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GIDEON:  A JUDGE AND MIGHTY MAN OF VALOR

 

The Post-War Life of Gideon

Judges 8:28-31

Lesson #21

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.     The war with the Midianites was concluded.

 

B.      Gideon has done his work as a faithful deliverer. 

 

C.     Gideon was not burdened for the remainder of his days as the ruler of Israel.  He was free to return home and resume his life with his family.

 

D.     The rest of Gideon’s days on the earth are summarized for us in four simple verses.  We are going to study these in this lesson.  The title of this section of the life of Gideon is:  “The Post-life of Gideon” (Judges 8:28-31).

 

I.                    THE REST FOUND IN ISRAEL (Judges 8:28)

 

A.     The Powerful Defeat of Midian (Jud. 8:28a)

 

Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more…

 

1.       Subdued

a.       Strong (3665):  properly to bend the knee, hence to humiliate, vanquish

b.      BDB:  to be humbled, to be brought down, brought low, be under, be brought into subjection

2.       The Midianites were so completely overthrown by Gideon and his army that they “lifted up their heads no more.” 

a.       Some might say they laid low.

b.      They refused to get into another battle with the children of God.

3.       This battle was so decisive that it is mentioned in other places in Scripture.

a.       Psalm 83:9, 11

 

Do unto them as unto the Midianites…Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb; yea all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna.

 

b.      Isaiah 10:26a

 

And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb…

 

4.       LESSON:  If a nation must go to battle against its enemy, it needs to completely defeat the opposition.

a.       They need to be demoralized, that is, no longer having a desire to fight.

b.      They need to be left without military supplies that will enable them to fight.

c.       They need to have fear instilled within their hearts that will cause them to either be paralyzed or to flee from any engagement.

 

B.      The Peace that Existed Forty Years (Jud. 8:28b)

…And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

 

1.       Quietness:

a.       Strong (8252):  to repose

b.      BDB:  to be quiet, be tranquil, be at peace, be quiet, rest, lie still, be undisturbed

2.       Peace is a blessing that all can enjoy.

a.       Peace means safety.

b.      Peace means prosperity.

c.       Peace means happiness.

3.       Paul exhorts for us to pray for all men, especially for those in authority in 1 Timothy 3:1-2.  Listen to the close of verse 2.

 

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

 

II.                 THE REPOSE GIVEN TO GIDEON (Judges 8:29)

 

And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.

 

A.     Jerubbaal was a name that Gideon’s father gave him after he had thrown down the altar of Baal (Jud. 6:32).

 

Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.

 

1.       The name means:  “Let Baal contend.” 

2.       After Judges 8, we no longer read the name Gideon in the Old Testament. 

3.       Jerubbaal is recorded nine times in Judges 9 and one time in 1 Samuel 12:11.

4.       He is mentioned one time in the New Testament using the name Gideon (NOTE:  Some translations have the spelling “Gedeon”).

 

B.      Gideon went and dwelt at his own house.

1.       Again, this is in contrast to his ruling over Israel.

2.       There are indications that Gideon may have been involved in numerous works involving agriculture:  threshing wheat (Jud. 6:11), goats, (Jud. 6:19), and cattle (Jud. 6:25).

3.       NOTE:  Again, it is not that Gideon was shying away from duties that he should have taken.  He understood the nature of the kingdom of Israel.  “…the Lord shall rule over you” (Jud. 8:23).

 

III.              THE RELATIVES OF GIDEON (Judges 8:30-31)

 

A.     The Posterity of Gideon (Jud. 8:30)

 

And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten:  for he had many wives.

 

1.       Gideon has 70 sons through a multitude of wives.

a.       Sons were held in honor because they could continue their father’s legacy.

b.      Had Gideon accepted the position as “ruler,” some of these sons could have looked forward to the day when they would have occupied the throne.

c.       NOTE:  Sometimes, a ruler’s family has difficulties because there are power struggles between the sons.

2.       Polygamy was a common practice among the Jews of that day.

a.       The first polygamist we read about in the Bible was Lamech (Gen. 4:19).

 

And Lamech took unto him two wives:  the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

 

b.      Solomon had the most wives (1 Kings 11:3).

 

And he had seven hundred wives, princesses…

 

c.       Two negatives regarding polygamy.

1.       It was not God’s original design (Gen. 2:18, 21-24; Matt. 19:3-9).

2.       Polygamy often causes problems in the home:  jealousy, hatred, divided loyalties, partiality, vying for power.

a.       Sarah and Hagar

b.      Hannan and Peninnah

 

B.      A Particular Son Is Mentioned (Jud. 8:31)

 

And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

 

1.       Concubines

a.       The first concubine mentioned in the Bible is Reumah (Gen. 22:24), the concubine of Nahor, Abraham’s brother.

b.      Definition:

1)      Hebrew:  pilegesh

2)      Strong (6370):  concubine, paramour

3)      BDB:  concubine, paramour

4)      Clarke:  “We borrow this word from the Latin compound concubina, from con, together, and cubo, to lie, and apply it solely to a woman cohabiting with a man without being legally married” (e-sword).

5)      In Scripture, they are liken unto secondary wives. 

a)      They are cared for by the man.

b)      However, their children are not included in the inheritance of their father.

2.       This concubine did not live in Ophrah.  She lived in another town called Shechem.

3.       She bare Gideon “a son, whose name is called Abimelech.”

a.       Abimelech means “my father is king” or “my father reigneth.”

b.      Why is this son specifically mentioned when the others are not?

c.       Answer:  Abimelech will become a controversial figure in Judges 9.  He will distinguish himself from the seventy mentioned in the previous verse.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.     Very little insight is given into Gideon’s life after he fulfills his role as a judge of Israel.

 

B.      We do know that even though there was peace in the land from foreign enemies, the ephod was “a snare unto Gideon, and to his house” (Jud. 8:27).

 

C.     In our next lesson, we will learn about the death of Gideon and what followed his passing.