideon asked YHVH what to do with those errant Israelites or where YHVH told Gideon what to do about them. Neither of these scenarios appear in the account. This is important because it shows us what kind of National Judge Gideon will now be. He will be self-directed, making decisions that suit his own will and desires. Yes, Gideon began well, but he ended poorly.

Gideon’s Ephod

Judges 8:22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you, and your son, and your son’s son also; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.”
Judges 8:23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. Yahweh shall rule over you.” 

The men of Israel were asking Gideon to become King, not Judge. He answered correctly. BUT…

Judges 8:24 Gideon said to them, “I do have a request, that you would each give me the earrings of his plunder.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 

Question: How were the earrings Ishmaelites? This is a poor translation. These earrings were plunder from the Ishmaelites brought back by the warriors. The terms “Midianite” and “Ishmaelite” were interchangeable because the Ishmaelites and Midianites lived among each other.

Judges 8:25 They answered, “We will willingly give them.” They spread a garment, and every man threw the earrings of his plunder into it. 

Where else have we heard this story?

Exodus 32:1  When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.”
Exodus 32:2  Aaron said to them, “Take off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.”
Exodus 32:3  All the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
Exodus 32:4  He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molten calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 

Judges 8:26 The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, in addition to the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and in addition to the chains that were about their camels’ necks.
Judges 8:27 Gideon made an ephod out of it, and put it in Ophrah, his city. Then all Israel played the prostitute with it there; and it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house. 

“Ephod” had 2 meanings in ancient times. The first we hear of it was when it was used as a term for a certain kind of apron, one made specifically for Aaron, the High Priest of Israel. But other people wore aprons just as there are all kinds of hats in the world many of which are used to signify a trade, an occupation, some kind of authority. Aprons sometimes had the same connotation. When David danced wearing an ephod in 1 Corinthians 15:27, he was wearing an apron, not a copy of the High Priest’s ephod.

The second definition of “Ephod” was for an image.

H646
אפד    אפוד
‘êphôd  ‘êphôd
ay-fode’, ay-fode’

Second form is a rare form; probably of foreign derivation; a girdle; specifically the ephod or high priest’s shoulder piece; also generally an image: – ephod.

It is not clear what Gideon intended this ephod to be used for. Was it a copy of the High Priest’s ephod which Gideon hung to signify his authority? If so, he had no business copying the ephod of Israel’s High Priest. That is usurping authority.

Was It an image? No one knows what an ephod image looked like. It is thought that it was a human figure representing possibly the High Priest of Israel. In Judges 17:5, Micah had a house of images and idols in which he had ephod and teraphim. The ephod were specific Israelite objects of worship and the teraphim were specific for ancestor worship.

The fact that Israel “whored after it” shows that it was an object in the place of God whether it was a garment or an image. “Whoring” is a word that is used throughout the Old Testament to refer to service to idols in the place of God.

As with all images and such things, it became a snare to all Israel. Probably the reason for it being a snare is that it split the people between Shiloh and Ophrah.

Gideon was the first Judge to split the tribes of Israel away from Shiloh. Not only did he not call for repentance and a return to YHVH’s ways and His righteousness, but he place the ephod in his own city, Ophrah. His job was to point the Israelites back to the Tabernacle at Shiloh. But that was in Ephraimite territory and it seems he held a grudge against Ephraim for daring to try to shame him for leading the war against the Midianites. Thus, he kept the ephod, the object of worship, in Ophrah.

The Israelites may or may not have been attending the Feasts and doing sacrifices at Shiloh, anyway. The remnant would have been the only true worshipers. The introduction of this image, though, appealed to the Israelites who simply exchanged the Baal and Ashtoreth images for this one.

The difference between the golden calf and this ephod, and Aaron and Gideon, is that Aaron was coerced under duress and fear for his life. The people threatened to kill Aaron if he did not make the golden calf. Gideon, however, asked for the earrings and the people complied.

For this and his other unrighteous acts, Gideon turned out to be a profane Judge of Israel.

Image worship and idolatry go hand in hand. Images can be worshiped. That’s what YHVH calls it when His people make an image for their own worship. He calls that activity “idolatry” when Israel worships the images of the nations. Either way, Gideon has now shown himself to be an unrighteous man and the first unrighteous judge of Israel. He is lauded in scripture for his valor in battle in Hebrews 11:32, in the faith chapter. He did, indeed, have faith and he began well but never truly turned his heart over to YHVH, thus he was the first Judge of Israel to lead Israel astray after delivering them from their oppression.  

Judges 8:28 So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. The land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon. 

The Midianites were never able to make war against Israel again, at least not using weapons. YHVH gave Israel another 40 years to be tested before judging them again and finding them guilty.

The Death of Gideon

Judges 8:29 Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 

Gideon is here lauded for having destroyed the altar of Baal.

Judges 8:30 Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body, for he had many wives.
Judges 8:31 His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
Judges 8:32 Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Judges 8:33 As soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned again, and played the prostitute following the Baals, and made Baal Berith their god. 

Gideon had given the Israelites their own image which they could worship but that image, the ephod, was not good enough for them. They wanted Baal and Asherah, and after them they went! Look, an image or an idol… It makes no difference. It only makes a difference if we refrain from MAKING, “asah”-ing, images for every purpose.

Judges 8:34 The children of Israel didn’t remember YHVH their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side;
Judges 8:35 neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel. 

Although Gideon did not end well, he had been YHVH’s instrument of deliverance. If the people can’t remember the deliverance, how can they remember the deliverer?