Ingratitude is a recurring theme in the biblical narrative, often highlighting the human tendency to forget divine blessings and deliverance. One notable instance of ingratitude is found in the relationship between the Israelites and Gideon, a judge raised by God to deliver Israel from the oppression of the Midianites.

Background: The Midianite Oppression

The Israelites, having once again turned away from God, found themselves oppressed by the Midianites. Judges 6:1 states, "The Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years." The Midianites, along with the Amalekites and other eastern peoples, would invade Israel, destroying crops and leaving the land desolate (Judges 6:3-5).

Gideon's Call and Victory

In response to Israel's cries for help, God called Gideon to deliver His people. Despite his initial hesitance and feelings of inadequacy, Gideon obeyed God's call. Empowered by the Spirit of the Lord, Gideon led a small army of 300 men to a miraculous victory over the Midianites, as recorded in Judges 7. The victory was so decisive that it brought peace to the land for forty years (Judges 8:28).

The Israelites' Ingratitude

Despite Gideon's role in their deliverance, the Israelites quickly displayed ingratitude. After the victory, they requested Gideon to rule over them, saying, "Rule over us—you, your son, and your grandson—for you have saved us from the hand of Midian" (Judges 8:22). Gideon refused, insisting that the LORD should rule over them (Judges 8:23).

However, the Israelites' ingratitude became more evident after Gideon's death. Judges 8:33-34 recounts, "As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals. They made Baal-Berith their god and did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side." This forgetfulness and return to idolatry underscore their lack of gratitude for the divine deliverance they had experienced through Gideon.

Gideon's Ephod and Its Consequences

Gideon's own actions inadvertently contributed to the Israelites' ingratitude. After the victory, he made an ephod from the gold collected from the spoils of war, which became a snare to him and his family. Judges 8:27 states, "Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family." This ephod, intended as a memorial, became an object of idolatry, further leading the Israelites away from gratitude to God.

Lessons from the Israelites' Ingratitude

The narrative of the Israelites' ingratitude towards Gideon serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of forgetting God's deliverance and the ease with which people can return to sinful ways. It highlights the importance of remembering and acknowledging God's acts of salvation and the need for continual faithfulness to Him.Judges 8:35
Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed to Israel.
Nave's Topical Index

CHAPTER III.
... been proved that the Ephod of Gideon was a ... lay open the delusion of the Israelites
(who imagined ... idol which they called Jehovah), and rebuke their ingratitude. ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/chapter iii.htm

On the Government of God
... responsibility of, 97 f., 119 ff., 137, 159; ingratitude of, 118 ... Gideon, 198 f. ...
barbarians, 119 ff.; condition compared with that of Israelites, 59; disasters ...
//christianbookshelf.org/salvian/on the government of god/index 2.htm

Of Atheistical Discourse.
... would resent such a mixture of ingratitude and contumely ... Deities, that Moses presumed
the Israelites sacrificing of ... same mind for God, that Gideon's father was ...
/.../allestree/the government of the tongue/section iii of atheistical discourse.htm

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