Gideon Requests Gold (Judges 8:24-35)

1/20/2010 9:01 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Gideon requests gold

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                  Reference: Judges 8:24-35

 

          Message of the verses:  “24  Yet Gideon said to them, "I would request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his spoil." (For they had gold earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25  They said, "We will surely give them." So they spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil. 26  The weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on their camels’ necks. 27  Gideon made it into an ephod, and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that 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  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 ripe 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 played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god. 34  Thus the sons of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered 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 accord with all the good that he had done to Israel.”

            This section will end the things that happened in the life of Gideon, and the ending is not as great as the beginning.  It is interesting to me that there have been different people to rule over Israel for forty years, Moses for instance ruled from the time he was 80 years old to 120 years old, forty years, and so did Saul, and so did David, and yet the pages of Scripture are lot greater in number for Moses and David than for Gideon or Saul or some of the other rulers of Israel.  Gideon’s name is in Hebrews chapter eleven and of course there is no mention of the sins that he committed, I think the reason for that is that Christ had paid for those sins and therefore they are not spoken of in the NT Scriptures.

            Gideon turned down being a king, but he lived like a king and for whatever reason that he made the ephod I don’t know, but it did not turn out to be a good thing as it led Israel back into idol worship, adultery as the Bible describes.  Gideon had many wives and many children, but the one son of his concubine would eventually kill all seventy of his sons.  This is a sad ending to what could have been a great story if Gideon would have done as his ancestor Abraham had done after his victory over the five kings, for he took no spoils from the heathen king of Sodom, but worshiped the Lord and gave 10% to Melchizedek, who was a type of Christ as he was a priest and king to the true God of heaven.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that what I wrote yesterday about finishing strong is seen here as Gideon did not finish strong and people will remember person’s failures more than the good things that they do.  It is important for me to finish my life strong, for although I am not really old at this time I am “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Trust in the Lord with all of my heart and lean not upon mine own understand, in all of my ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct my path.
2. Pr 10:19  When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.

 

1/20/2010 10:20 AM