BEWARE OF SUCCESS
Opening Prayer
Lord, keep my intentions honorable.
Read JUDGES 8:22–35
Gideon’s Ephod
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,[a] 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.
Footnotes
- Judges 8:26 That is, about 43 pounds or about 20 kilograms
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.
Meditate
‘For the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth … sing praises to our King, sing praises.’ (Ps 47:2,6)
Think Further
In West Africa, the lorries, buses, and taxis that constitute public transportation are often adorned with slogans, hand-painted in bold colors. One example I have seen on numerous vehicles is the enigmatic ‘A good beginning makes a poor ending’. That could describe this final episode in Gideon’s life. After his famous victory, he makes the disastrous error of instigating the ephod project. Presumably the gold was used for the ostentatious adornment of a garment (See Exod 28:6–14) or was cast to form a gold statue with religious significance. Whatever its precise form, the ephod became an object of worship (27), demonstrating clearly that defeating the Midianites was less difficult than overcoming Israel’s incurable tendency to idolatry.
However, Gideon may be guilty of more than simply a naive lack of foresight about the possible use of his ephod. His words in verse 23 seem to show a proper awareness that the Lord, not Gideon, is Israel’s king, but his actions in verses 30 and 31 suggest that something different is going on in his heart. To have many sons, borne by many wives is the behavior of a king, and the name ‘Abimelek’ means ‘son of a king’. A former bank employee told me that the most common reason for returning a check would be stamped across it, ‘Words and figures differ’. My friend added that similar words could frequently be stamped across the lives of Christians, as for Gideon: ‘Words and actions differ’.
Like Gideon, successful Christian leaders are prone to crash spectacularly when they begin to believe, perhaps unconsciously, either that they really are super-Christians and so not liable to fall, or that their now effective ministry suddenly means that private sin no longer matters.
Apply
In which areas of your life do you appear successful or have a reputation for effectiveness? How do you need to guard against the dangers outlined above?
Closing prayer
Lord, do not allow me to be the victim of success, either in earthly or in heavenly affairs.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.