FROM TODAY’S RECAP: - Judges 7:24 - TBR LIVE Tour Note: We provide links to specific resources; this is not an endorsement of the entire website, author, organization, etc. Their views may not represent our own. SHOW NOTES: - Follow The Bible Recap: Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | YouTube - Follow Tara-Leigh Cobble: Instagram - Read/listen on the Bible App or Dwell App - Learn more at our Start Page - Become a RECAPtain - Shop the TBR Store - Credits PARTNER MINISTRIES: D-Group International Israelux The God Shot TLC Writing & Speaking DISCLAIMER: The Bible Recap, Tara-Leigh Cobble, and affiliates are not a church, pastor, spiritual authority, or counseling service. Listeners and viewers consume this content on a voluntary basis and assume all responsibility for the resulting consequences and impact.
Chapter 1: Who was Gideon and what was his role in the battle against the Midianites?
Chapter 2: Why did the tribe of Ephraim complain about their involvement in the war?
Hey Bible Readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap. Yesterday we met Israel's fifth judge, Gideon. He was full of self-doubt, but God used him to win the war against the Midianites. Today we open with the tribe of Ephraim having the strangest complaint of all. They're mad they weren't invited to the war. They seem to pride themselves on being warriors.
It's part of their identity, so they feel insulted that Gideon only had them come in as backup yesterday in chapter 7. But they calm down a bit when Gideon praises their previous military victories. Then Gideon and his crew head across the Jordan River into the area of the Transjordan tribes. They're trying to capture two of the Midianite kings so they can finish off the war.
Chapter 3: What challenges did Gideon face from his fellow Israelites?
Gideon asks some of the people in East Manasseh to feed his army, and they deny him. He's from West Manasseh, so these guys technically are from the same tribe, but they offer no support, and he promises to destroy their town of Succoth. Then he moves on to Penuel, a city in Gad, which is the neighboring tribe to the south, and they deny him food too, so he promises to destroy their local tower.
His anger is warranted because these are fellow Israelites and they're supposed to help each other out, especially in war efforts, but Gideon's response does seem a bit extreme, like he's still operating out of insecurity and has something to prove. Even though he'd just had a military victory, he never wielded a sword. He just smashed a jar and blew a trumpet.
Chapter 4: How did Gideon's actions reflect his insecurities and ambitions?
And now he's been twice rejected by his own people in front of his army. But Gideon persists. Even hungry, he chases down the two Midianite kings, Ziba and Zalmunna. He captures them, kills them, and steals their crescent ornaments. Then he goes back and fulfills his threats to Succoth and Penuel. Today's reading about Gideon's conquest has a really different feel than yesterday's, doesn't it?
You may have noticed that there's no mention of God here. This seems to be something he was doing of his own volition. There's more that's happening in his heart, and it's revealed as we continue reading. When Israel tries to make him king, he says, No, no, not me. God is your king.
But then he immediately asks for all their gold jewelry, about 40 pounds of it, and things start to feel a little too familiar. He now has at least two sets of royal garments and ornaments from the Midianite kings, and he's making a golden ephod for himself.
You may remember that the ephod was something only the high priest was allowed to wear, so to make his own ephod was in direct violation of God's commands and an extreme act of arrogance. Insecurity and arrogance are just different sides of the same pride coin. Yesterday, the coin was tails up and we saw Gideon fearful and full of self-doubt.
Chapter 5: What was the significance of Gideon's ephod and its impact on Israel?
But today the coin has flipped, heads up, and he's puffed up and full of himself. The entire time Gideon has been the judge of Israel, it has never been about God. It hasn't even been about Israel. It's always been about Gideon. During his position as judge, Israel has peace from war, but they do not have peace with God. They're whoring after Gideon and his ephod.
Sure, they aren't worshiping the Canaanite gods, but they're worshiping something else, something that feels less sinful because it's Yahweh adjacent. It's an ephod, after all, made by the very judge God had appointed, who wins their military battles. What's so wrong with that? This is a great example of how we can lie to ourselves in subtle ways that distract our hearts from worshiping God alone.
Chapter 6: What does the story of Gideon teach us about leadership and faith?
Gideon has a lot of wives and concubines and a lot of kids, including 70 sons, and he names one of those sons Abimelech, which means, guess what? My father is king. So all that talk about God being their king was just lip service. Gideon wants to be king, and in fact, they seem to view him as king, but it's never ordained by God.
Gideon keeps the peace for a while, but he doesn't point people to Yahweh. Their hearts are turned away from God by subtle lies. And we continue to see Israel's cycle of rebellion and apostasy. And every time they round the track one more time, the rut gets deeper. In chapter 9, we follow the story of Gideon's son Abimelech.
He's divisive and scheming, trying to take over his father's position after he dies, even though, as the son of a concubine, there are probably many other sons in line before him. But the people buy it. They like a confident leader. They give Abimelech 70 pieces of silver from one of the pagan temples, and he uses the money to hire his sketchy entourage.
Then he kills all of Gideon's other sons on one stone. It's possible that one stone is an altar, which likely means he's offering them as sacrifices to Baal. In the midst of this mass murder, one brother manages to hide and escape, Jotham, the youngest. Except you have to think of that word king in quotes because it isn't real. It feels real, but it isn't.
Then Jotham runs up to the top of Mount Gerizim, which you may recall is the Mountain of Blessing, and he tells them a parable. The point of the parable is that Abimelech is not worthy to be king and that he'll be a destructive force. Ultimately, this is a curse, a prophetic one, uttered from the Mount of Blessing. After he warns them, he flees. The people don't listen to him, though.
They continue with Abimelech as their quote-unquote king. Jotham did his part, and he leaves the consequences up to God. It takes time, but his prophecy is ultimately fulfilled. First, God sends an evil spirit that causes division between Abimelech and the people of Shechem. And we're reminded here that even evil bends to God's will.
Meanwhile, the people of Shechem start to eye a man named Gal as a potential replacement for Abimelech. This leads to a fight and Gal has to flee. Gal and Jotham both believe Abimelech is an unfit leader, but they handle it in very different ways. One more honorable than the other.
The next day, the people of Shechem set up an ambush against Abimelech, but he kills them and destroys the city altogether. Not a brilliant move. You live there, buddy. Some of the leaders flee to a military stronghold, but he goes after them and burns it to the ground, killing a thousand more people. And remember, Jotham prophesied this very thing.
Fire came out from Abimelech and devoured the same leaders who had positioned him. Then Abimelech heads out of town because he needs a new city since he destroyed his old one, so he has to conquer the town of Thebes. All the people run to hide in the tower and he goes to burn it too, but then a woman throws a stone and mortally wounds him.
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