A Journey through the Bible with Tiglath

35. Book of Judges Chapter 5 to Chapter 8.

Chapter 5 is a song of thanksgiving by Deborah and Barak for all the help the

Lord has given them. The next few chapters are of great interest and worth

reading in detail. They tell the story of Gideon and how God chose him to

deliver the Israelites from the Midianites. These fierce camel riders attacked

from the east. They got as far as the Philistine city of Gaza.

Chapters 6 to 9 tell the stories of

Gideon and his son Abimelech. God

sent an angel to Gideon when he was

threshing wheat in secret by his

wine-press. This was to hide it from

the Midianites. The angel said to

him —‘The Lord is with thee, thou

mighty man of valour’. Gideon asks

God why so many mishaps have

befallen the Israelites. He is

surprised by all that is happening as

he has heard how God had brought

the people out of slavery in Egypt. He wonders if God has forsaken them and delivered them into the hands of the Midianites. God orders Gideon to go and save

Israel. Gideon protests that his family is poor and he is the least in his father’s

house (Chapter 6 v 15). The Lord replied — ‘I will be with thee, and thou

shalt smash the Midianites, as one man’. Read verses 17 to 23 to see what

happens when Gideon asks for a sign that he is talking to God.

After this Gideon is instructed to destroy the altar of Baal, and the grove of trees

beside it. This caused much anger among the worshippers of Baal and they called

upon  their  god  to  kill  Gideon.  Of  course  this  didn’t  happen  and  then  Gideon

asked for a sign that he would defeat the Midianites. Verses 39 to 40 of Chapter 6

describe the sign that Gideon desired.

Chapter 7 describes how Gideon defeated the Midianites. Before this happened

he had to choose his army. In verse 3 it is proclaimed that any of the men

gathered on Mount Gilead, who were afraid, should depart. Twenty-two thousand

of these went leaving ten thousand to fight. The Lord said that this was too many

and told Gideon to take them down to some nearby water where the men that lapped the water, as a dog laps, should be put to one side. Three hundred men lapped putting their hands to their mouths. These three hundred men, chosen by God, were to be led by Gideon to save Israel. Verses 11 to 25 tell, in great detail, how Gideon and his 300 men defeated the Midianites. It is a very interesting read.

Chapter 8 begins with a description

of some fighting but its importance

to our journey lies in verse 23 where

Gideon speaks these words:- ‘I will

not rule over you, neither shall my

son rule over you; the Lord shall

rule over you’. Thus, the system of

government of the Israelites, at this

time, was a theocracy (rule by God)

and not a monarchy (rule by a king

or queen).

Chapter 9 will tell how Gideon’s son Abimelech was made king and what happened to him.