The Second Impetus for Islam

Gideon was an early judge of Israel and a devout follower of God. He diminished himself and elevated God (Jud 22-23) which is a hallmark of Christianity. God chose him to defeat the Medianites using merely 300 men against thousands so as to not elevate the Israelites in their own minds. As a result of triumphing over the Medianites, a specific group of Israelites desired that Gideon rule over them as well. The following passage relates that incident:

22 Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. 23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you. 24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks. 27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house. 28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon. (Jud 8:22-28)

There is no consensus by theologians on the reason for the construction of the ephod in those passages, but it became a snare (stronghold) for those particular Israelites. Herein is my own idea to its pertinence. Let me start with two clarifications:  (1) An ephod was a priestly garment worn on by the Levite high priest in ceremonial duties, and there was only one needed for the entire Israelite nation, and (2) in this particular case “Israelites” is used to describe, not the descendants of Jacob, but Ishmael. The problem therein is that Gideon, without God’s guidance, endeavored to make Arabs into Israelites and create a new religion because they were not heirs to the true one.

If you recall, Ishmael was the son of Abraham by Sarai’s Egyptian hand-maid, Hagar. God blessed him as well. He was to have his own kingdom with twelve tribes, consisting of the lineage of his twelve sons. Think on that; Jacob (Israel) was to rule the Promised Land with twelve tribes – his own twelve sons. There was a nation (Hebrews) and an evil mirror counterpart (Israelite Arabs) with each having twelve tribes.

Gideon, a righteous man, but without God’s instruction, endeavored to include the Ishmaelites in the Abrahamic Covenant. That was not God’s plan! History reveals that Arabs are mostly descended from Ishmael and are half Hebrew and half Egyptian. If you also remember, the golden calf god was from the Hebrew experience in Egypt.

Hebrews were forbidden to wear golden jewelry, specifically earrings, whereas we see here that Ishmaelites wore them as they were pagans. Gideon attempted to set up a separate congregation of the Hebrew religion, obviously with him as priest and the ephod for his wearing. It seems that since God had directed him and though he elevated God, he still felt worthy of being a priest. As such, Gideon endeavored to legitimatize a sect not ordained by God. It didn’t last but 40 years because in Judges 8:33-35 which followed, that new sect had become sacrilegious – playing the harlot – making Baal-Berith (Beelzebub of the Philistines) their god. (Jud 33).  (Palestine comes from the word Philistine.)

Now consider this: In the Book of Revelation (chapter 2) a reference is made to “the harlot Babylon” in reference to the end-of-time (apocalypse) religion. Somehow at this early date Ishmaelites had migrated from Arabia to Shechem in Israel and had identified with the Hebrew people, but they were bastard Hebrews not of Jacob. They were not included in the Abrahamic Covenant or the Promise of redemption. You may see where I’m headed.

The descendants of that group of people populate Palestine to this day and are Muslims. I’ve written commentary before wherein I identified the “harlot Babylon” as Islam’s residence in Jerusalem. Islam is eclectic – a blend of Judaism, Christianity, paganism, and Mohammad’s inspiration from some false god. Gideon somehow, I believe, had set the stage for Islam a thousand or more years before Islam came into existence.

Islam claims Ishmael and Hagar as Mohammad’s ancestors. Arabia and Palestine are part of Ishmael’s promise from God:

And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. (Gen 17:20)

God did not have in mind creating a nation within a nation or a religion within a religion. It seems that he planned Islam! That ephod, representing a new sect of the Hebrew religion, was a “snare to all the Israelites.” It is implied that true Israelites were ensnared by the cult accidentally initiated by the pious Gideon… with good intentions of course.

Islam grew by ensnaring Jews and Christians who were at odds in Mohammad’s time about Holy Scripture. Islam snared, not only Jews, but Christians to found a new religion. I believe that those verses from Judges are symbolic of the advent of Islam which means “voluntary submission to God” (Etymology Online). You see from those verses that the Ishmaelites voluntarily submitted to God because of Gideon’s military prowess. Surely, not by coincidence, Islam is militaristic, and “submission” was not voluntary as conversion was by the blade.

Gideon was party, it may be, to the implementation of God’s plan for Ishmael’s descendants. Why would God purposely ordain Islam? For the same reason he allowed Lucifer to exist; he created Islam to test the nations. Shall God’s people remain true or will they not? Islam, as the end of time religion, is based on their Jesus (Isa) returning with a vengeance (from the Quran) and the type of vengeance – beheading (Rev 20:4)! God will use Islam to test the 144,000 Jews in the apocalypse just as he did the Jews in Gideon’s time.

Unwittingly, and with good intentions, Gideon set the stage for Islam. Just as God used Ishmael as the “father” of Islam, Gideon was also used by God to further the religion of Mohammad. It is not a coincidence that Islam has elements of both Judaism and Christianity (monotheistic in an area once abounding with pantheism) because it is an aberration of God’s Will just as Gideon’s newly form cult!