Gideon Becomes a Thug! | What Went Wrong?, Pt 4/6

Gideon’s valor begins its decline when he is confronted by the men from the tribe of Ephraim. Ephraim was one of the largest tribes in Israel, if not the largest. They seem to be embarrassed that Gideon has managed to achieve such a thorough victory. Perhaps, they felt it a rebuke of sorts since they had failed to take the lead in Israel’s liberation from Midianite oppression. As a result, they blamed Gideon for ‘not calling on them to help.’ It would seem they wanted all or, at least, more of the credit. Verses 10-12 of chapter 8 recount for readers the utter panic that Gideon and his forces imposed on the Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian. God had done the impossible again! God had given Gideon and his army complete victory. The armies of Midian and its allies were decimated! But Gideon was not finished. In his mind, he had unfinished business. In our last study, we closed with an observation regarding Gideon. We said that if Gideon had just stopped with this God-given victory, praised the Lord, and served as a judge of Israel for the remainder of his life, all would have been well. But that is not what happened. Gideon allows his personal fears, immaturity, and sinful rage to blind his vision to the glory of God and the grace he has just received.