Judges 8:18-35. \u00a0First, if you read the Judges 7:15-35 post you might note I made a mistake about Gideon’s original army. \u00a0He had members of three tribes to the north of his tribe in the original army. \u00a0That post has been corrected. \u00a0Today’s part of the story adds some very interesting information. \u00a0Also, we see the cycle of sin begin to move more away from God. \u00a0Yesterday we saw the end of the battle with the invading army but not the end of the larger battle. \u00a0The one for the hearts of the Israelites. \u00a0Gideon had just beaten some of his fellow countrymen and killed others. \u00a0Now he turns to the last two kings from the opposing forces. \u00a0He wants to know about some men they had killed while they were occupying the the land. \u00a0Their answer is very flattering. \u00a0But it doesn’t help, evidently the men in question were Gideon’s blood brothers. \u00a0Gideon is out for vengeance. \u00a0He orders his son to kill them and he refuses, he’s young and afraid. \u00a0The two kings then challenge Gideon to do his own dirty work and he kills them. \u00a0More taking matters into his own hands, more personal rage. \u00a0He then takes the gold ornaments from their camels. \u00a0These ornaments were symbols of their royalty. \u00a0At this point the people ask him to rule over them. \u00a0Although they do not use the Hebrew word for king (“Malak”) that certainly seems to be their idea, they are offering him a dynasty at least through his grandson. \u00a0Gideon tells them neither he nor his son shall rule them, God is their ruler.<\/p>\n
Later in the history of Israel we meet a man named Samuel. \u00a0His story is just after the time of the Judges and some see him as the last judge. \u00a0In 1 Samuel 8:1-7 Samuel has just appointed his sons to be the next judges but the people reject them and ask for a king (malak). \u00a0Samuel doesn’t want to but God instructs him to do it. \u00a0God indicates that it is He whom they have rejected and He also instructs Samuel to warn them about how “kings like the nations” have acted. \u00a0This is actually the first time we see God actually refer to Himself as king. \u00a0Earlier though in the history of Israel we see God actually acting as king, protecting and providing for the Isrealites as they leave Egypt and eventually take the promised land (For more on this story see “The Old Testament Connection<\/a>“).<\/p>\n So it seems that Gideon is back on track,or is he? \u00a0In Deuteronomy 17:14-20 we see that God knew before hand that the Israelites would not live with Him as their only king. \u00a0In preparation for the time when they would reject Him as king God gave these verses as the rules for a king. \u00a0God had to choose the king (v. 15). \u00a0The king could not be a foreigner (v. 15). \u00a0He is not to have an army or make alliances with Egypt (that is probably the idea behind the horses in v. 16). \u00a0He is not to have a bunch of wives (v. 17) \u00a0He is not to make himself rich (v.17). \u00a0He is supposed to make a personal copy of the Law and read it each day. \u00a0He is supposed to be careful to obey the Law. \u00a0(vv. 19-20). \u00a0He is not supposed to think that he is better than the people he is ruling over (v. 20).<\/p>\n