Deliverance From The Midianites

Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.
Judges 8:22‭-‬23 KJV

When Gideon led a campaign against the Midianites, the people of Israel made a demand for him to rule over them. First, who were the Midianites? Midian was the offspring of Abraham by Keturah( Gen.25:2 ). It is believed that they occupied both sides of the Gulf of Agaba. It is in Midian that Moses served his father in law, Jethro, for forty years. Later Midianites joined forces with the Moabites to hire Baalam to curse Israel. From the problems at Baal Peor, God told the people of Israel to treat Midianites as enemies ( Num.25:17-19 ). From that time on, Midianites joined other eastern tribes to afflict Israel. In our passage today, by the hand of Gideon, the Midianites were wiped clean. The people wanted Gideon as King. Gideon resisted the temptation to set up a dynasty. He insisted that God must rule over them. This act reveals a lot about the character of Gideon. Chuck Peters says that it is with people like him that we need to: “Watch for the Lord to do something that only He can do, so the glory can only be given to Him”. Gideon was not in it for the glory. He was serving God. Whose glory are you after? Eph.4:1-3 speaks that we walk worthy of our calling. Gideon did that , will you?