Lessons From The End of Gideon (Part 3): A Lesson For All Church Leaders

Posted on July 26, 2024

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Lessons From The End of Gideon (Part 3): A Lesson For All Church Leaders

And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. And his mother’s brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him. And he went unto his father’s house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself. Judges 9:1-5

For all he has accomplished by faithfully following God at his beginning, Gideon is the only judge recorded as leading Israel into acts of false worship and betrayal of the LordTaken from BibleRef 

*When the men of Israel asked him to rule over them following the victory over the Midianites, he had said the right thing: “I will not rule over you nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you” (8:23).

*While Gideon’s words were humble, his actions were not. After he rejected the throne, he:

  1. lived like a king!
  2. took many wives and had 70 sons’,
  3. named one of them, born by his concubine, “Abimelech,” which means “my father is king.” [a clear pointer to self-exaltation as king which he verbally rejected]
  4. set up a golden ephod in his city from the spoils of victory, which soon became an object of worship to all Israel—*Tim Bouter

All the negative actions come with a price. In some way, the ephod becomes a “snare” for Gideon and his family. No details about that are provided; this might simply mean that they were caught up in idolatrous worship. It might also mean that owning the ephod brought strife and controversy into Gideon’s home. The next chapter details the sordid, ugly experiences of Gideon’s children (Judges 9:1–5)Taken from BibleRef 

Sadly, Gideon’s ending was not positive. *Gideon started out as a servant, but then:

  1. lived like a celebrity.
  2. He handled adversity better than success.
  3. In the extreme moment of battle, he acted with faith and courage, but in the ordinary routine of life he did not honor the Lord—*Tim Bouter

Can you see where the Church today is, clearly depicted in Gideon’s story?

*Solomon wrote that the end of a thing is better than its beginning (Eccl. 7:8). But like Gideon, Solomon left a mixed legacy after falling into pride and idolatry in his later days—*Tim Bouter

What legacy awaits the heritage of the aging church leadership in Nigeria? Their impending departure will tell! Will it end in disarray as was the case with Gideon’s family? This is a call to put your houses in order or your years of labour will end up consumed in an unending fire of controversy and division.

*It is so important to end well! How we finish is more important than how we begin. Paul asked the Galatians, “You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” (Gal. 5:7)

He himself was faithful to the end, always pressing on and reaching forward (Phil. 3:12-14). Shortly before his death, Paul could write, “I have fought the good fight [well won!], have finished the race [well run!], I have kept the faith [well done!]” (2 Tim. 4:7)—*Tim Bouter

Selah.

Pastor Afolabi Oladele

1 thoughts on “Lessons From The End of Gideon (Part 3): A Lesson For All Church Leaders

  • Michael Mercy

    Thank you Sir.

    Reply

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