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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Judges 8:22 - 8:35
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The Consequences of the Campaign
v. 22. Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou and thy son, and thy son's son also, they wanted to establish a hereditary kingdom with their great deliverer at their head, as the founder of a royal dynasty; for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
v. 23. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you. Gideon did not feel himself called upon to found a royal dynasty in Israel, but considered the direct government of the Lord (theocracy) sufficient for the needs of the people.
v. 24. And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey, the various rings, especially those worn in the nose and in the ears, which the soldiers of Israel had taken from the captives and slain in the recent battle. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites. ) The enemies, members of nomad tribes as they were, had possessed a wealth of gold in the form of ornaments.
v. 25. And they answered, We will willingly give them, they were very glad to comply with his request. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey, whatever booty he had gained in the form of gold ornaments and other precious possessions.
v. 26. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold (more than $16,000 worth); beside ornaments, and collars, ear-pendants made of pearls and precious stones, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks, made up of moon shaped pendants.
v. 27. And Gideon made an ephod thereof, a copy of that worn by the high priest at Shiloh, Exodus 28, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah, intending it as an act of worship to God, in accordance with his declaration that Jehovah alone was to be honored; and all Israel went thither, instead of to Shiloh, a-whoring after it, come mitting idolatry with the ephod of Gideon, perverting even faith into superstition; which thing became a snare unto Gideon and to his house, for he set aside the Aaronic priesthood and lowered the respect in which it was held by the people.
v. 28. Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted Up their heads no more; they were effectually overthrown. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon, for his powerful influence kept the enemies in fear and the people from idolatry.
v. 29. And Jerubbaal, the son of Joash, went and dwelt in his own house, retired to the outward position of a private person.
v. 30. And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten; for he had many wives. He had everything that made for fame and happiness in Israel, power and influence, peace, riches, and many sons.
v. 31. And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called, or, "and called his name," Abimelech ("My father is king"). It seems that this concubine from the beginning had great plans for the son of Gideon and taught him a false ambition from the start.
v. 32. And Gideon, the son of Joash, died in a good old age, untroubled by even the shadow of events which transpired after his death, and was buried in the sepulcher of Joash, his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites, a king in the estimation of the grateful Israelites, if not in deed.
v. 33. And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a-whoring after Baalim, in all the idolatry of the Canaanites, and made Baal-berith their god, considering him as one with whom they had made a covenant.
v. 34. And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord, their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side;
v. 35. neither showed they kindness to the house, the children, the family, of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel. They deliberately set out to forget everything that might have reminded them of repentance. Unbelief and ingratitude go hand in hand, for the heart of men is unreliable. Even great benefactors, through whom the Lord brings blessings upon His people, are soon forgotten.