Gideon Liberator and Judge of Jews Outline The history of how Gideon was chosen by God The historical information about the personality of Gideon What did Gideon do along the way to liberate the Jews? The conclusion of Gideons life The history of how Gideon was chosen by God The mission of Gideon was pleaded for by the Jewish nation when Jews suffered hard times. The book of Judges provides with the narration about numerous trials of Jewish that were shown as their punishment for their idolatry, living lawlessly and the abuse of their standing as a holy nation. The judges of that period were appointed to bring Israel back into obedience and faith in God. It should be noted, that the attempts of the pervious judges were unsuccessful and the Jewish nation returned to their worship of Baal. Therefor, Israel underwent another oppression of the Midianites and Amalekites. When the Jewish territory was completely conquered and occupied by their enemies, when the Jewish people reduced to starvation they cried out to the Lord to liberate them. Then, the God chose Gideon to a prophet of His lost nation…
and also a Liberator of it. In the book of Judges, Verse 11 narrates the scene how Gideon was chosen by God to become a judge and a liberator of the Jewish nation. According to the Judges, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon when he was threshing wheat in a wine press. Gideon did so in order to separate his wheat from the chaff. The meaning of separating wheat became symbolic for Gideon and destined his further goal of life. I think that this story is full of unexpected, unordinary events and it may teach us that miracle may occur in everyday life and one should never abandon his hope for it. As the story tells us, Gideon was not a born leader and what is more he was the last child in his insignificant family. Gideon himself did not know that he would be chosen to defeat enemies of his nation and to become a valiant and courageous chief.
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Thus, Gideon appeared to be cynical and revealed his ignorance to the Angel of God. He asked for evidence, for sign, that would testify that he was talking to a heavenly being. When after the fire consumed the offering, Gideon was finally convinced, he built an altar to the Lord and called it The Lord is Peace”, what primarily meant – to live in peace. Though Gideon was not born as a profit and lived his life up to the moment when he talked to the Angel, as an ordinary man, his destination was announced long before by other profits. Thus, in other chapters of the Old Testament There are the following predictions: I know it, Manasseh also shall become great, the judge Gideon shall descend from him, but his younger brother will be the ancestor of Joshua, who will bring the sun and the moon to a standstill, though they have dominion over the whole earth from end to end.” Or And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens So, the mission of Gideon, as we may put it had a dubious nature: first, it had been destined and predicted long before, what was miraculous by itself, second, it was not expected by Gideons contemporaries and by himself. It seems that he was the last to become a man appointed for such mission, but it nevertheless happened and this is a miracle too. The historical information about the personality of Gideon The name of Gidoen means “feller” or “hewer” in Hebrew.
According to Britannica, Gedeon, also called Jerubbaal, or Jerobaal, a judge and hero-liberator of Israel whose deeds are described in the Book of Judges. Gideon was the son of Joash. His family was from the Manassite clan of Abiezer, as Gideon himself admitted, he came from an insignificant family and tribe: “My family is the least in Manasseh”. Gideons home was located at Ophrah near Shechem. Before he acknowledged his destiny he, probably lead the way of a peasant life. The scene of Gideons meeting with Angel occurred in a secluded place because of the constant threat of invasion, where Gideon was threshing wheat in order to separate it from the chaff. Gideons father was mentioned to be a priest of Baal, so pagan worshiping was Gideons family religion.
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Thus, I may conclude that in order to become a chief in his nation and liberate it, Gideon had to overcome drastic changes in his inner world: change the job, he was accustomed to, reject his familys religion, and strengthen faith in himself. What did Gideon do along the way to liberate the Jews First, Gideon was to be prepared for being a leader of Israel. He was directed to destroy pagan altar. This means that the liberation of the Jewish should start with their spiritual and moral purification. Thus Gideon worked all night together with his servants to tearing down the altar of Asherah and Baal. This step of his was very courageous, I think, because he dared to oppose the religion and the ideals shared by the majority of his nation, including his own family. In the morning, the worshippers discovered the damage of their altar and wanted to kill Gideon.
But Joash told them, that Baal could destroy his offenders himself. Since that time, Gideon was given the nickname Jerubbaal, and it meant that “let Baal plead his case”. In this way Gideon passed Gods test and proved Baals weakness before other Jewish people. Later, the holy scripts described the battle between the Jewish and their enemies. The forces were not equal, but again, the miracle happen: God protected lesser in number Jews and beat their adversaries. “The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon” and he showed he strength: ‘ The great gathering of the Midianites and their allies on the north side of the plain of Jezreel; the general muster first of Abiezer, then of all Manasseh, and lastly of the neighbouring tribes of Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali; the signs by which the wavering faith of Gideon was steadied; the methods by which an unwieldy mob was reduced to a small but trusty band of energetic and determined men; and the stratagem by which the vast army of Midian was surprised and routed by the handful of Israelites descending from ” With God on their side, Gideons army defeated the Midianites. In this way, the power of faith in God was evidenced before not only the Jewish nation but also before their enemies.
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The victory of Israel in this battle liberates them both morally and physically. First, form cruel and devastating conquerors and second, from worshiping false idols. The conclusion of Gideons life As every story in Old and New Testaments, the narration of Gideons is strongly moralizing. It has been already mentioned, that Gideon came from an insignificant peasant family and did not any prominent and heroic ancestors. Gideon said, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house” It is evident that Gideon had to survive through many difficulties and hardships: starvation, wars, constant threatening to loose his farm or any other peace property he had. The story of Gideons life is similar to what other Jews were doomed to have. And it is natural, that having no other moral support and encouragement (worshiping Baal did not save from despair), Gideon was cynical and ill-mannered and desperate.
He believed that a person of such fate was the last to become a respected leader and a prophet of his nation. But nevertheless, Gideon was appointed by God and became a hero and liberator, which glorified his name for ages. This teaches us, that people may obtain their high goals and fulfil even the most difficult tasks no matter who they are and what social status they posses at that moment. Even the weakest and the smallest army can win the battle if the soldiers believe in their strength. I also think that due to the example set by Gideon, that there are no unrealizable tasks, and that the level of ones achievements depends only on his belief and desires. Also, I made a conclusion that people are free to choose what to believe in.
Such sings and proofs as miracles may convince only for a short period. The faith must be in ones heart and then this person will not need to see or smell the object he worships. This is brightly illustrated when Gideon asked the Angel to produce an evidence for him. However, after on sign divine power of God, Gideon repeatedly became hesitant and lost his faith more and more. It is the same thing that happened with the whole nation of Jews. Though, the Jewish nation had many prophets and testified their miracles, they turned to idolatry many times and abandoned their true faith. Thus, I think, that every human has his freedom to chose his faith as a well as his own way life.
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But the most important thing for us is to be able to realise our own mistakes and then correct them, like Gideon did.
Bibliography:
Bailey, Waylon and Tom Hudson. Step by Step Through the Old Testament. Nashville: The Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1991. “GIDEON.” LoveToKnow 1911 Online Encyclopedia. 2004.
11 Mar, 2005 “Gideon.” Encyclop?dia Britannica. 2005. Encyclop?dia Britannica Premium Service 11 Mar. 2005 . Louis Ginzberg. The Legends of the Jews Philologos Religious Online Books. Philologos.org Volume II 13 Apr. 200111 Mar, 2005 Smith, Robert Houston.
“The Book of Judges.” Interpreter’s OneVolume Commentary on the Bible Ed. Charles M. Laymon. Nashville: Abingdon The New Jerusalem Bible: Reader’s Edition. New York: Doubleday, 1990..
