Judges 6-8

What’s Happening?

God sends the Midianite army against Israel in response to her evil and disobedience (Judges 6:1). Midian is a particularly vicious overlord (Judges 6:2). Many Israelites end up living in caves, and it’s there that Israel finally cries out to God for mercy (Judges 6:6).

In response, God sends a prophet who rebukes Israel for how they’ve forgotten their deliverance from Egypt (Judges 6:9-10). Even Gideon, God’s new judge, is cynical and convinced God has abandoned them (Judges 6:13). When an angel tells him otherwise—and that he’s been appointed as Israel’s new deliverer—Gideon is reluctant and asks for proof (Judges 6:17). And when Gideon finally accepts the angel’s call, he’s fearful (Judges 6:23). When asked to tear down his father’s altar to Baal, once again fear governs his actions (Judges 6:27).

Even though the Spirit of the Lord is with Gideon, he demands additional signs to confirm God is with him (Judges 6:34, 39). After limiting Gideon’s army to 300 men—and yet mindful of Gideon’s fear—God gives him another sign the night before a miraculous victory against the Midianites (Judges 7:10).

But once Gideon is in power, his fear gives way to brutality. Two Midianite kings escape outside the borders of Canaan and he hunts them down (Judges 8:10), violently threatening any who don’t offer support (Judges 8:7). Once he captures the kings we learn that his true motivation is revenge. These men had killed his family (Judges 8:19).

And as final signs of Gideon’s growing brutality, he asks his young son to slaughter the enemy kings in front of him (Judges 8:20). He then demands gold as a tribute from his enemies, melts it into an idol, and worships it over his 40 years in power (Judges 8:27). Shortly after Gideon’s death, Israel officially installs Baal worship as its national religion (Judges 8:33-34).

Where is the Gospel?

When fearful people gain power, they will do anything to keep it. And—crucially for this story—they forget that real power comes from God. On the day Israel’s 300 defeated Midian’s 135,000, Gideon instructed his troops to shout, “For the Lord, and for Gideon” (Judges 7:18). The line says everything. Israel received a leader who simply mirrored their own fear, pride, and forgetfulness.

And yet God still rescued them. God even bends Gideon’s fear and violence toward their deliverance—not to validate Gideon, but to reveal God’s mercy toward a forgetful, fearful, power-hungry people. God could simply let a nation’s pride and violence collapse in on itself. Instead, he repeatedly turns their ruin into rescue.

We see this most clearly in Jesus. God handed Jesus over to the fear, pride, politics, and violence of Israel and Rome (Acts 2:23). But Jesus is nothing like Gideon. He wasn’t afraid of his enemies. He didn’t demand signs—he gave them (John 2:11). He didn’t forget God’s power—he sought it constantly in prayer (Luke 5:16).

And while Gideon accused God of abandoning him, Jesus entered the place of human God-forsakenness so he could be with us even in our darkest valley. On the cross, Jesus takes up the cry of every suffering human—but not because the Father has abandoned him. He is with us even when we feel abandoned.

And while Gideon’s rise twisted fear into brutality, Jesus’ resurrection turns the world’s brutality into a sign of God’s victory. We don’t need any other sign to know God is with us other than Jesus’ death and resurrection. All who remember him, trust him, and belong to him have nothing to fear.

See for Yourself

May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to see the God who is our only hero. And may you see Jesus as a sign of victory and power to all who remember him.