Judges 8: The Man Who Wouldn’t Be King

The Rev. Dan Grimmer, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Mitchell, SD, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Judges 8.

Gideon chases down the Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna across the Jordan. He captures the kings and kills them for murdering his brothers. Overjoyed with their deliverance, the people call for Gideon to be their king, but he declines saying YHWH is their ruler. But does he mean it? Gideon makes some questionable choices in creating an ephod that the people worshipped, then Israel once again forsook YHWH and worshiped the Baal.

The Book of Judges tells the story of Israel's descent into chaos and idolatry, and the subsequent rise of a series of judges, or redeemers, who deliver them from their enemies. The judges are flawed heroes, but they are also instruments of God's deliverance. The book ends with the Israelites in a state of moral and spiritual decay, but it also offers hope for a better future.