Judges 8 – 9 and Brunch with Esther

Judges 8 - 9

The tribe of Ephraim was a little ticked off when they found out that Gideon had been fighting the Midianites. They apparently wanted in on the fight. Gideon got them calmed down, after which he and his 300 warriors (in all of the fighting, they did not lose even one of the warriors) crossed the Jordan River and continued to chase the Midianites.

Gideon and his men were exhausted and asked the officials of Succoth if they might have some food. When they refused to do so until after Gideon defeated Zebah and Zalmunnma, Gideon made them a promise that he would return after the Lord gave him victory and he would tear their flesh with the thorns and briers from the wilderness.

The people of Peniel also refused to give them food and Gideon promised them he would return after victory and tear down their tower.

Poor Zebah and Zalmunna only had 15,000 of their 120,000-man army left. Amazing what the Lord did with 300 men, isn’t it? Gideon circles around in front of them, surprises them and defeats them. He captures the Midianite kings and their warriors.

Peniel didn’t fare as well as Succoth. The seventy-seven elders in Succoth were punished with thorns and briers, as Gideon promised. The tower of Peniel was torn down and all of the men in the town were killed.

When Gideon finds out that Zebah and Zalmunna had killed members of his family, he tells his son Jether to kill the kings. When Jether, who was just a boy, didn’t do it, Gideon, taunted by the kings, kills them himself.

The people wanted to make Gideon king, but he refused saying, “The Lord will rule over you.” Instead, he asks each warrior to give him an earring from their plunder and makes a “sacred” ephod, putting it in his home town. Some commentators believe this was an attempt to make an outward sign of the blessing they had enjoyed in defeating the Midianites. Regardless of why he did it, the Israelites started prostituting themselves by worshiping it. It became a trap for Gideon and his family.

Can you believe Gideon had seventy sons? Or that he had many concubines?

In any case, Israel had peace for forty years until Gideon died. Then, they were back to their old sins: worshiping images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god. Once again they forgot the Lord, who had done so much for them.

One of Gideon’s sons, Abimelech, consults the citizens of Shechem about being ruled by one – him of course – or by the seventy sons of Gideon. He kills all seventy of his half brothers except for Jotham who manages to escape and hide. Shechem makes Abimelech their king. Jotham gives an impassioned speech from the top of Mount Gerizim, the mountain from which the blessings were read.

After this, things do not go well for Abimelech. After he rules over Shechem for three years, God sends a spirit to stir up trouble between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem. They revolt and try to kill him. In the end, a woman drops a millstone on Abimelech’s head. Not wanting it said he was killed by a woman, he has his armor bearer stab him with a sword.

All of these folks were punished for their evil. One must wonder about Gideon’s parenting skills. It doesn’t look as if he followed Deuteronomy 6:4-9. How different those sons might have been if he had.

Tomorrow, it’s Judges 10 – 12.

Brunch with Esther

Today, I had brunch with Esther at Mim’s Cafe. We both had the ham frittata, though I had them leave the broccoli off mine. We also both had bacon as opposed to the turkey sausage that comes with it.

Esther is doing great. Her foot has healed to the point that she just has a band-aid on it now and she’s walking WITHOUT PAIN.

It’s always fun to meet with Esther. After all, we’ve been friends for at least forty-five years. She is all that anyone could ask for in a friend or sister-in-law.

Until next time…