“Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.” Judges 8:30-32
Most believers think they are not proud – they are not guilty of that horrible sin that Satan committed in heaven. Most believers do not think they love the world more than God. Their treasure is not in this earth. Gideon probably thought that too but God is just and looks at the heart. In Judges 8:30-32 God shows us a glimpse of what Gideon’s heart, and life were really really like (It is not a pretty picture, not an example to follow).
Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring God makes note that Gideon had a large family. (We know he had a son when he fought the Midianites – Jether). We are told he has 70 natural sons – not a result of adoption or from widows he marries who had children. The is not an indictment against large families. What it tells us is the amount of money Gideon possessed to care for such a large family. We were told he was the least of his father’s household which was the least of the smallest clan in the tribe of Mannaseh. After collecting the gold tribute from his soldiers, Gideon multiplied his wealth many times over. This gives us a sense of his love of money.
For he had many wives Here we see why he had so many children. he had many wives. In these first two phrases we see Gideon violate the commands of God in Deuteronomy 17;17 “Neither shall he multiply wives to himself. . . . neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.” (King David had many wives eight are named in Scripture. Gideon followed in the king’s footsteps, showing us his heart.)
And his concubine who was in Shechem Next we are told that many wives were not enough for Gideon. In addition He took a concubine. He obviously is trying to hide this fact for she is kept in Shechem, not his home town of Ophrah. Shechem was the son of a a Hivite chieftain who lived in the city that bore his name. There Shechem raped Jacob’s daughter which is an indication of God’s
view of Gideon’s relationship with a concubine.
Also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech Gideon’s concubine bore him a son. The wording does not reflect the giving of a name at birth but rather the adding of a name later. It appears that Abimelech was given this name after he grew up and manifested the qualities Gideon admired. The meaning of Abimelech is “father of a king”. Gideon did not want to be king (even though he lived as one) but he viewed himself as the father of royalty.
And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age God gave Gideon a full life. Gideon’s rule as a judge over Israel was a success, he kept the nation secure Yet in many ways he was a spiritual failure. Gideon was a man called of God who started out well but finished poorly. He would look back at the end of his life and see that the only things he had done that counted for God happened decades before.
Was buried in the tomb of Joash his father Gideon was buried in his father’s tomb. Joash means “fire of God’. Remember the fire at the Bema Seat?
At Ophrah of the Abiezrite Ophrah means dust and Abiezrites were the least of the tribe of Manasseh. God reminds us that despite his prominence in the world, the fruitfulness of Gideon’s life was very small in God’s eyes.
What can we learn? God tells us to keep our heart on fire for Him. If we don’t, when we will love the things of the world, we will soon forget God and we will not endure in his work. (He will still be in the vicinity, we just never acknowledge Him – we can run our lives ourselves.) In Gideon we see a man who started well. He had the potential to do great things for God but he stopped – he ended poorly. He forgot God and began to love the world. He wasn’t tripped up by a snare of hardship, he was snared by prosperity.
Someone once said “no one is useless, everyone can serve as a bad example. That is Gideon’s legacy. He left God nearby and intended to call on Him if he ever needed Him. The things of God were present but he loved the world. He refused the temptation to become the ling but in his mind he desired to live that way, Don’t let Gideon’s legacy be ours! Don’t let it be said that we loved God but we put Him in His silo while we loved the world.
Gideon removed the family idols but he did never put God at the center of his life and that made all the difference.