Gideon(gedeon, jerubbaal)
“Hewer or warrior”
Summary
A judge of Israel who delivered his people from the Midianite oppression with only three hundred men, demonstrating that victory comes through faith in God rather than military might.
☩The Call of Gideon
Gideon was the youngest son of Joash, of the Abiezrite family in Manasseh, living at Ophrah. When the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, he was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites who had oppressed Israel for seven years. The angel addressed him as 'thou mighty man of valor,' to which Gideon responded with a despairing question about why God had forsaken Israel. After receiving divine assurance and witnessing a miraculous sign when fire consumed his offering, Gideon accepted his commission as deliverer.
☩Destruction of Baal's Altar
God's first command to Gideon was to destroy the altar of Baal and the Asherah that his father had erected, and to build an altar to the Lord in its place. Fearing his family and townspeople, Gideon carried out this task at night with ten servants. When the people discovered what he had done and demanded his death, his father Joash defended him with ironic wisdom: 'Will ye plead for Baal? If he be a god, let him plead for himself.' This gave Gideon the surname Jerubbaal, meaning 'Let Baal contend.'
☩The Reduction of the Army
When the Midianites and their allies camped in the Valley of Jezreel, Gideon assembled 32,000 men. God declared the number too large, lest Israel claim the victory as their own achievement. First, all who were fearful were sent home, reducing the army to 10,000. Then, at a spring, God selected only those who lapped water from their hands while remaining alert—just 300 men. With this tiny force against a host 'like grasshoppers for multitude,' Gideon was to deliver Israel.
☩The Victory Over Midian
Dividing his 300 men into three companies, Gideon equipped each man with a trumpet and a torch hidden inside an earthen pitcher. At midnight, they surrounded the Midianite camp and, at a signal, blew their trumpets, broke their pitchers, and cried out 'The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!' The Midianites awoke in confusion and terror, turned on each other in the darkness, and fled in panic. The enemy princes Oreb and Zeeb, and later the kings Zebah and Zalmunna, were captured and slain.
☩Gideon's Later Years
After the victory, the grateful Israelites offered to make Gideon king, establishing a hereditary monarchy. He declined with the noble words, 'I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.' However, from the golden spoils of battle, Gideon made an ephod which he set up in Ophrah, and 'all Israel went thither a whoring after it,' causing a snare to Gideon and his house. He had seventy sons and judged Israel for forty years of peace before his death.
☩Legacy and Significance
Gideon is remembered in Scripture as a hero of faith who accomplished great things by trusting God rather than human resources. Isaiah refers to 'the day of Midian' as an example of God's decisive victory over oppressors. The writer of Hebrews lists Gideon among those who 'through faith subdued kingdoms' and 'turned to flight the armies of the aliens.' His story demonstrates that God often chooses the weak and unlikely to accomplish His purposes, ensuring that glory belongs to Him alone.
Related Verses55 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Gideon," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. III (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Gideon," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Gideon," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Gideon," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).