The Gideon Family Van
How does this happen? Gideon is so humble and has things so in perspective that he refuses the offer to be king of Israel, saying, "'I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.'"
How does he have a son that murders his brothers and elevates himself to the office of king? How does that happen? You could just as easily ask how is it that God's creation shows such disregard for Him?
Free choice. That's the answer.
Or does Gideon neglect Abimelech and so rebels against his father's example? You have to wonder given the fact that Gideon has seventy sons and who knows how many daughters. How do you raise that many children? How much time would any of them spend with their father? I'm sure a father's involvement in the raising of children differed in ancient cultures. But 70 children? It's (pardon the pun) inconceivable to me.
Let's say Gideon had half as many daughters, one girl for every two boys? That's 105 kids. How do you remember their names? How do you remember which face goes with which name? Can you imagine saying a prayer and mentioning each child in it? Some families have enough kids to field a baseball team. Would you believe a baseball league? And enough left over for fans in the stands.
But as incredible as this is...even more incredible to me is that one of the sons, Abimelech, kills all 69 of his brothers. Such horrific evil. A woman dropping a millstone on his head and cracking his skull seems too kind a punishment. Lord knows.
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