“As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.”
Judges 8:33-35
How many times do we see this in Scripture? A man used of God during his life, dies and everything he did for God falls apart. That is the sad legacy of Gideon, the man God called to judge Israel.
As soon as Gideon died God makes it a point to tell us that
what happened occurred instantaneously at Gideon’s death.
Israel hung on to a pretense of serving God as long as Gideon
lived but that was not where their hearts were. Gideon had not trained them or set an example, he led no followers to serve the Lord. It was all an outward appearance, a façade that couldn’t stand alone. The people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals Like Gideon Israel treasured the things of the world. Their eyes were on idol worship. Baal was the idol of ancient Canaan and Phoenicia.
It was a fertility idol who’s worshippers felt had the power to produce crops or children.
And made Baal-berith their god Local areas emphasized different attributes of Baal depending on their needs. This created different “denominations” of Baal worship. Israel followed Baal-berith. This idol was associated with Baal-zebub, “the lord of flies,” also known as the the god of Ekron. The idol took the form of a fly. Jews who worshipped Baal-berith often wore an image of it on their clothes, even kissing it from time to time. Baal-zebub is called Baal-berith because its Jewish followers made a covenant of devotion to it, being unwilling to part with it for even a moment. They exchanged God for a fly! (Read Romans 1:22-23)
The people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side God tells us the underlying sin of the people. Before they worshipped idols, they forgot God. They forgot how he delivered them from the Midianites. They forgot His great works on their behalf. When people forget, they are not thankful. When they are not thankful they move quickly to worship themselves and from there they move to the worship of idols that appeal to their lusts. This is where Israel is at the time of Gideon’s death.
They did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) When we read this sentence it appears to be misplaced. What is its significance? It follows the statement of Israel’s idolatry. If one does not love the Lord with all his heart, he will not love his brother as himself. Godly love, the fruit of the spirit produced by God in a person’s life, no longer existed in Israel.
In return for all the good that he had done to Israel. There is another reason why this verse fits here.Gideon originally tried to turn the nation back to God. He led them in a great victory from their their oppressors. He gave God the glory by his banner “The sword of the Lord and Gideon too”. He tried to make a visible reminder of God with the golden ephod so the nation would not forget again. But the nation did not want God. They loved their idols and rejected God’s rule over them.
Therefore there was little respect for Gideon or his family and what he accomplished for Israel. As a result there was not a lot of respect for Gideon or his family because of his lukewarmness in serving God. Gideon’s half-hearted relationship with the Lord was visible to all. While God was important to Gideon it did not spill over to the other parts of his life. As a result, unbelievers would criticize
Gideon for living like the world in many areas of his life while speaking the words of God in other areas – a hypocrite.
What can we learn? Gideon shows us the impact of incomplete victories and lukewarmness in a reprobate society. He was not a “light in darkness but rather “gray in darkness”. He spoke no real conviction to the hearts of the unbeliever. This is a lesson for us living in this age. The society we live in has turned its back on God. They are not interested in words or preaching. The only thing that reaches them is to see someone walking in that light as an example – that would be us! There are a lot of Gideonlike believers alive today, don’t be one!