Judges 8:22-35
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also; for you have delivered us out of the hand of Midian.” Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” Then Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you; each of you give me an earring he has taken as booty.” (For the enemy had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) “We will willingly give them,” they answered. So they spread a garment, and each threw into it an earring he had taken as booty. The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold (apart from the crescents and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and the collars that were on the necks of their camels). Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his town, in Ophrah; and all Israel prostituted themselves to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. So Midian was subdued before the Israelites, and they lifted up their heads no more. So the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
Jerubbaal son of Joash went to live in his own house. Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. Then Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites relapsed and prostituted themselves with the Baals, making Baal-berith their god.The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side; and they did not exhibit loyalty to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.
There are lots of places in Hebrew scripture where God chastises the Israelites for promising to obey with their lips and yet not following God with their heart.
Here, Gideon says the right thing. "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you. The Lord will rule over you." Gideon has had a Shakespearean journey to this point as he led the Israelites to defeat the Midianites. Only, it wasn't really Gideon. It was God, and in turning down the crown, Gideon seems to get it.
But does he? Immediately he takes a kind of tax out of the gold from the booty (who takes taxes? Kings do). He makes a golden ephod out of it. What's an ephod? Short answer is that it is a kind of apron a priest wears for worship. But here, the ephod became the object of worship. Kind of like a golden idol.
And we know what God said about those.
Finally, Gideon takes a whole harem - again, something a king would do. And one of the women in his harem bears him a son named Abimelech.
Which means "my father is king."
Gideon got caught up in his own press and in so doing, forgot who made his victory possible. And I'm not so sure things are much different today. We like to feel competent and successful. We like to get things right.
In the church, this can be an especially slippery slope. It's easy to forget whose church it is. It's easy to forget the Spirit moving among us, shaping us, guiding us, despite how much we pray for that very thing.
I know at least it's easy for me to forget sometimes.
Before sermons, many preachers either pray out loud or silently from Psalm 19: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer." It's a good reminder in everything we do both in the church, and in the world in God's service. Words and actions matching. Promises kept. Hearts surrendering to God along with lips praising.
Remembering that it is not us alone who get things done.
God of all creation, this world is yours and we are but stewards of your creation. Help us to praise you not with just our lips, but with our hearts. And help us to follow where you lead, not trying to get ahead of you in the process! Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment