Oh Dear!
Opening Prayer
Jesus, may my actions, attitudes and intentions stay true to Your Word today.
Read JUDGES 8:22–35
22 The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”
23 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” 24 And he said, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder.” (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)
25 They answered, “We’ll be glad to give them.” So they spread out a garment, and each of them threw a ring from his plunder onto it. 26 The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels, not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels’ necks. 27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.
Gideon’s Death
28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace forty years.
29 Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live. 30 He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelek. 32 Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god 34 and did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. 35 They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
This is a sad twist to Gideon’s story. Where might things have gone wrong? Had victory or unexpected fame gone to his head?Give Gideon his due. He must have been pressured by those people who were most grateful for his achievements and who insisted that they give him an honorarium or a mark of appreciation. And he, remembering what had happened when the Israelites plundered the Egyptians, conceded that a whip-round of earrings would be suitable. But there is a great difference between a thank-you gift and a nation’s plunder. What Gideon had done for his people was not for reward, and
he was better off without any. The example of the Israelites turning their golden plunder into a golden calf should have warned him that he was playing with fire (Exod. 32:19–24).
Christian leaders too must beware of accepting more than the most modest mark of gratitude. The careless handling of money, however generously given, has brought about many a good person’s downfall.
Gideon did not even have a brother he could blame, as Moses had Aaron. The memorial ephod he made seemed a good idea until it became an object of veneration for his people—and a snare to his whole family. Where would it all end?
Apply
Is there anything in your life that has taken God’s place? It could be a “good” thing, but God asks for total surrender.
Closing prayer
Help me, Lord, not to allow Your blessings to eclipse You. May love for things not contaminate me or those close to me.
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