Just reading this morning about Gideon in Judges 7 & 8. After his heroic victory (with unusual military tactics) the people asked him to rule over all Israel. Why did he refuse? Why did not God raise him up like he later did with David? Well, he may have been a great military leader, but he was no David!
Gideon upon hearing the Lord’s promise of victory doubted God with two fleece tests. Yes, doubted, because he should have taken God at his word, period. Yes, maybe we can grant him some leniency since the task seemed humanly impossible, but "the angel of the Lord" had appeared to him and he had a true experience of the Lord presence. And yes, he worshipped the Lord, when he found out that the Medianites were being scared in dreams of Israel. But, that discovery was an allowance for his fear, not because of his faith.
I wonder if the real reason his leadership was limited, though, was his sub-faithful character. He did not lead Israel to a revival, a return to faithfulness to the Lord. In fact, he made an ephod out of gold which, "all Israel whored after … it became a snare to Gideon and to his family" (8:27). They may not have worshipped the Canaanite gods during his remaining lifetime, but there is no record of renewal in their faithfulness to the LORD. Yes, he was a great leader, but he was a limited leader. When he died, the people went back to worshipping the Baals of Canaan.
Take away: The character of our leadership is revealed by how the people carry on after we no longer lead them. We need to walk faithfully as leaders to make a lasting godly affect on the people we lead.