So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals and made Baal-Berith their god. Thus the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel. (Judges 8:33-35)

How Soon They Forget

The period of the Judges ruling over Israel spanned more than three hundred years. After the death of Josuha, a generation arose who did not know the Lord nor the work He had done for Israel. The people did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals, Ashtoreths, and other gods from among the gods, provoking the anger of the Lord. So began a long series of rebellions, oppression, repentance, and salvation. The Lord raised up judges to deliver the people from the calamity God brought against them. When the judge was dead, they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, plunging the nation into idolatry. The Lord would punish, the people would cry out, and the Lord would deliver.

Gideon was the fifth judge of the people. The faith of Gideon struggled with accepting the word of the Lord, but he would judge the people for forty years. His faith to fight against the Midianite army of more than one hundred twenty thousand with three hundred soldiers shows the power of God to deliver His people. Israel was at peace for forty years under the leadership of Gideon. The tragic nature of the people is that while Gideon was alive, they served the Lord. As soon as Gideon died, the children of Israel turned back to idolatry. The next oppressor came from among the people when Abimelech started a civil war. Seven more judges will rule over the people as God brought the Philistines and Ammonites to punish his people. Israel never seemed to learn the lesson of God’s wrath against ungodliness.

The leadership of the people kept the nation in check. When the judge died, the people had no king, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Gideon ruled for forty years, but the people immediately returned to wickedness when he died. They forgot the oppression of the previous nations that came against them. God sent these nations to punish the people, but they failed to acknowledge the divine discipline of the Lord and learn from it. It was easy for them to fall back into idolatry.

Chastening has no value if there are no lessons learned. The Lord’s wrath against Israel was to teach the nation the consequences of sin. They repeatedly returned to idolatry as soon as the judge was dead. How soon they forgot the goodness and severity of God. When they were oppressed, God delivered them. They soon forgot His grace. When they enjoyed forty years of peace and prosperity, they forgot God. The judges could only rule for a short time, and the people’s faithfulness was not solely dependent on the judge. It was an individual decision and a lack of faith in the people’s hearts. Chastening is something that must be learned from. No chastening is joyful, and the oppression of the enemies of Israel was real and very hard. God wanted to train the hearts of the people to trust in Him. They did not. Forgetting God came easy.

Reading the story of Judges reflects the nature of the human heart. Many find themselves outside the blessings of God and do not learn the lessons of repentance and remorse. God sends a message of deliverance, but to no avail. Only those who experience the chastening of the Lord and are trained by it will be blessed. How soon the people forgot the forty years of Gideon’s leadership is not so remarkable. The world is full of forgetful people.