Gideon's Folly

Passage: Judges 8:22-27

Even though Gideon is the most obvious hero in the Israelites’ victory over Midian, Gideon seems not to let it go to his head. He credits God with the victory. And when his people offer to crown him king, Gideon declines. God chose Gideon for his humble roots and his humble attitude. Gideon is persistently humble throughout his story.

Gideon’s subsequent idolatry therefore comes out of left field. When the Israelites ask Gideon to rule them, he says, “No thank you.” But then he asks one favor: a small gold trinket from every Israelite warrior’s plunder. The trinkets pile up. Gideon melts them down, and produces a golden “ephod”. The ephod was a garment of distinction – it identified someone as “a big deal.” Even though Gideon says no to the responsibilities of national leadership, Gideon doesn’t mind adopting a symbol of his own importance. Over time the Israelites begin to associate Gideon’s success in the legendary battle against Midian not with the LORD, but with his spectacular ephod. It becomes an object not only of admiration, but of worship. Gideon himself falls prey to the instinct of which he had been so innocent: the lust for recognition. In the same way that Gideon's humility proved instrumental in Israel's deliverance, his depravity contributed to their long-term undoing.

We’re surprised by the way Gideon's story ends, given the way it begins. What we have to remember is that the Bible doesn’t introduce static, two-dimensional characters. It introduces real people. Real people change over time. Our characters are subject to all kinds of influences. We are not always influenced for the better. Judges tells and retells the story of what happens when God's people are influenced by any force other than God. We are all vulnerable to the forces that corrupt Gideon and his people. The only safeguard is an intimate relationship with our Lord and God.

Looking for Glory

Passage: Judges 7:22-8:3

Once Gideon and his 300 men have routed the Midianites, members of the other tribes of Israel join in chasing their enemies down. One of the tribes that gets involved late in the game is Ephraim. After the dust has settled, the men of Ephraim confront Gideon. They ask him why he didn’t invite them to the fight earlier. Apparently they’d have liked a bigger piece of the action (or so they say now, after the menacing Midianite hoard has dispersed). Gideon sees past their complaint, and recognizes that what the Ephraimites want is credit. They would like to have been remembered as the ones who led the charge. They want the glory. Gideon says, “How much glory do you need? You captured two kings of Midian. Your territory is the envy of the other tribes. You’re a big deal.” This pep talk seems to be enough for the Ephraimites. After having been reminded of how great they are, they return home.

This exchange captures a classic human reaction to God’s work. We are reticent to take part in a project that looks difficult or mundane at the outset. We’d rather take part in something that will yield a big payoff for our efforts - reveal us as the big deal we think we are. We want to contribute to something we can put our name on afterward. When the project we shied away from at the beginning turns into something big and widely recognized, we’re resentful of those whose names are associated with it. When it comes to doing God’s work, our motivation should never be that which motivated Ephraim. It should never be the recognition or status we’ll get out of it. Why? Because if it’s God’s work, the only one getting the credit should be God. Use that as a test for any effort you’ve pursued in God’s name. When someone congratulates you on your accomplishment, do you say, “Thank yuh very much” or do you say, “Praise God”? God does great things through ordinary people not to get those people into the history books, but to make his presence known to the world. This is God’s purpose in any endeavor. It should be ours, too. The glory belongs to God.

Judged

Passage: Judges 2

The Book of Judges chronicles the rapid deterioration of God’s people after their arrival in the Promised Land. Through both Moses and Joshua God predicted that the Israelites would turn their backs on him once they were safe and sound in a land that could sustain them. God also promised that if they turned their backs on him, God would turn his back on his people. So doing he would leave them vulnerable to the dangers and evils of a broken world – dangers and evils from which God had insulated them all along.

Judges tells the story of what happens to God’s chosen people when they try to go it alone. It also provides a snapshot of what happens to anyone who pursues a life without God.

When the Israelites stop worshiping God and living by God’s Law, their society deteriorates and they suffer at the hands of more powerful nations. In Deuteronomy 7 God addresses his people thus:

The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you…

Suddenly, as they are plagued by wave after wave of enemy attack, the Israelites understand what God was talking about. They are the smallest, weakest nation in the neighborhood. They were only able to take Canaan by storm because God was fighting with them. Now they are helpless to defend themselves.

Moreover, the tribes of Israel quickly stop functioning as parts of a whole. Instead, they become territorial, acting like individual nations. Not only do they become isolated and that much more vulnerable, they lose the uniform identity and accountability structure that kept them committed to God and his ways. At the beginning of Judges we see small examples of hostility and disunity among the tribes of Israel. By the end of the book, full-scale war has broken out and the tribes are trying to obliterate each other. As we will see, Judges describes the Israelites’ descent from being an ideal, God-guided people to being less unified and less principled than the most depraved people on earth. This is what happens when God’s people turn their backs on God.

Weighed Down

Passage: Luke 21:29-36

As his time with the disciples nears its end, Jesus talks more and more about the end of time. Jesus claims that his return could be anytime, and that his disciples have to live the rest of their lives as though today might be the day. Jesus presents the day of his return as a day of judgment. A day on which one wouldn’t want to be caught unprepared. He warns his disciples to live in a state of constant readiness.

In his discourse in Luke 21, Jesus reiterates his warning. In particular he says,

“Be careful, or your heart will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life.”

We tend to assume that the Bible is full of pronouncements against the stuff of life that is most enticing and enjoyable. The Christian life gets a bad rap because it’s considered “anti-fun.” Jesus puts a different spin on it. He says, “The stuff that you substitute for the stuff of the Kingdom isn’t fun. It only weighs you down.”

Jesus invites us to consider a life of freedom. Freedom from the constraints of self-indulgence and addiction. Freedom from the oppression of anxiety. It’s not a bad life. In fact, it’s the best kind of life. Stop and think about the things that weigh you down. Worry about money. Worry about social standing and job performance. Fatigue from the steady pull of habits that only make you feel good temporarily. What would it feel like to have the weight lifted off?

A Witness Against Us

Passage: Joshua 24:1-27

This last conversation between Joshua and his people is kind of like a conversation I have almost nightly with my four-year-old daughter. Our bedtime routine goes kind of like this:

• I read her a couple of stories.
• She asks for more; I usually read one more; she asks for more; I say, “That’s enough.”
• I tuck her in. She moves around and gets untucked. I tuck her in again.
• She sits up and asks for a drink of water. I get her one. She drinks it and I tuck her in again.
• I pray with her, and sing her a song of her choice. Usually “Twinkle, Twinkle”; sometimes a song that doesn’t exist, necessitating I make one up on the spot.
• Then I turn on her nightlight. I make my way to the door.
• As I try to leave she says, “Daddy, I have one more question.” She asks three more questions.
• Finally, as everything but my face is out the door I say, “Stay in your bed now. If you come out I’ll have to turn out your light.” I say this knowing that she will come out of her room at least once or twice. But she always responds, “No, no, don’t turn out my light. I’ll stay in bed.” “Promise?” “Promise.”

As Joshua’s saying good-bye to the people of Israel, he reiterates the lessons they’ve learned together. And he repeats the warning God’s given his people again and again: Obey God’s commandments; be faithful to the God who has been faithful to you; if you are unfaithful, you will suffer. The people respond, “We’ll never turn our backs on God. God is our God. God all the way!” They are adamant. Nothing will come between them and their God.

Joshua’s not convinced. But he hopes for the best. He sets up a simple monument to commemorate this moment. He says, “This stone will be a monument. A monument to your commitment to the LORD. And a monument against you should you fail to uphold it.” The people are certain. They say, “It will be a witness against us.”

If you read Joshua in isolation, this almost seems like a happy moment. But the monument to the people’s commitment will soon become a monument to their unfaithfulness - a mockery rather than a symbol of their love for God. Unlike his people, God never wavers in his commitment. On one hand he commits to protect and provide for his people so long as they’re faithful. On the other he commits to let them suffer if they’re unfaithful. As the Book of Judges will attest, God makes good both commitments. If only his people could follow through on theirs.