There is a lot to consider in the book of Judges and Gideon. Gideon would not consent to rule over the people, nor his sons, because as Gideon pointed out, they already had a ruler…the Lord. But when people are ignorant of this, and of how the Lord rules, they seek out some individual to “anoint” as king over them. This ignorance has metastasized throughout the church world. To seek “anointed” leadership is to profess profound ignorance of the fact that the Spirit of the Lord dwells in His people, though they often know not that they are the temple of the Lord, and that the Spirit of God dwells in them. Even Jesus, when disciples sought to take him and “make” him a king who would rule over them, rather than in each by consent, Jesus hid himself. When Gideon was dead, eventually a conspiracy arose among the ignorant, to take the son of Gideon born to a slave, and kill the seventy sons who were free born to wives, and make the son of a bond woman king, on the general ground that “he is one of us”. Here again, a message is amplified in the scripture, that those born of a situation of bondage can not be heir together with the free born. You can not legislate morality, and you can not impose the kingdom of God on anyone. As the closing admonition of the Lord in the last chapter of the book declares, “And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still”. In other words, righteous judgment, to give to every individual according to his/her chosen path, is only possible if they were free to choose that path.

One of the sons of Gideon was hidden when his brethren were slaughtered and he appeared upon Mount Gerizim to proclaim the parable of the Fig, the Vine and the Olive refusing to change what they were by nature, in order to rule over flesh. He also proclaimed in his parable, the covenant with the flesh rending bramble. The fullness of the Godhead dwells in a people. It was written of Jesus that in Him dwelt all the fullness of God. It is written again of him and his people, after that he was raised and the Holy Ghost came, that in him dwells (present tense) all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and all of us are complete in him. And if the Spirit that raised Him from the dead dwell in you, what do we have to do with any notion of one ruling over another? This picture of the body of Christ is portrayed in the account of Gideon. It is rejected by the people for a flesh rending authoritarian ruler because he was “one of us”. These parables did Jotham, the surviving free son of Gideon speak, from the top of Mount Gerizim. For them who study scripture, a search of Gerizim reveals that when the Lord first brought the people into the figurative land of promise, they passed between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Blessing were pronounced from the top of Gerizim, and curses from Ebal. The consequences of choice. The upper and lower millstone. Choose the Lord or the house of bondage. Jotham spoke from the place of the blessing.

[Mat 21:42-45 KJV] Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.___________________________________________________________________________



[Jdg 8:30 KJV] 30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.[Jdg 8:22-23 KJV] 22 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. 23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.

[Jdg 8:22-23, 30-33 KJV] 22 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. 23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you. … 30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine that [was] in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech. 32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.[Jdg 9:1-7 KJV] 1 And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, 2 Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether [is] better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, [which are] threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I [am] your bone and your flesh. 3 And his mother’s brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He [is] our brother. 4 And they gave him threescore and ten [pieces] of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him. 5 And he went unto his father’s house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, [being] threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself. 6 And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that [was] in Shechem. 7 And when they told [it] to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.

[Jdg 9:8-15 KJV] 8 The trees went forth [on a time] to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. 9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, [and] reign over us. 11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? 12 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, [and] reign over us. 13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? 14 Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, [and] reign over us. 15 And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, [then] come [and] put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.