Gideon

If someone knows something about Gideon, it usually has to do with the episode with the fleece. However, I've found myself thinking about the characteristics of the man, since there are a few clues about that in Scripture. The most profound clue is found in Judges 8:18 where Gideon has an interesting conversation with 2 kings he has just captured. He asks them about the young men they had killed in the town of Tabor. Their response was "As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king". Gideon then tells them they were his brothers. This naturally brings up a whole series of questions such as what does it mean to have the bearing of a king? How is it that an entire family of sons has that bearing? Why do some have it and others don't? These are all questions that are not answered by the story of Gideon, nor can I answer them. In fact, the story of Gideon even confuses the picture. For instance, you might start out by answering that a man is able to raise a whole family of sons with the bearing of a king by being faithful to the LORD. But we learn in Judges 6 that his father has an altar to Baal! But here are some thoughts regarding this issue. First of all, I believe we can conclude that this regal bearing had something to do with the original call of Gideon, and preceded the call. We see this in the words of the angel when he calls Gideon a "Mighty man of valor". I don't believe that Gideon was a wimp, and then suddenly became a mighty man when the Spirit of the Lord came on him. Secondly, even as a mighty man of valor, he was cautious as shown by the fact that he destroyed his fathers altar to Baal during the night, and by his episode with the fleece. So Gideon was not brash and impulsive. Thirdly, Gideon had the ability to be humble. This is so clearly seen in the episode with the men of Ephraim as recorded in Judges 8:1-3. Gideon assuages their anger basically by being humble and telling them how little he is in comparison to them. My impression is that he is speaking what he truly feels, not using words to protect himself. Fourthly, and most importantly, once convinced of what God wanted him to do, Gideon was a man of action. He didn't procrastinate or rationalize...he moved forward and completed the task. He did it swiftly, completely, and with courage. While it's clear that Gideon made mistakes in his life as with the episode with the ephod, it's also clear that he modeled characteristics that men of today would do well to seek after.