GIDEON, THE ABIEZRITE

In the tribe of Manasseh there was a little clan called Abiezer.  One night a band of Midianites came on camels and raided the villages of this clan, killing some of the people, and carrying away whatever they found of value.  They then fled back across the Jordan River to the desert before enough Hebrew men could get together to resist them.

=The counter-raid.=—­In the heart of one young man, the brother of some who were killed, God planted a sudden determination to put a stop to these murders and robberies.  He called for volunteers to pursue this band across the river, and when some three hundred had responded they set out in hot haste, down the hillsides into the plain of the Jordan, up the slopes on the eastern side, and out onto the plains where the Midianites supposed they were safe.  It was hard to track them over these solitary wastes; and they had their swift camels.  But Gideon trailed them; stealing up at night, he surprised them.  They fled in terror leaving much spoil, and for many years the Hebrews were not molested by this particular tribe of desert wanderers.

=The kingdom of Gideon.=—­Out of this experience the Hebrews in central Canaan gained another lesson in cooperation; and they made up their minds to profit by it.  Here is a man, they said to themselves, who can lead us to victory against our foes.  If we all agree to do as he says we can all stand together, each for all and all for each.  So they came to Gideon, and asked him to be their ruler.  He refused at first, but it is clear that he finally accepted and really became king over some of the tribes and clans of central Canaan.  One of his sons, a certain Abimelech, seized the kingdom after Gideon’s death and proved to be a selfish tyrant.  He was killed by his enemies, and that was the end of the dynasty of Gideon.  “How can we have unity and cooperation under a strong leader,” the Hebrews asked themselves, “and not at the same time be in danger of slavery under a ruthless tyrant?” That was a difficult question.

THE PHILISTINES

Meanwhile a national enemy far more dangerous than any previously mentioned had begun to threaten their existence as a people.  About the same time that the Hebrews settled in Canaan there had landed from ships on the southwestern coast some newcomers of another race, perhaps akin to the Greeks; they were called Philistines.  They quickly became a rich and powerful nation, holding the coast towns of Gath, Askelon, Gaza, Ashdod, and Ekron.  They were ambitious to become masters of the whole land of Canaan.  Their soldiers, in well-trained bands, built forts and established garrisons here and there, in the leading towns, and compelled the Hebrews to pay tribute.

At the same time they did not protect the country from other enemies.  For example, there were the Amalekites on the southern border, who were robber-nomads, just like the Midianites on the east.  There were the people of Ammon, a town east of the Jordan.  From these and other petty enemies the Hebrews suffered much, and the Philistines did nothing to help them.  All they cared about was the tribute.  “O for a leader like Deborah and Gideon!” the Hebrews once again began to cry.