Gideon

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Gideon
Gideon, the Biblical Judge, Wrings the Dewy Fleece, autotype after F.J. Shields, 1877
PeriodAge of Judges (B.C. Estimated around the 12th century)
FamilyFather: Joash (Tribe of Manasseh)
BirthplaceOphrah
Occupation(Features)Judge of Israel
Major achievementsDefeated the Midianites

Gideon (Hebrew: גִּדְעוֹן)[1] was a judge of ancient Israel. He led 300 warriors and defeated the 135,000 Midianites who invaded Israel.

The name Gideon means “a lumberjack.”[2] Because he destroyed an altar dedicated to Baal, he was given the nickname Jerub-Baal, meaning “one who contends with Baal.”[3] Later, this name was altered to Jerub-Besheth, meaning “one who contends with idols.”[4] During Gideon’s forty years as a judge, Israel enjoyed peace.

Historical Background

After entering the land of Canaan, the Israelites forgot God’s command to drive out the foreign nations completely.[5][6][7] Instead, they mingled with them, intermarried, and worshiped foreign gods like Baal and Asherah. This led them into spiritual corruption. Angered by their disobedience, God allowed Israel to be oppressed by surrounding nations, including the Canaanites, Midianites, and Philistines.[8] Whenever the Israelites faced hardships, they repented and cried out to God. In His mercy, God raised up leaders called judges to deliver them.[9]

After the time of Deborah, the Israelites once again turned to evil. As a result, God allowed the Midianites to oppress them for about seven years.[10] The Midianites would invade during harvest, stealing crops and livestock, including cattle and sheep. To escape the oppression, the people were forced to live in caves and hideouts in the mountains, enduring years of hardship, fear, and poverty.[11]

Life of Gideon

Called to Be a Judge

The Angel of the Lord Appears to Gideon by Jan Luyken, 1712

Gideon was the son of Joash from the Abiezrite clan of the tribe of Manasseh. He lived in Ophrah. One night, Gideon was secretly threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites when the angel of the LORD appeared to him. The angel told Gideon that God had chosen him as a judge to rescue Israel.[12] Gideon humbled himself as the least of the tribe of Manasseh[13] and asked for a sign to see if this mission was truly from God. In response, the angel performed a miracle—fire rose from a rock and consumed the offering Gideon had prepared.[14]

That night, Gideon destroyed the altar of Baal and the Asherah pole that stood at his father Joash’s house. He then built a new altar for God and offered a bull as a burnt offering.[15] The next morning, the Israelites went to Joash’s house and tried to kill Gideon for destroying the idols. Joash defended his son, saying, “If Baal were a god, he would come out against Gideon himself,” and Gideon earned the nickname Jerub-Baal.[16]

Seeking God’s Sign

The Midianite army, along with the Amalekites and other eastern tribes, camped in the Jezreel Valley to attack Israel. Gideon prepared to fight back and sent messengers to gather warriors not only from his own tribe of Manasseh but also from Asher, Zebulun, and other Israelite tribes.[17] Before going into battle, Gideon wanted to be sure that God was truly with him. He placed a fleece of wool on the threshing floor and prayed that dew would fall only on the fleece while the ground remained dry. The next morning, Gideon found that God had answered his request. Still seeking reassurance, he asked for the opposite sign—this time, for the fleece to remain dry while the ground was covered in dew. Once again, God fulfilled his request.[18] Gideon placed his trust in God and led his army to battle.

Choosing the 300 Warriors

Gideon Checks His Army by Johann Heinrich Schönfeld, 1640–1642

The Midianite army was massive—over 135,000 soldiers strong. In comparison, the Israelites had only 32,000 men, just a fraction of their enemy’s numbers. But even that was too many in God’s eyes. He knew that if Israel won with such a force, they might boast of their own strength instead of giving credit to Him.

So God told Gideon to send home anyone who was afraid. As a result, 22,000 men left, and only 10,000 remained.[19] But God said again, “There are still too many.” He then instructed Gideon to bring the men to the water and observe how they drank. Those who scooped water into their hands and drank without kneeling were chosen. In the end, only 300 men were selected.


Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”

Judges 7:6–7


God promised Gideon that the 300 warriors would defeat the Midianites.

Defeating the Midianite Army

Gideon overhearing the Midianite soldiers

God let Gideon spy out the Midianite camp before leading his men into battle. When Gideon arrived, he saw the Midianites as numerous as the locusts and as numerous as the sand on the seashore. While listening outside one of the tents, he overheard two Midianite soldiers talking. One of them described a dream in which a loaf of barley bread rolled into the Midianite camp and collapsed a tent. His companion interpreted the dream, saying, “This must mean that God has given Midian into the hands of Gideon.”[20] Even after getting ready to go to war, Gideon was still in fear, but this finally gave him courage.

Bible Primer, Illustrated in Old Testament, Augustana Book Concern, 1919: Gideon’s warriors breaking jars and blowing trumpets

That night, Gideon and his 300 warriors set out to attack the Midianites—but their strategy was anything but ordinary. Armed with clay jars, torches, and trumpets, they carried out a bold plan. Dividing the men into three groups of 100, Gideon positioned them around the Midianite camp. At his signal, the men smashed their jars, raised their torches high, blew their trumpets, and shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” The sudden crash of breaking jars, the blaze of torches in the darkness, and the blast of trumpets sent the Midianite camp into chaos. Overwhelmed by fear and confusion, the soldiers turned on one another with their swords.


The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords.

Judges 7:20–22


After the battle, 120,000 Midianite soldiers were killed, and the remaining 15,000 fled.[21] As the enemy retreated, the tribe of Ephraim pursued and killed them. The Ephraimites complained to Gideon, saying he had not called them to join the battle from the beginning. Even though the war was not yet completely over, they were already arguing about who deserved the most credit. In response, Gideon humbly praised the Ephraimites for their achievements, telling them that what they had done was far greater than his own efforts. His wise and modest words calmed their anger and prevented further conflict.


But he answered them, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t the gleanings of Ephraim’s grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer? God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?” At this, their resentment against him subsided.

Judges 8:2–3


After that, Gideon and his 300 warriors captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, and put them to death, completely destroying the remaining enemy forces.[22] Following this victory, Israel enjoyed 40 years of peace under Gideon’s leadership as a judge. Grateful for his triumph, the Israelites wanted to make Gideon their king. However, he firmly refused, saying, “Ruling over the people is God’s responsibility, not mine.”[23]

The Sin of Making an Ephod

As part of celebrating his victory in battle, Gideon collected gold from the spoils of war and used it to make an ephod, a priestly garment or object. However, this became a trap for Gideon and his household[24] because the Israelites later began to worship it as an idol.

Although Gideon lived a long life and died peacefully, the mistake of making the ephod led to a tragedy in the next generation. Gideon had many wives and 70 sons, as well as a son named Abimelech, born to his concubine in Shechem.[25] After Gideon’s death, Abimelech killed all his half-brothers to seize power and made himself king of Shechem and Millo. Only the youngest son, Jotham, managed to escape.[26] However, after ruling for just three years, Abimelech was betrayed by the people of Shechem and was ultimately killed when a woman dropped a millstone on him from a tower.[27]

Lesson

After Gideon was called to be a judge, he repeatedly sought confirmation that God was truly with him.[14][18] However, God did not rebuke him for his weakness. Instead, He patiently reassured Gideon each time, helping him gain confidence in his faith. As a result, Gideon developed a firm trust in God. When God commanded him to reduce the number of soldiers before facing the vast Midianite army, he obeyed with confidence—leading to a great victory. The New Testament later commends Gideon for fulfilling his mission by faith.


And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, . . . whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

Hebrews 11:32–34


God seeks those who trust and rely on Him. If we rely only on God, we can prosper wherever we go.[28] This is the key to success and victory, as taught in the Bible.[29][30]

See also

Related videos

  • Sermon: Gideon’s Victory with God as the Commander of the Army

References

  1. ↑ Strong's Hebrew: 1439. גִּדְעוֹן (Gidon), Bible Hub
  2. ↑ Gideon, Video Bible
  3. ↑ "Judges 6:32".
  4. ↑ "2 Samuel 11:21".
  5. ↑ "Deuteronomy 31:16-21".
  6. ↑ "Numbers 33:51-56".
  7. ↑ "Exodus 34:12-16".
  8. ↑ "Judges 2:11-15".
  9. ↑ "Judges 2:16-21".
  10. ↑ "Judges 6:1".
  11. ↑ "Judges 6:2-4".
  12. ↑ "Judges 6:11-14".
  13. ↑ "Judges 6:15".
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Judges 6:17–21".
  15. ↑ "Judges 6:25-27".
  16. ↑ "Judges 6:31-32".
  17. ↑ "Judges 6:34–35".
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Judges 6:36-40".
  19. ↑ "Judges 7:3".
  20. ↑ "Judges 7:10-15".
  21. ↑ "Judges 8:10".
  22. ↑ "Judges 8:12, 21".
  23. ↑ "Judges 8:22-23".
  24. ↑ "Judges 8:24-27".
  25. ↑ "Judges 8:30-31".
  26. ↑ "Judges 9:5-6".
  27. ↑ "Judges 9:52-56".
  28. ↑ "1 Kings 2:3".
  29. ↑ "Mark 9:23".
  30. ↑ "Proverbs 21:31".
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