Judges 8:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.”

NIV: But Gideon told them, 'I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you.'

NASB: But Gideon said to them, 'I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.'

CSB: But Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you."

NLT: But Gideon replied, 'I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The Lord will rule over you!

KJV: And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.

NKJV: But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.”

The Israelites approached victorious Gideon (Judges 6:1–5; 8:10–12) with an offer: to rule over them permanently. They ask him to begin a dynasty that will include his son and grandsons (Judges 8:22). The role was not literally described using the Hebrew word for "king," but the details amount to the same thing.

Gideon refuses. He has been communicating with the Lord from the beginning of this story (Judges 6:11–14), and he understands clearly that God does not intend Israel to be ruled by a king in this moment. The Lord wants all of Israel to answer to Him directly. To some extent, this has been God's ideal for all people in all times: direct and personal submission to His will. Government is not without purpose (Romans 13:1), or value (Romans 13:3–4). Yet the Lord has never intended His people to put their ultimate trust in human rulers.

And so, as he should, Gideon answers clearly and without hesitation. He rejects the offer to become Israel's monarch, or to pass the role to his children. He rightly encourages Israel to follow what they've already been told by the Lord God (Joshua 24:15–18). He specifically refers to God as Yahweh (Exodus 3:15), the Hebrew term specifically indicating the One True God of Israel.

Judges 8:22–28 begins Israel's plea for Gideon to become their ruler. They offer him a throne that would be passed to his descendants. Gideon refuses, insisting that the Lord will rule over Israel. Instead, Gideon requests tribute from the spoils of battle. He uses some of this to make a religious artifact which he installs in his hometown. Sadly—but in keeping with the pattern of the book of Judges—the people of Israel turn the object into an idol. Gideon and his own family are somehow tangled up in that sin. Still, Israel remains at peace so long as Gideon lives, which is another forty years.

Gideon soothes the anger of the men of Ephraim. Then, with his 300 fighting men, he chases the remnant of the Midianite army. After a difficult pursuit, he finally catches and defeats them in the wilderness. Gideon then returns to two Israelite towns who refused to help him along the way. He flogs the leaders of one town and kills the men of the other. He then executes the captured enemy kings. Gideon collects tribute from Israel but declines to become their official king. He lives to gain seventy sons, many wives, and at least one Canaanite concubine. When Gideon dies, Israel immediately returns to idol worship.

Judges 8 follows the great victory described at the end of the previous chapter. This passage begins with Gideon awkwardly soothing the anger of Ephraimites while trying to chase down an escaping enemy. After capturing the Midianite kings, Gideon punishes two towns for failing to aid their fellow Israelites. Gideon refuses to become a literal king but collects tribute from the people and lives like a king all his days, with many wives and sons. The people return to idol worship after his death. Soon after, the concubine's son, Abimelech, murders Gideon's other sons and briefly rules before meeting a gruesome death.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).