"The Israelites said, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson. You have saved us from Midian’s tyranny.” Gideon said, “I most certainly will not rule over you, nor will my son. God will reign over you.” 8:22-23
Gideon may have been the tangible thing that the Israelites could see and touch, that delivered them from the enemy, but GOD is the realness of where that freedom came from. Sometimes people put all their trust and devotion in a person, rather than in the hands of Jesus. I have hero's. Faithful warriors that have gone before me, and still fight ahead of me, that I learn so much from. Four come to mind just at I sit here and type.
Teresa Kinsley, who left a legacy for her family and everyone she ever knew, who is now sitting at the feet of Jesus in complete adoration and worship of Him for eternity.
Shelby Neese, who lived and loved for years in East Africa, baptized me 13 years ago, and even shared the love of Jesus on the street I will be living on, long before I ever knew it existed!
Amy and David Lancaster, who led me so well at We Will Go, and continue to pour into me and be spiritual parents to me.
These are all amazing leaders and faithful servants of Jesus, but.....they are still people. I can't put all my trust and worship in them. I can learn from them and value them, but they can never truly be all for me, only God can fulfill the duty of ruling over my life.
"Then Gideon said, “But I do have one request. Give me, each of you, an earring that you took as plunder.” Ishmaelites wore gold earrings, and the men all had their pockets full of them. They said, “Of course. They’re yours!” They spread out a blanket and each man threw his plundered earrings on it. The gold earrings that Gideon had asked for weighed about forty-three pounds—and that didn’t include the crescents and pendants, the purple robes worn by the Midianite kings, and the ornaments hung around the necks of their camels. Gideon made the gold into a sacred ephod and put it on display in his hometown, Ophrah. All Israel prostituted itself there. Gideon and his family, too, were seduced by it." 8:24-27
A sign of wealth was to wear as much jewelry as possible, not just on yourself, but on your animals as well. I've read that women wore up to 15 pair of earings!
Are things really any different today? Big houses, expensive cars, designer clothes, luxury vacations, etc....we "wear" what we have to show off what we are worth. I just want to wear Jesus. Really. I have learned what my true value and worth is, and where it comes from, so that is all I want to wear. Jesus.
At this point, I just want to SMH (that is a term I have learned from my kids, that means "shaking my head") at Gideon. This ephod he made, which represented a victory, was probably made by him with good motives, but those that followed him began to worship it, and not the God who gave them the victory. Even Gideon fell into the arms of desire over things, wealth, power. SMH.
"Midian’s tyranny was broken by the Israelites; nothing more was heard from them. The land was quiet for forty years in Gideon’s time. Jerub-Baal son of Joash went home and lived in his house. Gideon had seventy sons. He fathered them all—he had a lot of wives! His concubine, the one at Shechem, also bore him a son. He named him Abimelech. Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age. He was buried in the tomb of his father Joash at Ophrah of the Abiezrites. Gideon was hardly cool in the tomb when the People of Israel had gotten off track and were prostituting themselves to Baal—they made Baal-of-the-Covenant their god. The People of Israel forgot all about God, their God, who had saved them from all their enemies who had hemmed them in. And they didn’t keep faith with the family of Jerub-Baal (Gideon), honoring all the good he had done for Israel." 8:28-35
Do you remember how Gideon started out?
Gideon is just a young, simple farmer. Hiding out of site from the enemy, in a winepress, threshing the little bit of wheat left for he and his family. Suddenly, an angel of God is standing before him and says: "hey - you, mighty warrior, God is with you"
And this is how his life ended. He walked into a battle with nothing, saw the Lord do the fighting, walked out with a victory. Then, he just gave in to the earthly desires and temptations around him. He walked around adorned with "things" for everyone to see what all he had. He became obsessed with sex and women, fathering over 70 children. And then he just died.
Heroes in battle are not always heros in daily life. Gideon led the nation, but he couldn't lead his own family. Watch for temptations. Sometimes the strongest attacks from the enemy come after a victory.
God called Gideon into this when he was lowly, humble, unassuming, and underqualified. He started worshiping the gifts from God, instead of worshiping the giver of the gifts.
I would rather stay in the trenches, doing dirty work, be unnoticed, stay behind the stage, have just what I need and not all that I want, and worship Jesus there......than to live a life with so much fullness of things and earthly rewards, and die with regrets of "If I had only....."
Complete rebellion and chaos ensued after Gideon died. If he had finished his life, the way he started, maybe the generation under him would have followed suit with that too.
How we live today doesn't just affect our lives, it impacts the generations to come after us. What kind of legacy do you want to leave?
"No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God."
Micah 6:8
No comments:
Post a Comment