Lessons From The End of Gideon (Part 1)

Posted on July 22, 2024

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Lessons From The End of Gideon (Part 1)

Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you. And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks. And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house. Judges 8:22-27

*The scriptures do not explain Gideon’s exact motivation for making a golden ephod. The result was disastrous. The object was worshiped by the people of Israel, as an idol. The Bible applies a sharp, harsh term:zanah, used for things like fornication and prostitution. In a common spiritual metaphor, the people are said to have “whored” after the object. Their worship of it was unfaithfulness to God, as much as adultery is unfaithfulness to a spouse. Idolatry is as self-debasing as a person selling their body for someone else’s sexual use. The English word “whore” evokes a distasteful response, and idolatry is similarly disgusting to the Lord—*Taken from BibleRef

In essence, Gideon rather than point the hearts of Israel to Yahweh, the only true God who delivered them from the hand of their oppressor, ultimately turned their hearts to idolatry. This is also the challenge of present-day Christianity and her dance with world-likeness!

*The term used in this passage doesn’t clearly explain what, exactly, the object Gideon created looked like but:

  1. in the Law, God had directed Israel to use an “ephowd” as part of worship. In that context, an “ephod” was a shirt-like garment worn by the high priest in his ceremonial duties (Exodus 28:6). The ephods of Israel’s priests were associated with objects called Urim and Thummim, which somehow involved determining God’s will (Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21; 1 Samuel 14:41).
  2. ephods were also used in the worship of false gods in Egypt and other parts of Mesopotamia. In contexts other than the worship of the God of Israel, the term might have been used generically for sacred objects.

The passage gives no further details about which of the two meanings is in mind. Gideon may have used it as a kind of oracle for seeking guidance from Israel’s God or other false deities—*Taken from BibleRef

If we consider Judges 6:25-27, where God’s instructions clearly showed God’s displeasure at idolatry, one is left askance if his submission and obedience was more out of the fear of consequences of disobedience; and not of conviction and persuasion that Yahweh is the only God to be worshiped. Once Israel got what they desired the most, deliverance from the hand of their oppressors, it was okay to go back to their old ways of idolatry. What about you? Have you sought God for who He is and the salvation He procured making Himself the propitiation for our sins or have you sought Him for what you are getting from His hand? If the latter, you are not a true believer and you need to repent. Selah

Pastor Afolabi Oladele

1 thoughts on “Lessons From The End of Gideon (Part 1)

  • Precious

    This is wonderful 👍

    Reply

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