Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” Judges 8:22-23
The battle is over. God gave Gideon victory over the Midianites and Gideon slaughtered the kings who harassed Israel and killed his brothers. The terror Israel faced for the past seven years is over.
Then the men of Israel said to Gideon The leaders of Israel now approach Gideon. They like what they see and want to make sure it continues. This shows the state of the nation. They do not seek God’s guidance or even give thanks to Him for the victory. They do what so many of us do today – they look to a man as their Savior, not God. That always leads to disappointment.
Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also They ask Gideon to rule (reign, govern or have dominion) over them. They are willing to submit themselves to his rules and laws. Not only that, they want his children and grandchildren to rule in the future. We see the folly of making a decision in the heat of a victory without giving ourselves time to seek God’s will. They know nothing of Gideon other than this one battle and they know absolutely nothing of the ability of his children or grandchildren to lead. (Once again Israel desires a human king. In the days of Samuel the last judge of Israel, God will finally give Israel the desires of their heart – a king to rule over them.) Why did they desire this? We are told in I kings 18 the nation wanted a king to “judge us and lead us and fight our
battles”. This is a clear rejection of God who just fought and won the battle against the Midianites for Israel. We forget God so quickly to our own detriment. We truly are just like sheep.
For you have saved us from the hand of Midian Again we see the sad state of the nation in the time of the Judges. They only see the hand of man in action. Spiritually blind they do not see God’s protection nor are they thankful to Him. Their eyes focus on a man who they think can make their lives easier and safe, that is all they want – ease. no problems.
Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you We read these words and our hearts rejoice. Gideon does the right thing. He recognizes this is wrong and despite the allure and prestige of what the world has to offer (think of Moses rejecting living in Pharoah’s family) he rejects their offer. Gideon does not want this for himself, his children or his children’s children.
The Lord will rule over you Gideon states the truth –God is the one who should rule. The whole book of Judges is Israel’s struggle with this truth – who will rule over Israel, who will they follow? Gideon points them in the right direction.
What can we learn? This is a critical point for Gideon and Israel. Satan tempts Gideon with power and position as he tempts Israel to be like the nations around them. We see one strategy Satan uses. After God gives the victory he wants us to take the glory that belongs to God alone. He wants us to act like the world around us. This danger is especially prominent when we are called to do God’s work. God calls us, the Holy Spirit empowers us to bring forth fruit that would have been impossible in our own strength. People stand on the sidelines and marvel at what has been done. They throng around the person and heap praise on him– praise that belongs to God alone. That praise is resisted and God receives the glory. But the crowds don’t stop. They continue to praise God’s servant instead of God until the person begins to believe the platitudes and becomes prideful. That creates two problems. First God is not glorified (that’s a serious sin) and second, those standing by believe the results were achieved by man. When that happens, Satan accomplishes his purpose – to steal God’s glory. In this case, Gideon despite the vengeance that drove his actions, he refuses to take God’s credit. That’s good, so far. But will he endure or will he beg to rationalize that maybe he should profit from what he did for God?