vengeance and loose ends

Judges 8:1-21

The end of Gideon's story is pretty interesting, though I think the way that the story is told leaves it up to us to judge (judge, get it? haha) Gideon's actions. He asks for help from two different towns, who deny him... he later comes back and punishes them... "I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers" sounds pretty harsh. He also chases down these guys, Zebah and Zalmunna, who are responsible for the murder of his family... and he tells his own kid to kill them! Talk about crazy parenting...

I can only imagine the rage Gideon had as he executed those two guys. After all, if he's willing to torture a couple of towns for not giving him some food, imagine the things he'd do to a couple of guys who murdered his family.

I guess what spoke to me the most from the passages is that even a generally good man like Gideon, someone who served and was used by God, could still not be perfect... especially in his relationships with other people. I know my weakness is often in how I deal with people that I feel have wronged me... I'd like to act gracefully, but I admit my first impulses are very Gideon-esque: inflict punishment.