Joel M Bradshaw

22Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.” 24And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. 26And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. 27And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. 28So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

29Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 30Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. 32And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.–Judges 8, with emphasis

The end of the Gideon story. I underlined three portions.

1. Gideon proclaimed not to be a king. It was a George Washington type of moment. Or so it seemed. Gideon wouldn’t be king and one of his sons wouldn’t either. Instead God was to be their King. If the story would have just ended there, it would be theologically excellent. Like a reversal of the later rejection of God as King in order to demand Samuel anoint a human king. But, well, Gideon would be himself.
2. He accepted a kingly sum of gold and used it to make a priestly garment statue that was worshiped in Gideon’s hometown. Sure, Gideon delivered the people from Midian, but ensnared them in idol worship. Worship tied to himself! This isn’t a good moment.
3. He lived like a king. Many wives and 70 (!) sons. This was a Gideon dynasty in the making. And one son gets mentioned by name. The name of that son translated from Hebrew is “my father is king.” Yeah, that’s what he named one of his sons. Oh, but only God shall be their king!

Gideon’s story reminds us that our lives illustrate our values. What we believe is shown by how we live. The choices you make depict what you want most. Gideon’s life didn’t match his proclaimed values. It doesn’t take a specialist to surmise that his life instead proclaimed a different set of values. What a great reminder for each of us!–JMB