(Judges 8:4-35) Then Gideon and the three hundred men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, exhausted yet still pursuing. 5 And he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 But the leaders of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?” 7 So Gideon said, “For this answer, when the Lord has handed over to me Zebah and Zalmunna, I will thrash your bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” 8 Then he went up from there to Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 So he said also to the men of Penuel, “When I return safely, I will tear down this tower.”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of the entire army of the people of the east; for the fallen were 120,000 swordsmen. 11 Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents to the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked the camp when the camp was unsuspecting. 12 When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the entire army.
13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. 14 And he captured a youth from Succoth and questioned him. Then the youth wrote down for him the leaders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. 15 And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’” 16 Then he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them. 17 And he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where were the men whom you killed at Tabor?” But they said, “You and they were alike, each one resembling the son of a king.” 19 And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if only you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 20 So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them.” But the youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a youth. 21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise up yourself, and attack us; for as the man, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent amulets which were on their camels’ necks.
22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your son, your son’s son as well, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian!” 23 But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.” 24 Yet Gideon said to them, “I would request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his plunder.” (For they had gold earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they said, “We will certainly give them to you.” So they spread out a garment, and every one of them tossed an earring there from his plunder. 26 The weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, apart from the crescent amulets, the ear pendants, and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and apart from the neck chains that were on their camels’ necks. 27 Gideon made it into an ephod, and placed it in his city, Ophrah; but all Israel committed infidelity with it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
28 So Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, and they did not lift up their heads anymore. And the land was undisturbed for forty years in the days of Gideon.
29 Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 30 Now Gideon had seventy sons who were his direct descendants, for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. 32 And Gideon the 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 Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel again committed infidelity with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god. 34 So the sons of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had saved them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; 35 nor did they show kindness to the household of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in accordance with all the good that he had done for Israel.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
None of us are perfect, not even Gideon, as we see at the end of this chapter. As the focus is about relationships, again, we have to realize that just because someone in the Bible who followed God had more than one wife - does not mean that God endorses or approves of this. Note that in verse 27, the ephod that Gideon made was a snare to him and his household.
An ephod is like a breastplate of honor and position that people revered. The high priest of Israel wore one. As soon as we put ourselves, or an object, or another person, or another god ahead of the Lord, our lives will begin to derail. Success, even if God got us there, can go to our heads if we take our eyes off of the Lord.
Behind all of that are the sins of self-centeredness, selfishness and pride. In the last devotion entry, we saw Gideon telling the men of Ephraim that what they contributed to the war-efforts by supplying food and drink was just as valuable as what Gideon had done. But perhaps towards the end, Gideon took for granted and even forgot about what everyone had done to help, and most importantly, forgot how God gave them the victory! And so in the end, the people forgot about all the good that Gideon had done. As well, they completely forgot about God.
Yet, interestingly enough, it is far more difficult to forget the bad things people have done. Like Gideon going back to attack those who had not given them food and drink. I'm not sure if the Lord wanted Gideon to do that or not, but it was selfish of those other people not to give nourishment to those who were helping to keep the area safe.
For us now, the Lord Jesus tells us to go the extra mile, to be generously gracious and giving. And He tells us to not seek retribution (an eye for an eye), but humbly turn the other cheek, and forgive. I have an awesome memory, so I have found the value in forgiving those who have hurt me. I've even had to ask God to forgive someone FOR me, and it was then that I felt a weight lift off of me, and instantaneously I felt love and compassion for that person. I KNOW that was definitely a God-thing! So when I do this (forgive people), I can actually think back to those hurtful times without feeling any fear, anger or bitterness. I have true "closure" and peace about how God has helped me move on in life.
We have choices to make in these circumstances, when faced with the temptations of pride, self-centeredness and selfishness. While there isn't anything wrong with being "paid" for one's work and efforts, I'm thinking about what else Gideon could have done with that gold! Why did he make a perfectly useless but extravagant piece of clothing??? Was this an example of retail therapy? These kinds of things will only help us feel temporarily good about ourselves.
Meanwhile, when we embrace our relationship with the Lord, and lean on His strength and wisdom, we can be joyful, confident and fulfilled with a sense of purpose! The peace and grace of salvation through the Lord is a long-term-therapy! And just the "simple" act of having devotions every day will keep reminding us of what God has done, is doing, and will do for us!
Will our lives be perfect, free from suffering or making mistakes? No. This is why God extends His grace to His children. But each step that we make comes with a decision - to do things our way or to do things God's way and trust that He will work things out for good.
It is a continuous journey. And like any relationship, it requires "work" - staying in touch! A two-way-communication. God has given us His Holy Spirit as well as His word which is God speaking and sharing His heart with us. And we are to reciprocate with prayers, which is how we can share our hearts with Him... the best listener, helper and friend one can find anywhere! He is our perfect example of true selflessness and sacrificial love. Therefore, we can boast in the Lord, and give Him all the honor and glory.
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