Judges 8:27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.
The Lord God took a nobody: ‘Gideon’, and made him somebody; but, rather than giving God all the glory Gideon made an idol to mark his significance. Gideon was timid, frail and confused, but the Lord endowed him with supernatural anointing and strength to defeat the oppressing enemy. Gideon replied, “But how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” (Judges 6:13). The Lord gave Gideon victory over the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern people who joined forces and camped against Israel. However Gideon failed to give God all the glory of his success. He openly declined the offer to become a politician but planned a devious way to secure his self-importance. He made a golden ephod. An ephod was like a breastplate that had two stones. It was used by the priest to understand the will and plan of God, but this ephod of Gideon was like a crystal-ball or an occult, sacred stone. Instead of going to the Lord for direction, the Israelites went to this ephod that Gideon had fashioned to take instructions. Gideon who led Israel out of oppression misled them into idolatry and whoredom.
Many times, it is not the devil that sets a snare for our downfall; it is our own idols that become a hindrance to our progress. Success if mishandled can turn into a snare.
Give God the glory in all your success. When success turns into self-promotion, it becomes a snare:
1. Success: God uses human hands, feet and mouths to strike down the enemy, but all the power is hidden in His hands. Rays of light flash from his hands, where his awesome power is hidden (Habakkuk 3:4b). Glory and fame of success should always be redirected to God.
2. Self-promotion: Gideon subtly declined the promotion that was offered to him, but found another way to promote his name through the victory that God gave him. The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” (Judges 8:22-23). Rather than seeking the Lord for direction, Gideon’s magic genie deceived Israelites into idolatry.
3. Snare: God hates any kind of idolatry. Anything (money, career or wealth) or anyone (people, children or even your spouse) who takes the place of God or gets utmost importance in our lives becomes an idol. It will become a snare or curse to our bloodline if we mislead others to follow our foul traditions or practices.
Failure to turn glory and honour to God resulted in a snare, and hindrance to Gideon’s family.
Judges 8:35 They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Gideon in spite of all the good things he had done for them.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I put on the cloak of humility; teach me to be mindful always to give back all the glory of my success to you. Amen.
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