Continuing with the story of Gideon, today we learn how he was able to become a mighty hero with God’s help. Today’s take-away is to be aware of anything that may be entrapping us, pulling us away from God. Remember God’s grace and the promise in Philippians 1:6 that He will continue His work until it is finished. Okay, let’s dive in to today’s story of Gideon.
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Transcription:
I wish this story had a different ending. It’s not just the name of episode four in our series on Gideon, here on the Bible for Busy People. It’s how I feel. It’s Erica, and it’s hard to be human right? We go through so many ups and downs, and honestly, I’m grateful that the stories in the Bible reflect the stories of my own life. You ever feel like you go one step forward, two steps back? And you’re like, Lord, I’m sorry, and all of a sudden his grace shows up again and it feels so good. So, be reminded of God’s grace. Know that you’re never going to get it perfectly right, but be encouraged by the promise in Philippians 1:6:
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Okay, are you ready? We’re going to dive back into Gideon’s story. He and his very small army now, the one that the Lord himself shaved down, God wanted the Israelites to know it was him who gave them victory over the Midianites nights. Okay, Judges eight, beginning in verse four. Let’s see what happens next.
Gideon then crossed the Jordan River with his 300 men, and though exhausted, they continued to chase the enemy. 5 When they reached Succoth, Gideon asked the leaders of the town, “Please give my warriors some food. They are very tired. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”6 But the officials of Succoth replied, “Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your army.”7 So Gideon said, “After the Lord gives me victory over Zebah and Zalmunna, I will return and tear your flesh with the thorns and briers from the wilderness.”8 From there Gideon went up to Peniel and again asked for food, but he got the same answer. 9 So he said to the people of Peniel, “After I return in victory, I will tear down this tower.”10 By this time Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with about 15,000 warriors—all that remained of the allied armies of the east, for 120,000 had already been killed. 11 Gideon circled around by the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, taking the Midianite army by surprise. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna, the two Midianite kings, fled, but Gideon chased them down and captured all their warriors.13 After this, Gideon returned from the battle by way of Heres Pass. 14 There he captured a young man from Succoth and demanded that he write down the names of all the seventy-seven officials and elders in the town. 15 Gideon then returned to Succoth and said to the leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. When we were here before, you taunted me, saying, ‘Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your exhausted army.’” 16 Then Gideon took the elders of the town and taught them a lesson, punishing them with thorns and briers from the wilderness. 17 He also tore down the tower of Peniel and killed all the men in the town.18 Then Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “The men you killed at Tabor—what were they like?”“Like you,” they replied. “They all had the look of a king’s son.”19 “They were my brothers, the sons of my own mother!” Gideon exclaimed. “As surely as the Lord lives, I wouldn’t kill you if you hadn’t killed them.”20 Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, for he was only a boy and was afraid.21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Be a man! Kill us yourself!” So Gideon killed them both and took the royal ornaments from the necks of their camels.Gideon’s Sacred Ephod22 Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Be our ruler! You and your son and your grandson will be our rulers, for you have rescued us from Midian.”23 But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The Lord will rule over you! 24 However, I do have one request—that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.)25 “Gladly!” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each one threw in a gold earring he had gathered from the plunder. 26 The weight of the gold earrings was forty-three pounds,[b] not including the royal ornaments and pendants, the purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around the necks of their camels.27 Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.28 That is the story of how the people of Israel defeated Midian, which never recovered. Throughout the rest of Gideon’s lifetime—about forty years—there was peace in the land.29 Then Gideon[c] son of Joash returned home. 30 He had seventy sons born to him, for he had many wives. 31 He also had a concubine in Shechem, who gave birth to a son, whom he named Abimelech. 32 Gideon died when he was very old, and he was buried in the grave of his father, Joash, at Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer.33 As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god. 34 They forgot the Lord their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them. 35 Nor did they show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-baal (that is, Gideon), despite all the good he had done for Israel.
It’s a sobering end, isn’t it, the story of Gideon? We begin feeling heartened. That’s how I felt like God can turn anybody into a mighty hero. He taps each of us and wants to partner with each of us to carry out his plans and purposes on this planet. That’s amazing that he can give you and I the strength and courage to carry his plans out. But then equally incredible to me is our propensity as humans to be tempted away from the things of God. I’m thinking about that ephod made of gold. By the way, if you don’t know what an ephod is, I had to look it up too. I knew it was some type of clothing. It’s a sleeveless garment worn by Jewish priests, and I’m sure it was absolutely stunning. Made of gold and made from the plunder of their victory. But where did their victory come from? It came from the Lord and the Israelites forgot. It even became a trap for Gideon and his family, as you and I just read. And we get trapped by things too. They just don’t look like ephods made of gold. So, I just want to invite you to ask the Lord today, and I’m going to do the same thing, is there anything that’s entrapping me? Anything that’s pulling me away from you? And he will answer you gently because that’s who he is. Alright, until next time, you are really loved.
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