DEVOTION
JUDGES
WORSHIP WHO
Judges 8:22-35
22 The Israelites said to Gideon,
"Rule over us — you, your son and your grandson — because you have saved
us out of 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 man 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. 28 Thus Midian was subdued before
the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon's lifetime, the
land enjoyed 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 Abimelech.
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 and 34 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
kindness to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things
he had done for them.
NIV
Why do men want another man to
rule over them, instead of submitting to the rule and authority of the Lord?
Gideon was right to reject that position and told them the LORD rules
over them. Had they not seen the rule of the LORD when they prostrated themselves, building altars to Baal and had Asherah poles, which Gideon, under the direction
of the LORD, smashed the altar, building a proper one from stone to the LORD, and
tore down the Asherah pole. From the perspective
of the Israelites, it was Gideon who saved them from the hand of Midian, and
they wanted him and his son, and his grandson to rule over them. How is that even
possible to know how his grandson would turn out as a man, and be capable of ruling as a fair and honest judge? Men will always change, or do not have the strength
of character to always be honest, fair, and impartial in their assessment when ruling
or being a judge in the case of this time in the lives of the Israelites. However,
the LORD never changes and is constant in his just assessment of all men, for
he knows the heart of all men. However, as long as Gideon lived, the land enjoyed
peace for forty years. We wonder why
Gideon built that ephod from about forty
lbs. of gold, for it was simply a golden image, unless it was supposed to point to the LORD, but the Israelites prostituted themselves to a golden image
instead of the LORD. Is it easier to worship something we can see than the invisible
God? Once again, anything man can build has no eyes to see, ears to hear, nor a
mouth to speak, yet they must not care about their image, instructing their
lives as if they would rather give instructions from their own evil thoughts to
themselves. We would hope and pray that we do not allow our own concepts of Christianity
to be our guide for our lives, or our biases and traditions to forge the meaning
of the word of God. We do wonder why so many have been deceived by silver-tongued
purveyors of false doctrine that is not centered on Jesus nor looks to lift
Jesus up, but rather themselves becoming the center of attention. That Ephod
became a snare for Gideon, although he wanted to lift up the LORD, the people lifted
up the Ephod. We want to lift up the name of the Lord, and him alone. We can
only do that when we understand our frailty, remaining his humble servant,
listening to his voice, following the inspiration of the Spirit, and complying
with His will. We can see the error of the Israelites easily enough, for as soon as
Gideon died, they built more altars to Baal. We must always be aware when we
err in some way, following any way of this world, and correct our course. Let
us always be in worship of the Lord. Let no one be confused whom we worship.
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