May 8 – Judges 7:8-25, Judges 8 John 5:31-47 Proverbs 11:19-28
Judges 8:27
And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.
Everything was going so well…. then it all changed. Gideon did the right thing, refusing to be made king. Shame he then started living like one.
He took many wives who gave him 70 sons. I don’t know the maths on that, but that’s got to be a lot of wives, like a king’s Harem. His named his son Abimelech – which means “My father – the king”. It all just went to his head.
And worse – the offering of gold that he took… that was a big mistake. Seventeen hundred shekels would be 19kg of gold. In today’s gold prices you are talking around half a million pounds for that much gold! How much more would it have been worth then?
And he made an Ephod with it. A priestly garment. He didn’t just assume a role of king (without using the word) but also of Priest.
And this Ephod became a snare to Him, his family and the entire nation.
No wonder we only focus on the start of Gideon’s story – because it does not end well.
When God gives you victory – when God blesses what you do. Don’t let it go to your head. the can ruin everything.
Prov 11:21
Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished,
but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.
Sometimes it feels like those who do wrong get away with it. It feels like there is no justice.
But be assured – it won’t stay that way. The judgement is coming. And there’s no escaping that day.
God wants all to repent and come to Him, but there is coming a day where all decisions are final and evil will be punished.
But vengeance is The Lord’s – not yours. Don’t try and do HIs job for Him.
