February 28 – Judges 8:22-28

February 28 – Judges 8:22-28

22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” 24 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. 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. 28 So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

Gideon was right in refusing to be their king and directing them to God, but when he took the fortune which was about 50 pounds of gold, and made it into an ephod, he could have been trying to direct them to remember God and the victory He gave them, but it ended up becoming an idol to them.  Something that one might mean as a reminder of God, can become an idol to them later or an idol to others or future generations. 

What makes the difference if something is a reminder of God or an idol?

When you see a cross is it a reminder of what Jesus did for you or an idol?  Do you worship the cross or Jesus?

Heavenly Father, help me to keep my priorities on You and nothing else.  How easy it is for us to worship things You have created rather than You.  I guess the tangible things draw us in and make it easier to focus on than does a God we don’t think we can see and touch.  But, I feel Your touch daily and every time I see my husband I see You and the healing You gave him.  Every time I think about the birth of my daughter and the miracle of her birth, I see You.  When I think about how You brought each of my spiritually adopted kids into my life I see You and know You are here in every way.  No man could do all those things to be.  Only You.  There are so many times I have felt You and see You at work.  I once heard someone say we can’t see the wind but we see what the wind does and can see where the wind has been.  There is no beginning to You and there will be no end to You.  You are so amazing, and no one and nothing deserves my praise, worship and love other than You.  Thank You Father for being who You are and loving me when I am so unlovable.

In Jesus’ name.

Amen!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to "When God Whispers"

July 16 – Genesis 45:21-28

July 20 –Genesis 47:13-22