Judg 8:18-31 | KingComments | STEP | The victory has been achieved, but it still has to be completed. The dangers have not yet definitively disappeared. The danger lies in the tail. After the victory, a subtle danger comes to light. That danger is the use of flattery. The first time it comes out of the mouth of the enemy. After the sword of the enemy Gideon now has to deal with his mouth. The victory may have made Gideon a little self-confident. At least he seems to lose some of his dependence on the LORD. Why does he start a conversation with his enemies? After all, it is clear that they have to be killed, isn’t it? He wants to call them to account for the murder of his brothers. But by talking to them, he opens up to their influence. It is exactly the same as with Eve, who also enters into conversation with the serpent, the devil, so that she comes under his influence. It has become fatal to her and the whole human family. Now that their power has been broken, the two kings are trying to take in Gideon with flattery. Although he is not impressed by their flattery, he does not seem to be able to escape its influence completely. He loses the real understanding of the enemy’s power and says to his son to kill them. This is different from what we read in Joshua 10, where Joshua captured five kings. The order to put their feet on the necks of these kings Joshua does not give to young people, but to “the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him”. Then Joshua kills them himself ( ). It is unlikely that the boy belonged to the 300 men. The young boy is afraid, and all those who had shown fear had already left before the battle began. Gideon overestimates the power of his son. This is a lesson for all parents – and leaders – who note with a certain satisfaction, that their natural or spiritual children participate in the spiritual warfare. They must not allow themselves to be led astray to ask of them things that exceed their spiritual strength. Often these are situations in which the power of the enemy is underestimated. After this ‘defeat’ of Gideon, the enemy once again flatters, this time with challenging words. Their expression has to do with the honor they want to keep to themselves. They would rather die by the hand of the leader than by the hand of a boy. This time Gideon takes full responsibility and kills both kings. However, he takes something of them with him as a kind of spoils of war, a trophy, as a memory of the victory. It is possible that the crescent ornaments he takes from the camels of the kings indicate that these Midianites were worshipers of the moon god. What Gideon does is a symptom that indicates that he does not give all honor to God. He wants to keep a memory of the victory he has won. We do not read from any of the other God-given judges that they have done anything like this. Only Samson goes one step further. With him we don’t see that he takes something from the enemy, but someone . That person makes sure that he fails in his service and eventually falls down. With Gideon it doesn’t go that far, but it seems the germ has been laid here for his coming failure.

‏ Judges 8:18-31

Zebah and Zalmuna Are Killed

The victory has been achieved, but it still has to be completed. The dangers have not yet definitively disappeared. The danger lies in the tail. After the victory, a subtle danger comes to light. That danger is the use of flattery. The first time it comes out of the mouth of the enemy. After the sword of the enemy Gideon now has to deal with his mouth. The victory may have made Gideon a little self-confident. At least he seems to lose some of his dependence on the LORD.

Why does he start a conversation with his enemies? After all, it is clear that they have to be killed, isn’t it? He wants to call them to account for the murder of his brothers. But by talking to them, he opens up to their influence. It is exactly the same as with Eve, who also enters into conversation with the serpent, the devil, so that she comes under his influence. It has become fatal to her and the whole human family.

Now that their power has been broken, the two kings are trying to take in Gideon with flattery. Although he is not impressed by their flattery, he does not seem to be able to escape its influence completely. He loses the real understanding of the enemy’s power and says to his son to kill them. This is different from what we read in Joshua 10, where Joshua captured five kings. The order to put their feet on the necks of these kings Joshua does not give to young people, but to “the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him”. Then Joshua kills them himself (Jos 10:22-27).

It is unlikely that the boy belonged to the 300 men. The young boy is afraid, and all those who had shown fear had already left before the battle began. Gideon overestimates the power of his son. This is a lesson for all parents – and leaders – who note with a certain satisfaction, that their natural or spiritual children participate in the spiritual warfare. They must not allow themselves to be led astray to ask of them things that exceed their spiritual strength. Often these are situations in which the power of the enemy is underestimated.

After this ‘defeat’ of Gideon, the enemy once again flatters, this time with challenging words. Their expression has to do with the honor they want to keep to themselves. They would rather die by the hand of the leader than by the hand of a boy. This time Gideon takes full responsibility and kills both kings.

However, he takes something of them with him as a kind of spoils of war, a trophy, as a memory of the victory. It is possible that the crescent ornaments he takes from the camels of the kings indicate that these Midianites were worshipers of the moon god. What Gideon does is a symptom that indicates that he does not give all honor to God. He wants to keep a memory of the victory he has won.

We do not read from any of the other God-given judges that they have done anything like this. Only Samson goes one step further. With him we don’t see that he takes something from the enemy, but someone. That person makes sure that he fails in his service and eventually falls down. With Gideon it doesn’t go that far, but it seems the germ has been laid here for his coming failure.

Escaping a Snare

The next flattery that Gideon has to face doesn’t come from the side of the world, but from the side of God’s people. The people want a visible leader, as do the nations. What God warns about in Judges 7 (Jdg 7:2) is going to happen here. They attribute victory to a man. They give Gideon the honor only due to God. They also want to secure the kingship through succession. After all, you never know who and how the next judge will be. Successive kingship offers certainty. It all seems so plausible, but it indicates that the people have lost their real dependence on God.

In professing Christianity there is a lot of talk about leadership. Its importance is always stressed. Without clear leadership, it is said that God’s people are not doing well. Much of such talk in reality indicates that one does not know how to deal with the leadership of the Lord Jesus that He exercises through the Holy Spirit. This does not mean that there are no brothers with the gift of government or who function as pastors, or overseers, or elders. But in God’s people there is often no longer the spiritual condition to recognize such people and also to recognize them according to the spiritual characteristics indicated in Scripture. What happens then is that such people are appointed or openly indicated, or whatever one wants to call it. In any case, they want to be able to hear and see clearly who the leaders are.

In many cases the seed is sown for the difference between the clergy and the laity. What Israel is asking for is comparable to the introduction of a clergy. The servant is magnified and God is forgotten. Later Israel will repeat this question (1Sam 8:1-6). Then they will get a king in Saul (1Sam 10:17-24), after which God comes with the man after His heart: David (1Sam 16:1-13).

Fortunately, Gideon sees through the danger of the request. He refuses to become king and reminds the people of God as their King. That should also be our answer when there are remarks to appoint someone or a few in the position of leader. A leader to God’s mind will reject any appointment by people.

Paul gives a good description of his apostleship. As an apostle he is a great leader, but his whole apostleship is separate from man, so he can say that he is an apostle “not [sent] from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ” (Gal 1:1). This means that the origin, the source of his apostleship, is not in man and that he has not been appointed by a man in this apostleship.

The Ephod

What Gideon asks now does not come from others, but this desire springs from his own heart. He had hardly spoken the words by which he refused the kingship, or he stretched out his hand to the priesthood. He asked the whole people for a contribution for the production of an ephod. The ephod is a clothing piece that is only worn by the high priest or priests. Therefore it is not for Gideon to make this ephod.

He could have defended his request by referring to the sacrifice he made and the altar he erected in Ophrah (Jdg 6:19 ; 24). There he did something like a priestly service, didn’t he? But the altar he built there did not have a mediating character. It did not serve to approach God on behalf of the people.

The ephod he wants to make must become a memorial of his victory. That is why he asks the whole people to give something for this. Aren’t we doing it all sometimes: making or hanging a memento of the victory the Lord has given us? It may be that we like to tell about our victories, the blessing the Lord has wanted to give through our service, of course everything under the covering that it is to the Lord’s honor. But isn’t it true, that they are essentially trophies that we ‘hang up’ for ourselves? Aren’t we the celebrated instruments? Something like that becomes a snare.

The people are immediately ready to make this contribution. If a person is allowed to contribute something to make a memorial for a victory, he likes to participate. For example, at the place where there was first a statue for Baal that was overthrown by Gideon, now a statue for God is placed by Gideon.

But the effect is the same: idolatry or playing the harlot. It is considered to be a means of approaching God through it. Because the ephod is not in connection with the high priest who has to carry it, and it is therefore only a form, it becomes a means of idolatry. At the same time idolatry is harlotry, because it denies the connection with God and establishes a connection with the idols, that is to say, the demons.

Everything that is loosened from Christ in professing Christianity becomes a means of idolatry. The form replaces the being. We see this when it is said that someone receives new life through baptism. The same is said of the Supper of the Lord. There is also kneeling before a crucifix. Such results can be expected in a religion when one acts on the basis of religious feelings rather than being guided by what God has said in His Word about serving and worshiping Him “in the Spirit of God” (Phil 3:3).

It is not only a snare to Gideon, but also to his household. He drags his whole household into this idolatry. This shows the seriousness of the words that have once been spoken: “The way away from God you never go alone.”

Gideon’s Further Life

After we have heard all about the battle and the events that resulted directly from it, we come to the final conclusion in Jdg 8:28. Midian has been defeated and the land has rest for forty years under the leadership of Gideon.

But that is not the end of Gideon’s history. It seems that when the days of his fighting for God are over, he has made himself easy and has begun to give in to the lusts of the flesh. Not for nothing does the Christian hear the warning that after a victory he should not rest on his laurels. He must take up the full armor of God, not only during the day of the struggle, but also “having done everything, to stand firm” (Eph 6:13).

Unfortunately, the rest of Gideon's life is a telling example that he has not taken this into account. He quietly retreats into his home, takes many wives and therefore has numerous offspring. On the one hand, this is a proof of prosperity. As one’s prosperity and influence grew at that time, so did one’s harem. King Ahab had seventy sons (2Kgs 10:1) and some of Gideon’s successors also had many sons (Jdg 10:4 ; Jdg 12:9 ; 14). On the other hand, the hatred and murder entering Gideon’s family are precisely characteristics for these Old Testament situations of polygamy. Having more than one wife goes against God’s order of creation and gives a lot of misery.

In that period Gideon also gets a son with his concubine from Shechem whom he names Abimelech. Of all Gideon’s sons this is the only one whose name is mentioned here. This is not for nothing. The next chapter, a long chapter, will show the character of this man and what a source of misery he is. We will see in his history that the laziness and pleasure in Gideon’s life gives life to a source from which evil originates.

It is telling that Abimelech’s mother does not live in Ophra, but somewhere else. Gideon wants, so to speak, the lusts, but not the burdens. Even more significant is the meaning of the name he gives to this child. Abimelech literally means ‘my father is king’. This is a name that also Philistine princes have (Gen 20:2 ; Gen 21:22 ; Gen 26:1). That Gideon gives this name to his son shows something of what may have been hidden in his heart. It is not inconceivable that the flattery of Jdg 8:18 ; 22 has had an influence.

Those who know something of their own heart know how easily certain flattery can take root in their thinking. It can stay with you and ‘underground’ the idea that you are someone of significance, someone whom others look up to, can still play a role. On certain occasions, this thought can no longer be suppressed and comes to the fore. Then the own importance will assert itself and the Lord will no longer be number One.

Only by radically judging such thoughts and keeping them in ‘death’ it is possible to kept from them playing an active role again. Whoever radically judges such thoughts puts into practice what Colossians 3 calls for: “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry” (Col 3:5). Is the desire to be important not an evil desire? Is it not a form of greed to want to take a position that only God is entitled to? It is nothing but idolatry. This is why we have to deal with such things. This can be replaced by “a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Col 3:12).

The thought of being important not only must be judged, but must be considered to be dead. This can be done by putting into practice what Romans 6 says: “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom 6:11) Here we have the key in our hands to kill arrogant thoughts, for that is what they are, and not allow them to rise again.

The basis for such an attitude toward pride lies in what the Lord Jesus did on the cross. This is the subject of the verses preceding Romans 6:11 (Rom 6:1-10). This is why it is so important to make a fundamental study of the letter to the Romans in particular. We then gain insight into who we ourselves are by nature, into what God in Christ has done to us, and how as a result we may see ourselves before God. This gives us the right weapons to deprive sin of any authority over us.