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!
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