Bible in a Year March 17 – Judges 8-9

 

March 17 – Judges 8-9

Poor Gideon – everyone seems to be against him! The name Jerub-Baal  stuck for the rest of his life. The Ephraimites are mad he didn’t call them to fight early on in the battle, and the residents of Succoth refuse to feed his troops. Succoth was a city east of the Jordan and was the tribe of Dan’s territory, but it most likely remained in non-Israelite possession. Peniel was also east of the Jordan and was the location where Jacob wrestles with an angel in Genesis 32.

Gideon created a relic of sorts from the gold that had been collected, and the Israelites worshiped it instead of God. Gideon’s life changed significantly after this battle -- he ended up having 70 sons with several wives and another named Abimelech , the son of his concubine from Shechem. Gideon was no longer the weak, hesitant man he once was.

After 40 years of peace, Gideon died and Abimelech got a bit power hungry. The name Abimelech actually means ‘my father is king’, and he seemed to think it was his right to take over once Gideon died.  After killing 69 of his brothers and garnering a large support group, he actually governed Israel for three years. After much trauma and drama, Shechem was once again destroyed and more than 1000 people were burned alive before Abimelech was killed.

How does someone kill all his brothers? Was Abimelech seen as a bastard child by the others? And who gave him the name ‘my father is king’, Gideon? It seems a bit grandiose to me.

TOMORROW’S TEXT: Judges 10 – 13