Read Judges 12:1-7

The Book of Proverbs teaches that pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall (16:18, commonly shortened to “pride goes before a fall”). More than enough events in history and our lives prove how true this statement is. Likewise, prejudice against those different to us is an ever present truth in this fallen world.

In this passage, we see the tragic consequences of pride and prejudice (sorry Jane Austen). Ephraim’s pride, combined with Jephthah and Israel’s prejudice against Ephraim, lead to a further tragic event overshadowing victory over Ammon. It reminds us to check our pride at the door and adopt the same humility Christ demonstrated in redeeming us, and warns us of the dangers of prejudice.

Jephthah’s victory over Ammon was tarnished by his foolish vow, and the death of his daughter. The sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter turned to tragedy, and brought sorrow to joy.

Sadly, this was not the end of things for Jephthah, or Israel. Their moral and religious decline had brought internal strife and civil war during the time of Abimelech, and things had not improved with the passage of time.

When Gideon defeated the Midianites, the tribe of Ephraim were upset that he did not call them up earlier (ch. 8). The Ephraimites were primarily interested in their status. After Jephthah defeated the Ammonites, the Ephraimites “were called to arms” (12:1).

Their target was not the Ammonites or the Philistines, but Jephthah. “They crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire” (v.1).

The Ephraimites were annoyed that Jephthah had fought the Ammonites without consulting or including them in the glory. They were important, and important people need to be respected, or else bad things happen.

Jephthah had grown up an outcast, and knew what it was like to be unimportant (11:1-3). It seems he had little interest in stroking the egos of the self-important, such as Ephraim. Instead, he pointed out that he had indeed asked for their help, which they had not provided (v.2-3). Jephthah had been left to do it by himself, with God as his strength (v.3).

Perhaps Ephraim was seeking an apology, or some flattering words like Gideon had previously offered them to make them feel more important than they were (8:1-3). Jephthah was a straight-shooter though, and did not give them what they wanted to hear. So Ephraim insulted Jephthah and his followers as being “fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh” (v.4). Then the fight started.

Jephthah and his company of soldiers attacked Ephraim, then captured the fords over the River Jordan, cutting Ephraim off from their homes (vv.4-5). Then, they used the particular regional accent which had developed on the eastern side of the Jordan to identify the fugitives.

Like a Kiwi Southlander who cannot help but roll the r in a phrase like “purple shirt”, the Ephraimites could not say Shibboleth (flowing stream) like an Easterner, where the “s” had become a “sh”.

When the poor Ephraimite fell into the diabolical dialect trap, “they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan” (v.6). Through this scheme, 42,000 men of Israel, from the tribe of Ephraim, died at the hands of the Judge of Israel.

No surprise then that Jephthah’s period as Judge was neither long nor especially peaceful. Jephthah judged Israel for six years, before he died and was buried in his hometown (v.7). In his wake, victory over Ammon, but a short time of leadership, the end of his family line because of keeping his foolish vow, and more internal conflict within Israel.

Ultimately this episode serves as a judgement on Jephthah for the sacrifice of his daughter. But this does not let Ephraim off the hook.

Ephraim wanted to lead. To be Top Dog. Their desire for status (ch. 8) was stroked by Gideon, but their pride led to their destruction in Jephthah’s day. There is no place for pride and status in Christ’s Church. None of us are the centre of salvation’s story; Jesus is. None of us are better than each other. We all have different gifts and contributions to make so the body functions (Romans 12:4-8).

Likewise, prejudice should have no place in God’s People. Ephraim looked down on the other tribes. The other tribes looked down on Ephraim as big mouths, absent when the fight came. 

Prejudice exists in the Church too. In some places from income, ethnicity, or education. Sometimes, shibboleths exist based on particular doctrinal points. Differences over say baptism or church government are real, but not enough to deny fellowship to a fellow believer.

Instead, our attitude should be that of Christ, who in humility became human and died on the Cross for our sins (Phil. 2:4-11). Pride and prejudice fall away when we worship and follow the example of Christ, who redeemed us from our sins.

Read Judges 11:29-40

We all say or do foolish things, or make stupid promises. Sometimes we wish we had stopped rebelling against God earlier, or paid more attention to God’s commands. Most of the time they don’t have dire, life-changing consequences. Sometimes, they do.

Jephthah’s tragic vow sits firmly in the life-changing consequences camp, both for him and for his daughter. His vow, and its fulfilment, is so serious it completely overshadows his deliverance of Israel from Ammon. It reminds us of the importance of knowing God’s Word to serve him rightly, being cautious in our promises, and that any earthly deliverer is flawed at best compared to God in Christ.

While Jephthah’s history lesson had corrected the misinformation that Ammon’s king was attempting to use as the argument for invasion, the Ammonite king was not for turning (v.28) and so a fight was inevitable.

Since that was the case, the Spirit of the LORD empowered Jephthah to specially lead and deliver Israel from their enemies, as he went through Gilead and Mannaseh to gather together an army to take on Ammon (v.29).

During this recruitment campaign, Jephthah uttered a vow which the text will later make clear was a tragic promise to make! He vowed to God that “whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering” (vv.30-31).

The writer of Judges next summarises Jephthah’s victory over Ammon in broad outline. There is only a brief description of the geographical movement to meet and defeat the enemy because God “gave them into his hand” (v.32). That the victory was comprehensive is only related by the short phrase “the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel” (v.33).

The reason is the greatness of Jephthah’s victory over Ammon is spoiled by what came next. Remember Jephthah’s vow; as he approached home at Mizpah, who greeted him but “his daughter… to meet him with tambourines and with dances” (v.34). While Jephthah’s daughter greeted him with joy, her joy would soon turn to sorrow.

This was compounded because “she was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter” (v.34). There would be nobody else to carry on the family line if Jephthah went through with his vow.

Jephthah realised his predicament, he tore his clothes in grief at the sight (v.35). He believed he had to keep his vow, even though it clearly breached God’s commandments about human sacrifice (Deut. 12:31, etc) and ignored the Law’s escape clause for rash vows (Lev. 5:4-6).

The story grinds on. Jephthah’s daughter submits to Jephthah’s intention to keep his vow (v.36). The two months reprieve to grieve her inability to carry on the family line only draws out the inevitable (vv.37-8). After two months, she returned and Jephthah fulfilled his vow (v.39), leading to a custom of the local women mourning her loss (v.40).

Some suggest that the mourning over her virginity and Jephthah’s knowledge of Israel’s history and evidence that he worshipped God mean he cannot have possibly killed her but instead submitted her to a life of monastic service (a Judges-era nun). I sadly agree with those who think the plainest reading of the text is what happened. Jephthah offered his daughter as a burnt sacrifice to God, fulfilling his tragic vow.

This was a sinful vow, which Jephthah should not have kept. There is no evidence in the text that God approved; simply, the event is reported. That Jephthah did completely overshadowed his victory over Ammon, and shows the depths that Israel had fallen to in their decline.

We cannot assume Jephthah did not know the prohibitions, but perhaps Jephthah thought those only applied to foreign gods. Or the circumstances and his piety led him to believe this was an exception to the general rule. Sometimes Old Testament believers did the wrong thing for the right reason, yet still sinned (eg, Uzzah, 2 Sam. 6).

This shows that it is not enough to know our history, to know about God, but we also need to know God and his will revealed in Scripture. If we approach circumstances like Jephthah according to our limited knowledge and our assumptions, we can still end up sinning.

Knowing God, in terms of his nature and his character, not just God’s acts, is important to following God and serving him in a way which pleases him.

It also reminds us to be careful about our vows and our promises. Vows are serious, and should not be made lightly, nor made in a way which opens the door to sin.

Thirdly, this passage reminds us that human deliverers are flawed at best. Jephthah’s rash vow and his sinful fulfilment of it show that he could not be Israel’s ultimate saviour. No sinful man can. Only Jesus, sinless, could deliver us from our sinful place in a way which brings joy out of tragedy, instead of tragedy out of joy.

Read Judges 11:12-28

History provides a sense of context and place. It helps explain why things are, how they came to be, and where we came from. This is why history can be such a contentious topic, why people propose competing views and interpretations of history, or seek to forget or remake it for their own ends.

In our second look at Jephthah’s role as a Judge over Israel, we see the importance of history in the conflict between Israel and Ammon. Ammon promotes a revisionist history of the settlement of Israel, which Jephthah corrects, showing God’s goodness towards his people in giving them their land. This passage reminds us that God’s goodness to his people is a history we should all learn, especially in a pagan world which would rather revise or forget.

After Jephthah’s appointment by Israel’s elders, orchestrated by God, Jephthah could turn his attention to the Ammonite threat. Jephthah sent messengers to Ammon, asking why they were attacking Israel (v.12).

The answer from Ammon’s king was a piece of revisionist history: “because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan”, so they should hand it back (v.13).

Jephthah’s response begins with a correction of this history. First, he points out how when Israel left Egypt and their wilderness wandering, they asked permission from Edom and Moab to walk through their territory which was declined (vv.15-17). Instead of attacking, Israel walked around both territories (v.18).

Then when Israel came to the Amorite lands and asked permission to cross their territory, the response was not a permission declined but an attack by Sihon king of the Amorites and his forces (vv.19-20). God gave the Amorites over to Israel’s hand, so “Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites” (v.21-2).

These corrections to the factual record raised various problems with the Ammonite king’s argument. Firstly, while he was claiming the land in dispute (v.13), it belonged to the Amorites first, who then lost it to Israel when God drove them out (vv.21-3). They could not claim what was not theirs in the first place.

Secondly, it was God that drove out the Amorites (v.23) and gave it to Israel to possess (v.24). Israel was not claiming anything that wasn’t theirs by divine gift from God. Ammon should be content with the land they had been given, supposedly as they thought by their false god.

Thirdly, while Balak the king of Moab saw Israel as a threat due to their proximity to his lands, he did not fight them to drive them out of lands which were his, or he claimed were his (v.25). If Balak had that sense, then the Ammonite king ought to follow suit.

Fourthly, Israel had lived in the lands in question for 300 years, yet only now did the dispute arise (v.26). If this was an issue that meant conflict now, why not earlier?

For these reasons, it was clear that Ammon was reinventing history to cause conflict (v.27). Jephthah called on “The LORD, the Judge, [to] decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon” (v.27), as the only true judge of what was right history and alternative facts. 

Unfortunately, the king of Ammon was not interested in the facts (v.28) when it interfered with his agenda.

If Jephthah had been ignorant of his history, and of God’s goodness, he would not have been able to rebut Ammon’s arguments with objective truth. Thankfully, Jephthah knew the history of his people and of God’s leading and gifting. He could rely on God to judge, because he knew that God had given them the land in question and would decide for them.

That history is our history too. The history which Jephthah recalled forms part of God’s salvation plan, as God prepared for the coming of our promised Messiah Jesus. It is ours to remember, and to see as evidence of God’s goodness towards us.

It also reminds us to learn the goodness of God to us throughout all history. God did not stop being good to us, but continues to this day. The history of the Church is the history of God’s goodness to his people, to build a church which nothing can prevail against.

The Church has been a force for good overall throughout 2000 years of history. Pagan Rome and Europe were not nice places, unless you were male, rich, and powerful. The West’s cultural legacy and ideas like compassion or equality of individuals before God are Christian ideals, not pagan. Sure, the Bible has been used to justify evils like slavery, but also to bring about their demise.

As our culture tries to forget or reinvent this truth to return to its pagan past and uncivilised practices, we should not buy the lies of revisionist history. Instead, we should know and build our lives on the treasures of God’s goodness to us through Jesus, in the past, today, and into the future.

Read Judges 10:17-11:11

How often in life do we reject the help or advice of someone until it is past time that we need it? As a father, it seems like my children do not listen to my advice until it is too late. Then they want my help! If I look at my own life, it’s the same story.

If it is true of our everyday life, it is just as true of people towards others, and people towards God. In this passage, Israel negotiated with a previously rejected saviour to save them from the Ammonites. This negotiation mirrored that of Israel and God, and reminds us of our own saviour, who was despised and rejected by men.

After Israel binged on idolatry with the fake gods of the surrounding nations, God sent the Ammonites and Philistines upon them to discipline them for their sin (10:6-9). Israel cried out to God, who challenged their rainy day repentance, but ultimately acted out of his love for his people to set in motion the Judges who would save them from Ammon and Philistia (10:10-16).

While Israel repented of their sins, the Ammonites were still about to attack (v.17). The army of Israel gathered at Mizpah, but there was no general to lead them (v.18). Who could step into the leadership vacuum?

There was an obvious answer, but an obvious problem. The obvious answer was a man named Jephthah, who was “a mighty warrior” (v.1). But there was an obvious problem; “he was the son of a prostitute” (v.1). Jephthah was born from an affair with a prostitute, but was driven off by his father’s legitimate sons who did not want to share the inheritance with their half-brother (v.2). Jephthah went to Tob (“good”) and gathered a band of thugs (v.3).

Now the Ammonites had come (v.4), bringing distress with them. At this point, the elders of Gilead came bowing and scraping in repentance to Jephthah to lead them out of their bind (vv.5-6).

Jephthah was no fool. When the elders came to make him general, he answered “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” (v.7). Rainy day repentance is suspicious in its sincerity, at best.

The elders at least acknowledged that circumstances had changed, and so too their attitude towards Jephthah (v.8). Before he was worthless, now he was worth every penny to deliver them.

Jephthah could have left the elders to lie in the bed they made, but instead he agreed to lead, with conditions (v.9). To “bring him home” was to restore Jephthah to his rightful inheritance among God’s people. As one who trusted God, who believed it was up to God to hand Ammon over to him (v.9), this was his rightful place.

The elders of Gilead agreed to Jephthah’s terms, and swore an oath to fulfil it (v.10), so Jephthah went back with them and was made Israel’s leader at Mizpah (v.11), where later Saul would become king.

There are multiple similarities between the way Israel treated Jephthah (vv.1-11), and how they treated God (10:6-16). When times were good, Israel wanted nothing of either God or Jephthah, and removed them from their presence. Neither had done anything to deserve this treatment; Jephthah is not responsible for his parents’ acts, and God is always good.

Then, when bad times came, specifically here the Ammonites, suddenly God and Jephthah were back in vogue. Israel repented of their wrongs to God (10:10) and Jephthah (vv.5-6), but both God and Jephthah were weary of their change in attitude (10:11-14, 11:7). Yet Israel appealed to both (10:15-16; 11:8) and both God and Jephthah relented and moved to help Israel (10:16; 11:9-11).

Yet there is also a sense in which Jephthah and Israel are similar, too. Jephthah was cut off from his inheritance, and sent away. He did not control what ought to have been his by right of grant from his father. He wanted back that which he had lost to his brothers, and the elders of Israel who let it happen.

Israel too wanted back their inheritance. While God had given it to them, their sinful acts had caused God to send foreign nations to discipline them, and taken it away from them. They wanted the Ammonites gone, and the fruits of the land, their inheritance from their Heavenly Father, back.

In both these senses there is a picture of Jesus, our saviour. The Son of God born a man to identify with us, and gain back for us the inheritance we have lost because of our sin. Though he, unlike Jephthah, was sinless.

Jesus also was despised and rejected by men (Isaiah 53:3). But God chose what man rejected. He chose Jesus to save us and defeat our true enemies, sin and death. 

God did this despite our sinfulness. But unlike Jephthah, Jesus’ salvation is perfect and complete.

Read Judges 10:6-16

It is far easier to forgive or have compassion on someone for a minor offence than a major, repeated offence. For instance, the hungry child who steals a candy bar from the dairy is more likely to receive compassion, especially if they are caught and remorseful for their actions, than a hardened teenage criminal responsible for multiple ram raids and thefts over a period of time.

If this is true of theft, how much more so of stealing the worship due only to God? In Judges 10, we are exposed to the further decline of Israel’s attitude to God, and their increased apostasy. In the face of stricter punishment, Israel once again made gestures towards behaving themselves. Yet God’s compassion to Israel was not based on their acts, but on God’s love.

The Book of Judges outlines a common pattern of apostasy, discipline, repentance, and deliverance. But this cycle is more like water going down the drain, as the cycle continues but in a descent towards the plughole.

By about halfway through Judges, this descent down the vortex of idolatry is clear to see. After the accounts of two “minor” Judges who fix the mess left after Abimelech, there is again a description of apostasy, but of a far greater extent.

In previous passages (3:12, 4:1, 6:1) Israel’s apostasy is mentioned, but in verse six the apostasy is extensively spelt out. Israel did evil by “serv[ing] the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines.” This is apostasy like a self-destructive bender. It spells disaster.

Not surprisingly, this extreme and heaped up apostasy incurred severe retribution from God. Before, one foreign people oppressed. This time, God inflicted two peoples on Israel – Ammon and the Philistines (v.7).

The oppression was terrible, such that they “crushed and oppressed” Israel for eighteen years (v.8), in the same way that God crushed Pharaoh and Egypt in the Exodus (15:6). The Ammonites rampaged through Gilead, and even crossed the Jordan to attack and oppress the north (vv.8-9). “Israel was severely distressed” (v.9).

Right on cue, Israel “cried out to the LORD” acknowledging they had gone after the Baals (v.10). But God’s response indicated a lack of belief in their contrition, because he had heard it all before.

“Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress” (vv.11-14).

Ouch. God is not some rich daddy who springs you from jail each time you get into trouble, or a cosmic cleaner to sort out your mess. If your gods are so great, perhaps you should ask them to save you!

Israel, in its lowly state, caught with useless idols that will not dig them out of their fix, renewed their cries to God and turfed out their foreign gods to serve God (vv.15-16). Once again.

God is no fool, and did not come down in the last shower. He had seen this play out before, and that once trouble was over, the Baals would be back. But despite this, we see God’s compassion for his people.

God “became impatient over the misery of Israel” (v.16). As Isaiah described hundreds of years later, “in all their affliction he was afflicted” (63:9) and God in his love and pity redeemed his people. 

It was not Israel’s actions in putting away the idols for the umpteenth time which moved God to act, but God’s compassion at Israel’s misery.

That same compassion is the compassion which God expresses to us through the Gospel. If God was waiting for us to repent, he would be waiting a long time as we heaped sin upon sin! But God saved us through Jesus, afflicting Jesus to save us from the greater affliction of our sins; death and eternal punishment.

God does not act positively towards us because we say the right phrases or give up our besetting sins once again, but because of his compassion.

It is that compassion which should motivate us to serve God in good times and bad. God is not just there to fix up our messes like some cosmic cleaner, but to receive our worship and the glory due to his name. We should not take God for granted, like Simon the heretic or Ananias and Sapphira (cf. Acts 5 and 8).

God is not safe. God is powerful and dangerous when crossed, like Israel did in their apostasy and as we do when we sin. But God is also compassionate, afflicted in our afflictions, and redeemed us out of impatience with our misery.

Read Judges 10:1-5

People tend to remember the high notes of history. Chances are in school you learnt about key historical events like World War 2, the Industrial Revolution, the American Revolution, or The War of the Roses. Chances are you never learnt much about the Thirteenth Century Baltic. Something happened. It became important later. But it was no War of the Austrian Succession, let alone World War 1. Much of life is like that really, and our history books tend to major on the majors.

The Book of Judges is not like your standard history book. While it covers the high and low points of the Judges period of Israel’s time in the Promised Land, it also majors on the minors. Immediately following the account of Abimelech, two minor Judges are covered. They remind us that the highs and lows of life are interspersed with the mundane, that God rebuilds what he tears down, and a reminder that this side of eternity we are still tempted to build our own kingdoms, even when doing God’s work.

Abimelech was a disaster. Much like a certain European leader of the 1930s and 1940s, he left a trail of death, destruction, and ruins in his wake. While previously God used external forces to punish Israel for their apostasy, Abimelech was an example of disaster and punishment from the actions of those within.

In the absence of Abimelech, a leaderless Israel may have been absorbed by the surrounding nations. That did not fit God’s salvation plan, or his promises to his people.

Instead, God demonstrated his goodness to his people by rebuilding what he had torn down through Abimelech. “After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar” (v.1). The first two words are important – Abimelech was not the end.

We know little of Tola, apart from his father and grandfather, that he came from the tribe of Issachar, and that he lived and died in an otherwise unknown town in the hill country of Ephraim (vv.1-2). We do not know what battles he fought, though we assume he fought some. We do know that he judged Israel for 23 years, before he died and was buried in his hometown (v.2).

In many respects, Tola is a footnote to history, who may not even be otherwise mentioned. But Tola restored the stability that Abimelech tore down. Tola judged Israel, which means he helped save Israel.

The second Judge mentioned is Jair. Jair was from Gilead, on the other side of the Jordan River (v.3). Jair judged Israel for 22 years, likewise bringing stability to Israel.

Jair appears to have held influence throughout Israel through his thirty sons (v.4). We must be careful here. The Bible makes it clear that sons are a heritage from God, and a man is blessed when he has plenty of them (Psalm 127:3-5). Jair was certainly very blessed.

Yet to have achieved this number, plus an unspecified number of daughters (since the odds of only 30 sons is in the multiple thousands), Jair must have had a number of wives. Like Gideon, which Judges noted with a hint of disapproval (8:30) because of Gideon’s king-like tendencies (even if he refused the title).

Secondly, Jair’s sons all rode donkeys (v.4). Donkeys were a sign of nobility and wealth in those days (the common folk walked). Jair had wealth and resources, and through his sons led Israel. Eventually, Jair left that behind when he died and was buried in Kamon (v.5).

This is not to suggest that Jair’s wealth was illegitimate. There is no strong accusation against Jair, or the suggestion that his rule over Israel was anything but benign. But the text does suggest that Jair and his family started to take on some of the trappings of kingship without the title, just as Gideon had done previously.

These two minor characters in Judges remind us that God is present in the mundane of life. Not everything is (thankfully) the high of Gideon routing the Midianites or the low of Abimelech rampaging. Plenty of the time, it seems like nothing much is going on. But God is still working in and through people in those times, advancing his plans.

Secondly, this passage reminds us of our tendency to the trappings of kingship, even while doing the Lord’s work. This side of eternity, we must fight our sinful tendency to self-rule and mastery. To show our status and gain influence, to be recognised for our talents. Even as servants in the Church and God’s Kingdom. Only Jesus is truly king.

Thirdly, God rebuilds what he tears down. Abimelech left a mess, but Tola cleaned it up. Jair continued the work. While God is bringing judgement on this earth, now perhaps provisionally but one day climactically on the Great Day of God and The Lamb, God restores. God rebuilds so his people continue on. Whether through new administrations rising, or at the end of history when God makes all things new. God restores and rebuilds.

Read Judges 8:33-9:21

Our National Anthem asks God (somewhat ironically perhaps, due to our pagan nature) to defend New Zealand. It includes a request to guard our country from the “shafts of strife and war” – that is, from troubles caused by foreign invaders and domestic trouble-makers. 

While we often think of the former, we don’t always think of the latter. Even more so, when the bringers of strife are in charge (this is not a specific political statement!). Sadly for Israel, after Gideon’s end the wrong kind of king took charge as part of God’s judgement on Israel for their apostasy.

The first thing to note from this passage is the conditions that created the wrong kind of king. Remember, firstly, that while Gideon declined the position of king, much of his life looked rather king-like (vv.22-32).

Secondly, despite everything Gideon achieved for Israel in God’s name and power, after his death Israel very quickly forgot both. As soon as Gideon died, Israel committed spiritual adultery with “Baal-berith”, a weird synergistic religion merging the Baal of Canaan with the covenantal context of their relationship with God (Baal-berith means “Baal of the covenant”; v.33).

While Israel might have “remembered” God in their factual knowledge, they did not remember God through relationship with him (v.34). Sadly, Israel did not treat Gideon’s family with loving respect because of Gideon’s deeds for them either (v.35).

The second thing to note from this passage is Israel’s choosing the wrong kind of leader as king. Gideon’s story ends by foreshadowing a fellow called Abimelech (“my father is king”), born to a concubine of Gideon’s and raised in another town (v.31).

Abimelech went to the elders of his home town and suggested that with Gideon gone, it would be better if they were ruled by one of their fellow clansmen than by Gideon’s sons from up the road (vv.1-2).

Sadly Shechem’s leaders listened to Abimelech, and they gave him money to hire some ruffians and mercenaries to kill Gideon’s 70 legitimate sons (vv.3-5). Only one, Jotham, escaped.

With the competition out of the way, Shechem anointed Abimelech, their man, as king (v.6).

The third thing to note is the curse on Abimelech and Shechem. While all the leaders of Shechem gathered solemnly to place the crown on Abimelech’s head, Gideon’s surviving son Jotham called out words of objection from Mount Gerizim (v.7, ironically the mount of blessing, cf. Deut. 27:12-13).

Jotham cursed them both with a fable. Trees seek a ruler, and ask the noble olive tree, fig, and vine to rule over them (vv.8-13). All three, each in turn, reject the offer. The trees then turn to the bramble and offer it the kingship, which the bramble accepts (vv.14-15).

The message is less about kingship and more about choosing the wrong kind of king. The trees were so desperate for leadership that when the noble types with something to contribute and most suited declined, they went for the lower quality kind. The kind that offers no real shade, and is actually a fire hazard in dry weather.

Jotham applied this fable to Shechem and Abimelech in verses 16 to 20. Their choice of leader was poor, based on family ties rather than value of character. The sort of person willing to kill 70 half brothers for power is unworthy of the office. 

The sort of person, and people, willing to cheapen the memory of someone who saved them from oppression by wiping out his family, were not making wise choices. Disaster would follow, and a curse upon them for their acts. Such fellows burn themselves and those with them.

Understandably, Jotham quickly fled after dropping this truth bomb (v.21). The man whose name cries out God’s perfection played no further part in history; Abimelech was Gideon’s legacy.

Like Israel, there is a lesson here for us. Leadership of the church is not for our favourites or those with a hunger for power, but for those who meet the character requirements (eg, 1 Timothy 3). In short, mature Christian men who can teach (elders) or serve (deacons).

The hasty laying on of hands for any with an interest, despite their suitability, all too often leads to fires in the church and disaster. The right type of leadership is needed. That provided by God, in his own timing and quantity.

Sadly while plenty of churches get it wrong and reap the curse, the world is far more likely to get it wrong. Trusting the government is hopeless. Too many people who seek power do so for their own ends (not a political statement!), or start with good motives but end badly. Many nations have followed a “bramble” into disaster.

The only true leader who lacks any “bramble” is Jesus, who is the right kind of king. Jesus’ self-sacrificial leadership to save us, his people, is the very opposite of Abimelech. Jesus’ Father truly is the Great King. His leadership is that we should follow, and model. Rejected by his own, nevertheless Jesus is the right kind of king.

Read Judges 8:22-32

I watched the All Blacks game on Saturday evening. The side seemed a shadow of the colossus which won back-to-back Rugby World Cups. The strength that the All Blacks had in 2015 was not apparent in July 2022; weakness instead.

It is hard to stay strong. Harder still when you were never particularly strong to begin with, and when those around you are weak. For all the strength of Gideon’s victories over Midian, empowered by God, his latter years are a story of weakness. Weakness in Gideon’s own behaviour, and weakness in the Israelite people he judged.

Firstly, we see weak leadership. After the stunning victories of Israel, led by Gideon, empowered by God, over Midian, the people came to Gideon and said “rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian” (v.22). Having led the hosts of Israel in driving out the Midianite locusts, the people want Gideon and his sons (who they presume, must share the same blessed blood) to rule over them as king.

Gideon answered with the right words. “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you” (v.23). Gideon dismissed the title of king for himself and his children, and correctly identified God as their Great King who they should look to for leadership.

Yet despite Gideon’s words, there is disagreement about whether he really meant them. While the words are good, there are troubling actions which reveal weak leadership.

Firstly, Gideon demanded (and received) tribute from the Israelites, from the bodies of the Midianites. Gideon requested the earrings the Midianites wore (v.24), which the Israelites willingly gave (v.25). The total was more than 18 kilograms of gold, besides all the booty liberated from the dead rulers of the Midian coalition (v.26).

Secondly, we later learn that Gideon acquired a sizable harem, by which he had 70 sons (v.30). One of those was named Abimelech, which means… “My Father is King” (v.31).

Perhaps Gideon did not adopt the title of king as such, but he certainly acted like one. Somewhat like “Lord Protector” Cromwell, who was not king of England and Scotland of course; he just acted a lot like one.

Secondly, Gideon’s weakness is shown in his religious innovation. In a sense, because of his status, this is also a failing of leadership. Gideon took the gold and other booty tributed or captured from Midian, and made an ephod with it (v.27). Okay, so what?

The ephod was part of the High Priest’s outfit, and lived with the Tabernacle. It stored the Urim and Thummim, by which God provided direction. Essentially, Gideon was claiming for himself high priestly privileges by making this ephod. After all, had not God spoken specially to him in calling him to lead Israel? Surely this special relationship must continue!

Sadly, this act created a snare for his family and an opportunity for idolatrous Israel, descending down the spiral of disobedience, to idolise something other than God (v.27).

Thirdly, Gideon’s rule marks the last period of rest, because his weak leadership and religious innovation only accelerate Israel’s decline. While Israel rested for 40 years after Gideon defeated Midian (v.28), this was the last time that the land would not suffer the perils of war or conflict.

Gideon (aka Jerubbaal) went home, lived the king-in-act-but-not-name life, had lots of wives and kids, and died at a ripe old age (vv.29-32). But trouble is coming. Gideon might not be king in name, but just wait until “My Father is King” gets his hands on the ephod.

Looking at this passage, we see an example of someone who achieved so much in God’s strength, and yet who still “let the side down.” Sadly, this is true of us all. We all fall short, because we all stumble and sin. 

For many leaders of God’s People through the ages, this is equally true. We should not hide from the fact that many leaders have failings. We should not dismiss those failings, but nor dismiss the good done for God by them. After all, Gideon is listed in the “Faith Hall of Fame” in Hebrews 11 despite his questionable end.

Secondly, this passage warns us against religious innovation. Gideon led his people astray by his desire to still be seen as an instrument of continuing divine revelation. 

In the same way, we can place emphasis on “God told me x” or supposed modern day prophets and less weight on God’s appointed means, the preaching of God’s Word, sacrament, and prayer. This is what one scholar calls a Quest for Illegitimate Religious Experience. Instead we should trust God to speak through the means he has appointed.

Thankfully, while Gideon and leaders let us down with flawed leadership and religious innovation, Jesus did not let us down. He alone lived his life perfectly to the end, and that perfect life cloaks ours by grace through faith. In his life, we have eternal rest.

Read Judges 8:1-21

Why do people seek status and security? Usually, because it places you in a position of strength. With status, you can influence others for your own benefit or to avoid discomfort. With security, you can rest knowing that others view you as strong or solidly on-side, so why bother attacking?

The problem with these positions is that the desire for status and security outside of God undermines God’s People as a whole. It makes them weaker. In Judges, the desire of Ephraim for status and the desire of two Israelite towns for security weakened Israel’s overthrow of Midianite oppression. For the two Israelite towns, their desire for security ended in disaster. It is the same for God’s People today.

When the Midianite army turned into the Midianite rabble and fled under God’s attack, Gideon called out the Ephraimites to seize the crossing points at the River Jordan and capture the fleeing Midianites (vv.24-5).

While God’s victory through the 300 Israelite men conclusively showed it was God that turns weakness to strength, the Ephraimites were concerned about their image. Concerned for their status as the premier tribe of the North (or somesuch), they angrily asked Gideon who he thought he was fighting the Midianites without calling on them to assist (v.1).

Gideon stroked their pride to avoid bloodshed, by suggesting that just as the vintage of Ephraim was better than his own clan’s drop, so too their victory in capturing Oreb and Zeeb was better than anything Gideon and his band had done, standing in the dark with trumpets and torches shouting at the Midianites (vv.2-3). Ephraim’s status acknowledged, their anger cooled.

Sadly, status was not the only problem to weaken the effectiveness of God’s People. Security also played its part. After chasing the Midianites for miles, Gideon and his small band were understandably tired yet still committed to capturing two more Midianite leaders (vv.4-5). They asked the town of Succoth for provisions, to which Succoth’s leaders replied “are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand?” (v.6) In other words, no.

Gideon promised to punish Succoth for failing to give provisions (v.7). Likewise, Penuel answered the same to Gideon’s reasonable request, inviting the same response (vv.8-9).

In one sense this reluctance is understandable. If Gideon and his men failed, the angry Midianites might return and launch reprisals on Succoth and Penuel for helping the enemy. Their leaders chose security over helping God’s People achieve victory over their oppressors. They could not see God’s hand moving in events, and chose the conservative approach.

Succoth and Penuel chose the wrong side. Gideon fell on the remaining 15,000 men of Midian (after 120,000 had already been dealt to), killing them and capturing Zebah and Zalmunna (vv.10-12).

After this, Gideon went to Succoth to make things square (v.13). After capturing a young man and getting a list of the names of Succoth’s leaders, he taunted Succoth with their own words from earlier, then as promised seized the elders and whipped them with thorns and briers to teach “the men of Succoth a lesson” (vv.14-16). The tower of Penuel was likewise broken down, as promised (v.17).

Since they joined Israel’s enemies by their “neutrality”, they were treated as Israel’s enemies. They joined Zebah and Zalmunna in feeling Gideon’s retribution (vv.18-21), in both cases likely driven by some element of revenge at personal hurt felt. 

It seems that Zebah and Zalmunna captured and killed Gideon’s brothers, perhaps in revenge, and so Gideon attempted to humiliate them by having a youngster kill these mighty kings. Likewise, the whipping of elders with thorns and briars sounds all too personal in its delivery.

Besides not whipping our church’s elders, what does this passage teach us? In both instances, Israel was weakened and came into some form of internal conflict because of desires for status and security. Both are found in excessive interest in the self rather than the whole.

There is no place for status in the Church. However gifted anyone is, those gifts are from God. They do not make one more important than any other. Many problems stem from seeking, or being given, too much status. Celebrity pastors or power grabbing church members only weaken the Church by demeaning the contribution of others.

Likewise, seeking status for the Church externally could breed compromise with the world, and affect the Church’s witness.

The same goes for security. Looking to avoid trouble with the world is sensible to a point, but not when it conflicts with what God is doing. When we seek security through compromise or neutrality instead of taking a stand for the Truth revealed in God’s Word, we weaken the Church, its witness, and its unity.

Instead of seeking status or security, we ought to be like Christ who laid aside both. Christ humbled himself for our sake, even dying on the Cross for our sins. He was raised to life so we too might be raised. It is in Christ that we find our true status, security, and strength.