=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.
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.
=The messengers with the raw meat.=--One day messengers came hurrying through the towns and villages of central Canaan bearing sacks or baskets of raw beef chopped into small squares. To the leading men of each village, they handed a piece of the bloody flesh with this message: "This piece of ox flesh is from Saul, the son of Kish, of Gibeah in Benjamin. As this flesh is cut into small pieces so will the flesh of the men of your village be chopped up if you do not come at once, armed for battle, to help our brothers in Jabesh in Gilead east of the Jordan, which is besieged by the Ammonites." "Who is Saul?" many asked, and few could answer. Some perhaps were able to explain that he was a brave and able young farmer, a friend of a prophet named Samuel, in the tribe of Benjamin. But it was the raw meat that persuaded them to obey the summons. Here is a real leader, they said, a man who means what he says. And two or three nights later an army of Hebrews, with Saul in the lead, came dashing in among the tents of the Ammonites who were besieging Jabesh and put them to flight. The Gileadites were saved; and for years to come they remembered Saul with gratitude.