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)

They Were Unfaithful And Ungracious

The period of the judges for Israel was a time of upheaval, chaos, and rebellion. God’s people had settled the promised land but failed to keep the promises they made to the Lord. When Joshua was dying, they promised their great leader they would serve the Lord. Israel promised to obey the voice of the Lord. Joshua set up a great stone as a memorial of the covenant the people made with God. After Joshua’s death, a generation arose that did not know the Lord or the work He had done for Israel. They broke all their promises and did evil in the sight of the Lord. Idolatry filled the land as the hearts of the people turned to Baal and the Ashtoreths.

God punished the people for their rebellion until they cried for relief. The Lord raised up judges to deliver them, and peace returned to the land. After a time, they played the harlot with other gods and bowed down to them. A cycle of judges repeated year after year as the people rebelled, suffered the wrath of God, and were delivered by the mercy of the Lord. Gideon was the fifth judge who would deliver the people from the Midianites. He would judge the people for forty years.

The problem with Israel becomes clear when Gideon dies. After forty years of leadership under the son of Joash, the people took little time to return to Baal and the Ashtoreths. As soon as Gideon died, the people immediately returned to the evil that angered the Lord. Gideon seems to be the only reason the people were held in check, but all the while, they longed for the ways of Baal. Their hearts were never fully devoted to the Lord. When Gideon died, the people forgot the Lord God who delivered them from all their enemies. They were ungrateful, unthankful, and unfaithful to the covenant they made with God. Their wickedness was so great that they refused to give honor to Gideon, the great warrior who delivered them by the power of God from their enemies and brought peace to the land for forty years.

A Japanese proverb says, “Once on shore, pray no more.” So often, when a crisis comes, people turn to God and expect deliverance. Then, once the crisis is over, they no longer need God. They cast Him aside as a useless toy with no value. As a nation, Israel begged for God’s deliverance, and He granted it. As soon as the judge dies, the people return to Baal and the Ashtoreths because there is no need for God. This sinful cycle is found in the lives of many people who seek to be saved from a crisis but have no intention of serving the Lord with a grateful heart.

Israel’s unfaithfulness and ungracious heart should be a warning to all who falsely believe that God is like a vending machine where prayers are answered for deliverance, but the heart has no intention of serving the Lord. Unfaithfulness and ungraciousness lead to the arrogant belief that God serves man rather than man serving God. Faithfulness belongs in the heart of the faithful regardless of who the judge is. Salvation cannot be measured by how faithful the elders or preachers are, but by how the individual serves the Lord. This may be despite the leadership. Each one will give an account of themselves before God. Pray that the hearts of the people are not like those when Gideon died. Stay true to the Lord God alone.