Judges is pretty nasty stuff... the story of Gideon certainly sounds like a good story though it makes you see that in the background, Gideon was still truly thinking with God's mindset. Caring for his people and trying to be God's justice as well as a good servant in making sure God's glory was shown. It sounds almost as if he was in direct conversation with God, therefore he really knew what God wanted.
But I found it strange that in the end, he made almost an idol for the Israelites to worship... "and it became a snare." That sounds like when he stopped listening to what God said, things went downhill even though he meant well by rejecting the people's call for him to be king.
The story of Abimelech seems strange as it follows the story of a villan who lusted for power was "wicked" toward his own family. It tells of God bringing down someone. That story was just one of straight wrong.
Gilead's story just sounds tragic... I wonder, it seems his folly seemed a personal one as well as the prior two.
Lately, I've been struggling with lots of stress at work especially. Seeing three examples of leaders who ended up screwing up something even though they brought the people together... maybe God is saying don't screw up and lose focus on him? I'm sure these guys were under some serious stress... I'm glad that God redeemed us we don't have to struggle with these things as the Israelites did.
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