Gideon

Judges 6-8

            Every time I read Judges I learn something new. Today I learned that the name Gideon means “the one who hews/cuts.” It’s an important detail because it’s the same root that is used in Deuteronomy 7:5 and 12:3, when Moses instructs the Israelites to cut down the sacred poles of the Canaanites. It’s also exactly what Gideon does to his father’s Asherah pole in chapter 6.

            Gideon is an interesting character. The angel of the Lord calls him a mighty warrior, and Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian that Gideon defeats, say that Gideon has the bearing of a prince. Apparently, Gideon is of some kind of aristocrat. However, he claims that his clan is the weakest in his tribe and that he’s the least of his family. When we meet him, he’s threshing in a wine press. Usually he would thresh on a hill, throwing grain stalks into the air so that the wind would blow the chaff away; doing it in a hole in the ground means he’s hiding (and covered in chaff, to boot!). In the first encounter, he asks for a sign, which the angel gives b burning up his offering. Yet, at the end of the chapter, he tests the Lord twice with his fleece. (I’ve heard Christians talking about ‘laying out a fleece,’ as if asking for some kind of proof about what they’re supposed to do is a good thing. It seems plain to me that in Judges at least the request is not a good thing.) The man comes across as a coward!

            The Lord is going to test Gideon’s courage even more. Gideon raises 32,000 men, and the Lord whittles it down to 300, first dismissing anyone who is scared and then dismissing those who stuck their whole face in the water to drink. We are reminded that the victory is the Lord’s; Israel does not win through might of arms.

            Unfortunately, Gideon’s story ends on a discouraging note. Our hero makes himself an ephod, which has been in the Scriptures an exclusively priestly garment. Gideon is usurping a prerogative that is not his. (Speaking of usurping, although Gideon refuses the title ‘king,’ he names his illegitimate son Abimelech, which means ‘my father is king.’) The ephod becomes a matter of idolatry, and Israel prostituted themselves before it. “Prostituted” was the word used for Israel’s idolatry in 2:17, and this, along with 8:33, are the only other uses of the word in the book. It’s a clear warning that things are not well in Israel.