“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.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
The epitaph for Gideon is presented as an indictment of the people of Israel. They were so incorrigibly wicked that they turned away from God at the first chance they had and didn’t honor the memory of this great leader. But, I tend to see this as more of an indictment of Gideon himself. He may have fulfilled the calling God placed on him to free the people from the oppression of the Midianites, but he was a terrible leader and not a very good person to boot. Read the rest…
The Nexus 