Judges 10

Judges 10:15

The sons of Israel said to the Lord, "We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please deliver us this day."

This is a prayer that I can relate to.  I will fully admit that I am one of those people who tends to focus on God being a God of Justice rather than a God of Love.  This is one of those prayers that I have prayed, in one form or another, many times.

Here, the Israelites are not trying to weasel out of their errors, or blame them on someone else.  They are admitting right off the top that they've messed up.  They sinned, they know it, and they know God knows it.  Next, they accept whatever punishment God decides is needed.  This they leave totally up to Him, as is the truth.  Next, they ask for God to spare them from their oppressors, even if that means that He should later decide that the price should be their own deaths.  At God's hand they can accept it, but not by these heathens.

Judges 9

Judges 9:54

Then he called quickly to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that it will not be said of me, 'A woman slew him.""  So the young man pierced him through, and he died.

I have to admit, I never quite understood the stigma of being killed by a woman in circumstances like this.  From what it sounds like, this was essentially a case of "bad luck."  A millstone isn't an easy thing to aim from the top of a tower, so it's doubtful that she was intending to hit him.  She was just doing a general defense job, trying to hit someone, and God directed her stone.

The other thing that annoys me here is that the armor bearer actually did as requested, and killed him.  This I don't like.  To die in battle, even a siege, is one thing, but to kill your own commander and master is another, regardless of the circumstances.  I don't think I could have done it, had I been in his place.  Of course, that's probably why I'm not him, because then God's promise would not have been fulfilled the same way.

Judges 8

Judges 8:27

Gideon made it into an ephod, and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

I wish I properly understood how it is we get to this point.  We are giving something for the use of God, and somehow we always seem to be able to twist it into something that is completely useless.  He creates an ephod, an item for determining God's will, and yet it corrupts the entire nation.

I'm especially curious what they mean by playing the harlot with it.  Is it somehow used for prostitution?  Is that the way the people fell this time?  Or is it simply a metaphor, referring to how they made the ephod the focus of their worship, instead of the one for whom Gideon had made it?  Whichever it was, it's sad that even Gideon could not stop himself from losing sight of God, instead using something he had created himself as a substitute.

Judges 7

Judges 7:2

The Lord said to Gideon, "The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, 'My own power has delivered me.'

We often take credit for the things that we do, when we probably should not.  Since God rarely shows us direct miracles, we often simply use the abilities that we have been given to accomplish significant works.  When we do, it is common to simply accept what has been done, without looking beyond the surface to consider where those abilities originate from.

I often with that every once in a while, God would open my eyes to see all the subtle ways He shapes my path, the places where He has nudged events to work toward His goals.  I think I would be amazed if I were given even a small glimpse of His guiding hand, and how impossible it would be for me to do much of anything outside His guidance.  I'd even settle for His showing me how He has guided me away from events where He did not want me to go.

Judges 6

Judges 6:31

But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal, or will you deliver him?  Whoever will plead for him shall be put to death by morning.  If he is a god, let him content for himself, because someone has torn down his altar."

Apparently, Joash was a believer in the Lord, and not of Baal.  If he had been one of those who worshiped Baal, he probably would not have raised this argument.  He would have just been hopping mad like the rest, and killed Gideon himself.

However, the argument used here is a clever one, designed to battle the Baal worshipers with their own beliefs.  He says that a god would not need men to do his justice for him, and this is true.  If the act is truly offensive to a god, to the point where the offender deserves death, the god would certainly be capable of punishing him himself.  In fact, one of the ways we know of that God is supreme is that He has done just this.  But since Baal is not real, there is no offense, and no one to bring justice.